Smaller Driver Head = Less Distance?

[ava08]

I like messing around with clubs, but not stupidly. So my question is this Does a smaller head say 380-400cc's equal less distance on a pureish shot compared to a 460 head? Personal stories encouraged including what you play. I am currently rocking an R9TP which is sub 460 and working fine, but there are these days when I want something smaller. So I am looking a making a small investment but not willing to sacrifice huge yards. Let me know your thoughts be for I jump.

[golfnuthb]

Less distance? Not much if any imo. Personally I'd love to see drivers in that size range and with 44.5 inch shafts to boot. Good topic.

[Thrillhouse]

No

[JJK947]

.830 cor doesn't care how big the club head is. That is why you see so many guys saying that the new RBZ, xtd, tee, etc. fairways are too close to their drivers in the 14.5 and 13 lofts. Once you hit max cor distance comes from center hits and optimizing your launch conditions.

[cgasucks]

No...distance would be the same if not marginally longer if a present day 460 CC driver would be hit on the sweet spot when compared with an older driver...I bet the distance would be the same if you iron byron swung a 2000 TM 300 driver against a 2012 R11s (with the same shaft) but the R11s would definitely be longer on mishits...for me bigger clubhead = bigger sweetspot...

[titleist26]

You would find the smaller head would be longer then the 460cc. At the same shaft length the 380cc head can be swung faster via less mass and therefore less drag.
380-400cc heads tend to be lower spinning then 460 heads too. But obviously you need to be able to hit the middle to really get the most out of it.

[jmvargas]

distance difference=not much if any..

forgiveness difference=a lot!

[Ranger Rick]

On a centre strike no. On mishits yes. So if you hit the sweetspot 9/10 times then you can look at a smaller head. If your ball striking isn't as good then stay with the forgiving, big stuff.

In terms of which heads you could go for:
Yonex eZone
Titleist 983K
Nike Dymo 380 (probably very rare and expensive)

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

1yard for every 22.5cc of clubhead volume is the generally accepted formula. You also give up one yard for every 3/4" of shaft length. It's totally physics. Also 1yard fir every 8.6g heavier your shaft is.

NOT!

[kylemacca01]

Absolutely not! Infact, assuming center face contact, id argue that the smaller head = less drag so slightly higher swing speed resulting in MORE distance (just a theory). All smaller modern heads are still 0.83 so theoretically assuming you get a good fit, they should be as long as anything.

Im playing an Ezone 380 and its a beast. Stupidly low spin/low launch and LONG.

[lander215]

No loss of distance between my 983k and my Rapture V2. I feel I am more accurate with the 983k.

[Nessism]

Small head = less distance and less accuracy on off-center strikes.

A smaller head, will presumably have a smaller face, so the off-center strike COR will almost certainly be lower than a larger head. Also, a smaller head will have a lower MOI, or resistance to twisting on off-center strikes. None of this will matter on center strikes, but when hit less than perfectly, the larger head will be longer.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

I have about a 110cc persimmon driver built in 1951 and it loses a lot of distance relative to my 910d2. Of course the old Macgregor weighs more than my current 5-iron because it has a fiendishly heavy steel shaft!

But once in a while I can hit a low, running hook with that club which is a beautiful and scary thing to behold...

[SHIVAN]

The RBZ Tour 3wd is 170-ish CC's, and I watched guys on the web.com tour hit them 260yds-280yds.

[Ri_Redneck]

The size of the head does not mean ANYTHING on a center-face shot. Anyone who tells you different must work for an OEM. Can you get by with a driver with a smaller head? If you hit your 3w on center most of the time, then YES, you can. There was a post earlier that mentioned that a smaller head has less drag, this is absolutely true. My SS is in the 115 range and I can get consistently 2 - 3 mph faster SS with my old 975L-FE than with my current R11. Not much, but it's there.

NOW, if you tend to press (swing hard) your driver regularly, then you will be better off staying with the bigger head for the forgiveness. This is the only reason that I use the R11 instead of staying with the 975.

BT

[ibradley]

I picked up a Yonex zone 380 a couple weeks ago. It seems as long as anything. I love it!

[CBJ]

Smaller head = easier to square up in my opinion, I am currently playing a 360cc head at 44.5" and am hitting it longer than my R11s.

[bobcat]

If you have ever hit a TM R500 Tour, (325cc), then you know a smaller head sometimes = MORE distance!

