Don,
First of all, long drivers for golf course use are different than for long
drive contests. And, if the player has a slice swing, outside in, he'll
(she'll) have to work twice as hard to get a straight shot out of a long
driver. Forget about a long driver for a player with fast, short backswing
who jerks at the ball from the top...unless you want the club for a swing
trainer. (Long drivers make an excellent swing trainer.) Also, forget about
a long driver for a good player with strong swing and a late release...he
probably hits the ball far enough on the course with a 45" driver anyway. I
think anyone with a relatively smooth swing and smooth transition to the
downswing (not necessarily slow) can learn to hit a long driver with a few
hours practice. It does require some body-hand timing adjustment to
accelerate the heavy swingweight and get the head square at impact. It's
repeatable most of the time once learned. Most senior players up to about a
15 handicap can learn to hit a long driver very well after a few practice
sessions at the range, but when they eventually have a few problems on the
course everyone tells them it's because their driver is too long and they
give up on it. Baloney. A little practice and the problem would be fixed. At
age 65, I was more accurate with my 48" driver than any shorter one that I
ever played.
If you can get the swingweight down to D4, a 47" long driver is certainly
not much more difficult to hit straight than a 45" driver and the two extra
inches can add about 20 yards. I've built some 47" drivers at D4 for a few
senior ladies, but it is not easy to find light enough shafts and heads with
enough guts for a 48" driver for a guy with an over-90 mph swing. A 48"
driver, usually ends up around E0-E2 with components like a 195 gram 460cc
Bang-O-Matic, 58 gram SK Fiber Pure Energy A-flex and a Winn grip. At 47",
the swingweight is usually around D7-D8. For certain individuals, maybe the
new counterweighting stuff in the butt could get the swingweight down. But,
the club is a lot heavier to swing that way. Haven't fooled with any
counterweighting yet...maybe next year.
I use my NF2 or NF4 for butt deflection flex records and shaft matching
instead of a frequency meter, so my flex numbers won't mean anything to you.
But, if you have a frequency chart with a typical slope adjustment for club
length, you can extend the lines to 48" and see what they read. On my old
frequency chart (I can e-mail a scan of it to you if you like), an R at 48"
reads about 220 cpm. Also, check out the SK Fiber cpm charts, though I think
their long shafts like the PE read a little softer than most. SKF has very
good long driver shafts for golf course use. With a 7" parallel tip, you can
do all kinds of tricks with them to fit a player.
My choices:
Head: 195 grams or under to 190 grams for a man. The club just seems to lose
too much "pop" with heads in the 180s. I had a 185 gram Biam head a few
years ago and hated it. The original Integra Super450 (with SP700 on the
face near toe) was one of the best 195 gram heads I've ever hit, the 460cc
BOM is a lot more money but equally as good and better quality. I stay down
around 190 for the ladies...Tour Golf had some SWB99 heads that were
consistently around 191 and played very well. My shorter senior lady
customers really liked the old stainless 195 gram Chicago 966SD in 11° on a
58 gram shaft at 46"...inexpensive and really easy to hit. I've been using
the Nancy BOM at 193-194 grams for them lately, as well as others in that
under-195-gram weight range. An inexpensive (around $40-$45) large head that
really seems to play well is the 450cc Integra VS88 III...IF you can find
one at 195 grams. Most are 198 grams or above.
Shafts: For club lengths to 47", any standard 46" shaft under 60 grams works
OK. I like the SK Fiber Pure Energy A (tipped a couple of inches for a hard
hitter). This can make a great long driver shaft at 55 grams (after tipping
2") for a hard-hitting, over-the-top swinger. It's stiff enough for swings
up around 105 mph, yet lags just enough with a big head that the typical
pull hook ends up going right down the middle. :-) An inexpensive new shaft
this year at Tour Golf is the 52 gram, filament wound Tour Series Superlight
200 R-flex...surprisingly a lot of pop in this shaft (Had a 73 with it
yesterday on a 45" driver with my old S450 head...not quite as long hitting
as my 48" BOM, but long enough from the senior tees.) Excellent shaft for a
46" or 47" driver. There are a lot of more expensive superlight 46" shafts
in the 50-gram range that are probably very good.
For 48" long drivers, The PE-A and Aldila Longwood 50/50 R are the two I
typically use...readily available and not too much money.
Grips:
I like grips under 50 grams to keep total weight to a minimum. I usually use
Winns and Karakals for my senior clientelle. Lighter clubs swing faster and
are easier to control.
Keep total weight under 300 grams for a long driver, and preferably around
290-295 grams. Most of mine run around 295-298, though I'd like to, and
occasionally do, get less. Flex depends on how high the trajectory and how
fast a player swings the club. I haven't seen much difference in the need
for flex changes from short to long drivers. I guess I'd say that you can
stiffen up the shaft a bit at 48" club length...maybe half a flex.
A lot of times, I have to help "instruct" a player on how to hit the
48-incher the first bucket of balls at the range. Mostly, it's eliminating
the jerks in backswing and into downswing. Smooth, on-balance hard swings
can produce good results as long as the player doesn't pull the club around
with his upper body...that's a sure OB slice. A bit earlier release with the
right hand is necessary for better players...most women and senior men
already have an earlier release. There is also a swingweight limit for most
players, depending on wrist and forearm strength. I could play up to an
E2...above that I tired swinging the monster for 18 holes and usually lost
control about the 15th. At E0, I could hit it straight and long all day at
age 65. At 70, it's a bit more difficult to get the head square and I'm
probably going to either have to find components to get a D5 at 48", or
swing my C8 45-incher a bit faster, settle for something in between, or get
on a weight-training binge. Yeah, right. :-)
Hope this gives you some ideas.
Bernie
Write to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Don M" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2005 7:01 PM
Subject: ShopTalk: Long Driver Specs
> Bernie or others,
>
> Can you educate me a little on how you fit a long
> driver? Using an example, Joe Average. Joe's swing
> speed is 90 MPH with:
>
> - 45" driver
> - 65g R flex shaft, 46" raw
> - medium bend-launch-tip
> - 4.0 degrees torque
> - 237 cpm ungripped (4.5 on PCS Equalizer slope)
> - Head weighted to D1
> - 50 gram grip
>
> Assume Joe has the swing mechanics to attempt a 48"
> driver. Probably most people don't, I'm sure. I wish
> I did. So anyway....
>
> At 48", the PCS 4.5 CPM is 211. That's about all I
> have as a starting point for Joe, and I don't have a
> clue if that's good in the rare air of long drivers.
> :)
>
> Let's say Joe's clubmaker can buy a 192g head, if need
> be. I hear they sell 180's in Asia, but I know I can
> get 192. I have one coming and I thought I'd build
> one to see if anyone can hit it. :)
>
> What would your best guess be for the various raw
> component specs and finished club specs to shoot for?
> As absolutely light as possible on head, shaft, and
> grip? Soft tip, firm tip? CPM as soft as 211, or
> softer, or stiffer?
>
> Thanks!
>
> -Don M
>
>
>
