# Interesting Driver Experiment



## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

Some years ago, I had a Ping i15 driver that was surprisingly light, a C8 swingweight. I used it pretty effectively and I've been sort of inconsistent with my various drivers ever since I changed clubs. I chalked it up to playing less frequently and not practicing at all, but I'm not sure these heavier drivers just didn't fit my swing characteristics as well as the Ping did.

What I did was get a driver with removable weights so I could reduce the swingweight. I got a Taylormade R1 driver in new condition for only $80. I set the loft to 11 degrees, the same as the Ping was. I set the disk on the bottom to 1 degree open and then removed the screw in weights at the heel and toe. Without those, it weighs C8... How about that!

I used it yesterday for the first time and the initial results are pretty interesting. I can swing with less effort. I seem to keep my balance better. I still feel the clubhead really well and the R1, unlike many drivers with heads and shafts that come apart, feels good when I hit it. 

I wonder how universal these results might be for other people my age?


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

So far, so good. My swing speed is up 8 mph with the lighter swingweight. I still have some control problems I need to work out, but that's not the club's fault. The thing is, control is much more important than distance with my game and where I play.


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## Spike (Apr 4, 2014)

I am not fan of adjustable clubs with weights and ect. I think if I had one I'd strip it down to. How did it sound after removing the weights?


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

I'm not a great fan either, but my Mizuno JPX 850 driver comes close to feeling as good as a glued together club.

I've taken one of the weights out of the Mizuno. I feel more comfortable with it that way. I took both weights out of the Taylormade and one of two weights off the Mizuno MP600. At my age, the lighter swingweight is the only way to maintain some swing speed.


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## Spike (Apr 4, 2014)

People think I'm crazy when I tell them I don't like adjustable but its for that reason the clubs feel to heavy for my taste. I'm still young but I'm not a big guy so i don't have the size that these young guns have. I have no adjustable clubs at the moment, most of my clubs are on the light side.


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

Something I've been experimenting with is making adjustable clubs lighter. I simply remove the weights, one of two or all of them. I feel more comfortable and I keep my balance better. I suspect if I felt better and wasn't going through some minor back issues, I'd be swinging better and I might discover whether the lighter weight club works better for me, but it's hard to tell. The problem is, none of the drivers that let you remove the head to adjust the shaft feel as good as a glued together club.

I have 4 adjustable drivers, 2 old Mizuno MP600 drivers. They are glued together, but with weights in an arc on the bottom. You can see one of them on the last thread of the WITB thread. The weight positioins create a trajectory and draw/fade bias. 

I also have a new Mizuno JPX-850 driver with a head that comes off, loft that adjusts and weights in the bottom that controls trajectory or draw/fade bias. 

The last is a Taylormade R1 driver with a dial on the bottom that adjusts the face angle, a head that comes off so the loft can be adjusted and a couple weights to create draw/fade bias.

The Mizuno MP600 drivers feel best by far. I don't find myself longer with any of the more modern drivers. If anything, I control the MP600 better than the others. 

Just to confuse the issue further, I also have a Cleveland Classic driver, 9*, stiff shaft, totally glued together with no adjustments. I love the feel of it and probably hit it farther than the rest, but with inconsistency, probably because of my back. The stiff shaft with a higher loft or a regular flex shaft with the 9* loft might work better overall.

Here in Miami, the concept of adjusting makes sense because we have a very windy winter and a very wet and still summer. Low loft in the winter works best, hitting it under the wind and rolling. The higher loft in the summer works best, carrying the ball farther to avoid the often wet conditions. 

Here's my thought and it shows how old fashioned I am... I want my driver to feel good. The courses where I play most don't really require all that much distance off the tee.

Why not simply have two identical drivers that feel best, but with 2 different lofts, let's say 9.5* for the windy winter and 11* for the summer when I need to carry the ball farther?


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