However, in all the years I have been coaching, I have never seen a player exhibit a flawless robotic like technique with the irons and then look like an octopus falling from a tree with the driver. “But something changes” the player says; ‘Absolutely’ I say, as I show the difference in length and loft between the irons and driver.
There is a huge difference between the two and the club manufacturers haven’t played fair for the last few years. Unless you have been paying particular attention, all of the major brands have been stacking the deck in their favour whilst praying on your weaknesses.
This is especially directed at you boys reading this. You see; there is not a driver on the planet which will all of a sudden hit it twenty yards further, club head speed is not increased by improved aerodynamics and, to just really become the killjoy of all golfing fun, the colour of your driver has no relevance to your driving accuracy!
Sorry about that.
The big club manufacturers play on the golfer’s weakness of wanting to play better golf whilst indulging in a new, shiny toy. I have a very close friend who has bought over four drivers in the last ten years, mainly because he has fallen prey to a combination of his own testosterone, clubhouse gossip, cheeky Professional banter and great TV adverts. His wife does not know he has an addiction to new toys because he has kept the same head-cover from the first Driver, and simply places this on the new addition. He tells me to “go away (slightly toned down) with my practical advice” because he enjoys the fun of the game and wants to hit the ball a long way.
His handicap is still the same, a respectable 14. I know however, with a little bit of practice and discipline he really is a single figure golfer waiting to happen. But more importantly, his pocket is a thousand pounds lighter thanks to the misinformation of the manufacturers.
In the late nineties, the marketing departments grew at the club manufacturers and as a result started to get a lot more involved with the product. This led to the manufacturers tapping into our desires and wants; these being to hit the ball further, to hit the ball straighter and to be more accurate. The basest of desires for a golfer is to hit the ball further, so this was where they focused their attention.
It was also around this time when titanium started being used as the metal of choice for the driver head. You may not believe this, but one of the main reasons as to why titanium became so readily available was due to the worldwide militaries not needing to stockpile titanium anymore. As the arms race was scaled down, so was the need to build missiles, which released titanium into the golf market. How’s that for a piece of useless information?
So the ranges across the world started to hear the crashing sound of ball hitting titanium. This was the first major breakthrough for driver distance. The second major breakthrough was launch monitor technology, which was able to track the ball, spin, trajectory and be able to work out your optimum launch angle along with your backspin to carry the ball further which meant you could buy a driver with the correct loft for your particular swing.
These breakthroughs happened ten years ago yet Ping, Callaway, Titleist etc claim that their latest driver is better than the last. It’s marketing - not truth. Sorry about that again.
Now what is interesting is what the launch monitor technology has revealed. Almost nobody has the correct launch angle for their driver. It is almost without fail too low so the ball is not carrying anywhere near the optimal distance for the player.
Tie this up with another trick of the trade, which is that the average length of a driver has risen from forty three to forty six inches, so when good contact is made you do hit it further. Sadly though, the longer the club means the more difficult it is to control. Longer does not mean straighter.
To go back to the start, to my client who wants to hit the ball straighter with more control. The simple advice to him, and everyone else, is to use your three wood. It has more loft on the face, so the ball goes higher which more than likely means it will carry further. It’s also a shorter club which makes it easier to control.
It’s probably not the answer you wanted to hear. But we like the truth don’t we? If you would like to come and see it for yourself our launch monitor will make a believer out of you. I promise. Contact the Golf Integrated Academy on 912 263 555.