When to Upgrade Your Driver: 7 Ways to Tell if it’s Time
Seven key questions to help you decide if it’s time for a new driver
In 1951 Solomon Asch conducted a study and found that one-third of participants knowingly gave wrong answers to obvious questions after actors in the same room confidently gave the same wrong answers.
The experiment, known today as Asch’s conformity study, proved the power of social influence and peer pressure.
If you’re asking yourself if it’s time to get a new driver, there’s a good chance it’s because of social influence and peer pressure. Everywhere you consume golf – whether it’s on TV, YouTube, in magazines, or online – you see brand-new drivers attached to promises of the longest distances, fastest ball speeds and most forgiveness ever. It’s enough to make you wonder if you own equipment is adequate, or even take the leap and upgrade your driver even if you don’t believe it’s the right time.
So when is it actually time to upgrade your driver? Here’s our complete, unbiased guide to help you decide when it’s time to upgrade the big stick.
If you’re looking for a specific, concrete answer to how often you should replace your driver, like every 5 years of every 150 rounds for example, you won’t find it here. It’s too personal of a decision and there are too many variables to give a black-and-white answer.
The only clear cut answer I’ll give is this: get a new driver when it’s right for you.
Some people like to buy new clubs evey year. Golf is a hobby, it’s supposed to be fun. If you love the excitement of getting new clubs and have the means to fund that thrill, go right ahead.
Some people love holding on to their clubs as long as possible, only replacing them when they’re damaged, lost, or the performance has become a total mis-fit for the player’s evolving skills or swing speed.
Is it time to upgrade your driver? Consider the following seven questions. Answer them honestly and you’ll have you answer.
Do You Have Confidence in Your Driver?
How do you feel when you pull driver from your bag, walk to the tee box and peg your ball in the ground?
If you feel like you’re holding your greatest weapon and you’re about to unleash a bomb that’s going to strike fear into your opponent, it’s going to be hard to justify replacing that driver.
On the other hand, if you “bench” your driver several times per year and you’ve never really clicked with it, perhaps a fresh start is in order.
Golf simply isn’t much fun when you’re not confident you can get off the tee.
But before you run out and replace your driver, find out if the problem is the craftsman, not the tool. In other words, perhaps a lesson would straighten you out. There’s no sense exchanging one driver you don’t like for another one you can’t hit either.
If you’re swapping drivers because you’ve lost all faith, the best way to replace it with one you believe in is through a proper fitting.
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How Much Are Performance Gains Worth to You?
If every new driver was a couple yards longer than the one it replaced, we’d all be hitting the ball 40 yards farther than we were 25 years ago, right?
We’re not.
In fact, according to the USGA’s distance report, golfers only hit the ball three yards farther in 2019 (217 yards) than in 2000 (214 yards). Three stinkin’ yards.
That’s not to say some drivers don’t legitimately deliver performance gains, but it is to say that you shouldn’t assume that newer drivers are longer or better than the ones they replace.
Don’t blindly believe commercials or marketing hype.
If you’re tempted because of the performance gains a company is selling, check them out for yourself. Attend demo days or visit a local pro shop or retailer to test drivers and compare them head-to-head against yours. You may notice huge performance gains, minor gains, or no gains at all.
Take the hard data you collect and put a price on it. How much is a few extra yards worth? If the gains are worth the price to you, great. If not, hold off.
You may also learn that a specific shaft works better for you than the one you’re using. It’s pretty easy and much more affordable to replace the shaft in your driver than it is to replace the entire driver. With modern drivers equipped with adapter sleeves, you could put a shaf that fits you well with the adapter you need into your driver and see noticable performance improvements.
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How Playable Are Your Mis-hits With Driver?
Advancements in driver technology aren’t only about distance. With many club-makers flirting with or reaching the USGA limits on COR (fancy talk for energy transfer, which more or less boils down to ball speed), the focus is shifting to achieving maximum ball speeds from a greater area of the face.
What we’re getting at is, if you’re using an older driver, how playable are your mis-hits? Do you lose a ton a distance when you don’t flush it, or are your shorter drives still hanging in with your longest ones of the day?
