Question concerning my new driver....

Well i'm thinking i may of went and bettered myself....bought a new driver....not new to the golfing world....guessing maybe 4 years old...

I've got a Taylormade R580 xd.....and put my Titlest 975 down to rest....

went from a 9.5 to a 10.5.. this could make a big difference for me

i was told the "sweet" spot is so small on Titlest drivers compared to the Taylormade....is this true...

waiting for the weather to break as i'm anxious to find out if i made the right move or not....

Did i make the right move ??

Anyone know what kind of changes i can expect from this driver....

jus a little curious....

Honers

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When the going gets tough.....the weak step aside !!

hi
sweet spot on drivers are all the same it the size of a pin head and is measured on a computer and not a real point, it the point the computer says will give you 0 side spin and maximum backspin and ball flight, what some drivers have is more forgiveness and that means you don't loss as much distance for of the sweet spot hits. when club makers say it has a bigger sweep spot then there not being truthful what the mean if the club face it more forgiving and that not the same. most drivers have a spot about an inch where you want see much difference in ball flight. you see it more when using the Ping man or the iron Byron, both robotic swing computer robots that they use to measure all drivers with, the put the club face on the ball in the same place time after time so it can be measured.
i think you will find that the Taylormade is more forgiving than the Titlest.
cheers
bill

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You probably would have been better off going to a qualified club fitter for a new driver, unless you did and he/she spec'd that 580 club for your swing. Also, a qualified club fitter might have been able to work with you, and your 975 club head with a possible shaft change. JMHO...GJS

well it's not looking good for the home team here.....

yeas = 0

nays = 2


but....i still got a positive attitude on er.....

Resident Professional Clubmaker Society member here.

The TM 580XD is a solid head.

Bill said that the sweetspot is the size of a pinpoint (or pinhead) and is correct. It's the intersection of the center of gravity on the x and y axis of the head. Obviously this is not some impact-sticker sized point!

When folks talk about the sweetspot, they're really talking about how forgiving a head is. Forgiveness is a simple word that means you don't lose as much yardage for missing the sweetspot.

Is the 580XD more forgiving than the 975? Yes, by design. The bigger head and deeper center of gravity automatically makes it more forgiving. So you should expect more distance for missing the sweetspot over your Titleist.

Depending on what kind of launch and carry numbers you were getting with your old combo, moving up a degree in loft could be helpful, could be hurtful. I'll assume helpful though (as it is for the bulk of the golfing public).

I guess you'll find out for sure when the weather breaks!

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A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

The extra loft can't hurt as far as accuracy. The sweet spot is about the same size on most drivers but the quality of a miss-hit on certain drivers is way better than others. I think the Taylormade will be more forgiving on miss-hits and you will hit it more consistent for that reason! Good Luck!

dont let them get you down, enjoy your new driver, go out and have fun. IDK why a lot of people are so "down" on this site when you ask them about equipment changes. The one guy is right about the sweet spot, but in essence it makes the spot where you can hit and still reduce side spin bigger on your taylormade than on your titleist if you understand what I mean.

Just go out and have fun, it's always cool to buy a new driver don't let anyone on here take that away from you. Enjoy it, Tim.

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Gator's Bag:
Driver: TaylorMade Burner 10.5 UST Proforce V2
Wood: Nike Sasquatch 3 Wood
Hybrid: Adams Idea Pro 3 I-Wood 20*
Irons: Nike CCI Forged 4-PW
Wedges: 52* Nike SV Tour, 56* Titleist Vokey Spin Milled, 60* Callaway X Forged
Putter: Ping Karsten Series Anser

Gatorguy,

Please don't mistake my desire for people who visit to come away more educated and better able to spend their money on equipment that will fit them better as being 'down'. That's my whole goal - to help advise proper equipment decisions. The OP has some information, but not a lot, and some of it smells quite like marketing hype - my bane!

That's not really what I'm saying, it's just when I purchase something I don't like to hear that I bought the wrong thing or made the wrong decision then you start second guessing yourself and your confidence goes down. Honestly all the new drivers are pretty equal some being better and some being worse. Taylormade is a good brand and I hope you like your new club.

Save up and buy a FTI... other than that just enjoy yourself and hit your new driver hard.

BTW No matter what Driver I use, I can hit that sweet spot and knock it OB ...

Yeah the FTI is real nice, my friend has one and it's real easy to hit. It's kind of funky looking, I don't really like the whole square driver thing but it definitely is hard to miss with.

Only suggestion I would make is try and find someway to get a deal on it whether it be ebay or you know someone. I myself would never pay over 250 for a new club, the most I've paid for a single club was 180 which is for the driver I have now and my hybrid. But don't ever spend over 300 on a new driver, in my opinion if you pay 300 then you overpaid.

__________________
Gator's Bag:
Driver: TaylorMade Burner 10.5 UST Proforce V2
Wood: Nike Sasquatch 3 Wood
Hybrid: Adams Idea Pro 3 I-Wood 20*
Irons: Nike CCI Forged 4-PW
Wedges: 52* Nike SV Tour, 56* Titleist Vokey Spin Milled, 60* Callaway X Forged
Putter: Ping Karsten Series Anser

The R580xd isn't that different than the 975. They both came out around the same time. They are quite a few generations removed from the drivers of today. I hope you didn't pay too much for it (it definately shouldn't have cost more than $100).
The 10.5 degree of loft means you'll have have a little better chance to hit the ball straighter than the 9.5 degree driver you used, and the negative is you'll be less likely to work the ball (draw/fade) than your previous driver.

On the positive I think you'll like the sound of the 580xd better than the 975 at impact.

Well i finally got a break in the weather and was able to get out and see for myself what i had....first time using it....i have to say that i'm quite satisifed.....didn't think i would get used to the size difference of the driver head as quick as i did...but it seemed to come to me as if i was using my old driver....

i experimented a little off the tee boxes....i tee'd the ball up different than what i did with my titlest....not as hight up....top of the ball was about even or just a slight hair above my driver head.....trying to mentally hit the ball on the upper half of the driver....i've actually read that the upper half of newer drivers is where the "sweet" spot is on them and not necessarily in the middle of the driver....and teeing it up high tends to make one swing in an upward motion when hitting the ball....wasn't to thrilled with this....could of been because i do not ground my club when i'm on the tee boxes....i keep the club about a 1/2 off the ground.....so i went back to my big ole 3-1/2" tees and was happy with those results....

i understand the meaning now of the forgiveness....couple of times when i thought i could give it one of those big Tiger Woods swings....which of course i cannot swing that hard with the accuracy of a Woods...but even on my mishits....i still managed to keep it in the fairway....if my memory is correct i only missed 4 fairways for the round....

i do preciate all the comments on my post....no posts were of the negative factor to me....just other golfers with their opinions of what was asked by my posts....

tks again for all the opinions....

bob

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When the going gets tough.....the weak step aside !!

mmmm....i was sorta under the impression that the Taylormade was only about 3 or 4 years old.....the 975 is older than that isn't it....but i paid jus a little over $100....

i do notice a big difference with the 10.5....at least i know where it's going...and you are right....it has a sweeet sound when you make that perfect contact...

Any way I’m very happy with the Driver I have now (F T I), but have at least 6 other drivers holding up some plastic sheeting over my new potatoes, yum yum So don’t expect to stay happy with the one you have now, just enjoy your good times till the s$&* hit the fan and you buy another one lol

Good luck to you and your driver.