Looking for a new driver

Pky6471 wrote:

Horseballs wrote:

jt1135 wrote:HB, ever looked at Bridgestone?  Picked up the J38 with a regular motore f1 in it which plays pretty stiff.  This last winter took it to the local golfsmith store and used it as a baseline tester against a I25, Callaway something or the other and a new cleveland.  After a bunch of swings on the simulater, the salesman says, "why are you looking for a new driver"?  Hit it straighter and longer than any of the newer stuff.

In around 2008-2009 I got a J33 460 because I just loved the look of the head.  Bought it without ever hitting it, because no one carries Bridgestone near me.  I hated that driver passionately.  Nothing but low pushes that didn't go anywhere.  I let one of the biggest hitters at my club try it and he couldn't hit it for sh!t either.  I had my fitter take a look at it, and the stock S flex (think it was an Aldila "By You") rated as 3X.  That head was notoriously low spin anyhow, but combined with that shaft, there are probably only a couple dozen people on the planet who could get any use out of it.  
It's pretty much soured me on the brand, and like I said, no one carries Bridgestone, so I don't think I'll be getting anything sight unseen again.  

Low spin (rpm) and 16* launch angle... Why the helllllllllllllllll are U complaining

Who said anything about 16 degree launch angle? Plus, there is a lot more to it than just launch angle and spin when it comes to choosing a shaft, otherwise everyone would play high lofts and super stiff shafts. Ball speed is king, and you aren't going to get any with a shaft made of rebar.

Horseballs wrote:

Pky6471 wrote:

Horseballs wrote:

jt1135 wrote:HB, ever looked at Bridgestone?  Picked up the J38 with a regular motore f1 in it which plays pretty stiff.  This last winter took it to the local golfsmith store and used it as a baseline tester against a I25, Callaway something or the other and a new cleveland.  After a bunch of swings on the simulater, the salesman says, "why are you looking for a new driver"?  Hit it straighter and longer than any of the newer stuff.

In around 2008-2009 I got a J33 460 because I just loved the look of the head.  Bought it without ever hitting it, because no one carries Bridgestone near me.  I hated that driver passionately.  Nothing but low pushes that didn't go anywhere.  I let one of the biggest hitters at my club try it and he couldn't hit it for sh!t either.  I had my fitter take a look at it, and the stock S flex (think it was an Aldila "By You") rated as 3X.  That head was notoriously low spin anyhow, but combined with that shaft, there are probably only a couple dozen people on the planet who could get any use out of it.  
It's pretty much soured me on the brand, and like I said, no one carries Bridgestone, so I don't think I'll be getting anything sight unseen again.  

Low spin (rpm) and 16* launch angle... Why the helllllllllllllllll are U complaining

Who said anything about 16 degree launch angle?  Plus, there is a lot more to it than just launch angle and spin when it comes to choosing a shaft, otherwise everyone would play high lofts and super stiff shafts.  Ball speed is king, and you aren't going to get any with a shaft made of rebar.  

I had a callaway something or another about 6 years ago that had similar problems. Actually, the original one cracked on the top of the head. Sent it in and they replaced it for free but the shaft was crap. I hit low pushes or snap hooks. Which was opposite of the same club it replaced. I took it to a fitter and it was about a 3x as well. No wonder I couldn't hit it. I couldn't load the club and couldn't feel anything. Got the shaft replaced by callaway and it was good again.

I played this weekend and when I can in I noticed there was a demo day at the range. Tried titleist, cobra, & ping. Skipped nike, and taylormade. I hate their clubs. Ping i25 was the best of the three. The mid weight Tour-Stiff shaft seemed like the best fit. I'm going to try them again at fitting center. It has trackman LM's and is on a range.

I also tried some irons. I was surprised but I like the AP2's over the MB/CB from Titleist. Didn't hit any other irons other than titleist.

Ball speed is indeed king. I remember going into a privately owned local golf store in the mid 2000's and trying a few of their used drivers in the simulator. I got the best ball speed with a Titleist 983K with the red Prolite 3.5 stiff shaft, about 155 mph. That was at least 10 mph faster than the others that were, if memory serves, a couple of Taylors, a Ping and maybe a Cleveland. Needless to say, I bought it and played it for over a year. Hit some bombs with it and then for some reason, got the notion that maybe it was too stiff for me and I gave it to my son right before we played a round. His first drive with it on the par 4 425 yard first hole, a dogleg left, was a mild pull-hook off the heal that traveled about 325 yards. Damn. Five or more years later, I put together a combo that got me 151 mph or so with a smash factor in excess of 1.5 which is theoretically impossible with a conforming driver head. A 905T head at 8.5* with a Maltby MPF regular flex shaft installed all the way in the Tit head and cut to play at 45". Oh, and about 35 grams of counterweight inserted into the butt. I still have the 8.5* T head and will probably put it together again when I can find a suitable ultra light shaft for real cheap.

