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Golf Equipment Chronicles 2006 (Part 5)

Driver Discoveries - Summer 2006

Updating the “Search for the Magic Driver”

By Leith Anderson

Almost five years ago, I started this article as the “Search for the Magic Driver”. That search went on for many months and we broke new ground when it came to understanding what made drivers work. In those days, the electronic equipment was primitive and our understanding wasn’t that great either. It was before launch monitors and shaft profiling – two breakthroughs that have changed the way that we think about driver fitting. Driver heads were still under 300 c.c. In the early days, we pretty much went with shaft length, flex, weight and loft and hoped for the best.

In the meantime, there has been a sea change in technology. Launch monitors are still pretty expensive, but in comparison to five years ago, they’re dirt cheap. It’s gotten to the point where most serious golfers won’t buy new clubs unless they’ve tested and compared the results of their proposed purchase with clubs they already have. For the first time, you can be sure that your new clubs actually perform better than the ones you’ve got. That eliminates a huge source of embarrassment – buying new clubs only to find out that they aren’t as good as the ones already in your bag. Wasting money sucks.

Clubfitting today involves finding out about three variables. What is the player doing? What is the club doing? And, what is the ball doing? When you know those three things, you can figure out the right combination of club and ball to match a player’s swing. Then, with the new crop of drivers and shafts for 2006 you might find one that works better than what you’ve got – especially if you’re willing to try something different. I’ve got a few suggestions for you.

The Player

You can’t overcome your physical limitations – your “talent” in the overall equation. Remember, it’s “Talent, Technique and Technology – in that order.”

The first question to answer is “how much power do you put into your shot?” That power is measured by ball speed. The distance you achieve is governed by the laws of physics. All launch monitors today do a good job of measuring ball speed. Pretty good players (index 6-15) will likely swing a six iron at about 80 MPH and a driver about 90 MPH. Those swing speeds more or less match up to “regular” flex. The laws of physics tell us that you can expect somewhere between 2.2 and 2.5 yards of carry distance per MPH of swing speed depending on how square you hit the ball. A player who swings a driver at 90 MPH is going to carry his drive between 198 and 216 yards. If you want the ball to go farther, you have to hit it harder. When you’re trying to determine your best potential distance, ball speed is the place to start – it’s much more precise.

You also have to know your swing path, face angle at impact and angle of attack. There is an “almost perfect” swing. A swing path that’s 2 to 4 degrees inside-out, a face angle that’s 1 to 2 degrees open and a slightly upward angle of attack produces that nice high draw without too much spin. Knowing your own swing is an important starting point. It is especially true if you have imperfections that you can’t cure that you expect to counteract with your equipment.

The Club

All players have idiosyncrasies in their swings that stress the golf club differently. I’ve described the virtues of the Shaft Max electronic gizmo for several months. The Shaft Max is an instrumented club that measures the force that a player puts on the club, recording shaft deflection in the horizontal and vertical planes and charts that deflection against a timeline. There are two important things that the Shaft Max allows us to find out. An efficient swing accelerates smoothly, producing maximum speed at the moment of impact. The Shaft Max graph is like an EKG for your golf swing. Your graph is either a sign of health or a tool to help you improve your technique.

The Shaft Max also tells us about a player’s tempo and how and where the shaft is bending. Players with a quick tempo who load the shaft early do better with heavier shafts. “Swingers” with slow tempos do better with lighter shafts. Players whose swings produce a lot of “toe droop” do better with very stiff tips. The Shaft Max gives us both the insight and confidence to make radical recommendations.

Players with slow swing speeds can load the shaft very heavily. We have fitted senior players with “extra stiff” shafts. Without the Shaft Max data, we would never have the confidence to make those recommendations. The bottom line: shaft fitting by swing speed alone is unreliable.

The Ball

Projectile physics predicts the landing point of artillery shells in warfare. In golf, the science helps determine the best launch angle and spin rate to maximize carry distance for a given ball speed. The most common launch monitor technology snaps a couple of pictures of a ball marked with a vertical line. Speed is measured by the distance the ball travels between pictures and spin is measured by how much the line moves – all within a few microseconds. Some sophisticated systems, like the Launch Max, employ other marks on the ball to detect “sidespin” – or axial spin in scientific nomenclature. The result is a prediction of how far the ball will travel and on what trajectory.

