It's time for me to get a new driver. I am looking at something around $220 and under, which is a good quality driver. Any suggestions?

if your getting second hand you can get a really great driver for that.check out ebay.If you getting new it might limit you a bit but get fitted. whats your handicap??

I'm playing off 26... but dropping!

QUOTE: jackb_93 @ Nov 26 2006, 05:42 PM

I'm playing off 26... but dropping!

go for something with a 460 head..and go for atleast 10.5 or 11 deg of loft which makes it heaps easier to hit.

try some demos at a shop if you can

The Ben Hogan C-S3 Driver is good and cheap. But the driver is very high launching,so i would suggest to get 9.5 degrees of loft. The high launch makes it easier to control for a begginer like yourself.

Regards,Michael

how well do you control the driver that you have now, some times when starting out it is better to use a 3 wood until your good/bad ratio of tee shots is well up in the good zone.
regards peter

QUOTE: petergf @ Nov 27 2006, 01:36 PM

how well do you control the driver that you have now, some times when starting out it is better to use a 3 wood until your good/bad ratio of tee shots is well up in the good zone.
regards peter

I so disagree with this comment...you know why...the modern driver is the most forgiving club in your bag...its easily the largest...I see this comment all the time "learn to hit 3 wood" and its bad advice I reckon

the head on a 3 wood is much smaller and for high handicappers your just as likely to mishit a 3 wood...which then leaves you still a mile from the green

buy a 11 or 12 deg driver and learn to hit a controlled fade which will still go 30 meters past the 3 wood and make the game far more enjoyable to play.

You can even get some drivers in 13 deg...which will still go a loy firther than a 3 wood would and you cant miss the ball with a 460 cc head

QUOTE: Sven @ Nov 28 2006, 12:15 AM

I so disagree with this comment...you know why...the modern driver is the most forgiving club in your bag...its easily the largest...I see this comment all the time "learn to hit 3 wood" and its bad advice I reckon

the head on a 3 wood is much smaller and for high handicappers your just as likely to mishit a 3 wood...which then leaves you still a mile from the green

buy a 11 or 12 deg driver and learn to hit a controlled fade which will still go 30 meters past the 3 wood and make the game far more enjoyable to play.

You can even get some drivers in 13 deg...which will still go a loy firther than a 3 wood would and you cant miss the ball with a 460 cc head

Well said, Sven.

While it used to be true that the 3 wood was easier to hit, the wide range of lofts available in the today's large headed drivers make them much much better options.

Mick

QUOTE: vman @ Nov 27 2006, 11:55 PM

Well said, Sven.

While it used to be true that the 3 wood was easier to hit, the wide range of lofts available in the today's large headed drivers make them much much better options.

Mick

Yeah I'm amazed that advice is still around...the only time I use a 3 wood off the tee if I'm hitting downwind a very narrow hole...other than that the big dog comes out...

plus also the fact that theres so many drivers with internal and external weightings so you can pretty much find a driver that will help all swing types and then get a loft of 12 deg and bang you have a driver you can hit even if your a high handicapper

I see so many blokes still using 8 deg drivers with a stiff shaft and wonder why many of them spray it right...they then say Im going back to my old 3 wood instead of finding a driver that suits their swing

the reason that advice is still around is because it's still good advice.
advice i may add that professionals still give.
why, a bad swing with poor rhythem and timing will not be improved by 460 head, sure there is a larger area to make contact but it still wont stop spraying the ball, mishits, skying, hooks, slices and all the other assorted things you see getting launched off the tee.
if you have a flaw in your swing the driver bring it out at its worst.
I am a member of a small club of prodominatly high handicappers, they all have the latest drivers (460) and they all have the same problems that i used to see before the larger heads came along, poor rhythem and timing, except that the larger head seems to encourage a faster swing.
bigger is not better if you cant use it
fact; the longer the shaft the more chance for swing plane variation and hence a poor shot.
fact: the average high HC swings the driver much faster than any other club in their bag.
fact: the average high HC can hit their 3&5 woods on average better than their driver
fact; the 3 wood is more acurate on average than the driver due to it's shorter shaft.
so in mastering the small woods you are developing your natural R&T and eye co-ordination, this then gives you a soild swing platform to move up to the driver " which is the hardest club in your bag to hit".
200m off the tee and on fairway will always be better than 250+ and in the s**t.
The original quetion was how well do you control your driver I asked this because so many golfers buy new drivers in the belief that it will solve their problems off the tee only to find that they have spend alot of money and have retained the problem.
So gentlemen instead of s**t caning someone for trying to understand why this bloke feels he needs a new driver try digging a little deeper as to why
regards peter

