Question

4.31K viewsJuly 27, 2025

wweaver1948 18 July 24, 2025 6 Comments

I’m in my late 70’s and have been playing with a slice for over 65 yrs. My driver is a 2007 TM Burner that I’ve re-shafted 3 times since I bought it to reduce club weight and maintain club head speed. I had a club fitting and was told a majority of my hits revealed an open club face and swing path for a slice. The tested new clubs added 15-20 yards total with same ball landing distribution. I have chronic back pain so changing my swing path is becoming more difficult.

Looking at specs: It looks like my Current Burner is 300 gm; my stiff diamana s+ 5ct is 62gm. I have always used stiff shaft with mid bend point to minimize my slice. My launch angle is average 12.5 deg.. The 2007 is extremely forgiving; in fact many of my best hits are off the toe area.

Many new drivers are 190-200 gm with 50-55 gm shafts. With the reduced club weight I want to increase my club head speed & distance without exaggerating my faults. I think a regular flex shaft is in order. Will high or low torque have much effect at 81 mph (or a little more from the lighter club) or should I ignore that? One of the more forgiving club heads I’m considering is the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D.

Another choice is to re-shaft the 2007 Burner again with a lighter 50 or even 40 gm shaft.

Rlafoone Posted new comment July 27, 2025

Rlafoone commented July 25, 2025

my 2 cents – I play the Callaway Rogue ST Max D driver (2022) 9*. It’s said to have the most draw bias of any of the callaway driver to date. I couple it with a Maltby MPF Pro Series DR shaft in A flex Shaft at 44.25″, torque is 5.0. Swing weight is D2 if I recall.
I’ve been playing a slice for several years also. The Callaway is lofted to 11* and set to D for a more upright lie. I believe the 2* increase in loft closes the face some. The 5.0* torque of the Maltby shaft, I believe helps close the face a bit also.
Since putting this together a couple years ago ( I bought the Head used), I’m consistently in the fairway, however when the ball hits the ground it does run to the right side ( I attribute this to my out-to-in swing path).
Just my story – what works for me, doesn’t mean it will work for you. I do believe the Callaway Rogue ST Max D head, will benefit your slice more than the Paradym, and will save you a few hundred bucks also.

wweaver1948 commented July 25, 2025

I appreciate your comments. My burner is 9 deg and my current shaft has my launch angle at about 12.5 deg so I focus that aspect. I understand your comments and find them helpful. Many years ago (40) when my dad was making clubs he told me to read Maltby’s books on club making. He said even if you never make a club you will benefit from knowing how all the parts work to improve your play. Thanks.

Critter commented July 26, 2025

another trait that sadly comes with age is stubbornness, and a resistance to change. Under no circumstances should anyone with a 79mph swing speed be using a 9 deg driver. At your swing speed you need to be launching at like 16-17 deg to obtain maximum distance! Also, failure to progress to a more flexible shaft only lessens your swing speed!

wweaver1948 commented July 26, 2025

Your opinions tend to reflect more on yourself than my questions. I tend to reply on actual experience and data rather than generalizations.

Critter commented July 26, 2025

its not ‘a generalization’ .. its proven fact that all Club Fitters and Launch Monitor Calculations are based off of! AKA Physics
At 80mph club head speed a Driver needs to be Launching the Ball at a 16 to 17deg Launch Angle with about 2700 spin.
You even mentioned that by the time your slicing drives roll-out … the better ones that do land in the fairway end-up in right rough. With the proper Launch & Decent angles they will not have nearly as much roll-out as a 9deg driver swung at 80mph.

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1 Answer

my 2 cents – I play the Callaway Rogue ST Max D driver (2022) 9*. It’s said to have the most draw bias of any of the callaway driver to date. I couple it with a Maltby MPF Pro Series DR shaft in A flex Shaft at 44.25″, torque is 5.0. Swing weight is D2 if I recall.
I’ve been playing a slice for several years also. The Callaway is lofted to 11* and set to D for a more upright lie. I believe the 2* increase in loft closes the face some. The 5.0* torque of the Maltby shaft, I believe helps close the face a bit also.
Since putting this together a couple years ago ( I bought the Head used), I’m consistently in the fairway, however when the ball hits the ground it does run to the right side ( I attribute this to my out-to-in swing path).
Just my story – what works for me, doesn’t mean it will work for you. I do believe the Callaway Rogue ST Max D head, will benefit your slice more than the Paradym, and will save you a few hundred bucks also.
I appreciate your comments. My burner is 9 deg and my current shaft has my launch angle at about 12.5 deg so I focus that aspect. I understand your comments and find them helpful. Many years ago (40) when my dad was making clubs he told me to read Maltby’s books on club making. He said even if you never make a club you will benefit from knowing how all the parts work to improve your play. Thanks.
another trait that sadly comes with age is stubbornness, and a resistance to change. Under no circumstances should anyone with a 79mph swing speed be using a 9 deg driver. At your swing speed you need to be launching at like 16-17 deg to obtain maximum distance! Also, failure to progress to a more flexible shaft only lessens your swing speed!
Your opinions tend to reflect more on yourself than my questions. I tend to reply on actual experience and data rather than generalizations.
its not ‘a generalization’ .. its proven fact that all Club Fitters and Launch Monitor Calculations are based off of! AKA Physics
At 80mph club head speed a Driver needs to be Launching the Ball at a 16 to 17deg Launch Angle with about 2700 spin.
You even mentioned that by the time your slicing drives roll-out … the better ones that do land in the fairway end-up in right rough. With the proper Launch & Decent angles they will not have nearly as much roll-out as a 9deg driver swung at 80mph.

Answer 1 · 2025-07-25T10:18:17+00:00

Thanks for the detail. Difficult to make ideal recommendations without seeing you hit shots, but based on the information you gave, I think it’s obvious you should go to a more flexible shaft. 81 mph indicates a regular flex, no doubt. I think you might want to try a new driver. Although the Burner may still be a good driver for you, I think you could benefit from a driver that has some adjustability. Face angle has a lot to with directional flight and the adjustable features would allow a face angle adjustment that might help reduce some of your left to right (slice) shots. No doubt your swing path contributes, but if you are not going to go through the process of changing a lot and practicing a lot to change the swing path, which it appears you may not be able to with your back, changing the face angle setting on the driver can help. I’ve worked with players in the past in a similar situation and it works. 1 degree of face angle change can change sideways movement of the ball by 7 yards, so it can have an impact.

Beyond that, an ultra-light shaft in the 40 or 50 gram range could help as well. Anyone that wants more distance should be playing the lightest, longest club they can control. Obviously the control part is important, but that’s the balance and that’s something only you can determine. At what point does the overall club weight get too light, and what length is too long. If you can find that balance, with the more flexible shaft and have the ability to adjust the face angle with a new driver head, that is about all you can do to improve the ball flight and distance.

Hope this helps.

Britt Lindsey

Thanks Britt. I appreciate the descriptions in your comments. With my current play I’ve found that if I watch my club path on my practice swing, adjust my stance so the path is toward the target I have a better chance of hitting straight rather than slice. But after so many years with another swing it’s hard to maintain. And follow through becomes so important. Even though the club can no longer affect the ball after I hit it, my follow through (and my divot) can tell me about the swing path. It’s difficult to take the club to the target when your body no longer wants to go that way without significant effort.
Several years ago I tried using a driver with slice/draw and had and instructor to work with. At the final lesson he set it for full draw and told me it was the best we could do at the time; said I was doing something with my hands that he had not seen before. (no back pain, 2 repaired shoulders at that time) will look at the newer adjustable ones as you suggest. Thanks again.