More sophisticated and expensive launch monitor technology employs radar to track the actual flight of the ball. Recent breakthroughs allow radar-based systems to “see” the surface of the ball and measure spin rate. Radar based systems can also measure actual club head speed, swing path and angle of attack.

The final step in clubfitting is to bring a player’s launch results as close to theoretically perfect as possible. After launch angle and spin rate are measured, those measurements are compared against the “optimized” parameters from projectile physics. If a player’s driver is going too high or too low, it could signal a change in head loft. If the ball is spinning too much or too little, other remedies are indicated, ranging from changing shafts, changing heads or moving weights in driver heads that offer that option. From time to time, golf balls can change spin rates by up to 500 RPM’s, which can make a significant difference in carry distance. Combined with knowledge of a player’s swing and what he does to the club, more radical actions might be required such as – God forbid – working on your technique.

Tweaking Your Magic Driver

For players who have enough discipline to stick with the process, proving a driver delivers the best possible results requires an hour so of exercise, state-of-the-art technology and a clubfitter with a good eye.

Once you have found the driver that works for you, and confirmed that with launch monitor testing, you can improve your results with a couple of time-tested “tweaks” to squeeze every last bit of performance out of any club.

SST PUREing. One of the other changes that has occurred in the last few years is the nearly universal agreement among clubmakers that some kind of shaft orientation is critical to get consistent performance out of your golf clubs. The most reliable and repeatable method is the SST PURE technology which utilizes sophisticated instrumentation and software to find the best and most stable oscillation plane. It might only be that you strike the ball a fraction of an inch closer to the center of the club a couple of times a round, but when you’re trying to shoot par, that might be enough to make the difference.

Balance-Certified Counter Weights. For players who are looking for the last two or three MPH of ball speed, a tested and proven way to do it is to add counter weights under the grip of your club. The technique has been employed for years by players as illustrious as Jack Nicklaus. The main virtue of the Balance-Certified system is that it is easily adjustable. The thing you can’t know about counter weights is “how much weight?” That’s the beauty of the B-C system. The weights are easily interchangeable. Once again, launch monitor testing is required to detect the very small increase in ball speed and also to know which weight produces the best results.

Avoiding Mistakes

For those of us who have at least half a dozen drivers in the closet, we have to ask the question “why?” The problem is the way players buy drivers. It usually happens with a “demo”. You pick up a driver from a bag in the pro shop. Or, you find yourself at a Demo Day. You take a few swings with one, then another. If you’re unlucky, you make five good swings in a row and stripe a few down the middle. Whatever driver you’re holding when that happens becomes THE ONE. You forget that you’re hitting range balls that don’t spin anything like the balls you play on the course. You also forget that you can’t really see where the ball is coming down. A little luck, a few good swings and you make a custom order.

That leads us to one more truth about golf clubs. No two clubs are ever exactly alike. If you find a club at a demo day that you think is magic, buy that club. Don’t take “no” for an answer. We’ve seen hundreds of players at the Golf Lab who found a “Magic Driver” at a Demo Day and ordered one from a custom department. They couldn’t hit the new club. Don’t ever rely on anyone’s ability to match the exact performance. It never happens. There are always subtle differences in weight and balance. Our mantra: “Always buy the demo.”

Tom Wishon’s Common Sense Clubfitting

I’ve been plowing my way through the 485 pages of Tom Wishon’s new book, Common Sense Clubfitting which has taken up permanent residence on my nightstand. It’s dense. Each chapter seems to take two or three readings. At my present rate, I’ll be done by Christmas. There are plenty of gems buried in the text. The book is a compendium of Tom’s design principles. To some extent, it is more a book about how to design golf clubs than how to fit golf clubs. Over time, I’m sure that it will be very helpful to clubfitters in helping their clients make the right choice – at least those who have the energy to finish the read.

