Major club manufacturers have embraced the idea of making clubs, particularly drivers, user-adjustable. However, with today’s prices the purchase of a new one-wood isn’t an impulse buy, more in the category of an investment, so it’s prudent to have some knowledge about the technology. You should ask the questions, “What can driver adjustability do for me?” and, “How do I figure out which adjustments are the right ones?” To begin with the adjustments built-in to drivers are there to compensate for the user’s swing path and release idiosyncrasies with the goal of optimizing the ball’s launch angle and spin rate for maximum distance. In general the more of a driver’s clubhead weight is positioned towards the shaft the more the clubhead’s center of gravity is moved in that direction and the faster the toe will close at impact. This promotes a draw or right to left ball flight. A typical example for a club with several weight screw options would be placing a 10-gram screw in the heel position and a 2-gram screw in the toe position. This weighting would tend to straighten out a slice’s left to right curvature. It is now popular in the quest for maximum distance to adjust a driver’s loft so the ball’s launch angle and spin rate are increased or decreased. This is done by rotating the hosel relative to the clubhead with the proper setting matched to the user’s swing speed.
Quite often players thinking it macho to use a driver with low loft are in fact hurting their distance therefore for most weekend warriors more loft will give better results. When a club’s hosel is turned to adjust the loft the face angle also changes, closing when loft is added and opening when loft is decreased. This may be just what the golfer wants but many times it is not, so an adjustment of the face angle (there a couple of different methods on the market) will achieve the desired “look” at address. Finally, what about the driver’s shaft length? Well, in some clubs that too can be adjusted and though a longer shaft can produce more clubhead speed and distance, it is also harder to control. The best players in the world on the PGA Tour use drivers of standard length or even shorter by as much as an inch than the driver shaft of a typical recreational player. The bottom line is the technology of adjustable drivers does offer the possibility for more distance and control making them worth consideration for your next purchase. Here are a brief rundown of adjustable drivers currently on the market:
Adams Golf – Speedline 9064LS Distance Fitting System
Special version of the low spin 9064LS with adjustable head and shaft length from 45 inches to 46 inches, plus and minus a degree for loft and neutral, closed or open face angle. Street price $380.
TaylorMade® R11
driver activates the three dimensions to distance. Flight Control Technology allows you to increase or decrease the launch angle; Adjustable Sole Plate Technology enables you to select an open, closed or neutral face angle. Street price $400.
Cobra Golf S3
Cobra uses what they named “E9 Face Technology” for 30% larger sweet spot and their “Adjustable Flight Technology” with three settings for open, neutral or closed face angle. Street price $300.
Titleist 910 D2 and 910 D3
Sure Fit Technology provides 16 settings for the hosel to adjust loft and lie angle using a sleeve and ring system. The D3 has a smaller clubhead (445cc vs. 460cc) for better players. Street price $400.
About Ed Travis
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