Anser Driver...Poor Man's SLDR?

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

My driver, which I love, is a Ping G25. It is labeled as "9.5" loft but according to my inexact shadetree measurement is more like 12 degrees when set to the "+" hosel position and set up with the face squared. Typical Ping understated lofts I suppose.

 

But I've really wanted to try a Ping driver labeled "12" and see if I hit it higher and/or with more carry distance. So when I found a decent deal on a like-new Anser in lefty 12-degree with a Soft-R flex TFC shaft I ordered it. Ought to have it in hand by the weekend.

 

My clubhead speed is high 80's to maybe 90mph at the very, very maximum. Level to slightly descending AoA and I tee the ball well inside my front foot and medium-high. I hit the 9.5/12 G25 about 205-210 yards assuming 20-odd yards of runout (typical for my home course) and it's the first driver I've ever hit routinely more than 200 yards,

 

So in theory, this Anser marked "12" will probably have 13-14 degrees of actual loft once I set it to "+" like the G25. And a bit more flex in the shaft, not that matters much given my early release. It occurs to me that I'm doing a version of the Taylormade "Loft Up" idea. Going to a couple degrees more loft with a lower-spinning head...

 

Am I right that the Anser head spins less than G25 at the same loft? Or course if it's really 2+ degrees weaker than the G25 the extra loft will add a bunch of spin. Which is probably OK given my ball speed in the low-mid 120's typically.

 

I figure I'm doing a "poor man's SLDR" Loft Up experiment. Yeah, that's the ticket. Just saving 300 bucks by doing it this way!

[jnradioactive]

well if it works it will be a poor man's SLDR only for you since you got a deal on that Anser. But otherwise Anser is still going for 400 list just like the SLDR...

Which begs the question does Ping have any plans to continue with the Anser woods line? From what i heard the i25 is more forgiving than the Anser so that kind of displaces the Anser that was supposed to fall between the I and the G in terms of forgiveness when it 1st came out... head spinning must sit down...

[joeunc]

The Bio Cell is the "poor mans SLDR"

[j_king]

When I was fitted for a driver last year on trackman, the Anser gave me great numbers and lower spin than most other offerings. I ended up going with the 913D3, but have moved back to a Ping G15 and am considering giving the Anser another go!

[driveandputtmachine]

[quote name='joeunc' timestamp='1396537482' post='9010991']
The Bio Cell is the "poor mans SLDR"
[/quote]

I agree it and the Nike Covert 2.0 are both lower spinning heads then most. However I did not find either to be as low spinning as the SLDR. However I did find both to be more forgiving than the SLDR.

[cgasucks]

Give it a year...the SLDR will be a poor man's driver...

[etotheo]

[quote name='Fourmyle of Ceres' timestamp='1396536655' post='9010865']
My driver, which I love, is a Ping G25. It is labeled as "9.5" loft but according to my inexact shadetree measurement is more like 12 degrees when set to the "+" hosel position and set up with the face squared. Typical Ping understated lofts I suppose.

But I've really wanted to try a Ping driver labeled "12" and see if I hit it higher and/or with more carry distance. So when I found a decent deal on a like-new Anser in lefty 12-degree with a Soft-R flex TFC shaft I ordered it. Ought to have it in hand by the weekend.

My clubhead speed is high 80's to maybe 90mph at the very, very maximum. Level to slightly descending AoA and I tee the ball well inside my front foot and medium-high. I hit the 9.5/12 G25 about 205-210 yards assuming 20-odd yards of runout (typical for my home course) and it's the first driver I've ever hit routinely more than 200 yards,

So in theory, this Anser marked "12" will probably have 13-14 degrees of actual loft once I set it to "+" like the G25. And a bit more flex in the shaft, not that matters much given my early release. It occurs to me that I'm doing a version of the Taylormade "Loft Up" idea. Going to a couple degrees more loft with a lower-spinning head...

Am I right that the Anser head spins less than G25 at the same loft? Or course if it's really 2+ degrees weaker than the G25 the extra loft will add a bunch of spin. Which is probably OK given my ball speed in the low-mid 120's typically.

I figure I'm doing a "poor man's SLDR" Loft Up experiment. Yeah, that's the ticket. Just saving 300 bucks by doing it this way!
[/quote]

I'm not sure you would benefit from a spin reducing head with a swing speed around 90mph. I own the Anser in the 10.5* variant and swing the club consistently around 110mph. For myself the Anser has always performed better when I stayed aggressive - if I ever tried to take something off the swing the ball would seem to drop out of the air.

