TaylorMade R5 vs R580

Unless it's an Ashton!

lol - I tried the Ashton X-1 3 wood because it came highly recommended by someone who tested golf equipment. Since then I have been sold for life with their equipment. That doesn't mean there isn't other good equipment out there though.

I admit, I USED to be bad for grabbing any club and trying to make it work. Until someone explained how much of a difference the shaft actually makes, I never understood how bad using the wrong shaft in a club was for my whole game. Once you have the right shaft in your club, the head doesn't matter. It's just for looks with all the technology these days. Get one you like the look of and also, make sure the sound doesn't drive you nuts. I have hit a few that sound like a cannon went off, others that sound like rocks rattling around in a tin can, others like you hit a rock with an aluminum baseball bat. Very different sounds and some people prefer one sound to another. The esthetics are more important with new head these days as everyone has so much technology that they are all relatively equal. Just get one you like the looks and sound of - it will create a LOT of confidence when you enjoy the view when standing over the ball and when you can't wait to hear the ball bounce off the face of the club.

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Gord

Quote of the month:
"It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification." ~Bruce McCall

Gord I will tell you this, the exact same thought came to my mind today when I was trying out some drivers (Nickent Genex 3DX, TaylorMade R7; R5; R580XD; Cleveland Launcher Ti460, Ben Hogan). I have to say, the TaylorMades didn't seem to really work for me. I was also hesitant about the Nickent Genex because I don't seem to hear about it, same goes for the Ben Hogan.

Anyway back to that thought, it really seemed to me as if the head don't really matter (think they're all titanium so we are comparing apples with apples right?). On the other hand, hitting with different shafts really can make a huge difference in terms of how the swing feels. I also posted in another thread, I seem to prefer the feel of the stiff shafts, but I should probably stick to a regular shaft given my current level.

I'm more inclined towards the Cleveland Launcher Ti460 (USD250), the Nickent Genex 3DX (USD186) and the Ben Hogan (USD175).

When it comes to buying a driver I think its definately more important to find the shaft that works for you and then decide on a head.

I went to try out a load of drivers at Golfsmith and I found that it is the shaft that makes the difference.

I was looking to get a Killer Bee Stinger after all of the great reveiws they got from the long drive comps and I used it with different shafts.

I ended up with a Liquidmetal SES as I was going long and straight. I tried Penly, graffalloy, fuji, aldila and the one I was most consistant on was the liquidmetal. The distances for different shafts varied by 40 yards.

It all depends on what works for you but the shaft will make more of a difference than the head providing they are both decent heads.

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Killer Bee Stinger 420 Driver
Snake Eyes Python 3 wood
La Jolla Knife Rescue wood
Snake Eyes Fire Forged 2 Irons
Odyssey 2 Ball White Steel Putter

Hi Phil good to see that you are also using a 420cc driver, as I have just decided to go for the Ben Hogan C-S3 driver myself. Head aside, I guess you are right - of all the clubs I've demo'ed (and that includes all the big names and latest models), I still felt most at ease with the Aldila NV70 shaft that comes customised with the Ben Hogan driver. I'm not familiar with the Killer Bee Stinger.. Sounds fierce though :P