Will marginal gains make a difference to your golf game?

New drivers get released every year, but will these marginal gains in golf club design make a difference to your game? 

At this time of year, brands launch their new drivers offering more distance, more forgiveness, straighter drives and faster ball speeds, so we always expect that there is going to be a massive jump in performance.  

There can be times where the new driver you are trying travels at least 20 yards longer than your current driver.

However, if you have had your driver for a while, let’s say two to five years and are a regular golfer, the new technology will definitely improve dispersion, speed, distance and overall performance in comparison.

And that’s why a lot of the professionals make quick switches every year.

If you’re looking at a previous generation model, in some cases, there might not be much difference between that previous generation and the latest model on offer. However, we are talking about marginal gains designed to be minimal, but can make a bigger difference. 

You could find a couple of extra mph in ball speed and slightly better aerodynamics – equating to more club speed and, therefore, less drag, giving you extra yards.

Similar technology can also often feature in newer driver models which is refined and improved, helping you to hit straighter and longer shots. There are now forgiving models with 10K MOI which will appeal to the masses as well.

You will also see and hear of different materials, which is a big one for a lot of brands, as they make up the face, crown and sole. Titleist has used Proprietary Matrix Polymer in the crown of their new GT drivers this year, allowing them to reposition mass for optimum performance.

We’ve all heard of the innovation of carbon, as TaylorMade have been on the Carbonwood trend for sometime now. But the majority of brands have used carbon in the crown, in the sole or both, as it saves weight which allows engineers to move weight around to lower the centre of gravity and increase the MOI.  

But with Artificial Intelligence playing a big part in design and face designs, we see things like variable face thickness with mini sweet spots across the face maintaining speed to help improve ball speeds.

The Ai Smart Face from Callaway is a great example, as they were able to take out the Jailbreak technology from Paradym and create the Ai Smart Face that had mini sweet spots across the face. This improved dispersion, forgiveness and ball speed. They also saved weight to make the MOI slightly higher with a lower centre of gravity.

If you have bought the previous generation of a driver, the latest model is, of course, going to give you those extra marginal gains whether it’s more forgiveness, better dispersion, faster speeds or overall performance.

Does that mean the driver you have is bad? Absolutely not. The latest models are always going to have those advantages with new materials, Ai design, aerodynamic shapes and more.

If you haven’t had a new driver in three to five years, it’s time for an upgrade and the latest and greatest offerings will give the best performing driver from each brand.

If you’re a regular golfer and want to get a new driver after 12 months, there will be those marginal gains that will give you the extra speed, distance and forgiveness you’re looking for.

But if you don’t want to break the bank, then the previous generations of drivers are brilliant, albeit they won’t have the latest and greatest that the new models have. 

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James Tait is bunkered’s Gear Editor. Want to know how the latest Callaway driver, Vokey wedge or Scotty Cameron putter performs? He’s the guy to ask. Better yet, just watch his videos on the bunkered YouTube channel. One of the biggest hitters in the UK, James also competes on the World Long Drive circuit and is a descendent of former Amateur champion Freddie Tait.

Gear Editor