Poe4soul wrote:

Horseballs wrote:

Pky6471 wrote:

Horseballs wrote:

jt1135 wrote:HB, ever looked at Bridgestone?  Picked up the J38 with a regular motore f1 in it which plays pretty stiff.  This last winter took it to the local golfsmith store and used it as a baseline tester against a I25, Callaway something or the other and a new cleveland.  After a bunch of swings on the simulater, the salesman says, "why are you looking for a new driver"?  Hit it straighter and longer than any of the newer stuff.

In around 2008-2009 I got a J33 460 because I just loved the look of the head.  Bought it without ever hitting it, because no one carries Bridgestone near me.  I hated that driver passionately.  Nothing but low pushes that didn't go anywhere.  I let one of the biggest hitters at my club try it and he couldn't hit it for sh!t either.  I had my fitter take a look at it, and the stock S flex (think it was an Aldila "By You") rated as 3X.  That head was notoriously low spin anyhow, but combined with that shaft, there are probably only a couple dozen people on the planet who could get any use out of it.  
It's pretty much soured me on the brand, and like I said, no one carries Bridgestone, so I don't think I'll be getting anything sight unseen again.  

Low spin (rpm) and 16* launch angle... Why the helllllllllllllllll are U complaining

Who said anything about 16 degree launch angle?  Plus, there is a lot more to it than just launch angle and spin when it comes to choosing a shaft, otherwise everyone would play high lofts and super stiff shafts.  Ball speed is king, and you aren't going to get any with a shaft made of rebar.  

I had a callaway something or another about 6 years ago that had similar problems.  Actually, the original one cracked on the top of the head.  Sent it in and they replaced it for free but the shaft was crap.  I hit low pushes or snap hooks.  Which was opposite of the same club it replaced. I took it to a fitter and it was about a 3x as well. No wonder I couldn't hit it.  I couldn't load the club and couldn't feel anything.  Got the shaft replaced by callaway and it was good again.  

I played this weekend and when I can in I noticed there was a demo day at the range.  Tried titleist, cobra, & ping.  Skipped nike, and taylormade.  I hate their clubs.  Ping i25 was the best of the three.  The mid weight Tour-Stiff shaft seemed like the best fit.  I'm going to try them again at fitting center.  It has trackman LM's and is on a range.

I also tried some irons.  I was surprised but I like the AP2's over the MB/CB from Titleist.  Didn't hit any other irons other than titleist.

I'm pretty sure that's the one I was hitting. 65 gram tour stiff. I'm close to pulling the trigger. I had a subpar driving day last time I played. You'd think my current driver would put up more of a fight. I'm interested to hit a real ball with it. In my experience, I can hit wedges and short irons at full distance with range balls, but driver never goes as far as a real ball.

The adjustability options seem a bit weak for Ping. They only offer the ability to change the loft +/- half a degree. Not a deal killer for me, just curious that Ping wouldn't compete on that feature, given what Titleist, TM and Callaway are coming up with. That Callaway Alpha was crazy in its adjustability. You could change the perimeter weighting in several different combos without changing the overall weight, adjust the COG, go 2 degrees in either direction for loft, and change the face angle independent of loft.

