Draw vs. Nuetral driver

[Harrow Golfer]

Does anyone have any input as to whether a draw biased driver is better than a neutral driver for someone who fades/slices the ball off the tee about 40% of the time. Will I see that big of a difference?
I am looking at the MacTec NVG2.

[LowPost42]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

I have an opinion, and that opinion is probably no.

[slater170]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

I have an opinion, and that opinion is probably no.

hi harrow golfer
im with LP42 on this one.
buy a neutral driver and learn to swing correctly

[qassim]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

Absolutely agree with the above 2 comments.

Spend some time on correcting your swing and then get a neutral driver. It will pay dividends and improve your overall game in the long run.

[bill reed]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

hi
you will find that most drivers have some draw bias built in as the makers think this help with the average golfer, I'm sure lowpost has found this on the more modern driver too. for a driver with a strong bias and a player that hits a fade i agree with the other two posters that it wont help in the long run but can help someone that hits a draw, i have seen when at a fitting how it affected the guy in front of me and he struggled with a bias driver and he hit a fade but wanted to try one but was OK with the standard driver. the pro showed him how he used the bias driver and he hit a few stunning drives on the computer but he hit a draw as his standard shot, he did not hit as well with the standard club but he still hit it a good 280 yard on the computer. it was a ping G5 driver and one was the standard 10.5 degree driver and the other was the 10.5 offset degree driver and the offset driver does look to have a closed face compared to the standard driver. i did not get a chance to try the driver and i only watched. i did try the irons.
cheers
bill

[LowPost42]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

I hope I didn't run you off with my brief answer.

If you're fading the ball (5 yards movement) then I would say that perhaps more heel-weighted drivers would help you straighten out. But if you're fading the ball, your sense of feel is probably better, too; and your proprioception will pickup on the weighting change and change your ball flight - I've played with players like this, who can detect the 'undetectable' changes (ie tip weights, hosel weights) and his ball flight gets more draw-influenced the more weight is heel side. Granted, he can also hit balls with his eyes closed and tell you what his ball is doing.

For the average golfer with average feel (cannot detect a weight change equivalent to taping a quarter on the head), there's not enough feel to warrant changing where the weight is.

If you're having a slice problem, you're further ahead to get a closed face driver (most are nowadays) but - and this is important - let it sit closed at address. Then take your normal grip and make your normal swing.

[Harrow Golfer]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

Thanks for the input, however this leads to my next quandry. The advice most given was to learn to swing correctly. I carry 2 drivers.
1st.....Ping G2 10* Aldila NV 65-S shaft
2nd....Callaway Steelhead Plus 11* Callaway steel stock shaft

As far as I know I have the same swing for both drivers, but the Ping will slice 60% of the time, while the Callaway will slice 5% of the time.
Is this due to the 1 more degree of loft in the Callaway or does it have to do with the shaft?

[LowPost42]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

Some good Q's.

The first thing I would look at is the length - is one driver longer than the other? The longer driver (as a general rule) is tougher to manipulate and in some golfers can cause an overuse of their arms, forcing them to come away from the body and create an OTT move and an out to in swing path.

If it's the shorter driver going out of control, you may find you have more 'feel' in the longer club, and proprioception is helping you to control the face.

Another potential option is head size. If you're rolling your forearms on the takeaway, higher MOI drivers (and larger cc volumes) take more effort to square again at impact. For some reason I suffer this - a 460cc high MOI driver leaves shots out to the right unless I conciously keep the face closed, whereas my 391cc driver that's 6 years old I tend to pull or hook.

There may or may not be a torque issue between your steel shaft and the NV65 (unlikely though). The final part of the puzzle is face angle - if the Callaway is more closed then it will be more 'anti slice' than the Ping (but I don't think this is the issue).

[bill reed]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

hi
i agree with lowpost and i have the same problem with the big headed driver giving me to much side spin and that why i use a 400cc driver. i also find with the big headed drivers (460cc) you really have to tee the ball very high and use 4 inch tees, i find if i used the 3 inch tee i seemed to put a lot more fade on the ball that i did with a 4 inch tee, i always try and set the middle of the ball to line up with the top of the driver. the hight of the ball does change the shot a lot with the big headed drivers. if you use a smaller tee then try one off the really big tees and i think you will find it does help a bit. i don't really know why this is, maybe lowpost knows but when i changed to the big tees and used my 460cc driver there was a huge difference.
i like my 400cc driver best as i can use it off the fairway too a bit like a rescue club and i cant do that with my 460cc without hitting the odd big slice.
cheers
bill

[Harrow Golfer]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

LowPost.....The G2 (slice driver) is longer than my Callaway by 2 inches.The Callaway is also as you surmised more closed at address. Is the simple solution not to cut down the G2?

Bill......I have the opposite problem from you,if I tee the ball high> much more slice. Therefore I am using a 2 inch tee for my 460cc driver

[LowPost42]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

I'd start with cutting down the G2, yes. For the average golfer, I like to go around 44.25"

[Harrow Golfer]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

That is what my Callaway is. My G2 is a bit under 47". It won't throw it out of whack by shortening it?

[LowPost42]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

Someone just asked about what happens when you shorten a driver... I posted a sweet reply there.

No matter. I'll repost

Please be aware of the additional changes you'll see besides the obvious length change (we'll assume we're going from 47" to 44.5"). They are (and I list):

Your club will be 15 swingweight points lighter (but it probably swingweights high right now, anyway)
Your club will play 5° flatter (but this should be no big deal)
Your club will play marginally stiffer - perhaps it will start to approach 1/3 flex. Maybe.
Your club will weigh 8-12 grams less total weight. No big deal. Easier to swing all day long!


Long story short, you may find you'll throw it INTO whack by shortening it.

[Harrow Golfer]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

Could it be that my stiff shaft is not right for me? I have been told that I could go either way between R and S. It just so happens that my only S shaft is my G2 driver. Everything else is R. The G2 is also the only graphite shaft in my bag.
Does a R steel translate into a S graphite? Or is a stiff a stiff and a regular a regular no matter what the composition?
Thanks for your knowledgable input.

[LowPost42]

Re: Draw vs. Nuetral driver

Could it be that my stiff shaft is not right for me? I have been told that I could go either way between R and S. It just so happens that my only S shaft is my G2 driver. Everything else is R. The G2 is also the only graphite shaft in my bag.
Does a R steel translate into a S graphite? Or is a stiff a stiff and a regular a regular no matter what the composition?
Thanks for your knowledgable input.

That could do it - the bending properties of the NV may not suit your swing.

Going from steel to graphite or back doesn't translate into anything - even moving from an 'S' in company A to an 'R' in company B doesn't mean you'll actually play a softer shaft. Welcome to the golf industry! A place where even the term 'standard' isn't held to a standard!

What's the length, loft and lie of a standard 5 iron? It's a trick question. The answer is either a) No such thing, or b) it depends on the iron set in question.

The idea of standard is archaic. The question to ask is 'are my clubs in spec?' If any salesman tells you they are, leave - they're either lying outright or have no idea what they're talking about.

Great information #2: Just because it's stamped on the head 10.5° doesn't mean it is. Manufacturing spec is +/- 2° for loft and lie. In otherwords, an acceptable 10.5° head could actually be lofted at 8.5° or 12.5° or anywhere in between. Exciting stuff!

I'm going off on a tangent, but I believe the info is good general info to have, so I'll leave it.

Get thee to a clubfitter! If you can hook me up with your swing speed, tempo, and release point, I can recommend some shafts and playing lengths.