Equipment Tip
Equipment Tip
Driver tech
The technology in today's new drivers has made one of the toughest shots in golf much easier. If you struggle with hitting tee shots you should start by hitting some 460 cc volume driver heads. They are the biggest allowable by the rules and also the most forgiving when hit on other than the center of the clubface.
Another great feature of the new large head drivers is their ability to add shot curvature bias without making any swing changes. Clubmaker's are able to move weight around the clubhead to make it curve the ball slightly either to the left or to the right. It is a great advantage to have a pattern of curvature of either a slight fade or slight draw as the player can line up accordingly and predict a dependable outcome based on his shot pattern.
A draw player will line up aiming slightly down the right side of a fairway and draw it back toward the middle or hit down the right center if it fails to draw. Either way, he is in the fairway and has eliminated one side of the golf course. The golfer who aims dead center down the middle and doesn't know which way he is going to miss will bring trouble into play from both sides when he is offline either left of right.
The characteristics of today's driver's also want to launch the ball high and with low spin so as to maximize distance. But, with low spin it is harder to shape a shot which is why the weight biased draw or fade heads are a great advantage as a player doesn't have to work as hard with swing mechanics to get the ball to curve in his preferred direction.
Trying a driver and being fit for one is easier than ever these days and you should always try several different models, lofts, shafts before you decide on your purchase. Good luck driving.