Driver for Friend

[Bubble Head]

A friend of mine plays golf 6 times a year. He hits a wooden wood 200 yards or so and just bought a second hand set of game improvement irons from me.

I figure a swing speed around 100. He isn't going to take the time or money to fit a driver on a launch monitor.

There are a bunch of 10.5 Hibore's with NVS R flex shafts on eBay for around $100. Is that a good way for him to go?

I hated my stock shaft on my R7 and love the NVS.

[RickinMA]

the good news is that if his wooden wood isn't one of the fancy new ones with some technology, it will be very easy to find anything to improve performance

until last year, I had played with a titanium driver made in '96 - but it just can't compete with anything made recently

if he's got his father's old driver and brassie in the bag, you can't lose with anything made in the past 4-5 years or so

if his swing speed is around 100 - the R flex shaft might be a little on the soft side -(just my humble opinion)

another thing to consider - going from an old wood to a 460cc titanium driver might be tough for him - and you can probably get a great deal on something in the 380-400cc range that might not freak him out to look down at - clubs like the cleveland launcher for titleist 983k are so cheap now

have him spend the extra money saved on some balls, greens fees, and a tip for the beer girl - you might even get him out a 7th time this year

[gunning4u]

Tylormade 510 or 540, you should be able to find a new one for around 100$ on e-bay.

[MGP]

OK, this is a totally off-the-wall suggestion but I'll bring it up anyway. I had the same kind of situation come up -- I'm teaching a friend to play this year and wanted him to have some reasonably good equipment. I gave him a set of my spare irons, wedges and putter but I didn't have any decent woods for him.

I got him this driver and 3w and I have to say the quality for the $ is impressive. Most people don't know about Hippo clubs but I have a set of their irons and they are very well designed and built.

Hippo Golf Mens OS4 Series Woods

I hit the driver on the range and it was really solid. I hit several 230-240ish drives, pretty similar to my R580XD maybe just a bit shorter. It launched about the same as my 10.5 R580-XD and was pretty forgiving -- a couple mishits out near the toe went close to 200 and fairly straight. The fit and finish of the club is incredible for the money. Not sure who makes the shaft for them but it's a nice low torque shaft and worked well with my swing, definitely not a typical cheapo chinese shaft. They have Hippo branded Tour Velvet grips on them. The 3w was also nice and I hit it almost as far as my V-Steel.

If you know anyone who needs a "starter" titanium driver and woods, these are excellent clubs. Oh yeah, they came with really nice zippered headcovers too. I can honestly say I was really shocked at how nice these clubs are.

[warbirdlover]

With an NVS shaft and ss of 100 he'll need a stiff not regular..

[ualtim]

Hi-Bore 10.5 with NVS is probably a very solid club for someone who does not play too often. Not the longest club, but one of the straightest ones which is all your friend is proabably looking for. Go for it.

[MCDavis]

R580 XD, 10.5º, r7 Reax reg. shaft with headcover...and, gee, I happen to know where this exact club is!

Seriously, R580 XD's are $149 brand new everywhere and are easy to hit. Take him to a Golf Galaxy/Dick's/Golfsmith/whatever and let him hit one. He can try R and S shafts and y'all can figure out what's best.