ATTN: Golfers

[HowboutthemCowboys]

dickssportinggoods.com has the Taylor Made r5 dual TI driver on sale now for $149. I called my local store to see what they had in stock and was told that while they did'nt have this particular club, they do have the r5 XL Ti at that price.. He tells me they're basically the same club even though I've done a little research and the dual is 450 cc and the xl is 460.

I've also noticed that the r5 dual is available basically everywhere on the net but the XL is pretty much impossible to find...

 

Have any of you guys played either of these clubs?? Are they the same club??

 

Thanks.

[AtomicCEO]

My driver is 10 years old.

[Guest ksu70]

The r5 driver has weight ports located directly on the back of the driver and they are not moveable. The xl has weight ports located on the heel of the driver and they are also not moveable. The xl weight ports are there to promote a draw ball flight. This is a club that exclusive to off-course stores, probably the golf warehouse and were not made available to green-grass accounts like the local country club.

[I Like Soup]

You may want to check with the Huddler Sam...if I remember correctly......he makes golf clubs that may be a great deal for you.

[max]

I still have my Taylor Made Burner Bubble 2 driver so I have no clue about the current drivers. Skippy may have some info for you too as he is an avid golfer.

[Skippy]

I don't really know anything about the Taylor Made. I would suggest getting on one of the launch monitors at Dicks and hitting a few dozen balls. Hit a few different clubs as well.

[AtomicCEO]

I don't really know anything about the Taylor Made. I would suggest getting on one of the launch monitors at Dicks and hitting a few dozen balls. Hit a few different clubs as well.

 

 

I hate those machines.

 

I went to try out new drivers this year because I figured that someday... my Calloway Big Bertha is finally going to get lost or broken, and I might as well get used to big heads and graphite shafts.

 

But in the store, I was hooking everything. I thought maybe it was weird graphite shaft flexing so I kept trying different clubs and I kept hooking. Finally I said screw it and picked up my old Calloway and swung it. Nothing but hooks even with my old standby.

 

I don't hook. I never did before and I never did after using that machine. Finally the guy says "Well, these things aren't very good at picking up sidespin." Then why am I using it?

 

If you want to demo some clubs, take them out to a range and hit for real.

Edited June 26, 2007 by AtomicCEO

[Skippy]

If you want to demo some clubs, take them out to a range and hit for real.

 

Oh for sure on that. I didn't mean to get sucked into anything based on that monitor. Nothing replaces actual ball flight. However, you can often narrow some things down just based on how things feel.

 

Another thing you can do if you have a good golf shop is to actually take a club out and play a round or two with the demo club. I have never bought any clubs without a really good demo and I'm not talking about hitting off one of the matts at a driving range.

[Thews40]

Not to hijack your thread, but I took the advice on drivers in here and it's made my overall game better. I used to hit a Taylor made 8.5 degree I bought for $50. That thing was a pain in the arse to learn how to hit. I must have spent $200 on the driving range dialing it in. But, in the end, once I believed I could hit it straight, it became my every par 4 and 5 driver. It still wasn’t ever straight enough, and I would find the fairway less often than finding out what kind on obstacle I’d have to deal with. Then I took the advice posted and stopped using it on most holes.

 

I bought a Maxfli 4 wood at Dick’s because my three wood was too erratic, and started driving with it. It goes in the fairway most of the time, but I get 250 if I’m lucky. It’s shaved a few strokes off my handicap, and in the golf league I’m pushing the “B” player in the “C” slot. Not the greatest achievement in life, but it did help. Problem is, I can’t hit my old driver for shat. I pull it out on long drive holes, but I really have no confidence in it now. I think it’s time to go back to a 9.5 or 10 degree face and start over.

Edited June 26, 2007 by Thews40

[Cyclones]

I still hit my original 8.5 degree Pint TiSi. I've tried 4 other drivers in the last 5 years but keep coming back to the Ping - longest by a good margin and straighter than anything else I have tried. I hit the one with the LUD hosel piece.

[Sam]

It's all in the shaft guys. I've said this over and over again. If you have the correct shaft for your swing you'll notice a hugh difference...as long as you like the look and feel of the head (and it's the correct loft).

 

Cyclones, I bet if you took the shaft out of the Ping you like and put it in one of your other drivers, you'd have similar results.

[HowboutthemCowboys]

It's all in the shaft guys. I've said this over and over again. If you have the correct shaft for your swing you'll notice a hugh difference...

 

How do I know which one is correct for me?

[Cunning Linguist]

It's all in the shaft guys. I've said this over and over again. If you have the correct shaft for your swing you'll notice a hugh difference...as long as you like the look and feel of the head (and it's the correct loft).

 

 

Yup. Its how you feel when you swing it and what you're comfortable with. Follow Sams advice and get your swing measured and fit a shaft to it. You'll be amazed.

