LPGA Tour winner discovers driver mistake after MONTHS of swing problems
Jamie Squire
Jenny Shin is a veteran LPGA player with a title to her credit, but has been struggling in 2025, driver woes being the culprit. But in a twist where it’s usually the player, not the equipment, this time Shin found that in fact it was the Titleist GT2 driver itself that was betraying her because it was four(!) swingweight points off.
After her previous driver failed conformance testing at last year’s AIG Women’s British Open, Shin had trouble finding a suitable replacement. Eventually, she settled on the GT2 in January because she felt she could hit it somewhat straight. That was short-lived, however.
“The miss was right but felt manageable,” Shin wrote on X as part of a lengthy thread. “My GIR started dropping significantly compared to last year due to missing fairways. I started aiming more left and then my miss became push cuts.”
As a result, Shin’s swing path got off kilter, resulting in a loss of distance and several poor finishes. Shin fixed the swing issue, but then saw her tee shots going right.
“I couldn’t understand,” she wrote. “All the swing feels I’ve developed over the years for. My driver [wasn’t] working. I’ve had yips before so I thought I was maybe experiencing another one.”
Well, that’s not good.
Mike Stobe
Coming to last week's KPMG Women's PGA Championship in Frisco, Texas, Shin was desperate. She ran into a friend who reps for Srixon and asked him to build her a driver at D0 swingweight. He took her current driver to match the specs and returned half an hour later with some news. Her gamer checked in at D4 swingweight.
“NO WONDER I CAN’T SQUARE UP THE FACE,” Shin tweeted. “It all made sense after that.”
For those not familiar with swingweight, four additional points essentially makes the club feel heavier during the swing, in this case leading to that unwanted fade. Shin, armed with a new Srixon ZXi driver, finished T-12, her second-best showing of the year.
“I just never thought to question the driver that I was fitted into,” Shin wrote. It is unclear where Shin was fit for her driver, as the LPGA does not always receive the type of weekly attention PGA Tour pros have.
“I always knew exactly what I want and need when it comes to ball striking and to me it didn’t make sense that the driver that I’ve spent hours getting fitted into would be in a swing weight that wasn’t remotely close. … I was finally able to draw and fade the ball freely. Needless to say, I hit many fairways this week that I could have not if I had kept the wrong driver. … To see proof and build confidence again has been an unbelievable thrill.”