QUOTE: Sven @ Nov 27 2006, 11:43 PM

Yeah I'm amazed that advice is still around...the only time I use a 3 wood off the tee if I'm hitting downwind a very narrow hole...other than that the big dog comes out...

plus also the fact that theres so many drivers with internal and external weightings so you can pretty much find a driver that will help all swing types and then get a loft of 12 deg and bang you have a driver you can hit even if your a high handicapper

I see so many blokes still using 8 deg drivers with a stiff shaft and wonder why many of them spray it right...they then say Im going back to my old 3 wood instead of finding a driver that suits their swing

I certainly find my 400cc driver to be much more forgiving and even accurate than my 3 wood. In fact, I actually didn't use a 3 wood for 2 years because I just didn't need it. If I really needed more accuracy than I could get from a driver I used a 3 iron or Rescue club. I always recommend a Thriver to beginners or higher handicappers nowadays. With the size and forgiveness of the driver size head and the 13°+ loft on a 42" or less shaft it is easily the easiest to hit wood a person can have. Often, it becomes their favourite club. The days of the 3 wood seem to be numbered for many players.

QUOTE: Veefore @ Nov 30 2006, 01:17 PM

I certainly find my 400cc driver to be much more forgiving and even accurate than my 3 wood. In fact, I actually didn't use a 3 wood for 2 years because I just didn't need it. If I really needed more accuracy than I could get from a driver I used a 3 iron or Rescue club. I always recommend a Thriver to beginners or higher handicappers nowadays. With the size and forgiveness of the driver size head and the 13°+ loft on a 42" or less shaft it is easily the easiest to hit wood a person can have. Often, it becomes their favourite club. The days of the 3 wood seem to be numbered for many players.

I have 13 deg wood that goes along way...but its no fun hitting it...golf is also fun when youre hitting the driver

plus I maintain if you grip down on the driver and get a sightly shorter shaft and high loft like 12 you can easily hit it...

plus I maintain the more you hit driver (under pressure and not just at the range) the better you beocme at using it...use it or lose I say...hitting lots of 3 woods isnt going to make you a better dirver of the golf ball...its hiding behind an issue and not facing it...its part of the menatl game we need to overcome...

yeah you might maintain your handicap but youre never going to really embrace what the game is about unless you take risks...I see guys who play conservative so much and I think no thanks I like taking a few risks and seeing what happens...learning to hit driver under pressure will cause pain its no pain no gain I say...

QUOTE: petergf @ Nov 30 2006, 02:03 PM

fact; the longer the shaft the more chance for swing plane variation and hence a poor shot.

Agreed. But this is about the only advantage the 3 wood has. Most of today's drivers are 45+" long. The average of those used on tour is about 44". Most golfers would do far better with about 43".

fact: the average high HC swings the driver much faster than any other club in their bag.

Do they? If this is the case, then the problem is the golfer, not the club they are using.

fact: the average high HC can hit their 3&5 woods on average better than their driver

That may once have been the case. Not now.

fact; the 3 wood is more acurate on average than the driver due to it's shorter shaft.

The shorter shaft is an advantage, as is the greater loft. But the point we were making is that you can get drivers today with up to 15° loft - the same as a three wood. Even a 13° lofted driver will have the effective loft of about 15°. If you are properly fitted for shaft length, with consideration given to your ability, then the larger head and increased MOI of the driver is a better option.

So gentlemen instead of s**t caning someone for trying to understand why this bloke feels he needs a new driver try digging a little deeper as to why
regards peter

Chill, Pete. We weren't s**t caning you. It is just that the advice you gave, while once very true, is not necessarily true now thanks to today's technology.

If I were to fit you with a driver with 13° loft and say a 43.5" shaft, it would out perform a 3 wood everytime.

Mick

Mick ,

I did exactly that a few weeks ago the customer said 13° your f ing joking i just smiled and said hit it you should have seen his face light up.

