Questions from a fitting

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By Don O

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  1. Don O

    Don O
    Madison, WI

    Under the do as I say (because I've tried all the shortcuts) clause, what I did was upgrade from another company's A-flex 12 degree driver because of ballooning and a year ago bought a 910 D2 Ilhana R-flex 10.5 of the net.  When the 913's were released, I tried a 9.5 set to 11 with the S+ shaft and got reasonable good numbers.  I went in to check to see how close I was.  Wanted to see if one of the stock 913 shafts would be a better choice for the 910 starting at 11.25 degrees.  According to the new electronic device they have, the Bassara R and the Ilhana were both producing backspin up to 4500 rpms.  The S+ in R was still over 3000.  The D+ and the Rip Phenom in S brought the spin down to 2200 and a launch of 10-12 when set to 10.5 but both felt heavy.  I haven't had a driver over 60 g.  We then took a floor model 913 D2 9.5 with the S+ in S and tried that at both 8.75 and 9.5.  He liked it at 8.75 but I felt more comfortable at 9.5.  According to the device, my ball was now landing softer and rolling out a lot more.  The dispersion pattern was tighter if for no other reasons, the ball would fade and drop almost straght down when the rpms were above 3500.

    I did use my own NXT Tour balls and not the (literally) mixed bag in the store.  Wanted to keep it real world as possible.  And yes, it would be better to do it outside, but we're having an early winter now in WI.  All of the numbers of the fitting makes sense - except I only have a driver head speed of 85 mph.  9.5 with a stiff shaft just scares me.  Should I trust the machine?  BTW, the choice was additionaly complicated or simplified by a price tag of close to $300 for the S+ shaft.  Trading the old driver is only a net increase of $50 over a shaft alone.

  2. Cameron D

    Cameron D
    Newport, RI

    Don, 

    If the numbers show that you will be more productive with the 9.5* and S+ in stiff, then I would consider that model.  You do need to be confident in what you have and feel is extremely important, so make sure that you find the medium ground that gives you the most overall distance, best ball flight, and best feel.  With that club head speed, a stiff flex driver shaft may be a little stiff, but may offer the control and feel you are looking for.  I would always recommend taking the Club Fitters advice in the end, keeping in mind that you are the one who will be standing over the ball with that club in your hand.

    Cameron

    1-888-TITLEIST

  3. Don O

    Don O
    Madison, WI

    Alas, I'm a numbers guy (bought it).  Most courses are closed for the year around here and the few hardy ones will be closed for the weekend with highs of 25 and 26.  Looks like I'll be wringing it out in San Diego for the first time in December.

    The validation from the course is a lot of my drives tended to not roll out more than 10 yards.  That was part of the reason to check the shaft in the first place.  Just never imagined this combination would come up with the numbers.

  4. Gabe B

    Gabe B
    Pueblo, CO

    Don,

     

    the numbers usually never lie, but with the test being on an indoor machine and with winter coming I think you would be best suited to wait until you can get outside and hit the club to see the results in person. I can understand your concern with the heavier shaft as I too have recently switched.

     

    I tried to find extra distance with a lighter shaft and found the misses were all over the board. The best for me was to change to a heavier and stiffer shaft that produced a tighter pattern and the distance was even longer. I also went shorter than the extra inch I had been putting in the shaft. I think the best thing to concern yourself with is getting the ball in play. If you can not wait I think that you could always find a way to get the shaft swapped out.

  5. Don O

    Don O
    Madison, WI

    Thanks, Gabe.

    I'm going to SD in 10 days, so I wanted to be my prettiest for the occassion.  Alas, the weather gods closed the outdoors down earlier than usual this year in WI.  The process started as a sanity check on how well I picked a shaft based on what works on my hybrids.  Well, that didn't work out real well....  So the best advise is to get fitted outdoors.  And in America - it is every person's right to fail as well as succeed. <sigh>

    Fortunately, when taking both drivers out to a heated bay driving range, the shape of the drives were remarkably close to the 42 inch flat screen monitor simulations based on the indoor bay. The Ihana launched a little higher but would fade a little at the end and drop dead out of the sky.  The S+ had a much more gradual descent and presumable roll out.  That corner was in a shadow and I couldn't see how much roll out there was.  The dispersion pattern, without that fade, was much tighter.

    The lesson learned besides getting fitted outdoors, more importantly, is to not guess or extrapolate on a shaft.  I have a Bassara 55 on my 15 fairway (set to 16.5) as I needed help launching from the fairway.  It is extreme variance in my case, but the S+ in a stiff on a 9.5 913 was not on my radar w/o a fitting.

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