3balls Golf
Year after year you listen to your golf buddies banter back and forth about who has the best gear, which clubs are by far the most superior and why you absolutely, positively must try the newest driver they’ve fallen in love with. Most of the time, you just ignore those guys — after all, your driver has served you well for as long as you’ve been playing — but sometimes you get the sneaky feeling it might be time to replace your club and start scanning the web for golf reviews.
The descriptions of the best drivers in golf can be painfully confusing if you’re not up on your club anatomy. Next time you’re on the hunt for a driver that you can really pound from the tee, you’ll get a better idea of what you’re looking at once you understand the anatomy of a driver head. Since the head itself is mostly hollow, the parts that are commonly highlighted are all around the outside, including:
Crown. When you’re standing at address and looking down at your driver, you’re staring right at the crown. This area may not seem very important, but some manufacturers apply decals intended as alignment aids here.
Face. Golf driver manufacturers love to talk about their club’s faces because these are the most widely understood part of the head. This is the only part that should actually be making contact with the ball! The sweet spot is located on the face, often near the middle, and much of the energy that goes into improving clubheads is spent in this location.
Heel. The back of your driver’s head, closest to the shaft and you when you stand at address is the heel. Some golf manufacturers use this spot to help to create a closed face at impact, encouraging draws and hook shots.
Hosel. Certain drivers are equipped with adjustable hosels, the socket where the club head fits into the shaft. Whether adjustable or fixed, though, you’d not have a functioning club without it.
Sole. On woods like your driver, the sole serves a more minor function than it would on clubs like irons, but it still matters. Its main purpose on a driver is to help your club head float over the ground to minimize digging into the turf as you swing.
Toe. On the opposite side of your club from the heel is the toe, and just like with the heel, some club manufacturers like to add extra weight here to influence shot shapes. The faces of toe-weighted drivers naturally open at impact, lending themselves to fades and slices.
If you’re ready to upgrade your old club, but aren’t sure where to turn, you’ll find great deals on new, used and open box gear at 3balls.com. Our experienced staff can walk you through your purchase and we’ll happily accept your gently-used gear as trade-in toward a shiny new driver.
Photo credit: philwarren / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
