I have been golfing since I was 4 years old and it has been my favorite sport since. As I was growing up I soon learned there were differences in each golf club and there are different clubs for each skill level. I would ask my dad what those differences were and what I should use, he would tell me "Trey, even though there are a bunch of different kind of clubs with all kinds of technology put into them, it comes down to which feels best to you." What if there was a club that could adjust to any golfers preference? In this post, I am reviewing the revolutionary technological development of the adjustable driver.
One of the biggest problems for a golfer is hitting the ball straight or in a desirable way. Before the adjustable driver, golfers would buy a specific driver that had a preset face angle of something like "open" or "closed" in order hit the ball better and straighter. Then in 2009, Nike golf introduced the golf world to its first adjustable driver. This ended the need to buy a new driver with a preset face angle and lie, saving golfers quite a bit of money, and it allows golfers to fine tune their driver to their own preferences. Since its beginning, the adjustable driver has been growing and is now expected in new drivers. Now just about every golf brand has an adjustable driver.
The first adjustable driver Nike introduced controlled 2 variables: the face angle and the lie angle of the club head. I personally owned this driver and I love being able to fine tune my driver. If I had been hitting a fade when I wanted to hit a draw, I would pop off the club head, move it to my desired position and tighten it back onto the shaft. It was very simple and it worked. Not only did I see a difference actual look of the club head but also in the ball trajectory.
The adjustable driver nowadays has another feature, the ability to adjust the loft. Now golfers can fine tune how high or low they want the ball to travel. With all of the features these new adjustable drivers can do, the average golfer can become their own club fitter. Even though the average golfer will not know everything there is to know about how find the perfect club for their swing, but the adjustable driver gives them the ability to tinker to help find the perfect adjustment.
Overall, making the driver adjustable has been one of the biggest developments in golfing technology. It gives the average golfer the ability to fine tune their driver to their own preferences, whether it is hitting a low draw or a high fade.
Pictures:
Nike Driver:
http://www.golf.com/equipment/nike-sq-dymo-squared-and-dymo-squared-str-8-fit-drivers
Settings Chart:
http://gearpatrol.com/2009/05/28/nike-sq-dymo-str8-fit-driver/
As a fellow golfer, I to feel like the general public doesn't know how technical the sport of golf really is. Anywhere from the equipment, to the practice materials, to the mechanics of the swing, golf is a really technical game.
ReplyDeleteI myself am not a golf fanatic, however I do understand the principles of the game. The fact that a person can adjust there drives on the fly is very intriguing to many people. The review of this new style of club head is thorough and allows the general public (a.k.a. the non-golfers) to understand the difficulties/challenges golfers face on the trajectory of their drive(s). This just goes to show how sports technology is ever-changing. Great review!
ReplyDeleteInteresting article. I did not know there were adjustable drivers. That is a very clever innovation. I knew the sport was technical but I did not know it was that technical, not realizing all the different variables you actually can control. I am glad you included pictures in your review. Have a nice day!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I very much enjoyed how you put in personal experience so i can believe i am getting great information out of it. I also enjoyed the graphical integration throughout the article. Makes it a very easy read. I had no idea there was two different variables within drivers. More complicated than it seems. One thing i did notice was that there was no cons to this review. I wonder if there is some bias in this. But overall great read.
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