I would almost suggest looking at getting on a monitor with a 10.5* or even a 12* G25. Then put that up against the SLDR or your current gamer.

Side note: I saw a 14* SLDR yesterday. Never thought I would see a driver with the same loft as a 3-wood...

[richard t]

I would argue differently. I tried both the G25 and the Anser. I swing the club 85-90 mph. I hit the driver straight, real straight. 220 yds is all I'm getting at my age. I had both clubs a long time last spring. Anser ALWAYS out drove the G25. ( Yes, same shafts tested). The G probably carries as far as the Anser. I proved that on soft fairways with no roll. Later in the summer when ground firmed up the Anser gave me anywhere from 8-12 yards more roll. The two heads were both 10.5*s and I tried them on neutral and +.
When a real good friend got an Anser and did not like it I traded him the G25. Now I have two. Works because I keep a bag at work for 'emergencies.'
I'm certain every person is different, in many ways, but I asked our pro to 'check me out' and all he said was, " go with this one for sure."
And FWIW I don't think it's a 'poor man's Slider.' I think it's way, way better than anything that OEM makes.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Point taken about comparing what I paid for a used 2-year-old model to the (temporary) high price of a recently-released SLDR.

But price aside I think what I also meant by "poor man's SLDR" is that I don't really think an Anser driver will be nearly as low spin or low MoI to an extreme like the SLDR. I'm thinking it more of a nudge in that direction while still (hopefully) being a pretty reasonable club for somebody other than high-spin big-hitter types.

etotheo,

One of these days I'd love to swing a lefty 14-degree SLDR just because that's such an unusual thing. But lefty high-lofted drivers are pretty scarce usually, that's one reason I sort of jumped on the 12-degree Anser.

cgasucks,

Yeah, that's one "good" thing about Taylormade. Any product becomes a po' boy's special pretty soon. Great for price-seeking bottom feeders like myself!

[richard t]

I hear what you're saying. I am surprised at what the Ansers are still selling for used, especially since Ping 'shelved it.'I was in Golfsmith today buying tees and they had used Ansers from $160.00- 185. Not a huge price but for a two year old used driver... Hope you got a good deal. That TFC shaft is very nice too.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

One cool thing is I'll have the "R" flex TFC in my G25 and "Soft-R" TFC in the Anser and they are exchangeable. Plus my G25 shaft is cut down about 3/4" shorter than standard so it will be 1/4" to 1/2" shorter than the Anser shaft. Might be fun to try them both ways, eventually.

Let me say though that for anything other than my current G25 and its shaft to make it into my bag long-term, well I'd be gobsmacked. It's by far the best driver I've ever owned.

[blink3665]

I play a 12* Anser with a tipped SR. I tipped it on the recomendation of a club fitter to get it to play closer to Regular and to shorten it 1/2". I play it at 44". I am in the 92-95 mph range with an early release. I have a descending AoA as well. I normally get 235-245 with 10-20 yards of rollout depending on the weather.

I have been using this driver and setup for a few months. I haven't been able to see any rollout for the past few months because the ground is so soft. I am about to give up on this driver. I'm not a long bomber, but I'm even less so with the Anser. It could be any number of variables. i have changed my swing recently (but my irons are longer than before with the swing change). The weather has been crappy with no rollout.

I think I need more spin in my driver. With the low SS and descending AoA I don't get much elevation on the ball and I haven't seen a big difference between 12* and 10.5* that I played before...

[hayzooos]

If you're looking for a really low spin head, Anser fits the question. I picked one up for a really good price with the Ahina shaft in it as well. I had to put more of a mid/mid shaft in there to get some good use out of it. I actually put the Ahina into the G25 head and have had pretty good results from it for the most part.

If you're going to go with an Anser, I think you'll need a higher loft and probably not a low/low type shaft. Might work for some people but they're either bringing serious heat in their swing or there's a swing flaw adding a ton of spin. Either way, the Anser will knock spin down, no doubt about it.

To the guy talking above about not being able to let up on it at all, I know exactly what you mean. Anything less that a pretty much full blown swing (not like coming out of shoes or anything) lead me to the same thing, ball kind of falling out of the sky.