Do you need a new driver if you’ve added speed? This pro’s setup offers clues

Speed training is all the rage on the PGA Tour, and for good reason. With a better understanding of where strokes are gained and lost throughout a round, the old adage of “drive for show and putt for dough” has been replaced with “smash it and cash it!” (Sorry, still workshopping that one.)

With more professionals and amateurs leaning into speed training than ever before, one of the biggest questions I regularly hear is if players are also making big changes to their clubs — specifically to their drivers because of the added speed.

Wth Stephan Jaeger’s win at the Texas Children’s Houston Open and his much-discussed boost in clubhead speed and strokes gained off the tee in 2024 — 118.7mph and +0.46 (28th on Tour) vs. 114.4mph and -0.506 (186th) in 2021/2022 — we reached out to Ping to find out how, if at all, his driver has changed.

In the case of Jaeger, the one thing that has remained a constant is his shaft, a ProjectX RDX Black 60g 6.5 that has been tipped 1″ to add some extra stiffness to the tip. The same goes for his iron shafts; no changes from his long time used X100 steel shafts.

Now, here’s where things have changed.

According to Ping tour reps, Jaeger has gone from using a driver at 10 degrees in 2022 to 8.25 degrees in 2024.

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In a vacuum, with all other factors including clubhead speed and swing delivery numbers remaining constant, this type of loft change at nearly 2 degrees would launch his ball lower and with less spin. The reason for this, in the simplest terms, is that speed and loft generate spin, and if the speed goes up so does spin, which in the case of a driver can result in distance loss.

So, to counter the potential added spin from Jaeger’s gained speed, and to keep his driver launch conditions in an optimal zone for maximized distance, the 2-degree change in driver lofts makes a lot of sense for him. And, for all you speed- and distance-hungry golfers out there, if you, too, have gained clubhead speed, it might be time to adjust your driver to a lower loft or find a fitter to help you get dialed into a new club all together.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2024? Find a True Spec fitting location near you.