PGA Features

Some descriptions of drivers are tempting, if not seductive. 'Performance you can believe in' is one such. Others are downright scary.

How about: 'Beware of the monster' or 'Meet the family from hell'? If it's scary you really want, though, check out the prices. Wallet-busting sums in excess of £300 are not uncommon. And all for the satisfaction of despatching a golf ball in the desired direction and further along the fairway than ever before.

Talk to Dean Cracknell, manager of the Srixon Cleveland Golf Centre of Excellence, however, and there could be a cheaper option.

"Balls," says Cracknell, by way of offering a solution to attaining more distance from both on and off a tee rather than rubbishing the colourful prose dreamed up by advertising copywriters to extol the attributes of drivers.

And in running the recently opened centre near Maidenhead in Berkshire, Cracknell is well-qualified to judge. The Centre is tangible evidence of last year's merger between Srixon and Cleveland Golf and, using the latest Trackman software coupled with Cracknell's expertise gleaned from four years spent on the European Tour as a club specialist, offers a custom-fitting service.

And not just for Srixon and Cleveland drivers, irons and wedges. Once that session has been completed, Cracknell turns his attention to marrying the golfer with the most suitable Srixon ball.

The process starts with a driver and a Srixon range ball and is scrutinised by the Trackman, a completely portable and simple to operate device that uses radar to analyse the golf swing and subsequent behaviour of the ball.

"It gives data and graphics on clubhead speed, the launch angle, how much the ball spins, its carry and how far it travels," Cracknell explains. "I also use the Trackman to keep a log of data about the golfer - the equipment used and, most importantly, what ball he's hitting. In your case, I've let the software know you're using a range ball.

"A range ball will give you a detrimental feedback because there's a lot more inconsistency in a golf ball that's been hit thousands of times."

Four drives later, the Trackman had established my average clubhead and ball speeds were 88.6 and 123.6mph respectively and that the mean carry was 169.4 yards.

Those results prompted Cracknell to let me loose on two Srixon two-piece balls that cost the same: the AD333 - for the distance; and the Soft Feel, which has a softer compression and is suited to slighly slower clubhead speeds.

Change the ball rather than your equipment; it's a cost effective way of bringing about an improvement.

Curiously, the results from hitting a Srixon Soft Feel ball were remarkably similar to those produced by its range sibling. Clubhead and ball speeds averaged out at 89.5 and 124.3 mph respectively although the mean carry distance, possibly because too many drives were despatched skywards rather than towards the far end of the range, was 154.4 yards.

By contrast, the results from driving the AD333 showed a spectacular improvement.

"This ball minimises spin off the driver but maximises spin off the shorter irons," Cracknell added. "That's what you want. With the driver, you want to reduce spin, get the ball up in the air with less spin and drag and get more distance. However, with the shorter irons - nine and wedges - you want lots of spin on the ball so that when it lands, it stops on a sixpence."

Four drives later, Cracknell continued: "Your ball speed, which makes it travel further, jumped up by just over five miles an hour. That's nothing to do with you or the equipment, it's the golf ball itself. It's also spinning a lot less. Because we've got faster ball speed combined with less spin, the ball is flying further.

"As a result, 20 yards has been added to the carry distance and there's been an overall increase of 30 yards - just by changing the golf ball.

"If we can get away with changing the ball rather than your equipment, it's a cost effective way of bringing about an improvement. A dozen golf balls costing £18 or so, as in the case with AD333, is a lot cheaper than a new driver or set of irons."

Appointments at the Centre of Excellence to be fitted for clubs cost £25 and can be booked via any Srixon or Cleveland Golf stockist. In addition to a full set of clubs, irons or a driver, customers can also be custom-fitted for one of Cleveland Golf's extensive nine-strong range of wedges.

Visit srixon.co.uk or clevelandgolf.com/uk or call 0800 3897969 for more information.