So I've got the Ping I25 to demo. Actually I bought it, with the option to return in 7 days for store credit, so I'm pretty committed to at least buying some sort of driver. It's got the Tour Stiff 65 gram shaft. Default is 9.5 degrees, with the option of moving up or down half a degree.
I hit balls at the range during lunch. This is the awful range in Sh!thole, KY that has range balls older than me and pretty thick rough. The dimple challenged range balls were falling out of the sky and running forever. I've hit my current gamer at this range and noticed a bit of difference in flight, but not this much. I switched it to 10 degrees and the flight was actually a bit higher but still not carrying great. Ballspeed seemed very high and this driver is very square. My current gamer has same draw bias and I need to make compensations or the ball is going left. This one goes dead straight with my regular release, and moves a bit right with my hold-off move. I couldn't quite groove a gentle draw, but I'm sure it's a matter of practice.
I went out last night to a muni in Sh!thole, KY to get in 9 holes. I was more interested in seeing what happens with a real ball. Even really wanting to hit driver, there are not many holes where it's possible on this garbage golf course. I would be hitting into roads, other greens, or houses. I had to wait until the 4th hole. I've played this course a dozen or so times so I pretty much know where a good drive should end up. I smoked the tee shot. Mid flight (current driver is on the high side but not bad), crushed, and low spin. Probably about 10 yards or more closer to the green than I'm accustomed. Had to wait until the 8th hole to try it again, and I hit 3 balls, messing around with release and ball position. I didn't put a great swing on any of them, but they were all pretty straight and all pretty long. I could actually see the balls land on this hole and the low spin/run out was confirmed.
I hit 4 balls off the 9th. Two were regular swings, two were full bore (which I rarely do). This club does not like the full bore swing. The two regular swings were straight with good distance.
Bottom line, I don't think I carry the ball as far my current gamer, but total distance is probably better by 10 or so yards. Then again, I need to spend some time with this club to figure out its tendancies. Could be a ball position, tee height, angle of attack combo that produces monsters, but I haven't done the research.

Sounds like you've found a keeper one way or another. Nice work. We all hate their ugly, oversize, forged, POS Ping  shovel irons but I've always felt their drivers, fairway woods and hybrids are up with the best of them. The i25 and G25 are among the best drivers out there and although their irons are the ugliest known to man Ping have never sold out and tried to suck us consumers into that square/triangle geometry BS like Callaway and Taylormade have. They've stayed true to the traditional pear shaped driver and should be acknowledged for that notwithstanding that their irons suck shite.

Kiwigolfer wrote:Sounds like you've found a keeper one way or another. Nice work. We all hate their ugly, oversize, forged, POS Ping  shovel irons but I've always felt their drivers, fairway woods and hybrids are up with the best of them. The i25 and G25 are among the best drivers out there and although their irons are the ugliest known to man Ping have never sold out and tried to suck us consumers into that square/triangle geometry BS like Callaway and Taylormade have. They've stayed true to the traditional pear shaped driver and should be acknowledged for that notwithstanding that their irons suck shite.

I hope I figure out how to get more height out of this club. My course is very tree-lined and I can often go over the first couple which affords me a bit of leeway if I start a ball out to the left or right. I may still be in the trees, but I'm still close enough to the green to get something close or on. I need to practice with this thing a bit more over the next few days. I have until Monday to turn it in.
And I absolutely agree with your take on Ping. I have a 20* Anser hybrid that is great, plus my current driver is a Ping. I don't even like the shape of their player's irons, and obviously their G series irons are abominations.

I too am looking around at drivers. I actually forgot my clubs the other day and had to borrow my buddies bag with the exception of his driver, which is too high lofted for me. So, I went to the pro shop and spent $10 to demo a Titleist 913 D3 8.5 with Aldila RIP stiff. Kind of an odd feeling shaft. I hit some good ones but I think I was getting too much spin and no more distance than my Ping G5.

I tried the Ping i20 for about 10 rounds last year. It too is kind of an odd club. Sometimes I would absolutely bomb it and other times it felt dead. I think you really need to swing harder and hit it really pure to get the most out of that club. It's not very forgiving. It's also meant for high ball hitters who need to get their spin down and have a lower trajectory. The i25 looks very similar to me.

I love the look of the Bio Cell + but have heard various reviews on it. 3balls has the Taylormade R1 Driver going for $104. That's pretty damn good for that driver. I love the look of the new White Slider S Driver. That's one of the best looking heads I've seen.

Titleist just doesn't do it for me anymore. I don't like the look of their drivers. I think they should go back to a dark metallic grey, rather than black.

I like the Callaway Big Bertha Alpha but I question the color they chose and no alignment mark.

FamousDavis wrote:I too am looking around at drivers.  I actually forgot my clubs the other day and had to borrow my buddies bag with the exception of his driver, which is too high lofted for me.  So, I went to the pro shop and spent $10 to demo a Titleist 913 D3 8.5 with Aldila RIP stiff.   Kind of an odd feeling shaft.  I hit some good ones but I think I was getting too much spin and no more distance than my Ping G5.  

I tried the Ping i20 for about 10 rounds last year.  It too is kind of an odd club.  Sometimes I would absolutely bomb it and other times it felt dead.  I think you really need to swing harder and hit it really pure to get the most out of that club.  It's not very forgiving.  It's also meant for high ball hitters who need to get their spin down and have a lower trajectory.  The i25 looks very similar to me.  