Even if a new driver doesn’t churn out longer drives on your best shots, it may make your shorter drives much longer, which in turn boosts your average and delivers a lot more consistency.
Just like we mentioned above, don’t assume this will be true with any newer driver. Test yours against newer models and see the difference for yourself. Then ask yourself if the performance justifies the cost.
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Were You Fit for Your Current Driver?
Were you fit for your current driver? If you were, and you’re not satisfied with its performance, we suggest getting a lesson rather than a new driver.
That’s because – assuming the fitting was relatively recent and performed by an expert – you’re not likely to find a driver that’s going to perform much better for you than what you already have.
However, if you just guessed your specs or bought a driver off the rack, and you’re not satisfied, take that as a relatively expensive lesson. The chances of you pinpointing the optimal brand, model, profile (max forgiveness, draw bias or low spin, for example), shaft and length combination are miniscule.
When you go through a proper fitting, however, you’ll identify just that. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll start hitting your driver perfectly, but it does ensure that you’ll game a driver that fits your swing.
How Much Have Your Swing Speed or Skills Changed?
Golfers typically blame their driver when they decide they need a new one, but sometimes the player themself is to blame.
Perhaps you’ve shaved 10 strokes off your handicap since you bought your driver, or maybe you’ve been speed training and gained 10 mph of clubhead speed. Or maybe things have gone the other direction.
If your swing speed or your skills change significantly, it’s a good idea to at least test your driver against other options that are tailored to your new swing and skills and (stop me if we’ve said this already) decide for yourself if the performance optimizations justify the cost of switching.
Is Your Driver Adjustable?
Having an adjustable driver can extend its life. If your swing or your skills change, your driver can adapt with it – at least for a while – which means you might not need to replace your driver as often.
Today’s drivers almost always have adjustable hosels which allow you to adjust the loft to dial up your preferred trajectory, plus some form of movable weights. Moving the weights gives you the ability to move the center of gravity (CG) which lets you hone in your desired shot shape, or combat a pesky miss tendency.
If your current driver offers no adjustability whatsoever, it can be hard to fit it to your game your needs from your driver evolve.
Is Your Driver Damaged?
Dents in the top of your driver (sky marks) may be embarrassing, but they won’t impact performance.
However, if the face of your driver is cracked, or your shaft is cracked, it’s time to take action.
For starters, there is only a very limited amount of time left before a cracked driver becomes completely unusable, and those last few swings are likely to churn out unpredictable and compromised performance.
Replacing Your Driver
If you decide it is in fact time for a new driver, you don’t necessarily have to run to the nearest retailer and drop somewhere between $600 and $1,000 for the latest and greatest. You certainly can, but you have other options as well.
Before you buy a new driver, we highly recommend getting fit (in case you didn’t notice). A new driver is a huge investment, and a fitting not only helps put the right driver in your hands, but it prevents you from second-guessing your purchase.
A brand-agnostic fitter can give you the chance to hit drivers from several of the top brands to see exactly which driver, which shaft, and which settings work best for you.
Short of a proper club fitting, you should at least collect some data on your tendencies with driver before buying a new one. Find out the following to help assist with which driver and shaft may work well for you:
- What is your club speed?
- Where is your typical miss?
- Where do you typically strike the face (do you need a driver that’s forgiving across the face or do you typically hit the center)?
- What are your typical spin rates with driver? Aim for around 2000-2500
Consider checking out drivers from the previous one or two release cycles. As soon as the new ones hit, last year’s models hit the clearance rack, which means savings for you.
Considering you’re not likely to see any performance differences between modern drivers released a year apart, this can be an attractive option.
If you’re looking for a specific performance change through a new driver, you can also save money by replacing only the head, or only the shaft (depending on the performance you’re looking for) if you’re happy to stick with the same brand of driver you currently have.
Upgrade On Your Time
Getting a new driver is fun, but the honeymoon phase can end quickly if you spend somewhere near $1,000 yet don’t see any performance benefits.
There are plenty of reasons to get a new driver, but social influence and peer pressure shouldn’t be among them.