Here is an interesting article I found recently:

Thinking of buying a new driver?

In the past 5 years the golf equipment industry has made gigantic strides in helping the world’s best golfers increase their driving distance. But what have they done for the average golfer?
Do you remember the C.O.R. debate that came up a couple of years ago when the USGA decided to reduce the spring like effect of drivers that was supposed to rein in the driving distance on the PGA Tour? Did it work? Well let’s have a quick look at the numbers.

In 2005 the PGA Tour distance leader was Scott Hend and he was able to set a record for driving distance at 318.9 yards up from 312.6 yards in 2004.
Golf’s best known long driver is Tiger Woods. In 2005 he finished second on the PGA Tour in driving distance at 316.1 yards up a whopping 14.2 yards from his numbers in 2004!
So was it just the hot faces that were contributing to the explosion in driving distance?
I believe that the explosion in distance on the PGA Tour is due to a combination of the following factors:
The Golf Ball Agronomy Physical Fitness Driver Fitting
But what about you, the average golfer, how can you put technology on your side, and squeeze a few more yards out of your swing
. It has been shown that a golfer must have a swing speed in excess of 100 MPH before they will derive any benefit from a high COR driver. My evaluation of the average golfer is that new technology can help you increase your driving distance as long as you open your mind and maybe swallow a little bit of pride.

What’s your loft?

It has been shown that for a swing speed of 85 MPH, which is average for most senior golfers that the optimal launch angle is 15 degrees. This means that with a slight upward angle of attack that a golfer with a swing speed of 85 MPH, should use a driver with at least 12 degrees of loft. Most of my students will use a driver of 10 degrees or less. What is the loft on your driver?
Consider a driver with at least 12 degrees of loft.


Driver length
The most important factor that determines driving distance is NOT club head speed. The most important factor is making solid contact
. For every half inch that your strike is off center you will lose 10 yards in distance. While, on the other hand, it takes 1 mile per hour of extra club head speed to gain only 3 yards in distance. In fact, I have recorded several instances where golfers increased their distance by reducing their club head speed!

According to world-renowned club designer Tom Wishon, the average driver length used by PGA Tour players is 44.5 inches. If PGA Tour pros use a shorter driver to make certain that they make dead solid contact why are you using a driver that is more than 45 inches long?
In my experience most golfers make the best contact with a driver that is 43.5 inches long
depending on their physical size.
Consider getting a driver that is 43.5 inches long or shorter.
So what can you do about it?
My recommendation is to look up a PGA professional in your neighborhood that has a launch monitor and a large selection of drivers with different lofts and lengths for you to experiment with and go for a proper driver fitting. (By the way, almost every major company fitting cart that I have ever seen only has one length of driver (45 inches) which is the most critical component of club fitting.)
If you cannot find a launch monitor in your area, try a driver with 12 degrees of loft and a 43.5 inch shaft and I am sure that the results will have you ten yards further down the fairway.

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!