This month, I spent time with the section on moment of inertia in driver head design. The practical result is to understand how driver head shape might influence your own Magic Driver choice. As for me, I’m a toe hitter. I can’t help myself. When I miss a drive, it’s always on the toe.

Over the years, I’ve preferred pear shaped drivers like the Titleist models. My rationale is that if you’re going to hit it on the toe, you might as well have a driver with a fat toe. Tom’s book illuminates why that was a good choice and why you might choose a driver with an even longer heel to toe dimension. The longer heel to toe dimension increases the Moment of Inertia. That’s the natural resistance against twisting. Especially for players who are inclined to miss to the left, the longer heel to toe dimension could be effective. The reverse is true. Drivers that follow the Taylor Made profile are a little rounder. They might be better for players who lose it to the right. Just something to think about. . .

“Best Bets” from the Summer of 2006

For the last couple of months we’ve been testing and experimenting with all of the new 2006 driver designs. We’ve discovered some setups that you will surely not find at the Big Box Retailer. We’re always “Thinking outside the (Big) Box”. Everything that we try is tested, indoors with our Launch Max launch monitor, on the range with our Flightscope Cheetah and ISG Trackman, and on the course by Bob, Leith, Iron Byron, Heather, Andrew and the Golf Lab Regulars.

When we make a recommendation, it’s because we know how a certain setup performs with scientific electronic testing and with subjective player testing. If you ask us what will work for you, we will never answer your question unless we know your swing. At the Golf Lab, we developed a method to take all of the guesswork out of finding the “perfect club”.

One Weird Combination that Works

Who would believe a high loft driver with a short shaft delivers the best performance for a low index player? If there’s a crazy idea out there, that’s it.

For the last month, Bob has been playing a Nike “Lucky 13” Sasquatch head paired up with a Fujikura Vista Tour shaft in S flex. He’s out at the Stanford golf course most Thursday mornings playing with his buddy Fitz and blowing it by the other players. Think about it, this is a club that most low index players would be embarrassed for their friends to find in their bag. You can suffer embarrassment if you’re getting results.

Here’s our theory: we want high launch and low spin. The 13* driver solves the high launch problem. From the factory, the SQ Lucky 13 drivers come with soft tipped shafts, aimed at getting the ball in the air for high handicap players. It’s safe to bet that Nike never imagined players with handicaps under 10 would be Lucky 13 buyers. To counteract the high spin bias, Bob chose the lowest-spin, stiffest tip shaft that we know – the Fujikura Vista Tour. The results, to say the least, have been explosive.

There’s one more twist. Bob is 5’11” and playing his driver at 43”. That’s two inches shorter than off the rack drivers – probably the same length as your three wood. Time and again in player testing we find that shorter drivers produce higher ball speeds. Most players believe just the opposite. It all depends on your swing. Players that have a very late release, a pronounced “lag” are likely to produce higher ball speeds with shorter drivers. It’s always important to keep in mind that the most common driver length on the PGA Tour is 44.5”. Greg Norman uses a 44” driver. Meantime, amateurs can only buy 45” (or longer) drivers. Go figure. . .

Alas, One Size Never Fits All

Jealousy is a great motivator. If it was that easy for Bob, why not just copy his setup? Hoping for a similar miracle, I made up my very own Lucky 13 and paired it up with the very same Fujikura Vista Tour shaft. Frequency matched, SST PUREd, B-C counterweighted, totally decked out. What a dud! It went nowhere.

Whatever Bob is doing with his swing, it certainly does not translate into success for me. Therein lies our next revelation for the month. “One size definitely does not fit all”. Just because your buddy or business partner kills his driver does not mean that the same setup will work for you.

That still doesn’t answer the question “why it worked for him, but not for me?” I wish I knew.

MacGregor NVG2 – High Launch

The setup that worked its way into my bag is the MacGregor NVG2 – the “High Launch” model. This is an interesting driver. On the bottom, it says 10* loft. The MacGregor support staff readily admits that the actual loft is at least 12*. MacGregor marketing types know that putting a high loft number on a driver is more or less a kiss of death for sales.

