This Senior Golfer Gained 20 Yards With a Driver Fitting

By: Derek Clements | Thu 06 Jun 2024

In golf, confidence is everything. If you stand over the ball with doubts in your mind then you have absolutely no chance of playing well. Believe me, I know!

Regular readers will be aware that I recently returned to the game after a long injury break. And it has not been as straightforward as I had hoped it would be. When I stopped playing my handicap was 7.2 and one of the real strengths of my game was my ability to find fairways from the tee.

Struggles With The Driver

Late last year I got myself sorted out with a full set of custom-fitted golf clubs, and I love them all.

However, I have struggled horribly from the tee from day one. The driver was my go-to club. I was never especially long from the tee but I was able to hit the ball with a nice little draw. It meant that I played most of my golf from the middle of the fairway.

But that has all changed since my return. I have been using a Titleist TSR2 driver fitted with a regular flex shaft. It is a stunning looking golf club but I cannot use it to save my life.

Time and time again I stand over the ball with said driver in my hands and just know that I am going to hit a horrible slice that travels barely 150 yards. It has been pretty soul-destroying. I can hit my fairway woods and utility clubs further, and straighter.

I opted to “borrow” my wife's Mizuno driver. And I have to say that it has performed pretty well for me, although I have become pretty fed up at being consistently outhit by golfers who are 10 years older than me.

Finding The Answer With Ryan

So I reached out to our very own Ryan Rastall at Howley Hall Golf Club in Morley, near Leeds, and begged him for help.

The first thing I have to say is that I was aware that there may be some issues with my technique, but I was also pretty certain that my Titleist driver just wasn’t right for me. Ryan got me on Trackman and asked me to start hitting shots with my TSR2 and, sure enough, I began to consistently reproduce my slice. It was horrible. My shoulders quickly slumped.

But I am here to tell you that Ryan is a genius. You can watch my full fitting experience on YouTube or at the bottom of this page or plan your own visit to his studio by clicking here.

He quickly concluded that the shaft in my driver was indeed partly to blame for my shot shape. We started looking at other options.

Ryan felt that TaylorMade’s Qi10 Driver would be more forgiving - and the results were immediate.

The very first shot I hit flew almost 20 yards further. It was still flying from left to right but Ryan reassured me by telling me that he would try various shaft options.

He also told me something that I already suspected, namely that my swing path had changed and was now out to in. This simply confirmed something that I had already suspected and is something that I know I have to work on. And Ryan has given me some things to work on that I am confident will help me to rediscover my favoured shot shape.

But here’s the thing - with most clubs in my bag I am still hitting the ball with a gentle draw. I wondered if my issues had something to do with the length of my driver shaft.

I told Ryan that I had been using my wife’s driver, which obviously has a shorter shaft than I have ever used before. I just get the feeling of having more control of the clubbed with it.

After experimenting with several shafts, he set me up with a TaylorMade Qi10 driver fitted with an Evenflow Riptide CB40 shaft - at 44 inches in length it is 1.75 inches shorter than a standard shaft. And guess what? Bingo!

All my stats improved and I was quickly hitting the ball 200 yards. If you have ever been fitted for clubs you will know that special feeling when you get a club in your hands and just know it is absolutely right for you. And the moment that I started hitting the ball with the shorter shaft I got that magical feeling. It just felt right.

What a Difference This Fitting Made

I am 69 years old and I fully accept that I now have physical limitations. But let me tell you that if I can guarantee that I can average anywhere close to 200 yards from the tee and find the fairway then I am going to be thrilled to bits.

My new driver has been ordered - watch this space for an update. I cannot wait to get my hands on it.

There was another bonus from my fitting experience. I have always used Titleist Pro-V1 golf balls. Ryan introduced me to Wilson’s Triad ball. These retail for around £29.95 for 12 compared with around £48 for 12 Pro-V1s. And they performed equally as well for me.

For more informatio,n go to: https://ryanrastallgolf.co.uk and https://www.taylormadegolf.co.uk.