Hi Craig, I think you're spot on... You need deep pockets to justify over 600 quid for a few yards on your drives. I'm a big believer in good fittings (with the emphasis on "Good") and having found something that works you can stick with it for many years. I was fitted for a PXG Gen 1 driver 7 years ago, which gave me a good combination of distance (270 m average on Arccos, not bad for pushing 60 😜) and foregiveness (which was further improved with a shaft upgrade). Admittedly, I got a good deal on an ex demo head. So when the head started to crack last year I simply looked for a replacement 2nd hand Gen 1 head, costing little more than 100 pounds, as later models don't perform as well for me. I suppose that when I can't find Gen 1 heads any more, I'll have to start the process all over again or dabble in the 2nd hand markets.... I never turn down the chance to try different clubs, so when someone let me have a bash with their Paradym triple diamond and it seemed to give me a couple more yards, note was taken. But for now, unless your gaining enough distance to club down or dramatically narrowing down dispersion, you're probably better spending your money on some other part of the bag....
Thanks for such a detailed comment Mark. I know my driver is a good match for me so I'm looking for the extra yards in the gym... Also important for the old heath as well as we get older 😩
C.O.R has been at 0.830 for years and the 'new' maximum CT of 257 milliseconds has the face tied down Craig! The only way to beat those limits is to get faster yourself...which is where I'm hoping to go 🤞 after continually losing distance I feel the only way to halt, slow or hopefully reverse this trend is to work on myself and MY ball striking. It will be interesting to see what rolling the ball back brings to us...I'm not a lover of Bifurcation but I can only see our participation figures going down if we limit the distance club golfers hit the ball...golf is hard enough with all the technology we have in place now, making it harder...I just see folks stopping playing.
I traded for a Ping G430 10K earlier this year. I hit it the same distance but it’s the most consistent driver I’ve ever owned. It will be in the bag a long time.
Not only is it maxed out but it will decrease once the roll back comes in. The only reason I may go for a 10K Ping max is because my miss is a hook & based on what you ( and others ) have said it might help straighten it out. I just can't stand those turbulators though, any other right biased drivers ?
I couldn't agree more with your stance. The governing bodies legal limit is 1.5 for the coefficient of restitution, meaning 100 mph in no more than 150 mph out. Drivers have been at that legal speed for years now. The only real benefit the last few years has been forgiveness. With the roll back of the ball coming soon the speeds are going to slow down if anything. The shaft tech has been about maxed out over the last few years. Without the governing bodies changing the COR amount the speed is what it is. Even some space age engineered aerodynamics still aren't going to change things much. In my honest opinion when adjustability became the standard we hit the wall. You can find virtually any shaft you want with any brand specific connector you want and have a totally different driver within seconds.
@ScratchAt50 I'm not a fan of rolling it back either. However, according to the data the average amateur still only hits it 200 yards off the tee. So either players were more skilled in the persimmon days or more players are just not very skilled today. I think the better amateur is going to pay the biggest price with the roll back.
Hi Craig, I think you're spot on... You need deep pockets to justify over 600 quid for a few yards on your drives. I'm a big believer in good fittings (with the emphasis on "Good") and having found something that works you can stick with it for many years. I was fitted for a PXG Gen 1 driver 7 years ago, which gave me a good combination of distance (270 m average on Arccos, not bad for pushing 60 😜) and foregiveness (which was further improved with a shaft upgrade). Admittedly, I got a good deal on an ex demo head. So when the head started to crack last year I simply looked for a replacement 2nd hand Gen 1 head, costing little more than 100 pounds, as later models don't perform as well for me. I suppose that when I can't find Gen 1 heads any more, I'll have to start the process all over again or dabble in the 2nd hand markets.... I never turn down the chance to try different clubs, so when someone let me have a bash with their Paradym triple diamond and it seemed to give me a couple more yards, note was taken. But for now, unless your gaining enough distance to club down or dramatically narrowing down dispersion, you're probably better spending your money on some other part of the bag....
Thanks for such a detailed comment Mark.
I know my driver is a good match for me so I'm looking for the extra yards in the gym...
Also important for the old heath as well as we get older 😩
@@ScratchAt50 Definitely....We need to keep fit to give our best on the course. The swimming pool keeps me in shape, never got on with a gym 😉
C.O.R has been at 0.830 for years and the 'new' maximum CT of 257 milliseconds has the face tied down Craig!
The only way to beat those limits is to get faster yourself...which is where I'm hoping to go 🤞 after continually losing distance I feel the only way to halt, slow or hopefully reverse this trend is to work on myself and MY ball striking.
It will be interesting to see what rolling the ball back brings to us...I'm not a lover of Bifurcation but I can only see our participation figures going down if we limit the distance club golfers hit the ball...golf is hard enough with all the technology we have in place now, making it harder...I just see folks stopping playing.
Im not a fan of rolling the ball back for amateurs.
@@ScratchAt50 Just the point I was making Craig. I think it will ruin the game
I traded for a Ping G430 10K earlier this year. I hit it the same distance but it’s the most consistent driver I’ve ever owned. It will be in the bag a long time.
Ping forgiveness is unrivaled.
Not only is it maxed out but it will decrease once the roll back comes in.
The only reason I may go for a 10K Ping max is because my miss is a hook & based on what you ( and others ) have said it might help straighten it out. I just can't stand those turbulators though, any other right biased drivers ?
Im not a fan of rolling the ball back for amateurs..
I couldn't agree more with your stance. The governing bodies legal limit is 1.5 for the coefficient of restitution, meaning 100 mph in no more than 150 mph out. Drivers have been at that legal speed for years now. The only real benefit the last few years has been forgiveness. With the roll back of the ball coming soon the speeds are going to slow down if anything. The shaft tech has been about maxed out over the last few years. Without the governing bodies changing the COR amount the speed is what it is. Even some space age engineered aerodynamics still aren't going to change things much. In my honest opinion when adjustability became the standard we hit the wall. You can find virtually any shaft you want with any brand specific connector you want and have a totally different driver within seconds.
Agree with all of the that and im not a fan of rolling the ball back for amateurs.
@ScratchAt50 I'm not a fan of rolling it back either. However, according to the data the average amateur still only hits it 200 yards off the tee. So either players were more skilled in the persimmon days or more players are just not very skilled today. I think the better amateur is going to pay the biggest price with the roll back.