We’ve been watching the MacGregor turn-around closely. It’s been a long row to hoe for owner Barry Schneider. They’ve been touting the “cup face” design in their drivers with an expensive advertising program. Surprise, it works. MacGregor drivers deliver a little higher ball speed and a little less spin for most players. For the first time, they’ve been selling at the Golf Lab – not on cosmetics but on competitive testing.

The unusual thing about the HL is that it comes with a 2* open face angle. That means that the 12* loft will actually play a couple of degrees lower. Not only that, it looks square at setup due to its open face angle. You can normally only find open face angles in low-loft drivers. The HL is the “Tour” model which means it has a little softer sound and a tall hosel that presents the option of adjusting the lie angle. The default shaft is the expensive MacGregor Speeder but you can order it with the low-end shaft if you only want the head. It’s a little expensive going that route – but if you’ve found your Magic Driver – who cares what it costs?

Why Do We Love Name Brands?

It used to be that Name Brand drivers cost around $500 - more expensive than component drivers. Then, Ping released its G2 last year, with a premium Aldila NV shaft priced at $299. All of a sudden, the driver world turned upside down. Every major manufacturer responded with their own $299 driver. All of a sudden, drivers were cheap.

Well, some were cheap. The big guys redoubled their efforts to inject “value” back into the equation that would bring prices back up to a profitable level. Taylor Made’s brilliant marketing strategy, holding the price of their “Tour Proven (TP)” line at the top of the market is effective. Most of the players that I see with TM drivers at tournaments have the little flags on the toe. It just shows, when given the chance to buy golf clubs at a higher price – most golfers will jump at the chance. In the summer of 2006, the $299 “street price” point is now the entry level. At the other end of the spectrum, the Taylor Made R7 425 TP is selling briskly at $799.

So what is the lure? Do we really believe that the Titleist driver we play is the same as Davis Love’s? If you play an R7 TP will you charm all the pretty girls like Sergio? I suppose so . . .

“Component” Drivers - New for 2006

Collapsing prices posed a challenge for golf component companies and put many custom clubmakers out of business. In the past, the rationale for component golf clubs was that they were cheaper than name brands. That is no longer the case. Now, custom clubs cost more than name brands. Let’s have a close look at the value delivered. A top quality titanium driver head costs up to $150. A good quality shaft costs close to $100. Add those numbers up, figure in assembly cost and a little profit. A top quality component driver carries a fair price of at least $400. Why would a golfer pay an extra $100 for a component driver?

For players pursuing perfection, component drivers can be worth the money. Component companies measure the face angle and actual loft of their heads. If you want to know the exact loft and face angle of your driver, the only way is to have your head “hand picked” for your exact specifications.

$299 drivers come with a narrow selection of shafts, often proprietary – which is code for volume produced, low priced shafts. For players who plan on custom fitting a high performance shaft to their driver, the component option becomes economical. $299 might be OK for a driver if you’re going to play it, but if all you want is the head, the cost starts to add up.

Then, there’s the problem of “standard” specifications for all off-the-rack models. If you want a driver that’s 45” or 45.5”, you’re in luck. In our testing, we find that very few players do well with long drivers. Keep in mind, even on the PGA Tour, the average driver length is 44.5”. Why would an amateur do better with a longer length? If you want to play a driver at a shorter length, you’ve got to have a heavier head to maintain balance. Typical OEM driver heads weight 200 grams or less. “Tour weight” is always 204-208 grams. Many component companies allow you to buy the exact gram weight you want.

Is the quality the same? Big companies surely get volume discounts but there are only a few foundries in China that make almost all of the Titanium driver heads in the world. Component companies strive for high quality.

Finally, there’s the problem of what do you do if the driver you buy doesn’t work for you. It’s impossible to know whether a certain loft with a certain shaft will work on the golf course. Even with extensive launch monitor testing, there’s always the possibility that on the course the driver will go too high or too low or otherwise disappoint. If you buy a custom component driver, your clubmaker can swap out a head or a shaft to make sure you get a perfect fit.