[Tiptx1122]

Well how many of us have walked up to the Tee box only to pull out our 3W because it gave us more confidence & we had a narrow landing area. How many of us had hit our 3W & said Wow that was every bit as long as my driver or close to it. One of my New Years resolution at the beginning of the year was to use my 3W off the Tee more & I have. I have a RBZ Tour Spoon so its a little on the smaller side than most 3 woods as the size didn't bother me. Had the Golf Mechanic (Matt) fit me with a UST Mamiya Elements RK 7R shaft as I've never hit a 3W any better than this one. Ok before anyone else wants to chime in yes the Adams XTD was a bit longer but not as forgiving harder to control & had quality issues...& everyone who has owned one knows what I'm talking about so enough said about it. Smaller heads help to get square at impact & increases club head speed. Every bit as long if not longer than most 460 driver when making good contact. I do have an Adams Launch Lab but that head looks more compact than 460. My new weapon of choice for 2013 is the Yonex Ezone 380 with UST Mamiya Attas T2 5S as Wow what a beautiful looking driver. For those who can hit their 3W good off the Tee I would highly suggest giving a smaller headed driver a try. Then when all your friend hit the big bowling ball on a stick & you out drive them it's going to be great to hear them say Wow you just out drove me with your 3W when all along it's you driver .... Lol

[k b]

i've been saying it ever since i bought my 910 driver. i will not buy another driver until a company releases a modern small-head driver. hopefully they don't make me wait too long!

[bobcat]

At least manufacturers are beginning to make smaller heads now and also finding ways to make 460cc heads look a lot smaller. I am amazed at how small the Cleveland Classic 290 head looks at address. Apparently the volume is all in the depth and not in the footprint it occupies. I recently did a comparision with a 390cc TM R510-TP and a 440cc R580XD-TP and the Classic 290's shape makes it look very similar to those great heads from the address position. The 290's footprint looks slightly bigger than the R510-TP and maybe slightly smaller than the R580XD-TP because you simply can't see its depth from the aaddress position.

if you want a 460cc head than looks nowhere near that size at address, then I would say the Clevleand Classic 290 is definitely the way to go. A very nice design indeed!

[tbowles411]

We're about tapped out when it comes to driver technology IMO. Many OEMs are going smaller now because, one, a smaller driver (being smaller) has less mass and it's easier to get back to square. Two, IMO, they pack more of a punch. The best driver I EVER had was 355cc. I wish I still had it.

[bobcat]

[quote name='tbowles411' timestamp='1351792996' post='5878219']
We're about tapped out when it comes to driver technology IMO. Many OEMs are going smaller now because, one, a smaller driver (being smaller) has less mass and it's easier to get back to square. Two, IMO, they pack more of a punch. The best driver I EVER had was 355cc. I wish I still had it.
[/quote]

I agree, and that is why years ago I actually "hoarded away" certain Tour/TP heads of TM's R500 series. These models were the R500 Tour, (325 cc), R510-TP, (390 cc), R540XD-TP, (400 cc), and the R580XD-TP, (440 cc). I actually have quite a few brand new models of the above, and many others in mint condition. There is a wide variety of lofts in this collection. Almost forgot, there are a few mint condition Tour issue R540 heads as well, (350cc). I had each driver professionally shafted with a brand new Fujikura 45" 757 Speeder Shaft, (tipped 1/2"). Some have the original Black TM-25 757 Shaft, while others have the newer Tourspec graphics. (No difference in specs or performance betweent those shafts, Fujikura just changed the graphics around 2005). All these drivers have new (orginal) Black Golf Pride Tour Wrap grips as well. To this day, there are no better drivers to be found, IMHO. It is rare to even find these models at all now, much less in brand new or mint condtion, so this is a now a very unique driver collection.

I have never actually offered any of these drivers for sale, but I have given a few away to certain friends who appreciate these particular clubs as much as I do. I know these could bring big bucks on ebay should I ever decide to sell. I suppose these drivers hold value so well because virtually all drivers began to grow to a huge, (460 cc), soon after the R500 series was discontinued. These smaller, non-adjustable, Tour/TP heads certainly seem to be in very high demand among the better players out there who see great benefits from the increased accuracy, workability, and the super-solid sound and feel, these drivers offer. Most newer heads seem to have lost all or most of those benefits now.

[zack175]

The smaller the head the harder it is to get a COR of near .83 away from the center of the face.
The bigger drivers=bigger face= more trampoline effect away from center of the face
If you hit your driver dead center every time then a smaller driver might be longer bc of less mass but if you don't hit the sweet spot every time then you will give up considerable distance on off center hits bc of reduced trampoline effect