Question:
i’m about to buy a taylor made ti2 driver. the problem is, i can’t demo one. the guys at the golf store say that titanium drivers hit the ball hotter and higher than a regular driver and are trying to convince me to buy a 9.5 degree instead of a 10.5 degree. why? my guess is because they don’t have a 10.5 in stock, but they do have a 9.5. i had a 9.5 big bertha and i couldn’t control it (it wasn’t titanium though). they keep insisting that the 10.5 will hit it too high. are they full of it or not? also, everybody seems to claim that the ball comes off a titanium club "hotter". this is sort of bs isn’t it? it actually comes off "hotter" because of the longer shaft and lighter weight. as long as the face of the head does not bend or cave in at impact (which i don’t they they do) a ti driver should hit it the same distance as an identical steel driver. the extra strength of ti does not make the ball bounce off the club any faster, the increased swing speed does, right? — charlie please post all responses. my email address on this post is incorrect in hopes of thwarting the efforts of the bulk-emailers to send me unsolicited and annoying email. if you must email me, my correct address is charlie at dolphins dot ssc dot nasa dot gov
Response:
: i’m about to buy a taylor made ti2 driver. the problem is, i can’t demo : one. the guys at the golf store say that titanium drivers hit the ball : hotter and higher than a regular driver and are trying to convince me to : buy a 9.5 degree instead of a 10.5 degree. why? my guess is because they : don’t have a 10.5 in stock, but they do have a 9.5. i had a 9.5 big : bertha and i couldn’t control it (it wasn’t titanium though). they keep : insisting that the 10.5 will hit it too high. are they full of it or : not? Charlie, my personal experience has shown that a titanium driver does hit the ball higher…in addition, I’ve experienced higher drives with all the taylor made bubble drivers/shafts. I now play a 8 deg Big Bertha, I’m looking at getting a 6.5 degree Great Big Bertha…with the RCH36 Firm shaft (special order only). In theory, the lighter/longer club that comes with titanium heads will give you a higher clubhead speed, which in turn *should* give you increased distance. Good Luck! Good Putting! Mark — Mark Koenig, Technical Consulting || These views are my own.
Response:
i’m about to buy a taylor made ti2 driver. the problem is, i can’t demo one. the guys at the golf store say that titanium drivers hit the ball hotter and higher than a regular driver and are trying to convince me to buy a 9.5 degree instead of a 10.5 degree. why?
The Ti lets club designers move the weight around more. For the Ti heads, more of the weight is both back and down. Having the center of gravity lower will cause you to hit it higher. If you hit the ball slightly upward (which is what you need for max lenght with the driver), the rearward center of gravity will also cause the ball to go higher. Some of the second and third generation Ti heads are no so different –i.e., the center of gravity is closer to older steel heads. also, everybody seems to claim that the ball comes off a titanium club "hotter". this is sort of bs isn’t it?
Yes, this is bs. The face of the club makes no difference in the speed of the ball. it actually comes off "hotter" because of the longer shaft and lighter weight. as long as the face of the head does not bend or cave in at impact (which i don’t they they do) a ti driver should hit it the same distance as an identical steel driver. the extra strength of ti does not make the ball bounce off the club any faster, the increased swing speed does, right?
Right. As above, moving more of the weight around can give Ti a larger sweet-spot, but a perfectly hit ball with a steel head will go the same distance as Ti if the head weight and center of gravity are the same. There is no magic in Ti. -John Baima DFW Golf and the Java Swingweight Calculator http://rampages.onramp.net/~jbaima/