new driver & fairway metals

[drzzz]

I recently posted a question about my old ping eye 2's and received a pretty unanimous response that I should keep them and replace my woods (GBBII driver and 3 wood.) I remain a 12 handicap despite playing 6-10 times per year (was a 5 or so about 15 yrs ago) and can still generate a decent clubhead speed. I seem to hit these "old" woods pretty well, but everyone tells me they are obsolete.
My question is this: what are the best woods I can get without spending $900 or whatever for the new TaylorMade r9 or comparable Callaway? maybe a last year model or something.

[mddubya]

WBL is going to tell you to find a Ping G-10, many others will tell you a Callaway Fti, which I just received one of. You can find them dirt cheap and everyone says it is stupid easy to hit straight. If accuracy isn't a problem, a Cleveland HiBore XL is super long, and cheap nowadays. And of course many still sing the praises of the TaylorMade R5 and R7. Really depends on what you're looking for in a driver.

[BigJim13]

As far as drivers go there are several out there right now that are great sticks that can be had cheap, depending on what loft/flex you are looking for. I would start with Global Golf, click the pro shop link at the top. You can find a Titleist 905R, Callaway FT-5 and many others used and in good shape for $150 or less. I like the Taylor Made TP heads, R5 and R7 425 TP are great heads when matched with a decent shaft.

As far as a 3w goes, many on this forum (myself included) will tell you to check out the Tour Edge Exotics line. The CB1's can be had for around $50 used now and $100 new. Of course its hard to find those heads with a decent shaft (unless you like the Aldila NV) so you may need a reshaft.

All this being said, if you can find a place and hit a bunch of different clubs that would be the best way to go.

Myself, I prefer to find a club I like the look of buy it and try it on the course. I find that is a great way to get the feel of a club. I was lucky though and found a driver shaft I love doing that. Most people probably would not agree with this method of "testing" .

[N.V.M.]

I recently posted a question about my old ping eye 2's and received a pretty unanimous response that I should keep them and replace my woods (GBBII driver and 3 wood.) I remain a 12 handicap despite playing 6-10 times per year (was a 5 or so about 15 yrs ago) and can still generate a decent clubhead speed. I seem to hit these "old" woods pretty well, but everyone tells me they are obsolete.
My question is this: what are the best woods I can get without spending $900 or whatever for the new TaylorMade r9 or comparable Callaway? maybe a last year model or something.

2007 Burner driver. cheap, awesome club.

[Wi-Golfer]

2007 Burner driver. cheap, awesome club.

Ditto! I am on my 2nd one & love it, regret selling my 1st one.

[RickinMA]

My question is this: what are the best woods I can get without spending $900 or whatever for the new TaylorMade r9 or comparable Callaway? maybe a last year model or something.

In my opinion, the best woods you can get will not be some year or two old model that was popular here. You will add the most distance and control if you pay a visit to your local professional clubmaker.

A local professional fitter can interview you, watch you hit your current driver on a launch monitor, give you a few demos to try to dial in the specs that work best for you (shaft length, model, flex, loft, face angle, etc). Once you hit a driver (pretty much regardless of brand as long as it's quality) that's been fit to your swing, you're not going to find anything better.

The next step would be make your fairway wood decisions based on your driver specs and the distance gaps you're trying to fill between it and your other clubs.

If you do it right, you'll only do it once and you'll know you're playing the right clubs for at least the next 5-10 years (now that the USGA capped out COR at .830, things aren't changing that much anymore, it's primarily cosmetic) Also, the price shouldn't be anywhere near $900 (hopefully not even half of that)
good luck