10.5 vs 11.5 degree Driver?

[Chas]

I am a slow swinging senior. I currently have a Titleist 983K 10.5 Senior flex. Would it be to my advantage to go to the 11.5, or, is it not that much of a difference, really?

[Rockford35]

I've always found that anything beyond 10* loft created a much too high ball flight for me, but i'm not a slow swinging senior like yourself.

I think if you're using a softer shaft, you wouldn't see much benefit or difference with only 1* loft difference between the two. As a rule of thumb, the higher the loft, the easier the ball is to control, so if you find yourself all over the place with your swing, a more lofted club will help alleviate some of that problem. But, if you pipe it down the middle everytime up to tee, I would venture a guess than the lower loft would increase your distance a little bit.

With a slower swing speed, I wouldn't be so worried about proper launch angle and face loft.

Cheers,

R35

[dave.]

I doubt it will make a difference,but a larger 460 head might help,the 983 isn't the easiest club to hit,apologies if I am insulting your ability!

[obagain]

I would look at putting a new shaft in it. You can get a shaft that will give you the same ball flight as a 11.5 and a shaft would be cheaper than buying a new club, but not as much fun.

[nsherman2006]

I'm gonna have to disagree with OB here. You can get a used 983K off ebay for under 100 bucks. A reshaft would probably cost 60 bucks if you used a decent shaft(unless you can do it yourself). I think it's worth the extra 30 or 40 bucks to just get a new driver, especially because reshafting doesnt really help the resale value of the driver, so if you dont like the shaft, you're in trouble

[Don]

With a slower swing speed, I wouldn't be so worried about proper launch angle and face loft.
Boy is this one just beggin for a reply. I don't think I could disagree more with this statement if I took 3 weeks to think about. This is exactly opposite of what this guy needs to do. He needs to get the ball higher off the tee, for the simple reason he doesn't have a lot of ball speed to help him get enough carry distance. Fact is, the lower the swing speed/ball speed, the high the launch angle you need. More loft would help this guy a lot.

Chas: do you know your swing speed/ball speed? That would help me to tell you what launch angle you need. You say you are a slow swing senior, that should mean your swing speed in less than 90 MPh, which is the case for about 90 % of all male golfers, You might want to check with the Golfsmith website and see if you can find the 2 year old test results of a test they did. They compared a 10.5* driver with a 15* driver. Both were installed in a robot machine so all other factors were egual. Then they hit balls with both drivers at swing speeds from 60 to 90 MPH. In all cases, the 15* driver hit the ball farther than the 10.5* driver, both carry distance and total distance was higher. What that should tell you is that you do in fact need more loft on your driver. My bet would be that a 15* driver wouldn't hurt you one bit. And a 12* driver would definitely help a lot. My swing speed is around 105 MPH, and I gained 25 yards when I went from a 10.5* driver to a 12* driver. Got my launch angle up to 14.5 degrees and that about right for my ball speed.

As for re-shafting your driver, forget it. You can get a better driver head and a better shaft for the same money. Trust me, I know, because I just did. I build clubs, and I couldn't build a club for the price I got my last driver for. Two weeks ago I purchased a new 460cc 11.5* Ping G2 with a Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue R flex shaft. That's a $52.75 shaft if you wanted to buy just the shaft. Paid $99.99 for the driver with that $52.75 shaft. I can't buy a decent driver head for the difference in price. And the Ping G2 is a lot better than any "decent" driver head you could buy. It's one of the top rated drivers on the market. That same G2 sold for $299 this spring, and with that shaft, maybe more. You could put that same shaft in your driver and it might help a lot, don't know what you have now, so I can't say for sure. But it would cost you the same $52.75 for the shaft, and I'd guess another $25 to $35 to have it installed for you. Add a few dollarrs for a good grip, and your close to what I paid for my G2. And you'd still have a driver that's a lot harder to hit well, and still not enough loft for your ball speed.
Look around, this is the season of great prices on golf clubs. It's the end of the season, and Christmas is in 11 days. Check out the Mizuno MP 001 460CC drivers also. Saw them on sale last week for $89.99. Came with a Aldila NVS65 shaft installed for that price, and that's a shaft I have to pay $87.50 for at Golfsmith. So $90 is pretty good for that driver if you ask me. Like buying the shaft and getting the rest of the club free. My friend got on, and I've hit it, and it's one fine driver. Worth every penny and then some.

