Changing shaft in driver
Rick Currie
I've posted a few times here in the past month or so and got some great
feedback, so I thought I'd ask another question. I've golfed for years,
but am now starting to get into the finer points of the game. One of my
earlier posts was about changing my grip from a 10 finger to the Vardon,
and I gotta say, its working out pretty good.
My question is about the trajectory of the ball flight off of my driver.
I have a Taylor Made R5 Dual 9.5* (draw bias). I'm not happy with the
height that I get when I drive the ball, it just goes too high I find and
I get a maximum of 10 yards of roll, and thats if the course is dry and
hard. Its got the Taylor Made shaft that came with it (M.A.S.2 5-55).
I actually bought a Grafalloy ProLite 35 stiff flex shaft last year but
have yet to put it on my driver. Reason I bought it was that it
advertised a "low trajectory".
Now, as I said I'm just getting into the finer points of the game, so I'm
wondering just how much effect that a different shaft would have on my
ball flight? I've heard some guys say that the shaft is everything. How
so?
I thought I would ask you guys before I switched or end up buying an R5
with an 8.5* loft.
As always, your comments are appreciated.
Rick
gpsman
> I'm not happy with the
> height that I get when I drive the ball, it just goes too high I find and
> I get a maximum of 10 yards of roll, and thats if the course is dry and
> hard.
Your hands most likely aren't far enough ahead of the ball at impact.
-----
- gpsman
Rick Currie
news:3d8bb365-1c95-412b...@59g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:
I don't believe that my hands should be ahead of the ball at impact.
Shouldn't they be slightly behind it? I find if my hands are ahead of the
ball at impact, I push the ball to the right and it slices.
Rick
Alan Illeman
> gpsman <gps...@driversmail.com> wrote in
> news:3d8bb365-1c95-412b...@59g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:
>
> > On May 15, 8:05 am, Rick Currie <rickcurri...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> I'm not happy with the
> >> height that I get when I drive the ball, it just goes too high I find
> >> and I get a maximum of 10 yards of roll, and thats if the course is
> >> dry and hard.
> >
> > Your hands most likely aren't far enough ahead of the ball at impact.
> > -----
> >
> > - gpsman
> >
>
> I don't believe that my hands should be ahead of the ball at impact.
> Shouldn't they be slightly behind it?
Never with the driver. If they are, it is called throwaway, and for good
reason. The stroke (with any club, excepting some speciality shot) is
down and out and forward i.e. a 3-dimensional contact, to both arms
straight.
You said it yourself, in that the ball goes too high with the driver, as
you are trying to hit the ball on the up-swing. Play for a divot (an "air
divot" with the driver) always, for control and power.
Matt
take a golf lesson.
Matt
Rick Currie
news:j4mdndJQZ99bo7HV...@supernews.com:
You're right. I guess my hands are slightly ahead of the ball. I guess
I slice bad when I get lazy and tend to just use my arms in the swing.
Rick
The_Professor
IF a 9.5° head hits it too high, your problem is your swing, not the
shaft.
Rick Currie
news:41e29063-e0b9-4a22...@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com:
Ok, if thats the case, if a 9.5* hits it too high, then why do they even
make an 8.5*? By your logic, then anyone who uses anything lower than a
9.5* has a faulty swing.
Rick
Deucewood
wrote:
A simple way to lower the ball flite is to move the ball back in oyur
stance. Bobby Clampett had an article in Golf Digest I think a few
months ago basically stating that the ball is played too far forward
for many clubs including the driver. I have a 10.5 degree Titleist and
was thinking of getting a 9.5 degree but moving the ball back a bit
solved the problem.
Rick Currie
Or why would they make a shaft and advertise it as 'low trajectory' or
'high trajectory'?
I'm not trying to be a smartass or start a flame war, but I guess I'm
asking if you can answer my original question, which was how much effect
would a different shaft have on my ball flight?"
Thanks.
Rick
Dave Lee
"Rick Currie" <rickcu...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9A9F5C785A3B6ri...@66.250.146.207...
Unless you have some really good lag and a relatively late (and strong)
release, changing shafts won't do much for trajectory. Not having seen your
swing there is no way to be sure. But I would be surprised if a person who
is hitting the ball too high with a 9.5* driver, would fall into the "good
lag/late release" category.
dave
Rick Currie
@news.individual.net:
>
> A simple way to lower the ball flite is to move the ball back in oyur
> stance. Bobby Clampett had an article in Golf Digest I think a few
> months ago basically stating that the ball is played too far forward
> for many clubs including the driver. I have a 10.5 degree Titleist and
> was thinking of getting a 9.5 degree but moving the ball back a bit
> solved the problem.
I could try that, but I think I have tried that in the past and I end up
pushing my shots to the right or slicing them a bit. Did it feel weird at
address when you moved the ball back?
Can I ask you where you used to have the ball in your stance, and where you
have it now? ie, when I line up, the ball is about even with the heel of
my left foot.
Thanks.
Rick
Deucewood
wrote:
>bjwi...@ilstu.edu (Deucewood) wrote in news:482c6305.2970898796
I used to have it at least opposite my left heel inside - I bought
into that you want to hit the driver on the upswing. When I am driving
into the wind I feel that the ball is almost in the middle of my
stance, and on a normal shot between there and my left heel.
Joe
This is a question for anyone and not an attempt to answer Rick's question.
