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View Full Version : Driver for the windy days - good idea?



LarryLong
14th May 2010, 09:21 PM
I'm not really much of a club ho, but an idea popped into my head a few weeks ago and I'm considering crossing over to the dark side. My home course is quite open and gets exposed to some pretty nasty winds (mostly crosswinds on the prevailing wind) every other weekend, so I'm wondering if I should consider getting myself a lower lofted driver for the windy days. First of all, is this a bad idea?

If not, here's what I'm thinking:

My usual club is a Nickent 3DX square job, 10.5 degrees, with a stiff stock V2 shaft in it. I hit it reasonably high, which I think is a good thing on the still days, and I can usually control it pretty well.

What I'm thinking of doing is grabbing a 9 degree Nickent 4DX Evolver (Yes, I'm a tightarse) with a few (interchangeable) shafts to see if I can come up with a driver that I can hit lower with enough control to make it worth playing on a windy day. I know nothing about shafts (at all) so I spent some time reading the Maltby site looking at the characteristics of the available shafts, and I came up with this as the three shafts I'll look at getting (there aren't that many choices to start with, but I like a limited choice because there's a chance I won't drown in too many options)

1. Stiff V2 - the shaft I use now. I guess it suits me, so the only differences should be due to the different heads, assuming all other things are equal, so it is a good 'control' for the experiment.
2. Stiff V2 High Launch. This one comes in a package with the V2. Probably doesn't suit my purpose for this thread, but I'm also thinking I could use this combo instead of the square driver if I'm playing on a long course with wider fairways like Eynesury.
3. Fujikura E360 stiff - Maltby says this will give a low ball flight, but that's all I know. Would look to test this against the V2 and see if I can spot the difference.

Thoughts?

davepuppies
14th May 2010, 09:35 PM
my usual driver is a Titleist 907 D2 in 9.5 with a stiff V2.

I have a Titleist 905 S with UST tour reserve X for windy courses. The lower loft, stiffer shaft and lower spinning head creates a low boring flight..... but does not provide good flight on a usual day

virge666
14th May 2010, 09:53 PM
In the old days I would say go for it... nowaday not so much.

The problem is that if you go for a lower lofted driver - you take spin off the ball and also add side spin. With the older balls this was not a problem - however with the modern golf ball . . . you need the ball to spin to get it to go through the wind and stay airbourne.

Personally, just tee the ball a 1/2 inch lower and belt your current driver, cheaper and more productive

LarryLong
16th May 2010, 10:46 PM
Cheers Virge, I'm interested in the 'more spin in the wind' theory - can you explain this? Do modern balls not 'balloon' if you hit them into the wind?

I'm also interested in what you think the difference would be due to sidespin on a bad shot. Let's say you hit the same shot with a 10.5 or a 9 degree club. How much further is it going to hook/slice?

I'm pretty sure I can hit a 9 degree driver high enough to play it - when I bought my last driver I hit a few balls on a launch monitor and the figures (wish I'd peeked at them now) said I was borderline between the two and I bought the 10.5 because I was all about accuracy. Now I'm wondering if accuracy in the wind is a slightly different proposition - I guess it is a question of whether the amount of distance the wind will move your ball balances against the amount of error the lower loft introduces.

LarryLong
20th May 2010, 11:18 PM
BAMP!

Thought this thread might at least generate a little bit of discussion. No takers?

Lngnokr71
21st May 2010, 01:14 AM
It's called the good old punch shot.

IanO
21st May 2010, 09:13 AM
Personally, just tee the ball a 1/2 inch lower and belt your current driver, cheaper and more productive

+1 :D