AskMyGolfSpy Vol. 29

Welcome back to another edition of #AskMyGolfSpy where readers like you submit your top questions to our experts here at MGS. You can pass along your questions to the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or right here in the comments section below!

If the USGA and R&A have a set of testing protocols for drivers to be conforming (distance) and a majority of drivers meet those protocols, why would I buy a new 2024 driver? – @SlowMoSwing

You should only buy a new driver in 2024 if it’s measurably better than what you have now, although I will accept “because I wanted to” as a valid reason for buying a new club.

For all intents and purposes, USGA regulations are limited to volume, length, moment of inertia (MOI) and Characteristic of Time (CT). 

As we’ve discussed, there’s some wiggle room between CT and the old COR limit that does allow drivers to get slightly faster. Off-center performance continues to improve with each new release and, while the benefits are largely limited to faster players, there’s no cap on aerodynamic efficiency. 

Materials and manufacturing techniques continue to improve as well, which makes for more consistent and durable parts.

The point in all of this is that there is room for improved performance within the rules. 

It’s also true that our swings change and so the driver that fit us last year might not fit us as well next year.

With all of that said, the original point stands: Only buy when performance is demonstrably better.

Loft jacking is here to stay. Why don’t manufacturers replace numbers (6,7,5, etc.) with the degree that each club is?

By and large, golfers don’t actually care what the loft of the club is and, while most know how far they hit a 7-iron, they don’t know what the loft is.

I live this stuff and, while I know how far I hit my 5-iron, if you put me on the spot, the best I’d be able to muster is a reasonable guess as to the loft.

When the Ben Hogan company returned (the first time) several years ago, it tried replacing numbers with lofts. While some thought it was cool, most found it annoying, which is probably why when new owners took over, they ditched the lofts for the more conventional numbers.

Ultimately, the number on the club is nothing more than an identifier. It doesn’t much matter if your 7-iron is 27 degrees or 34 degrees.

How often do you think players should update their clubs? Does the changing of technology in clubs make them last longer or get replaced faster? – @joshuajhoffmann

There’s no easy answer to how often you should replace your clubs but we don’t think you should—unless there’s a measurable performance benefit.

With that in mind, it’s likely that your sand and lob wedges should be the most frequently replaced clubs in your bag. Seventy-five rounds is the rule of thumb.

There’s no practical lifespan on a putter though new technologies continue to emerge.

Three to five years is reasonable for a driver.

Unless you’ve got cash burning a hole in your pocket, everything else can be stretched out 5-6 years.

The only caveat is that every so often something emerges that resets the category. A decent example was the original Rocketballz which left most of the industry behind in the fairway wood category for a couple of years.

More often than not, however, year-over-year (over year) improvements are minimal.

As for whether or not clubs last longer, more resilient and durable materials is a constant talking point and generally speaking quality, and with that, longevity, have improved.

Have you considered testing sunglasses?

It’s been a while since our last sunglasses test, so to answer your question, hell, yes!

It’s happening this year.

My local course retrieves balls from water hazards and wooded areas, cleans them up a bit and lets us pick what we need. Should I even play these balls? – Tom Nikollaj

Maybe. 

Balls pulled from the woods are probably fine. Those that have been submerged for a bit might not be. Golf balls are hydroscopic, which means they absorb water. If a ball has been submerged long enough, its performance properties may have changed.

Is there a golf ball better for those that slice?

I’m not a big fan of relying on the golf ball for shot-shape correction. Having said that, a lower-spinning ball will fly a bit straighter, though it’s not going to save you from a banana slice.

Low spin and low compression often go hand in hand so, for higher swing speed players in particular, that can mean a distance loss off the driver.

There are firmer balls that are lower-spinning than others but even a really low-spin, high-compression ball (Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash, for example) is going to spin more than most soft offerings on the market. 

Do you have a recommendation for a forgiving iron with traditional lofts that is not hollow bodied?  (I swing it hard but don’t often find the center!) -@UpandDown4Bogey

The disclaimer here is that it’s always dicey to give a specific product recommendation based on limited info.

Having said that, this is an interesting one.

Target player demographics being what they are, traditional lofts and forgiving aren’t often paired together. Throw in not hollow-bodied and the field narrows quite a bit more still. I think the best we’re going to do here is a blend of traditional-ish and forgiving-ish. With that in mind, here are the top three I came up with.

PING i230 Callaway Apex Pro Mizuno JPX 923 Tour

More Questions?

As always, if you have any questions for the MGS crew (and they don’t have to be about the golf ball), drop them below for a chance to be featured in next week’s #AskMyGolfSpy!

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