New Driver Technology
 

I'm currently playing a 975D driver. All else being equal (same head speed, solid contact, etc.), how much farther could you expect to hit one of the new drivers?

If the Club Fits...
 

BigW,

Possibly the more important question is how well does your current driver fit your swing vs. how well would a new driver fit your swing. While the technology of both shafts and heads has progressed since your 975D was designed, the most important factor to consider is fitting. You will get more forgiveness with a larger head, but I think the 975D was an .830 COR head so no spring effect help available with the latest stuff.

The biggest gains can be found by optimizing launch characteristics and providing more forgiveness with the larger heads. For example, I was playing the latest technology, but my ball flight was high and ballooning. I was getting no roll. Enter a launch monitor session. Bottom line was I naturally launch high and needed to lower my flight just a bit and reduce the spin as well. I also found out that I could swing a lighter shaft just a bit faster without losing control. Voila', I went from a Wishon 9.5* head with an Aldila NV65 (67 grams) to a SMT Spectrum 8* with a UST V2-55 (58 grams). My distance increased by about 10 - 15 total yards. My swing is the same, but my launch conditions are now optimized. It makes all the difference.:thumright

That is a great example of how fitting is supposed to work:)

Better Golfing Through Modern Technology
 

I had a little bit of an advantage since I build my own sticks and know my swing / game. It opened up my club selection to a whole range of shafts and heads that most places won't have available. Still, the confirmation that my launch was a little high and my spin was quite high made choosing loft much easier. I got a little lucky with the shaft fit, but had some excellent information on shaft profile of the V2 vs. the NV. I maintained a stiff tip, but got the benefit of a little mid-shaft kick all in a lighter shaft. Gave me control of the trajectory with a bump in clubhead speed and nice feel for the release. Perfect!

The difference in forgiveness between a 9745D and most any of the heads on the market now is like night and day IMO. You won't pick up distance on dead center hits, but slight misses will certainly be better with the newer heads. No doubt a launch monitor can make a big difference, well worth doing if you are looking at a new driver.

NO extra distance?

I haven't tested much but I figured you'd get about 10-15....no?

The Names Change, But the Physics Remains
 

In theory, a center club hit on a 975D which has a COR of 0.830 vs. a center club hit on a current technology driver with the same COR, would yield the same distance assuming both clubs yielded the same launch conditions. The big advantage of the current technology is the forgiveness of the larger heads making your average drive longer and the ability to get better launch conditions from some shaft / head combos. The only reliable way to optimize those launch conditions by finding the right shaft / head combo for your swing is a driver fitting on a launch monitor or (rarely) a human equivalent. Well, you could also join the GEA and try every OEM shaft / head combo until you found the happy one, but that costs many greenbacks. :toothy1:

I was recently at Chuck Evans he said he hits persimon 4 yds further than titanium and was going to go back to a persimon driver instead of a hot faced callaway.
Testing has shown that these so called longer drivers are in fact shorter than manufacturers want you to know.as long as you can hit the sweet spot .

I think there is a significant difference in distance between 975D and 975J (even for on-center hits). However, subsequent versions of Titleist drivers (e.g. 983K and 905T) are very similar...except for forgiveness as people have already mentioned.

Titleist 905R is very Hot and Forgiving!!!

i totally agree with some of the comments. i recently hit a callaway great big bertha in new condition against an r7 and i hit them the same distance on center hits but when i missed the callaway it was alot shorter i couldnt beleive it because i remeber the callaway being the easiest club to hit back then. that is why the game is how it is today because the guys who are powerful can bomb away and still hit it good in the old days you couldnt do that ball striking mattered more.

Sweet spot is king for sure. These bigger heads are designed not for great players but for those of us out there who need a little help 'around the sweet spot' to minimise the miss of that tiny ggo long spot.

Distance
 

////////////////////////////////////////////

Chuck Evans can probably hir ANY driver LOOOONG. He IS LONG!!!

It would be interesting to see some testing on this... WOOD vs. METALS.

Persimmon
 

I have yearned to go back to persimmon. I have a Wood Bros., and a couple Joe Powell drivers as well as 3 and 4 woods. They felt so good and seemed to find the fairway much more regularly with the gear effect built into them.
I am wondering though, if I use them, do I have to be mindful of type of golf ball so as not to damage the face? Is there anything out there at all similar to balata?
On the other hand, I am 63 and don't swing it 100 mph anymore.

you'll be ok with using modern balls Jerry.

Persimmon
 

Thank you, Mr. Styles.
I am getting excited about wood and a steel Dynamic shaft. Back to blades, too.

My old favourite is downstairs in the basement, a Tommy Armour GA110, (Canadian made) 1948, reverse sweep back sole plate and a signature on the top that looks like it was hand carved. Bought it for ten bucks and loved it. Then searched high and low for an old Tommy Armour 693 driver like Jack played, finally found one and its downstairs too. I have a bunch of them but the GA 110 was normally in the bag. I should go dust them all off. Nice furniture as we used to say.

Wonder if my trusty Wilson Staffs are still in my Jones bag?

Favorite driver I ever used was a Tommy Armour 693. Man, we used to spend a lot of $$$ on those babies in the '70s. Nobody could make a persimmon driver that solid... I would love to see yours someday!
:golf:
Kevin

Blades are the only way to fly! :)

Kevin

MacGregor 693 oil hardened.
 

Here you go Kev. Dug it out of the dirt..... in the basement. Still with his buddy Mr Wilson Staff 1 iron.

My camera phone kind of shanked these, sorry. Oh his Canadian cousin is on his right in the group shot, he saw action, to his left a nice Velocitized and a then a Bryon Nelson that didnt like the fairway much as I recall. All MacGregor's. The 693 was one solid son of a gun even though it had hardly any lead in the bottom.

Remember how you'd feel when someone stepped on them with cleated feet on a tee deck? The Canadian one has more scars than Evil Knievle. Half the face is probably epoxy.

OB


http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/assets/...attach/jpg.gif

http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/assets/...attach/jpg.gif

Very nice OB. I had those irons as well. Thanks for posting, quite a slice of golf history right there!

Kevin