I love the look of the Bio Cell + but have heard various reviews on it.  3balls has the Taylormade R1 Driver going for $104.  That's pretty damn good for that driver.  I love the look of the new White Slider S Driver.  That's one of the best looking heads I've seen.  

Titleist just doesn't do it for me anymore.  I don't like the look of their drivers.  I think they should go back to a dark metallic grey, rather than black.  

I like the Callaway Big Bertha Alpha but I question the color they chose and no alignment mark.  

I think you're dead on about the I25. It's definitely low spin and if I'm not hitting it dead center, it's not going very far.
I don't know why the BB Alpha wouldn't have any alignment. I really wanted to like that club too. Of course, it's retailing at $500, which is a turnoff for sure.
I would definitely check out the SLDR. That is the lowest spinning head I've ever hit. Didn't like it at all.

Myself, I like a driver without an alignment aid. Other than lining it up when you address the ball, what good does it do? You don't see it when you swing. Is a mark on the top of your iron to show where to hit it?

jt1135 wrote:Myself, I like a driver without an alignment aid.  Other than lining it up when you address the ball, what good does it do?  You don't see it when you swing.  Is a mark on the top of your iron to show where to hit it?

Agreed it shouldn't be an issue, but it was. I always open up the driver a bit at address and the alignment kind of keeps me in check. With the Alpha, I felt like I was opening it up too much even though I probably wasn't. I could never feel comfortable in my setup.

Horseballs wrote:

jt1135 wrote:Myself, I like a driver without an alignment aid.  Other than lining it up when you address the ball, what good does it do?  You don't see it when you swing.  Is a mark on the top of your iron to show where to hit it?

Agreed it shouldn't be an issue, but it was.  I always open up the driver a bit at address and the alignment kind of keeps me in check.  With the Alpha, I felt like I was opening it up too much even though I probably wasn't.  I could never feel comfortable in my setup.  

Bubba's pink driver has a HUGE alignment aid, that helps him hit a long ball   

Granted, this is simulator only, but I hit one of the best feeling drivers the other day. Titleist 910 D3 8.5 with Diamana Kai'Li 65 Stiff. The ball was just launching off of the face with minimal spin and great rollout. Much better than the SLDR, Anser, i20 or anything else I tried. The shaft has a nice kick to it and isn't too stiff. I don't see how I can't put this one in the bag. Oh, and the feel is better than any other driver out there on the market today. It's not even close. It's just a very satisfying feel that is perfect. That's the problem I have with the Ping Anser and i20. I just don't like the sound.

Probably pretty cheap for a Titty 910 these days too. I remember demo'ing that club (might have been the D2) and being a bit unimpressed. However, my overzealous assistant pro was giving me the hard sell and swapping out shafts and making settings after every swing. I remember liking the RIP Alpha shaft in that head.

I've got the Ping I25 and the 14.5 Cally 3 Deep in my secondary bag at the moment. I went out and walked 9 last night, hitting 2 balls off every tee. One with the Ping and one with the 3 Deep. For most of the holes, the Ping was only about 5-10 yards longer than the 3 Deep. The 3 Deep hit every fairway except 1 and that was only a 2 yard miss. However, on the last hole the Ping almost made the green on a 340 yard par 4. Probably 15 yards short of the front. I didn't feel like the swing was anything special and I'm certain I got a few good firm bounces, but that's a huge poke for me.

One weekend day several months ago I was in the local Golf Galaxy and they had a couple of 910 D2's in the used rack. I took one and got the adjustment wrench from a salesman and was able to spend some time in the main simulator hitting that driver at each setting since I had downloaded the adjustment matrix from the Titleist website earlier and brought it with me. I tried several shafts they had there and all felt pretty dead and crappy but I settled for a Kali stiff in the lightest weight. I can categorically say that my drives did not change much at all in any of the settings. All parameters shown on the launch monitor that matter to me including clubhead speed, ball speed, launch angle, carry distance and ototal distance. I could give two rats' bungholes about spin since I know I am a high spin hitter and need a goodly amount of spin to keep my driver shots in the air.

