My Thriver experience so far

govols · 2017-03-01T12:17:39+00:00

Built a thriver this past weekend. 44" length, C8 swingweight, Powerbilt Air Force One 14 degree-460cc head, Matrix MFS 40+ A flex shaft, pure grip. The s...

govols

ptjn1201 You're right. I figure it has a high center of gravity.

Release

It take a little time for practice to get used to the new set up.
When I went to 47" driver, it took almost one full season and numerous driving range visit to get the feel of it.

Everything else being the same, the shorter the stick the faster it'll reach the golf ball. You said you could feel the head, Be mindful of where the head is, deliver the head to the golf ball within your normal ability .

My personal experience is also 15-17 yards shorter with a 43"-44" driver instead of the 45.5"-46"

Bigborgel

I always thought a Thriver was a shorter shaft (42-43") , and a smaller head than 460, possibly 420-450cc, and as you have done a high loft head of 13-16*. I don't know if what you have would technically be called a Thriver, but just a high launch driver. And it really doesn't matter what I think, as long as it performs for you.

DC300

Bigborgel Yeah, technically speaking a Thriver should also be heavier than a normal driver. I think it has been accepted to let it be 460cc at this point. Overall, whatever keeps it in play is what matters. Hell they call Scions a sports car these days so there really are no standards.

govols

Bigborgel I remember when 44" was not considered short. It's about 2" shorter than my current driver however. The head weighed 205 grams. I could have gotten a D0 or D1 swingweight had I installed a lighter grip. The midsize grip weighed 60.5 grams. I don't get too concerned over swingweight. I feel the head in this club during the swing for some reason. Maybe because of the whippy shaft.

Tinker

KZG SP 700 ( 355 cc 14 degree) Evolution R flex at 44 length. The one club that never leaves my bag.

ode

Possible the lighter SW caused some over the top/pulls until you slowed your tempo down....IMO if this is the case and the pulls continue to show up occasionally, you could add some more headweight....but that depends on if you are able to keep that tempo and continue to get good results....I'm really finnicky about the total weight and need a sledge hammer and if I had a shorter driver that SW lighter than my gamer, it would be a disaster....might be able to fake it a time or two, but eventually it would fail. Pretty sure the AFO is around 204-205 from the jump, so that his good thing with going shorter as you won't have to add crazy amount of weight.

Orlimar1

Keep us updated on how it goes. This will be fun to follow how it works for you on the course.

govols

I walked 9 Friday after work and got up with the birds and walked 18 Saturday morning...elbows aren't happy. I won't bore you with the details but the thriver is a semi-failed experiment. Bottom line is: when hitting the thriver well I also hit my driver well. I don't see the point of giving up 20 yards. It was no more accurate than my driver and I don't think I'd hit more fairways with it. It's still fun to hit though.

DC300

govols That was my experience as well.

Sneakylong

My nephew is going to try a Ricky Fowler thriver / driver experiment. He bought a 20 gram weight for his Ping LS Tec and is going to cut it down to 43.5". He doesn't have access to a swing weight scale so it's kind of a shot in the dark.

I told him he'll lose ~ 3 swing weight points per .5" he cuts. And I believe he'll gain 1 point for every 2 grams he adds back to the head. Long story short he should get back in the D range by putting the 20 gram weight in.

His swing speed is in the 110 mph range and he has a very high ball flight and a two way miss. He's hoping to see a lower ball flight with a little more accuracy.

Rickochet

Sneakylong My nephew is going to try a Ricky Fowler thriver / driver experiment. He bought a 20 gram weight for his Ping LS Tec and is going to cut it down to 43.5".

Is he tip trimming or butt trimming? Butt trimming and adding a significant amount of weight to the head might take him in the wrong direction flexwise. I would think tip trimming would be the direction to proceed. But, I understand the issue if it doesn't work. You can always extend the butt end back.

Bigborgel

My regular playing partner is a good driver of the ball. All of a sudden, all his drives were going low right, experimented with changing ballpo, stance alignment, nothing worked. So he had Hireko build him a Thriver which he hit very well from the getgo. That allowed him to return to his driver, and hit it well once again.

I think this is where a Thriver excels, more than as a big-headed substitute for a 3 wood.

Release

Bigborgel

The modern day drivers are too long for the weekend golfers. We are not near the peak of our physical shape, and we are not swinging the golf clubs everyday. Theoretically, longer shaft will produce longer drives...... only in the hands of those whom could handle it.
They say, the feel of the golf swing is the one most difficult element for any golf professional to teach.

It is true your buddy perhaps accumulated some small golf swing issues over the years , by swinging the shorter stick got him "back on plane ".
I will go back to a 33.5" - 34" persimmon wood driver with 280 cc head ( jumbo size back then ) should I have a driver issue, and very soon I'd figured out where I did wrong. Most of the issues rooted from trying to swing too hard with the longer driver. Of course, Oldman Time is another obvious cause for losing the golf swing.

Sneakylong

Rickochet

He's going to butt trim only. I think it's an X Flex so he should be in good shape.