How to change your driver without changing drivers

Q: I got fit for my driver but am tempted to play around with the adjustable settings. Am I trying to fix something that isn't broken?

A: In a word, no. Even if you are perfectly happy with the performance of your driver, it's a good idea to experiment with its different settings to see how they affect your tee shots. You never know when you might want something different from your drives based on playing conditions or a change you're seeing in your ball flight.

I once asked PGA Tour player Charles Howell III about adjustability, and he told me he tries out his clubs in all the possible settings just to see what happens. Your settings might end up back where they were originally, but you also might find a better option. Howell made the point that by knowing the ball flight each setting produced, he was able to adjust to extreme conditions: high wind, soggy courses, fairways hard as rock. He could adapt his driver to take advantage while being comfortable in the knowledge he wouldn’t be surprised by the result.

Expanded adjustability is an opportunity golfers have mostly failed to take full advantage of for nearly two decades. Whether it be the ability to move weight (affecting the center-of-gravity position and possibly moment of inertia), alter loft or lie angle or merely pop in a new shaft with a few twists of a torque wrench, far too many players just set it and forget it. Instead, you should think of the adjustable hosel as a more accurate way of bending a club and the movable weights as the modern equivalent of applying lead tape.

Of course, some drivers are more adjustable than others. Take a close look at yours to see what you're working with. Remember that any adjustment should be made carefully; all adjustable parts must be firmly fixed so there is no likelihood of them coming loose. Also, keep in mind the Rules state that you may not adjust a club during a round.

Adjustability has evolved greatly, having gone from simple head weights introduced years ago to TaylorMade drivers that had more than 1,000 settings. The concept has matured and become much easier to understand. However, there are still drivers such as Cobra’s OPTM line that boast more than 30 settings.

Dual adjustable hosels are also found in the Callaway and Titleist driver lines, allowing for the adjustment of clubface loft and lie angle without one affecting the other. A tip for the uninitiated: Hosels that adjust for loft only change the face angle, with more loft slightly closing the face and less loft slightly opening it.

In short, there is no harm in taking a wrench and a bucket of balls to the range and trying different settings. You just might find one that proves even more beneficial than the one you thought you loved. You might be amazed at how a degree of change to loft or face angle gives you what you want. Plus, there’s zero downside; you can always go back to where you were.