That little session sort of cured me of venturing into the realm of adjustable drivers so for now I am sticking with the fixed heads. I think I have, however, found the perfect shaft for me and what seems to be a repeatable hard driver siwng. Its the first generation of the Mitsu Diamana Redborad 63 gram stiff flex. The pull I bought and installed in my 909 DComp 9.5* head is an OEM model with 4" of parallel tip instead of the 3" flowerband model. Whatever, I can just wind up and pound the snot out of it and 43.75" seems to be a good length for me. Its funny but Mitsubishi came out with a new Redboard replacement in its 'Ilima and that shaft was and is an option in the 910/913 lineup. The Ilima is supposed to be lower spin and longer yada yada and I had an Ilima for Titleist 61 gram stiff in that 9.5* head and it wasn't anything special. Then I looked at the specs and saw that the old Redborad is 3.2* torque-wise while the Ilima checks in about a degree more loose. Sometimes newer ain't better.

Mongrel wrote:One weekend day several months ago I was in the local Golf Galaxy and they had a couple of 910 D2's in the used rack. I took one and got the adjustment wrench from a salesman and was able to spend some time in the main simulator hitting that driver at each setting since I had downloaded the adjustment matrix from the Titleist website earlier and brought it with me. I tried several shafts they had there and all felt pretty dead and crappy but I settled for a Kali stiff in the lightest weight. I can categorically say that my drives did not change much at all in any of the settings. All parameters shown on the launch monitor that matter to me including clubhead speed, ball speed, launch angle, carry distance and ototal distance. I could give two rats' bungholes about spin since I know I am a high spin hitter and need a goodly amount of spin to keep my driver shots in the air.

That little session sort of cured me of venturing into the realm of adjustable drivers so for now I am sticking with the fixed heads. I think I have, however, found the perfect shaft for me and what seems to be a repeatable hard driver siwng. Its the first generation of the Mitsu Diamana Redborad 63 gram stiff flex. The pull I bought and installed in my 909 DComp 9.5* head is an OEM model with 4" of parallel tip instead of the 3" flowerband model. Whatever, I can just wind up and pound the snot out of it and 43.75" seems to be a good length for me. Its funny but Mitsubishi came out with a new Redboard replacement in its 'Ilima and that shaft was and is an option in the 910/913 lineup. The Ilima is supposed to be lower spin and longer yada yada and I had an Ilima for Titleist 61 gram stiff in that 9.5* head and it wasn't anything special. Then I looked at the specs and saw that the old Redborad is 3.2* torque-wise while the Ilima checks in about a degree more loose. Sometimes newer ain't better.

By luck (?) The Cally Diablo Edge Tour 9.5* driver , stock OEM S-shaft is - not the longest; well, it's as long as any drivers that I have - but it's the BEST in terms of ball dispersion.  The GR from Dayton OH area (can't remember his name now) also has one and he swears by it, like I do.  The best part is it was $38 from Cally pre-owned and almost brand new.

I played the Tit-less 905R 10.5* R-flex last yr, liked it a lot but its trajectory is higher than I wanted so I sold it (even $) , and just eBayed another Tit-less driver 905R 9.5* S-aldila shaft for $29. I like the Aldila shaft, very responsive... So that would be similar specs to my Cally Diablo Edge tour , let see which one would win out   

I'm now hitting a Ping Anser Driver, 8.5 with stock TFC 800D Stiff shaft. This is the longest driver that I've hit that is controllable. It has very low spin, feels good and is easy to work a fade. To me it feels far superior to the Ping i20 that I owned for about 2 months.

If you want to lower your spin and hit a long ball you might want to give it a try.

FamousDavis wrote:I'm now hitting a Ping Anser Driver, 8.5 with stock TFC 800D Stiff shaft.  This is the longest driver that I've hit that is controllable.  It has very low spin, feels good and is easy to work a fade.   To me it feels far superior to the Ping i20 that I owned for about 2 months.  

If you want to lower your spin and hit a long ball you might want to give it a try.  

I always liked the look of the Anser driver. In fact, I generally like what Ping does for drivers. I currently game the Anser hybrid and I'm very happy with it. I had a Cally Razr Tour hybrid in a similar loft that was suspect to huge issues in distance control. Sometimes it would fly much further than normal for seemingly no reason. The Ping is very consistent. The black matte face is pretty marked up so I'm guessing you will have the same issue with your driver in time.

Horseballs wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:I'm now hitting a Ping Anser Driver, 8.5 with stock TFC 800D Stiff shaft.  This is the longest driver that I've hit that is controllable.  It has very low spin, feels good and is easy to work a fade.   To me it feels far superior to the Ping i20 that I owned for about 2 months.  

If you want to lower your spin and hit a long ball you might want to give it a try.  

