I had a 2007 Burner which is ok ✅ decided to buy the new SIM Max driver which gave me no increase in distance maybe because the shaft is too heavy for my swing speed at 60g instead of the 50g in the 2007 Burner > I hated the flight on the SIM Max so sold it and bought a back up Burner driver which happened to be a little shorter by 2cm so I put some lead tape on the rear and near the heal and put a new grip to match my other Burner 🤗 it goes about the same distance as the original Burner with a draw and the original has a fade so I now carry 2 TM Burner drivers as options depending on the hole shape 😊

Thanks Greg. I predict that you will love the DBMs compared to the PTM!

Thanks for the tip! Placement of lead tape is always a challenge. I also like your idea of going with a shorter, more flexible driver shaft as one option.

I would certainly try it at that weight, but I agree, C3 is light! You could go with a lightweight grip to help bring it back up, or try some lead tape on the head. I would think getting it to at least C9 would allow you to start feeling the heft of club head.

Dave - should the driver -ideally- be the same swing weight as the irons? Or are they two completely different animals? I’m thinking the driver should feel lighter than the irons in order to generate more club head speed...but I really have no idea...I’m just researching so that I don’t drift from tried-and-true established norms...and end up playing worse golf as a result. Thanks again!

Danny, there isn't a helpful rule about swing weight in driver/woods vs irons. D0 to D3 is probably the average for both, but then preference and performance come into play. Some prefer the lighter feel in their driver. Personally, I prefer heavier SW in my driver and woods. Drivers can come in at a lower SW because of the heads and shafts are often light. This may, or may not, increase swing speed. But whatever helps you find the center of the face would be ideal! Most of us can't tell the difference between 2 SW points, so there is definitely some wiggle room here.

Bill, thanks and interesting questions. I had identical ball speed when I cut the shaft to 44.5" and subtracted 2 grams of head weight. I lost 3 yards of carry (back to 233) due to slightly higher launch and spin. I blame me for that more than the club, and will need to do more testing. Feels great at that length and weight though! I didn't use face tape or foot spray during these tests (and the Mevo can't read face data), but I suspect I was more variable with the lighter weight, based on where I was hitting the ball and the smash factor. If I were staying with the lighter head weight I would not tip trim the shaft. I think that would improve launch a bit.

Thanks again, I enjoy your videos and comments. Since I appear to be at that point in life where it’s now a short list of people who are younger than me...it’s nice to have a practical source to help sort myth from fantasy in my golf endeavors. I’ve downloaded a copy of the MacKenzie paper and will try to digest its contents. Regards, Bill

Thanks Marc. If you are trying to get back to D4, you could look for heavier weights for your driver. But I get it, 8 grams is a lot and weights may not be available. I'm not an expert in hot melt, but low and back might be the best location. Let us know the results!

Eugene, I don't have any data related to that, but I believe MOI matching might produce that result. I've never done MOI matching, so I could have that wrong!

Fit2YouGolf thanks for the reply...doing a project and thinking of going the progressive route..unfortunately I don’t have a means of measuring MOI but believe varying swingweight can produce desired effect.. 👍🏻

Eugene, that's my understanding, too. Using some adjustments to weight and length are supposed to get you pretty close to a matched set. I'd be interested in hearing about how it turns out if you go that route.

I think if the weight helps you hit the center of the face better (because you can feel the head better in your swing) then you might see a gain based on increasing the smash factor. Worth a try!

I have a Ladies Cobra Speedzone Xtreme and changed my weight from 4 grams to 8 grams and adjusted the loft from standard 12.5 down to 11 because off the tee the ball flight was way too high only getting 125-150 yards. Will have to see if that helps.

It's worth a try and easy to do with some lead tape along the bottom and the back. Of course you could demo a heavier club, too. Maltby driver heads are great for the that as they tend to 200 grams with the option of adding weight. Pings tend to run heavier as well in my experience.

