Just wondering what effect shaving the face has on the bulge and roll ? Seems like in this test the accuracy didn’t suffer much.

I think people are missing the point. Golf is supposed to be fun. Who gives a crap if someone plays with it. Does it make em hit it straighter? Highly unlikely. If your playing for money or going by the ‘rules’ then of course keep it legit.

Would have been better if you broke down the results according to swing speed groupings. The relationship between COR and Swing Speed is not linear I have gathered.

I thought about doing this to one of my drivers. I discussed it with my playing partners during a round of golf. By the end of the round it was decided that instead of spending the money to shave the face of my driver I could just pick up my ball after a tee shot and move it 10 yards further up the fairway (or rough, or trees, or lake, or wherever it ended up). Both are illegal (per the RoG) and unethical, one is just way cheaper. Next round we are going to discuss foot wedges, and if we have time, betting during a round (I hear that’s a lot of fun!).

And for those of you espousing moving up to the front tees for more distance, why stop there? Why not just drive your cart out to where your ideal tee shot would land, drop a ball and hit your approach shot from there? Even better, why not just drop a ball on the green and putt for birdie, so you can three putt your way to a bogie round? Never mind, I think they already have a whole special course for that, with go-karts and batting cages for when you get done.

The game is what it is, and the equipment is limited by a governing body, for better or for worse. We all know that going in, and you’re either up to the task or you aren’t. Using illegal equipment or moving to the ladies tees, or any one of a thousand other bad ideas folks come up with to make the game “more enjoyable” is what is really hurting golf. Play the game as it’s intended or take up another sport. I hear bowling is a lot of fun, beer is involved, and you still get to wear ridiculous clothes without raising an eyebrow…

If you want to try a non conforming head Golfworks.com has the “Defiant” Non Conforming head for about $90-. They can ever put it together for you for $10- If you don’t like it you can sell it on Ebay. You can’t sell a driver with a caved in face on Ebay

Interesting article. I just have to laugh at all of the holy rollers and all I can say is, thank you for your integrity. Now would I invest in a shaved face driver for my league and casual play? No, because I like to at least attempt to abide by the “rules” of golf. Would contemplate employing one for the next company scramble where the winning score is usually 54 or 55 by guys bagging 22 clubs? Hell yes! If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em!

I really like the majority of the published work from MyGolfSpy and I am a contributor, however I do not like this article nor your support of shaving clubs. Golf to me has always been a sport where all levels of players play the game with honesty and integrity, this article promotes neither.
If you use a shaved club when playing with friends you are cheating them, if you only use it when you are playing by yourself, then you are cheating you. I’m tired of cheaters and I hope that the majority of golfers feel the same.

You can tongue in cheek this article all you want, it’s still wrong. I challenge every person who uses a shaved club to formally announce it to your friends before teeing off, see how that goes over.

C’mon MyGolfSpy – you are better than this.

Well not for me. I feel proud when I hit a great drive because I worked hard at it. Hitting a great drive with a shaved face driver would not feel the same no matter how far it went. I would just feel like a cheater mostly because I’m cheating myself. Isn’t golf about playing by the rules even when your by yourself.
I’m 62 I don’t try to play from the back tees.
If you don’t hit it as far as you once did put your pride aside and move up. That cost nothing. If you are younger and not hitting it like you want put that money into lessons. How can something be fun if you are cheating how could you be proud of your score if you cheated.

If this process is going so well why aren’t any of the cnc milling machines running?

WOW WOW
I read the article and appreciate it for what it is. an article about golf eq.
I love the idea of a shaved face, not gonna do it but like it.
But it seems the morality police need to comment on it.
If you don’t like it say so but don’t shoot the messenger or the message.
Good grief.
Love you msg.

It would be interesting to see the clubhead speed as a reference when you publish ball speeds to see if the distance added can be attributed to clubhead speed and not just shaving the face down. It would also allow for Smash Factor to see how solidness of contact would be assuming they are all relatively similar. Seeing the correlation between clubhead speed and less weight (20g) may give more perspective.

I wonder what Walter Sobchak would think of this…..

We started playing from different tees on longer par 4’s. This makes the game fun. None of us kill the ball off the tee. So just adjust your game. The PGA police won’t put ya in jail if you play from a red tee every once and a while.

Geez have fun and stop spending money on gimmicks.

Sad state we live in. Shaving the face to make illegal drivers and give you 10 extra yards, so you can feel better about yourself…

Maybe instead of shaving the driver face, they should just move up a tee box. There’s your 10 yards off the tee. I mean, you’re not playing with this illegal club in a handicapped round or club event are you? *wink wink* So the tee boxes you play from shouldn’t matter.