I have no gripe with technology in fact my bag is full of the latest out.
it's about building a soild swing platform that will enable higher HC's to get the best out of their driver.
when i have trouble controlling my driver I fall back and practice with the 3 wood until it's sorted then go back up to my driver.
there is not a game that goes by that i dont use my 3 wood off the tee for one reason or another
this same principle i applied to my 2 iron, i dropped down to the 5/4 irons and built back up to the 2 albeit i use a 2 hybrid now but the priciple is sound, hence i said "sometimes when starting out" meaning a point to consider not a rule
the development of a maintainable swing is the corner stone of a golfers game, tech wont give you that it has to be built up through correct practice.
today's drivers are incredible, have brought longer distances and more forgiveness for those off centre hits
but they wont correct a bad swing which so many golfers seem to believe today.
I just dont like to see blokes go and buy a new driver when the one they have is fine and all they need do is spend $45 on a lesson.

peter

QUOTE: petergf @ Nov 30 2006, 06:58 PM

I just dont like to see blokes go and buy a new driver when the one they have is fine and all they need do is spend $45 on a lesson.

peter

I agree.

Mick

i agree with peter, i think the fundamentals should be taught first. Learning to hit your irons- i play with so many guys that are so used to hitting woods, hybrids, drivers that they can hit their irons for sh!t.

Driver is great but in reality you dont use it that much and in most cases will get a beginner in trouble more often than not.

I swing like a spastic with a driver. Put a 5 wood in my hands and I hit most fairways. Why? I dunno. Must be the mental thing of unconsciously wanting to bash the living Shti out of the ball. Mind you my 5 wood is about the size of the original Big Bertha, so it is plenty forgiving.

Each golfer has their own unique hadicap (mental and skill wise). For some leaving a driver out for a while might be the right thing to do.

QUOTE: Sven @ Nov 26 2006, 11:08 PM

try some demos at a shop if you can

Look in your local Golfer mag and find some demo days. It's the best way to trial new clubs before you're committed.

After all, you may find that the 460cc clubs out there don't suit you. Larger head doesn't necessarily mean better golf.

QUOTE: Fishman Dan @ Dec 1 2006, 10:01 AM

After all, you may find that the 460cc clubs out there don't suit you. Larger head doesn't necessarily mean better golf.

Well said dan

QUOTE: Sven @ Nov 28 2006, 12:15 AM

I so disagree with this comment...you know why...the modern driver is the most forgiving club in your bag...its easily the largest...I see this comment all the time "learn to hit 3 wood" and its bad advice I reckon

the head on a 3 wood is much smaller and for high handicappers your just as likely to mishit a 3 wood...which then leaves you still a mile from the green

buy a 11 or 12 deg driver and learn to hit a controlled fade which will still go 30 meters past the 3 wood and make the game far more enjoyable to play.

You can even get some drivers in 13 deg...which will still go a loy firther than a 3 wood would and you cant miss the ball with a 460 cc head

definitely agree there!!!!
if am nervous at all on a tee, whether it be on the first in a tournament, or club champs etc, or on the last sitting a few under and not wanting to stuff it up, i will always pull driver, whether i have been hitting it well or not.
it has the biggest face, the biggest sweet spot, and therefore, the biggest margin for error. as long as i commit to the shot, the worst result will still be 240m, and an iron in my hand!!
if i was to hit an iron in the same situation, i may chunk it, hit it thin, heel it, toe it etc. any of these mean i am in no position to be making par!!!!

I couldn't agree more, Butchy. It is very difficult to completely stuff the modern driver. Not like the old persimmon days where a mishit buried into the bushes about 150-200 from the tee.

Mick

yeah like every now and then you catch one right on the bottom...it goes about 2 feet in the air yet zooms down the fairway after bouncing about the 130 meter mark then rolls another 50...all up still 180 off the teee...and makeable par is still an option...even on a 350 meter par 4

hit a hybrid or fairway wood with the sames wing it might only go 50 meters..suddenly double bogey is looking like an option...

take driver...the more you use the big stick the better and more confident you become in using it...like the ladies say "SIZE OF THE STICK IS EVRYTHING"

gentlemen, some arguements that you have collectively put forward have merit, however, they really do not relate to the point that i was trying to make and that is if you are having trouble with controlling your driver. The majority of control problems with the driver stems from swing error, I was offering an OPTION which may help correct such an error, if such was the case with jackb. Before spending a lot money to find nothing has changed. For myself this method which i was taught and i apply to the practice fairway.
lastly some of the comments made can only lead me to believe that they where made by golfers who never play with high handicappers and or take no notice of them, otherwise you would be well aware that the size of the club is meaningly less, they still hit them sideways, straightup, fail to get past the ladies, hook and slice like bananas, gentlemen we are talking about golfers who are on high handicaps, not A graders or low B graders. If any high handicappers read this i would really like to hear what you have to say.
Options equal choices, choices equal answers
regards peter

Peter,

I think you are confused. All the High Handicappers on this board average 320+ meters straight down the fairway. Its the A Graders who cannot hit a fairway or only hit it 230-240