Golf driver question

[Steveo 0]

I'm fairly new to golf and was just wondering what kind of degree driver i should go with. I have the oppurtunity to pick either a Taylor Made 360XD 8.5 degree or a Titleist 975D 9.5 degree, both are similiar pricing. any help would be appreciated. thanks

[jay 1]

A higher lofted club will imaprt a little less side spin. However the shaft probably has as much if not more to do with how the club will perform for you then the loft. Do you know what kind of shafts are in either club?

[Steveo 0]

they both have graphite shafts, the titleist is regular and the taylormade is stiff. As far as brands, they're both stock as far as i know

Also, i read somewhere that unless you're a very good golfer the titleist isn't for amateurs, where as the taylor made is an easily played club

[Chadd 916]

The stiffer shaft may rob you of some distance though, unless your swing speed is above 100MPH.

[MDE3 0]

If you are a beginner, the softer shaft flex will be easier to manage...the Titleist is no easier or harder to hit than the Taylor Made, except for the difference in the shaft. In fact the 975D is one of the livliest of the smaller heads(by todays standards), and was what Tiger used for a few years. As the man said..unless you are up close to the 100 mph range in club head speed, a stiff shaft will tend to make you slice the ball more.

Also there are varying degrees of "stiff"(something you learn with age.... )

[Ryan 0]

As a beginner I believe you should go with the one with more loft.

[Cavs019 710]

you will hit nothing but low pushes to the right with the 8.5 360xd. To be honest I dont think either will be good for you. Check ebay for some deals, Id recomend a regular flex and at least 10 degrees of loft.

[ambro 0]

In fact the 975D is one of the livliest of the smaller heads(by todays standards), and was what Tiger used for a few years.

I think he still plays it too. He played with Nike for a while last year but I know he went back to it in the middle and stuck with it. Maybe he didn't stay with it, not too sure.

Anyways, I use the 975D and it has a huge head compared to the ~90 cc driver I used previously. I believe it's much easier to learn with a small head and whippy flex. I don't think I'd be as good as I am at golf today if I learned with a huge head. Just some advice on what size to start with.

Also, you're right Steveo, the 975D is not for beginners at all.

[MDE3 0]

I have used the 975 D for years as well, and I do not know what would be wrong with it for a beginner as long as it has a regular shaft. I found it an easy driver to hit compared to most..which is why it is in my bag.....Just make sure it is not an extra long shaft(47" versus 44" traditional) which will make it more difficult to control the head for a beginner. If it is a regular shaft it is probably not overlength, but you never know in the golf business..

The sweet spot is not particularily small, and 9.5 degrees loft is not particularly low ..more like a low medium. Most have some closure to the face, unless you have ordered it custom "square".

Although I might agree that learning with a smaller head could be a better teaching aid, the 975D is not a "jumbo" by today's "balloon on a stick" standards. Plus you will have to search deep in the PIAS $10.00 rack to find anything traditionally small..as they will be at least about 10 years old lol.

[Steveo 0]

thanks for the help so far!

does anybody know of any cheap knock off drivers that are decent so that i could get a feel for what would be good for me. right now, i'm playing a crappy Northwestern set with the bad driver it came with. I'm quite certain it doesn't have a sweet spot, as i've hit many balls with it and have never heard that nice *ping* sound that goes with a decent head.

[jay 1]

There are so many cheap knock off drivers it's hard to narrow anything down. I'd say any of the Titanium options from here:

http://www.diamondtourgolf.com/

I use one of their Cobra knockoffs with an Inno shaft and it's works great and the head was $50. Really anything in that price range would be an upgrade from your northwestern.

[MDE3 0]

thanks for the help so far!

does anybody know of any cheap knock off drivers that are decent so that i could get a feel for what would be good for me. right now, i'm playing a crappy Northwestern set with the bad driver it came with. I'm quite certain it doesn't have a sweet spot, as i've hit many balls with it and have never heard that nice *ping* sound that goes with a decent head.

We have a PIAS(play-it-again-sports) that has a great selection of late model golf equipment, and the owner(a golf fanatic) is very cool about letting us demo clubs...I have had achance to try many of the most recent drivers including the newest Ping and Taylor Made clubs, as well as the new Titleist, which I got from a Titleist rep I play with. I have tried many of the knock offs as well, and very few if any compare to that 975 D for liveliness of the head. That's why I still use one. I have had the chance to use at least 20 other serious drivers since I first purchased the 975D in 1999, and have yet to be conviced to change. My next all time favorite was the old King Cobra Ti which also had a very live face/head.