 

A friend has the R5... its like swinging a toaster its so hugh, but if you like the forgiveness, a large head is good for average or high hcp'ers.

 

For the last couple years I've played a Titleist 983-J and love it for the feel and control, but I re-shafted the standard one it came with.

 

I keep an older set of Lynx forged irons in another bag and pull them out once in a while. The old driver is a taylormade burner, 7.5° (circa 1989 metalwood). It's tiny compared to current clubs, about the size of a hybrid but fun to hit

[Guest ksu70]

How do I know which one is correct for me?

 

If you really want it done right you need to go to a local PGA professional at a club or local big box store. With this scenario you are going to have a number of different lofts and shafts to choose from. You will pay for it but it WILL be right. For example, I have a sixteen club Taylor Made driver demo cart, four Titleist, six Callaway, five Ping and 12 Cobra demo drivers. I can fit players of all abilities. However, if you are talking about this R5 driver, you are going to get what you pay for. That is, a good golf club that somebody is trying to get rid, with probably only one shaft option. The R5 is a nice club but it is cheap for a reason...there have been several new incarnations of Taylor Made drivers. There is nothing wrong with either plan but it would be foolish to think that you can test out a bunch of different shafts in a driver that is several years old and essentially being liquidated.

[Sam]

How do I know which one is correct for me?

 

I really can't add anymore to what ksu has already stated. When I was in the fitting business we had about 20 different shaft/head combinations. We could screw different heads into different shafts until we found the right combo for the golfer. And trust me you'll know when you're hitting the right shaft. I've seen it first hand and it's amazing how much easier it is for the golfer to swing down the line and really go after it (if they want to) with the correct shaft in their hands. You should really have all your clubs fit...not just the driver. We did the same thing with irons as we did drivers. If nothing else, have your irons checked for loft and lie.

[BillyBalata]

I think you guys may be over complicating things when talking about getting fit for clubs. Sure, loft and lie can affect how well you hit the ball. But the MOST IMPORTANT thing is to make sure the shaft is the right FLEX for how hard you swing the club. Almost any golf shop these days can check your swing speed for free. Takes a couple minutes. That will tell you if you need a stiff flex shaft, regular or even a seniors.

 

I've seen so many golfers over the years that will swing the club 100 mph and be using a regular flex shaft on their driver when they should have a stiff shaft. Nothing but 50 yard slices are going to happen in that case.

 

 

 

 

Thews....I'm betting that's your problem with your driver, the shaft has too much flex. You can probably hit your 4 wood better because it has a shorter and stiffer shaft. Thus making it easier to hit straight.

[Sam]

I think you guys may be over complicating things when talking about getting fit for clubs. Sure, loft and lie can affect how well you hit the ball. But the MOST IMPORTANT thing is to make sure the shaft is the right FLEX for how hard you swing the club. Almost any golf shop these days can check your swing speed for free. Takes a couple minutes. That will tell you if you need a stiff flex shaft, regular or even a seniors.

 

I've seen so many golfers over the years that will swing the club 100 mph and be using a regular flex shaft on their driver when they should have a stiff shaft. Nothing but 50 yard slices are going to happen in that case.

Thews....I'm betting that's your problem with your driver, the shaft has too much flex. You can probably hit your 4 wood better because it has a shorter and stiffer shaft. Thus making it easier to hit straight.

 

 

Umm, I think that's pretty much what we're saying. And in drivers loft is important if you want to maximize distance. Loft and especially lie are important in irons. If the lie is wrong in your irons, you'll never be able to hit them.

 

And I'm not sure what others charge for a fitting but we charged $35 and that was waived if the customer had us build the club for them. Pretty cheap for the difference it will make.

Edited June 27, 2007 by Sam

[BillyBalata]

No offense, but my point is I think for the every day hacker, you may be stressing the lie and loft too much and I didn't really see much of the word FLEX being used in either yours or ksu's posts. I saw 20 different head/chaft combinations, but not much about flex. I agree that lie and loft are important, but more so for the regular golfer. For the guy thats out just a couple times a month, I don't think he's likely to have a repeatable enough swing that lie and loft are something he needs to get carried away worrying about.

 

Don't get me wrong, those things can be important....but I'm not sure the occasional golfer is all that interested in going thru getting fitted for every club in their bag. Should they? Yes. But will they?

So all I'm trying to say, if you don't want to be bothered or have the time to get fitted properly for clubs, it's pretty simple to take a look at the shaft on your driver, and if you like to wail away, and you've got an R (regular) on your shaft for flex, that's most likely your problem.

Edited June 27, 2007 by BillyBalata

[Caveman_Nick]

I hate those machines.

 

I went to try out new drivers this year because I figured that someday... my Calloway Big Bertha is finally going to get lost or broken, and I might as well get used to big heads and graphite shafts.

