Big Head or small head Driver ?

I had an aged old TM200 steel with TM S flex made in Japan Shaft spec 44 inch mid kick torque 3.8 it served me well over many year, the head size was only 200CC. The ball flied straight 80% of hit. In 2007 I bought a Burner driver 10.5 with Japan R flex head size 460CC. The ball flied like fire work, sold away and used back the old driver. Last year , itch hand again, bought the 2009 burner driver 9.5 degree US spec R, same thing happen again. Now I have to used back my old driver even with the many "Ding"....no chance to use any new driver..Psychologically, I think I am not use to the big head driver, either high wind resistance or long shaft.. Golf is really a very personal game..

try 440 cc like titleist D3 ( take a month to get use to it)

Try shallow face instead of smaller head. Same for woods

440CC and 460CC no diff. Titleist to my impression is for PRO. Never see a shallow face driver..

i think i also have the same problem using 460cc drivers, any swallow face new technology drivers to recommend?

If you have the old school preference, try Titleist905R. I have gone thru a few rounds of changing and in the end, i settled with my ole faithful 905R.

If you prefer smaller heads 350cc, then a 983 would also be alright. Since, they are old clubs, you could probably get them with good bargains.

I used to play the Srixon XX10 350cc. Nothing beats the tingling sweetness EVERYTIME the ball leaves the club face. Though I managed to blend into the bigger heads, I can never forget how sweet it felt every hits are to me. Just got no heart to sell it away but someday, sooner or later will have to sell it off.....

nanohenry wrote:

I had an aged old TM200 steel with TM S flex made in Japan Shaft spec 44 inch mid kick torque 3.8 it served me well over many year, the head size was only 200CC. The ball flied straight 80% of hit. In 2007 I bought a Burner driver 10.5 with Japan R flex head size 460CC. The ball flied like fire work, sold away and used back the old driver. Last year , itch hand again, bought the 2009 burner driver 9.5 degree US spec R, same thing happen again. Now I have to used back my old driver even with the many "Ding"....no chance to use any new driver..Psychologically, I think I am not use to the big head driver, either high wind resistance or long shaft.. Golf is really a very personal game..

I remember eyeing on that TM200 driver when it was introduced in 2001 or 2002.

It took me 2-3 years to get rid of my Titleist 975D to switch to a larger head. Like you, each time the new driver failed, I went back to my old trusty. Eventually, I found out it was the wrong combination of shafts and heads I was looking at.

The TM200 (275cc) is quite close to the 975D (260cc). Compared to modern 460cc heads, both TM200 & 975D have "forward CGs" and launches the ball low with medium spin. The smaller headsizes and forward CGs also makes the shafts play stiffer compared to modern heads.

So when you switched to 460cc with "R" flex and 45" or longer, you lost all feelings of control in the shaft. When you start your downswing, you can feel the clubhead lagging with "wind resistance" and twisting. It feels so whippy and unstable. Most non-TP Taylormade stock shafts are very very soft in flex with many torque ratings near or above 5.0! Especially the lighter weights shafts.

What worked for me was to look for:
- more forward CG heads
- deep face drivers (low spin)
- lower torque (3.3 in 975D and 2.5 in modern 460cc head)
- stiffer flex ("R" in 975D throughbore and "S" in 460cc head)
- heavier shafts between 75-85g in weight
- total length to about 44"

Hope this helps!

nanohenry wrote:

440CC and 460CC no diff.

Then why make different driver heads that way?

b.b.carabanesis wrote:

nanohenry wrote:

440CC and 460CC no diff.

Then why make different driver heads that way?

U just took nanohenry's statement out of context bro, from what I understand, he's saying that to him 440 CC and 460CC no diff. They're still big head drivers to him.

Good detail analysis from r510tp. He descript exactly what I feel during down swing. I will try his recomandation, but how to tell forward CG head and deep face driver?

Thanks nanohenry.

Most of the driver specs, including their CG info, can be found on their websites. For example, the Taylormade R9 Superdeep specs can be found at http://www.taylormadegolf.com/mainlevel/golfshop/drivers/R9-SUPERDEEP-TP.html#30 (Click on "Overview")

Instead of wasting money buying clubs, perhaps you can try to borrow friends' clubs to test first? An even better option is to drop by a fitter to try some of their shafts and heads combinations and getting measured on their trackman.