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by Don

Boy is this one just beggin for a reply. I don't think I could disagree more with this statement if I took 3 weeks to think about. This is exactly opposite of what this guy needs to do. He needs to get the ball higher off the tee, for the simple reason he doesn't have a lot of ball speed to help him get enough carry distance. Fact is, the lower the swing speed/ball speed, the high the launch angle you need. More loft would help this guy a lot.

Don, your selective reading kills you again.

The question wasn't "Do I need more loft?" it was "10.5 vs 11.5 degree Driver? I am a slow swinging senior. I currently have a Titleist 983K 10.5 Senior flex. Would it be to my advantage to go to the 11.5, or, is it not that much of a difference, really?"

So where is he asking if more loft like a 15* driver would benefit his game?

He simply asked if there was much difference between a 10.5 or an 11.5 driver. He's indicated that he's a slow swinging senior with a senior flex shaft, which obviously indicates that he has limited clubhead speed. So to sound off on what I touched on is piss poor.

Sure, maybe his launch angle could be improved, but do you know his clubhead speed? No. So would a increase in loft generate more carry? Not if he's swinging at 60mph. He's better off piping it down the middle with a draw and getting more roll out of hit ball.

So why come off like that?


R35

[VtDivot]

I agree with Don's points in this case, but I also think what Rock said makes sense also.

The problem here I think is that the op didn't figure in the huge advantage to him jumping way up in loft when asking his question. So in that sense, you're both right

But - "I couldn't disagree more If I took 3 weeks to think about it"???? C'mon man, what the heck is that anyways?

[Pa Jayhawk]

Another thought worth considering is if you carry a 3 wood, and what is the loft of the 3w. Granted, with a slower Swing speed (80 mph or less), you will gain more distance from carry on a more lofted driver. On the other hand, if you carry a 3 wood with a 13-15* loft, is the slight difference going to help your game. Personally 10.5-11.5, you may be talking 10 yards on a more lofted club. Is it worth the extra money, and having to adapt to a new driver.

My wife has a 70-80mph speed and uses an 11* driver. As mentioned earlier, (by dave I believe), the 460cc driver may help. She does get 20 yards more since going to the larger driver with a larger sweet spot. I only wish I had her tempo. The way she swings the club, she is guaranteed to hit it on the sweet spot.

[bdcrowe]

Another consideration is the course(s) you regularly play. Firm fairways, or soft?

[Chas]

How about the Cleveland Launcher Steel, 15* w/graphite light? What do you think? It is a fairway wood that I would use off the tee. Received a nice review in a recent issue of Golf Magazine. In any event, are all 15* woods going to be fairway woods?

[Pa Jayhawk]

For the most part, I think around 13.5* is the most lofted driver I have seen. If you are fond of the Titleist you have, they make a 904f in a 15* as well. I have never used the Cleveland or Titleist.

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by bdcrowe

Another consideration is the course(s) you regularly play. Firm fairways, or soft?

Good call.

There's more to life than launch angle. Sure, on a monitor, it spells the proper trajectory under ideal conditions, but this isn't always the case.

If the question was asked if he needed more loft for a better launch, I would have said an astounding yes. But, that wasn't the question in the first place.

And, if you've ever measured the face of a driver, you'll often find that the angle is more like 10.87* rather than 10.5 or an 11* might be closer to 10.79* than 11*. So being a mizer over 1* difference isn't really making the cut here.

However, Don does bring up a seperate point in that if you want to establish better launch which may increase your distance, perhaps a bigger jump in loft is required.

R35

[obagain]

Originally Posted by FKA Pa Jayhawk

For the most part, I think around 13.5* is the most lofted driver I have seen. If you are fond of the Titleist you have, they make a 904f in a 15* as well. I have never used the Cleveland or Titleist.

They do make a 15 degree driver, but for ladies.

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by obagain

They do make a 15 degree driver, but for ladies.

(Cough!!)....LOL....that was good.

R35