 

 

I have a 303cc Adams Tight Lies ST 11º driver in my bag. and I have 3 more in my garage that I bought on Ebay for less than $20.

 

I like it, it works for me, and I get enough distance out of it when I hit it that loading up on a new $500 driver wouldn;t be worth it. for me.

[Sam]

No offense, but my point is I think for the every day hacker, you may be stressing the lie and loft too much and I didn't really see much of the word FLEX being used in either yours or ksu's posts. I saw 20 different head/chaft combinations, but not much about flex. I agree that lie and loft are important, but more so for the regular golfer. For the guy thats out just a couple times a month, I don't think he's likely to have a repeatable enough swing that lie and loft are something he needs to get carried away worrying about.

 

Don't get me wrong, those things can be important....but I'm not sure the occasional golfer is all that interested in going thru getting fitted for every club in their bag. Should they? Yes. But will they?

So all I'm trying to say, if you don't want to be bothered or have the time to get fitted properly for clubs, it's pretty simple to take a look at the shaft on your driver, and if you like to wail away, and you've got an R (regular) on your shaft for flex, that's most likely your problem.

 

 

The 20 different shafts we had/have are different flexes...that's what distinguishes one shaft from the next. I guess I should have pointed that out. I'll admit, I don't know half of whats needed to properly fit someone (I didn't do the fitting). But the stiffness of a UST "Stiff" shaft will be different than the stiffness of an Aldila "Stiff" shaft. You can end up chasing your tail trying shaft after shaft (which can get pretty expensive) rather than going in and getting fit for the correct one right off the bat.

 

I see what you're saying though as far as someone who only golfs occasionally not wanting to go through that.

[BillyBalata]

But the stiffness of a UST "Stiff" shaft will be different than the stiffness of an Aldila "Stiff" shaft. You can end up chasing your tail trying shaft after shaft (which can get pretty expensive) rather than going in and getting fit for the correct one right off the bat.

 

I see what you're saying though as far as someone who only golfs occasionally not wanting to go through that.

 

 

 

Totally agree.

Something else I became aware of a couple years ago, which helped me when I purchased my current driver, is the kickpoint. I hit the ball way too high. Most clubs these days are designed to help the golfer get the ball in the air more. I don't need that, I need something to help hit it lower!

I believe most shafts come with a low kickpoint. They also make them with a mid kickpoint and high kickpoint. The higher the kickpoint, the lower the launch angle. Most shafts come standard with a low kickpoint I think. My current driver has the mid kickpoint which has helped me hit the ball on a lower trajectory. I'm starting to look at new drivers again and you just don't see one with the high kickpoint, I'm probably going to have to special order one.

[Sam]

Totally agree.

Something else I became aware of a couple years ago, which helped me when I purchased my current driver, is the kickpoint. I hit the ball way too high. Most clubs these days are designed to help the golfer get the ball in the air more. I don't need that, I need something to help hit it lower!

I believe most shafts come with a low kickpoint. They also make them with a mid kickpoint and high kickpoint. The higher the kickpoint, the lower the launch angle. Most shafts come standard with a low kickpoint I think. My current driver has the mid kickpoint which has helped me hit the ball on a lower trajectory. I'm starting to look at new drivers again and you just don't see one with the high kickpoint, I'm probably going to have to special order one.

 

 

Yeah, I hear ya. It gets confusing. Anymore there's so many different shaft companies doing different things, it's impossible to keep up. We mainly stuck with the more popular driver shafts (UST, Fujikura and Aldila). Good luck to ya finding what works best.

[HowboutthemCowboys]

Anybody have anything good/bad to say about the crappy shoes from spammers Sasquatch Sumo?

[HowboutthemCowboys]

Anybody have anything good/bad to say about the crappy shoes from spammers Sasquatch Sumo?

 

[proninja]

The 20 different shafts we had/have are different flexes...that's what distinguishes one shaft from the next. I guess I should have pointed that out. I'll admit, I don't know half of whats needed to properly fit someone (I didn't do the fitting). But the stiffness of a UST "Stiff" shaft will be different than the stiffness of an Aldila "Stiff" shaft. You can end up chasing your tail trying shaft after shaft (which can get pretty expensive) rather than going in and getting fit for the correct one right off the bat.

 

I see what you're saying though as far as someone who only golfs occasionally not wanting to go through that.

Good posting here.

 

I've got a Speeder 757 tour spec in my driver, and it's a "stiff" but with very little torque, plays different than any S or X I've ever had. It feels so solid through impact, like there's no way you're going to impart much sidespin on the ball at all.

 

To the first guy who asked the question on the difference between the two drivers - for 90% of golfers out there, absolutely nothing. The head is the head. What matters is how it's set up for you. Which has pretty much been stated 10 times in here, but figured I'd add my two cents.