Among the list of items I shared earlier, I feel having the correct shaft weight and torque ranks most important during my transition from 975D to 460cc heads.

IMHO I also think the main difference comes from the shaft. As long as I find a driver head that I can accept the look of (eg I could not get used to the Cleveland drivers with the scooped out top) and the sound of, the tricky part is the finding a shaft that produces the best feel (distance and accuracy too). That is the more difficult part because there are so many out there.

Dear friends,

with all conditions being constant, do u hit longer with a smaller driver head?

I felt smaller heads can hit a bit longer...
When swinging smaller head, feel that it is slightly faster on the downswing.
Obviously, need to be more precise and therefore less forgiving. But if hit on the sweet spot, it is definitely more compact.

3 wood has a much smaller head than a driver and about 1-2 inches shorter... Why ppl still say 3 wood easier to hit as compare to driver? Isn't big head suppose to make it easy? Big head supposed to be more forgiving and technology has made the sweet spot "bigger".


I prefer something smaller or at least look smaller at address... dun like the bulldozer look of the bigger head...

A lot of these "tech" talk are really marketing ... my 10 year old driver and woods still hit well ... I still love my old irons more than the newer models

I think Big head and small head make not much difference, but shorter shaft does help a lot in getting the ball launch and easier to hit the sweet spot cos less deviation.

Not sure if a driver head is fitted on a 3 wood shaft, will it still hit further than 200M....maybe the experience golfer can share their experience.

there is a question ringing in my head for quite some time ... I'm not sure if my shafts are too short, I'm using quite standard length, but I'm 1.9m tall

But I don't have the budget to customise clubs ... any advise from the gurus ?

weesern wrote:

3 wood has a much smaller head than a driver and about 1-2 inches shorter... Why ppl still say 3 wood easier to hit as compare to driver? Isn't big head suppose to make it easy? Big head supposed to be more forgiving and technology has made the sweet spot "bigger".


I prefer something smaller or at least look smaller at address... dun like the bulldozer look of the bigger head...

Weesern, traditionally the 3 wood is easier to hit for two main reasons. As you mentioned, the shaft is shorter, making it easier to handle. Also, the additional loft of a 3 wood puts more backspin on the ball. Both the added loft and backspin help to launch the ball higher and straighter. Consider the loft difference between a 10 deg driver and 15 deg 3 wood, and the length difference between both which can be anywhere from 2 to 3 inches these days, and I think you'll start to think that a 3 wood is definitely easier to hit, and hit straight. A smaller head is also easier to square at impact, all things being equal.

Is the modern driver harder to hit than a 3 wood? That gap has narrowed considerably with the advent of technology, some of which may be marketing, most of it is not. Larger heads have expanded sweetspots, but an expanded sweetspot is not the only factor that makes the modern driver almost as easy to hit as a 3 wood. There are many other tech advancements that combine together to make the driver more than just the sum of its parts. Aerodynamics, multi-materials, precise weighting of the clubhead internally and on the sole, shaft technology, etc...

Then there is the human mind to consider. Some like the look of a more compact head, others feel that the larger 460cc heads inspire more confidence with the 'can't miss' look of the driver . The psychology part of what you like or don't like, is also a huge factor to consider.

because you like small head why dont you wait for the new titleist 3wood f.d of 13.5 to use which is a fairway driver . because to find a 200 cc driver is quite impossible ....

I have to agree with Birdman about the "can't miss" psychological advantage! Having restarted golf againn after about 9 years, I can attest to the difference (for a beginner) between a 300cc driver and 460cc driver. Definitely more consistent and forgiving, although a pure sweet spot drive still achieves roughly the same result.

kynoe_tan wrote:

there is a question ringing in my head for quite some time ... I'm not sure if my shafts are too short, I'm using quite standard length, but I'm 1.9m tall

But I don't have the budget to customise clubs ... any advise from the gurus ?

Take a look at the Callaway X-Forged and Tom Wishon 550C in the link below
http://www.golfrepublic.org/t9367-wts-various-pre-owned-iron-sets

I feel that most of the people will not miss the ball but the slicing and hooking is what make us go crazy and continously looking out for a better driver.....

Most times the problem could be the golfers ourselves who are so obsessed with the thought that it is the equipment that's causing the slice and hook when the fault is the golfers themselves.
I am guilty of being one such golfer and am working hard to move away from such mindset.

Therefore my next driver purchase would be my final one. hehe