My brother, who plays to scratch with hickory clubs, decided to do some standard driver testing a few months ago, when he considered trying to qualify for the USGA Mid-Am. So he went down to his local golf store and proceeded to demo all the latest and greatest on the launch monitor. He said he couldn't hit any of the best new drivers beyond 275.
So to get a fair comparison he brought his Taylor Made Driver that he's had for at least 15 years, which he commenced in hitting 290 consistently. After those numbers he turned to the sales guy and said, "thanks for saving me $400.
Moral of the story is, newer is not always better, and don't judge a book by it's cover. Golf clubs are all about comfort. I've been playing the same irons, driver, fairway wood and putter for over 10 years, and they work just fine. I'm very comfortable with them, and when I swing right, they still offer me the best chance of hitting a good shot versus any of the countless varieties of newer fancier crap that the OEM's keep pimping to the market.
Bottom line, I'll replace a golf club or irons when I notice a deterioration in their ability to produce consistently good shots when struck well. The last driver I bought was the result of me literally exploding the head of my old one on the driving range one day.
And that's all I have to say about that.