All that said ..it's what feels right when you use it. If you have a place that will let you demo clubs as above....then use it to see what works best for you.

PS....There are big differences in the percent of Titanium used, as well as in the construction of Ti alloy heads, which makes for major differences in the livliness (and price) as well as the durability of some of those "knock offs" (not to mention the costs of development). On the real "jumbo's" even some of the name brands have had the faces collapse.

[jay 1]

The knockoffs are a very good value. Maybe the tolerances are lower and the consistancy isn't as good but for $125 max you can get a custom club that performs comparable to a $400 and up Taylor or Titleist. Plus almost all of them are made in the exact same factories as all the OEMs.

Getting to brands, the SMT heads are at least as good as any OEM (though they start getting over the $125 barrier) and the Bang and Integra components are generally of high quality as well. My club is a cheap offset cobra knockoff I bought just to see if it could help straighten out my heavy "fade" but I've owned at one time or another 6 differnet knockoff clubs that all equalled any OEM I've used in quality. IMO they're generally a great value for a mid to high handicapper and/or a casual player.

[Chadd 916]

The knockoffs are a very good value. Maybe the tolerances are lower and the consistancy isn't as good but for $125 max you can get a custom club that performs comparable to a $400 and up Taylor or Titleist. Plus almost all of them are made in the exact same factories as all the OEMs.

Getting to brands, the SMT heads are at least as good as any OEM (though they start getting over the $125 barrier) and the Bang and Integra components are generally of high quality as well. My club is a cheap offset cobra knockoff I bought just to see if it could help straighten out my heavy "fade" but I've owned at one time or another 6 differnet knockoff clubs that all equalled any OEM I've used in quality. IMO they're generally a great value for a mid to high handicapper and/or a casual player.

I used to have one of the cobra offset knockoffs, great club. I build a lot of knockoffs for friends and did some research. It turns out that only one club company owns the foundry where the clubs are made, Ping. The rest use foundries in asia that make the heads for them, then turn around and churn out the knockoffs. If you get the better knockoffs they are exactly the same as the big brands.

[MDE3 0]

I do not dispute your research into the knock offs, but the same geometry can be used without the exact alloys, because when you are churning out some 10,000 per casting run, saving a few pennies per head on materials can be attractive. I have worked closely with with two foundaries on other types of castings ..Sandvik (who made most of the titanium shafts used in golf clubs when they were in vogue 15 - 20 years ago or so) and Kennemetal for some specialty tungsten carbide stuff.

When you are making the more exotic stuff, the ti alloys used are more prone to error as you get towards the "optimum" resiliency(harder to control thickness'), ...so it becomes more practical to use a little less titanium and a little more steel to avoid large qc rejects. Plus if you make exact duplicates, the original designers get a bit huffy unless you pay them a royalty fee. Hence the expense of the "high end" knock offs, better materials, and when they are very close to the original technology somebody has to get paid.....somewhere.

[jay 1]

Just to clarify, heads from SMT or Bang are not knockoffs but component heads of completely original design. I'd also be willing to go out on a limb and say SMT is at least as good if not better then OEM.

[Chadd 916]

Most of the knockoffs list the type of titanium used in construction, at least to those who buy the components. They also frequently produce a steel version that is much cheaper than the titanium heads.

[MDE3 0]

Just to clarify, heads from SMT or Bang are not knockoffs but component heads of completely original design.  I'd also be willing to go out on a limb and say SMT is at least as good if not better then OEM.

Yes I would have to agree with you..I believe SMT and "Bang" are what most of the players on the long driver tour are using on their extended shaft clubs.

PS and yes the original King Cobra titanium (non offset) was my next most favorite driver to the Titleist 975D..great club.

[MDE3 0]

Most of the knockoffs list the type of titanium used in construction, at least to those who buy the components. They also frequently produce a steel version that is much cheaper than the titanium heads.

Are the heads pure titanium, or ti/steel alloys? My understanding was that using pure titanium made the heads too brittle for impact.

[Chadd 916]

Alloys work better as they have more "spring" than a pure ti face. The Calloway knockoffs I've seen are the most similar to the brand name models.

[Steveo 0]

well, i picked up a lightly used Wilson Orca Killer Whale 360cc 10.5 today from my lgs for $35 CAD. I'm playing tomorrow after work so, i'll see how it goes.