I always liked the look of the Anser driver.  In fact, I generally like what Ping does for drivers.  I currently game the Anser hybrid and I'm very happy with it.  I had a Cally Razr Tour hybrid in a similar loft that was suspect to huge issues in distance control.  Sometimes it would fly much further than normal for seemingly no reason.  The Ping is very consistent.  The black matte face is pretty marked up so I'm guessing you will have the same issue with your driver in time.  

No, I will not. The only noticeable mark on my driver will be a dime-sized spot in the center of the clubface. Maybe you need to hit it in the center more often and quit thrashing your clubs.

The new Ping G30 Driver is pretty cool looking. I hit it in the simulator, for what that's worth, and it had good feel, looks, trajectory and distance. It just looks like a mean mo fo.

FamousDavis wrote:

Horseballs wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:I'm now hitting a Ping Anser Driver, 8.5 with stock TFC 800D Stiff shaft.  This is the longest driver that I've hit that is controllable.  It has very low spin, feels good and is easy to work a fade.   To me it feels far superior to the Ping i20 that I owned for about 2 months.  

If you want to lower your spin and hit a long ball you might want to give it a try.  

I always liked the look of the Anser driver.  In fact, I generally like what Ping does for drivers.  I currently game the Anser hybrid and I'm very happy with it.  I had a Cally Razr Tour hybrid in a similar loft that was suspect to huge issues in distance control.  Sometimes it would fly much further than normal for seemingly no reason.  The Ping is very consistent.  The black matte face is pretty marked up so I'm guessing you will have the same issue with your driver in time.  

No, I will not.  The only noticeable mark on my driver will be a dime-sized spot in the center of the clubface.  Maybe you need to hit it in the center more often and quit thrashing your clubs.  

The new Ping G30 Driver is pretty cool looking.  I hit it in the simulator, for what that's worth, and it had good feel, looks, trajectory and distance.  It just looks like a mean mo fo.

I will never stop thrashing my clubs and anyone who tries to make me will find himself in a physical confrontation.
A chopper friend of mine has the G25 in the stock stiff shaft. I hit it a couple of times and it could probably be a good club for me with a bit of tweaking. I guess I prefer the feel and ball flight of a higher spinning head, despite "Trackman" and other pseudo garbage.

I got driver dialed in and won't do anything to it or take it out of the bag unless the shaft snaps. As far as driver spin, you need a certain amount to keep the freaking ball in the air long enough. And spin lets you work the drive a bit. Nothing worse than a drive you try to cut but the low spin driver head and shaft and low spin off driver ball makes it go straight into the left rough or trees or water or wherever its not good to go. Now this driver is cut to play at 43.75". So if anyone hears me say that I maybe want to put a longer shaft in it to get more distance, just slap me upside the head hard so I re-boot the brain into the common sense mode.

Mongrel wrote:I got driver dialed in and won't do anything to it or take it out of the bag unless the shaft snaps. As far as driver spin, you need a certain amount to keep the freaking ball in the air long enough. And spin lets you work the drive a bit. Nothing worse than a drive you try to cut but the low spin driver head and shaft and low spin off driver ball makes it go straight into the left rough or trees or water or wherever its not good to go. Now this driver is cut to play at 43.75". So if anyone hears me say that I maybe want to put a longer shaft in it to get more distance, just slap me upside the head hard so I re-boot the brain into the common sense mode.

Actually, the low spin only relates to backspin not side axis spin. A low spin driver would cut and hook more because the backspin is minimal. Same reason why you can't work a wedge as much as you can a flatter club becuase the backspin helps the ball fly straighter. Most pro's want a higher than optimal backspin to increase the accuracy of the driver.

Brandel Chamblee (Golf Channel) last night said TW's launch angle is now about 11* or so compared to 8*+ before,.... and that's the reason why he hurts his back... WTF

That's nonsense. He hurts his back because he swings too hard and is too steep with his irons. If he played weaker flex shafts and slowed his swing down a bit, he wouldn't lose much if any distance and, if he got the timing down, little to no accuracy. His head dip on the downswing is a horrible move.

Mongrel wrote:That's nonsense. He hurts his back because he swings too hard and is too steep with his irons. If he played weaker flex shafts and slowed his swing down a bit, he wouldn't lose much if any distance and, if he got the timing down, little to no accuracy. His head dip on the downswing is a horrible move.

IMO... he hurts his back because he Fuckkkkkkkk too hard, too often for his old age   
If I were him, I would not play this week's PGA and let my back heal.... Once he damages it beyond repair that would be the end of his career