I guess I talk from a different perspective though. I dent and crack the faces of “conforming” drivers multiple times a year, due to a high swing speed. It’s actually annoying. I can’t afford to have a row of gamer drivers ready to go. So I wait the 4+ weeks for my driver to be replaced. I started using a Krank long drive head with a cut down shaft as it doesn’t break. Even after a few hundred long drive hits. It’s not as long, and certainly not as forgiving, as the M1 or Epic, which I also have put in play. But I’ve went through 3 M1’s in the last year. The Epic I am trying solely to see if the “jailbreak” bars will hold the crown in place.

Can you update this with information about club speed and smash factor? The article states that you saw increases in clubhead speed. So how much of the extra 4mph ball speed is directly attributed to increased club speed from a lighter club?

Company I worked for was trying it in the 90’s.

i am 59 and when healthy can absoultly murder the ball, with a 07 cleveland hi bore tour spec and an aj tech shaft. we know when someone is using the illegal stuff and it feels great to still be able to push it on by. instead of the latest and greatest, buy some balls and work on technique, get your xtra yds that way. besides what fun is it if you cant see the ball land from hitting it too far…….this is where you start laughing….best to all

Interesting. Would have never thought of that

Years ago when softball bats started showing up in composite materials we started shaving them (from the inside) and it DEFINITELY made them hotter. An average hitter could hit bombs with a shaved composite bat. However, the life of the bat was decreased by at least half if not more. A driver would be a completely different animal in that it changes the swing weight, weight distribution, etc and should make them harder to hit straight. Just leave your driver alone and hit it in the fairway. That 10 yard increase becomes a huge loss when the ball starts bending.

I had my Srixon 565 done. I have not seen the 10 yard results. I did notice it’s harder to control now. My Epic seems to be longer and more accurate. I wanted to try it and I’m glad I did but, I would not send a driver back to them. You can also see wavy lines at the top of your driver where the crown meets the face. My playing partner noticed something had been done immediately. I wasn’t impressed! I have pictures of their work to show if your interested? I wouldn’t be promoting them just yet. I feel like I ruined a great driver actually.

I recently sent my Taylormade driver to W.H.D. I LOST 10 YARDS. I have ambivalent feelings, on one hand I ‘m unhappy about losing the use of one of my favorite drivers, on the other I wish W.H.D. well, capitalism is great , and I am always happy to see a success story. I’m not sure how they can guarantee gaining 10 yards. I went back to my Bombtech 2.

Why did the USGA choose a max COR of .83? Is there anything special about that number? What are the chances of them raising the limit? How big of a change would it make to CG and ball flight if the 20 grams shaved from the face were positioned elsewhere in the club?

I have seen this service done on Ebay a few years ago.. It isn’t a cheap process …….but?? The only concern I would have is how durable will your driver head be afterwards?? Not that I have miss hits etc.. Also my swing speed is around 90 to 93 —— will this really give me better results..?

Just 10 yards gained is not worth it IMO. Although I like the idea.

Yes, I could spend $130 CDN to shave my driver face for the sake of 10 yards, OR I could go online, spend HALF that much, and find a shaft pull of a Fujikura Speeder 565 Evo. Currently retailing new for $390, I will swap it in to replace an old Grafalloy Launch Apex shaft, and likely pick up 20 yards, maybe more?

Very interesting video. So there’s no more risk of the face cracking at .900 than .830 for the average (90 to 100 mph) swing speeds?

Not that I condone such behavior

A brilliant plan to keep old guys on the golf course longer. Couple this with non-conforming golf balls (MG Senior) and I could be playing well into my 80’s. I always said I’d probably quit the game when I couldn’t hit a drive 200 yards anymore.

Interesting results to say the least. I had WHD shave a Cobra driver for me recently and it is un-hittable. Ball flies off the face in all kinds of strange ways and and weird directions and heights. I hit it about as far as a solid 9 iron for me. If anyone is interested in a Cobra Driver Head paper weight let me know

I have only use high COR drivers and have a couple of shaved drivers. They definitely give you the extra ten yards, but other high COR drivers are as good. I’m currently using a Japanese Orlimar high COR driver that goes as far as my shaved face driver and I also have Roketto that is manufactured at .880 that is adjustable and a bomber. I honestly don’t know why most amateurs don’t use high COR drivers, especially as we age, they help regain much of the lost distance and are a ball to hit.

How does it change the appearance of the face?

I sent my Callaway XR driver to this company a 2 years ago. When I received it back and went to play the first time, I was approximately 15 yards longer. The only problem I had with the driver was I noticed a wrinkling effect toward the toe. At first I thought the face was going to cave in. I have seen no further problems and still am hitting my drives longer. I am 74 years old and play to a 13 handicap.