4 Things to Check Before Changing Drivers

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Louis Pringle
Aug 05, 2019
3 minutes

Golf season is just around the corner and you most likely need to change your driver. No, we know, it still looks good and doesn’t seem like it needs to be changed, but chances are it might.


Here are 4 easy ways for you to notice when that’s the case:
  1. Check For Weak Spots on the Head
  2. Examine The Club Shaft
  3. Leave Your Club in the Water
  4. Twist The Clubhead (Carefully)

1. Check For Weak Spots on the Head

Your driver can develop a weak spot on the face due to repetitive impacts with the ball. The only way you can notice it is by using a credit card. Don’t worry, no need to purchase anything here.

All you need to do is slide the card across the face. Usually, the face of a driver is slightly convex, but when it starts caving in it means it’s about to crack. If the credit card doesn’t show empty space on both ends, your driver’s face has weakened out and you’re losing a ton of distance and accuracy.

2. Examine The Club Shaft

The shaft also weakens out. An easy way to notice if it does is to simply bend the shaft. Don’t try to break it, folks, you just barely need to arc the shaft. If you hear a slight cracking noise, the shaft has lost efficiency and is far from performing the way it should.

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3. Leave Your Club In the Water

Another simple way of finding a crack on the head of a club is to submerge it in water for a couple of hours. If there’s a crack anywhere, water will find its way inside and you’ll notice something’s wrong with your club. You can see pretty quickly if bubbles are starting to be formed anywhere on the head, that will indicate that the driver is cracked.

Related | 5 Tips to Clean Your Clubs At Home

4. Twist The Clubhead (Carefully)

Try and twist the shaft (not like King Kong there, people) to see if the head is loose. If it moves ever so gently, the epoxy has lost its power and the head is about to fly away (literally). It will avoid a 50-yard walk down the driving range, ducking while other people are hitting, just to retrieve that broken club head.

The Takeaway: Sometimes it can be difficult to get rid of a driver you’ve been hitting well for a while, but you’re more likely to play better golf if you opt to pass it on and upgrade the contents of your bag.

If one or more of these tests reveal a weak spot, well time has come to say goodbye to your beloved driver and get a newer one!

Until next time,

The Golf Avenue Team

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