Top Picks – Summer 2006 Component Drivers

America is a country that supports the underdog. In the golf industry, small companies are an endangered species. Component drivers came into their own in the Long Drive Competitions. No LDA competitor could possibly succeed with a “standard” driver. The custom component industry gave us interesting breakthroughs – like the lifetime guarantee of quality from SMT. For players who want to try something truly different – the only way to find a surprising performance breakthrough – the component driver world is a good place to start your search for your own Magic Driver.

KZG GF4 – Adjustable weight driver. KZG is known for producing high quality components and standing behind their quality. We’ve had good success with their new adjustable weight driver. You can think of it as a competitor to the Taylor Made R7 – 425. It’s similar in concept but not similar in shape. The GF4 is a pear-shaped head, distinguishing it from the TM version.

Fine tuning driver performance requires finding the perfect spin rate. Time and again, we have been able to move weight forward or back to decrease or increase spin. This is a technology that works for players who are looking to optimize the spin rate of their drivers. www.kzgolf.com.

Advanced Golf Technologies Aurora – Owner Steve Solo made his mark with fairway woods, employing carpenter steel on the face for the longest fairway woods we have tested. It took him a long time to perfect his driver design. The new Aurora is a low-hitting club with a round shape and a deep face. The 10.5* plays a little more like 9*. I mounted one in a fancy ACCRA SE 70 shaft and stayed in sight of Iron Byron during a Sunday round. You’re going to want to hand pick your head as the default is a little bit too closed to suit most good players. The finish is beautiful. www.advancedgolftechnologies.com.

Versus Golf – owner Scott Son has produced what he considers to be his best designs ever. He was the creative force behind Nakashima before going out on his own. The Versus drivers are a little longer head to toe than any drivers you have seen so far. I really like the shape and recommend it particularly for players who are trying to fight the “lefts” based on Tom Wishon’s MOI analysis. I paired mine up with the new Aldila VS Proto shaft. It’s in the permanent rotation, although I might try it with an ACCRA Tour shaft to get a little higher trajectory. www.versusgolf.com.

SMT – the 455 DB. One of the true pioneers in the component golf business is Mike Tait. A former PGA professional, he cut his teeth supplying drivers that wouldn’t break – or if they did, came with a lifetime guarantee to the Long Drivers of America. His original mega-hit, the 455 DB was a trend-setter. Three years later, it still competes for best-of-class. SMT has released a couple of new designs, fleshing out their 460 c.c. offerings. A little more economical than some alternatives. www.smtgolf.com.

Geek Golf – Fail Safe and Dot Com This. Another component industry founder is Steve Almo who built the Bang Golf brand before starting his own company. His two drivers are top quality – aimed at the competitive Long Drive industry as well as consumers who want a custom fit. www.geekgolf.net.

Nakashima Golf – One of our favorites in past years, Nakashima has experienced some production problems. They have an innovative design that permits swapping shafts. Unfortunately, the first release was non-conforming, making it not too popular with serious players. By the time you read this, the Nakashima interchangeable shaft system should be available in a conforming model. Worth a look. www.nakashimagolf.com.

Notice for Miura True Believers

We received our allotment of the new limited-edition Miura “TF” blade. There are only 101 sets worldwide. We have five of those sets and Eric Jones joined the Miura staff so that’s the model he’ll be playing. These might be the most beautiful blades of all.

Mark Your Calendars

The Pleasanton Golf Show is scheduled for October 13-15, 2006 at the Alameda Fairgrounds. I’ll be there with most of the Golf Lab regulars, showcasing our technology. The Golf Lab Tour Van will also be on site. Keep your eyes peeled for enough special events to make the Show a very worthwhile event.

Next Month: Summer 2006 Shaft Roundup. Fuji Rombax, True Temper BiMatrix, Stulz Nano Arrow, Aldila VS Proto, Mitsubishi Bassara and Red Board, Accuflex Evolution and others.

Leith Anderson is a Partner in the Golf Lab, Palo Alto, CA.
He will answer any and all questions relating to club fitting and club making. Contact: Leith@calgolftech.com.