I have found it very difficult to relate to "position the ball at point
"x" relative to my feet. Does anyone use a position relative to your
sternum? For example, in Rick's last question, is it the right edge of
the left heel, left edge, 2.5 inch difference. Besides, how can you see
your left heel at address wearing pants.
In the case of Driver and my own swing, whether good, bad or
indifferent, I am most constant with the ball positioned along a line
from the outside edge of my left shoulder at address. Further back
slices, further forward hooks. FWIW, My pitching wedge is dead at chest
center, 5I is just left of the shirt LOGO.
Joe
Rick Currie
news:482c7517$0$31754$4c36...@roadrunner.com:
Good points Joe. When I refer to my left heel, I should have specified
the right edge of the heel. But I like what you are saying and I will
take a note of where the ball is relative to my sternum tonight when I
get out.
Rick
Joe
Rick,
The sternum is really just a fixed point relative to "your" turn and the
ball position relative to that point, is a function of the bottom of
"your" swing arc. It may change a little over the course of a round as
you loosen up, stiffen up, get tired etc.
Joe
The_Professor
>
> - Show quoted text -
If you hit it too high with that loft, your problem is your swing.
It's a very low loft for a driver. That loft, with the right swing is
going to be either too low or just right. To hit the ball properly and
have it go really high, you have to really hit it hard....or hit weak
pop ups, which you cannot coreect for by lowering the loft of the club.
Howard Brazee
wrote:
>I don't believe that my hands should be ahead of the ball at impact.
>Shouldn't they be slightly behind it? I find if my hands are ahead of the
>ball at impact, I push the ball to the right and it slices.
Some of us have some bad habits that hurt us when we correct other
faults. But it's hard for hackers like us to change our turn at the
same time as we are changing our lag - so we have the wrong turn for
the corrected lag.
But we need to learn it anyway.
Tim Brown
This is the exact opposite of what happens to most people.
Rick Currie
news:1b3d23cd-bf0d-4dbf...@56g2000hsm.googlegroups.com:
> On May 15, 11:09 am, Rick Currie <rickcurri...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> The_Professor <d...@att.net> wrote
>> innews:41e29063-e0b9-4a22-b877-4d9e825d
> c2...@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com:
I have a swing speed of about 110-115, so I do hit the ball fairly hard
and as you say, that would contribute to the high shots. I just thought
maybe another shaft or a lower loft may help with that.
Last night, I actually tried what one other post said and put the ball a
little further back in my stance. It seemed to help a little, but like
anything when you first change it, it just feels weird.
I'm heading out for a round today and will keep it back. I'm thinking I
shouldn't really complain though as I do get a good distance (~270) out
of what I am doing now, just very little roll, its mostly carry.
But as always with the game of golf, what you're doing now never seems to
be enough. As they say, golfs a game where you strive for perfection,
however, perfection can never really be achieved. :)
Thanks as always for the feedback.
Rick
Dave Lee
If 110+ mph is your honest driver SS, then I need to modify what I said
about changing shafts influencing ballflight in an earlier post. A shaft
change really might make a noticeable difference. But if you didn't get what
you want out of the ProLite 3.5 then shafts probably are not your answer.
dave
David Geesaman
Rick,
I've been down this road before. I went through a stage of hitting the
driver solid but way too high. I was hitting it too far on the upswing.
My ball flight was up, then down, no roll. But I could carry over
trees easily, but hitting into the wind was interesting.
Anyway I spent an afternoon with the clubmaker at the local driving
range and discussed shafting options. He had a whole bunch of various
drivers so I went through them all. I tried low, mid, and high
kickpoint shafts, I tried various stiffnesses, and various lofts ranging
from 6.5 to 9.5°. (My then-current driver was 7.5°). In the end it
didn't make much difference. I still hit the ball high. The biggest
difference was that stiff shafts felt bad but didn't hit too bad, and
soft shafts tended to allow a slice.
The result of it all was I had a swing problem, and once fixed, my
drives went lower, longer, and straighter. I now hit an 8.5° driver.
When I hit it solid I get a steady climb off the tee, a nice moment of
"coasting", then a steady fall to the ground with some roll left over.
Interestingly I spent time later at a launch monitor session where I
tried various drivers and balls only to find that the raw numbers were
best with my current equipment setup, and the changes due to equipment
were relatively small.
Dave
himself
"Rick Currie" <rickcu...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9A9F5C785A3B6ri...@66.250.146.207...
Come back with a video clip.
Rog
himself
Yes, it is the correct newsgroup
Rog
Dave Lee
"himself" <ber...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:g0mmpf$2i6q$2...@energise.enta.net...
> 270 yds carry AND something wrong with his swing.
> Yes, it is the correct newsgroup
> Rog
>
>
FWIW, see my earlier append to Rick Currie on 5/16.
dave
The Professor
himself wrote:
well......270 is pretty much short knocker distance on this newsgroup!
curtjester1
Some driver shafts are specifically designed for heighth or less
heighth. A high kick shaft will give you a lower ball flight.
Conversely, a low kick will give a higher flight. Most pros tend to
use the lower ball flighted shafts. A good site to check out specs
and check out opinions from manufacture reps is thebombsquad.com
There are several good quality shafts to get for reasonable. A good
shaft yet inexpensive is a blue or red grafalloy Launcher. You can
get pulls for a lot less on ebay, if you want to experiment around.
CJ
Alan Illeman
Hands slightly ahead of the ball is GOOD but I doubt that you are
doing that. Get video and a lesson for the driver. There's nothing
wrong with an arm swing - for putting or chipping.