Paul, that is my theory as well. I find that there is a balance for every golfer depending on strength, speed, path, etc. Also I find that shaft weight and flex need to match head weight for the golfer. If I'm not mistaken, Taylormade heads are among the lightest on the market. Ping and Mizuno are on the heavier end of the spectrum.

Paul, the 2016 M2 driver only has a 0.5g weight all the way back in the sole. You can get OEM weights(I understand RBZ weights also fit) online. I brought mine up to 8g and I could really feel the difference. Now I can feel where the clubhead is and my contact is much more consistent and I'm definitely hitting it a little higher and further with the same hosel settings.

I agree, although not for everyone. But for me, I not only feel the club path better, but launch monitor numbers confirm that I am more neutral, less over the top.

@@fit2yougolf926 I agree with that, I honestly think I can feel the clubhead better when it is heavier. Which makes it easier to prevent an over the top swing.

Coach, it's difficult to say without knowing more about your swing, but in general more weight toward the back of the club lowers the CG and promotes an even higher launch. But let me ask some questions, the answers to which should help me give you some direction. Where on the face are you hitting the ball typically? What are your launch and spin #'s? Do you know your angle of attack? Knowing all or some of those answers would be great!

@@fit2yougolf926 ......On the face usually in the center (I hit a lot of fairways). Not sure of launch but the spin number are usually in the 4000's and my angle of attack is somewhat upward.

@@pd9971 , that is certainly a lot of spin, which could be a swing issue (e.g., adding loft), or simply the wrong head design for you. You could work to address your delivery of course (which I encourage, but I'm not a swing coach so I won't offer unqualified advice about that!), but from an equipment standpoint you might try some of the low spin driver options, and perhaps a different shaft to address that spin/high ball flight issue. The PING and Callaway low spin options are worth considering. You'll get more impact from changing to a lower spinning head than just a shaft replacement, but the two together might help quite a bit.

@@fit2yougolf926 ....sounds good thanks

I can definitely understand that result. For many, the club you can swing the fastest has the potential to transfer more energy to the ball. When looking at where the ball contacts the face for me (which is somewhat inconsistent), I surmise that the added weight positioned farther back in the head boosted smash factor on off center hits. I can also say from fitting experience there is some variability in terms of performance and head weight (and other characteristics of the DNA of the club head). Getting fit or at least trying some different options is always my recommendation.

@@fit2yougolf926 had a look at Tiworks last night. Interesting concept. Ultra light titanium head, 55 gram shaft,light grip and you make it up bye tending your driver up to 48”. Reasonable price but don’t think I can drop $300 Cdn untried, untested. Can’t find any third party reviews. Good Luck.

@@seanpeacock5595 The Tiworks are interesting. I like the weight adjustability. I saw one reviewer who compared it directly to XXIO, which seems to have the lion's share of the lightweight driver marker.

Fortunately Taylormade had gone heavier in their recent drivers. Thanks for sharing your results.

Maybe I will, king! It would be an interesting test...

@@fit2yougolf926 ... Yes... Why, because of this factor. I was playing with a guy had a avg tempo easy swing dynamic, and he was blowing by me with ease. He had a ping g400, looked kinda of the rackish. So I concluded, what it was is set up, I had a 43.5 driver semi stiff but still couldn't handle my load and I stayed activating the bend and distortion profile. So I'd have some grand looking drives that really didn't go to far. Yet this guy had a 85mph swing and just carrying 260, getting out 285 easy. That's when I realized later, like you mentioned, ping is one of the few oems that use larger tip diameter for its drivers, and true, ping and titliest had the largest off the shelf diameter. So I concluded, the kid smooth undisturbed bend and distortion profile action plus the length is why he could just fly right on by me. Funny, when I asked him to really rip one, he sliced it out of bounds. But when he used his easy old man tempo, he hit that driver pga. He actually had the right tool in his hands off the rack. Lucky.

Limits lengts on a golfclub is 48", pal!