Can PUREing Improve Your Driving? – Golf Myths Unplugged

The Sequel You’ve Been Waiting For

Over ten years ago, we published one of our most important Golf Myths Unplugged – the original test on the efficacy of SST PURE [read it HERE].  Since then, we’ve done a couple test on PUREing, but we’ve ignored the big one – driver performance – until now.  So without further ado, let’s find out whether PUREing your driver shaft is worth the money.

The Myths

Myth #1 – A PURE’d driver shaft produces longer drives

Myth #2 – A PURE’d driver shaft produces more accurate drives

Myth #3 – A PURE’d driver shaft feels better

How We Tested

For this test, we built two identical drivers – same model, same loft, same shaft, same flex, same grip, same length, same swing weight.  The only difference is that one driver shaft was PURE’d, one was installed in the typical “logo down” orientation.  On both shafts, the logo was painted over to remove any indication of which driver was PURE’d and which wasn’t.

Next, we assembled ten golfers with handicaps ranging from +3 to 19 and swing speeds from 90 MPH to over 120 MPH.  Each player hit ten shots with each club.  Half the group hit the PURE’d driver first, half hit the non-PURE’d driver first.  No one knew which club was which until the test was complete.  All shots were measured by Trackman.

All testing was done at, and with the help of, Club Champion.

The Results

For our test group, hitting a PURE’d driver shaft promoted more ball speed and more distance.  Looking at the group averages, the PURE’d driver shaft produced a small uptick in club speed (0.28 MPH) and ball speed (0.88 MPH) and meaningful gains in the carry (3.72 yards) and total (6.31 yards) distance.

Six testers produced more carry distance with the PURE’d shaft.  Four of those players gained over 7.5 yards of carry including one who gained an astounding 21 yards.  Turning to total distance, eight testers were longer with the PURE’d shaft with six gaining over 5 yards and three gaining over 10 yards.  The two testers who were shorter with the PURE’d shaft lost 5 and 0.3 yards, respectively.

Diving deeper, most golfers did not have one obvious number that explained their distance gains.  The player who gained 21 yards of carry distance raised his launch by 1.8 degrees with the PURE’d shaft – a huge gain for this low launching player – but everyone else gained distance through a mix of small improvements: a little more ball speed, and more consistent, optimized launch and spin.

The “biggest loser” was an interesting case.  He was one of our fastest swingers (nearly 120 MPH) who posted better ball speed (+0.6 MPH) with the PURE’d shaft.  The reason that he lost distance was that he launched our test drivers exceedingly low, but the non-PURE’d shaft launched 0.6 degrees higher, resulting in the distance gain.

Accuracy, especially off the tee, is multi-faceted, which is what led to the “Inconclusive” rating.  I’ll use Tester 10’s data as an example before getting into the bigger numbers.

For this myth, we looked at two metrics: dispersion range (furthest left to furthest right) and total offline (adding up the offline distance of each shot).  Tester 10 makes for an interesting study because his numbers with the PURE’d and non-PURE’d shaft were almost exactly the same.  But there’s also a subjective element.  Is there value in hitting all your shots to one side of the center line?  What about hitting one consistent shot shape?  Additionally, for this test we did not delete any shots, but how much would the orange group’s numbers improve if we took out that one shot that leaked left?  Are you more concerned with eliminating that big miss or getting the majority into the tightest circle?

Turning to the group at large, the averages were, like Tester 10, almost identical.  PUREing produced a slightly smaller dispersion range (2.5 yards) but showed no benefit for total offline.  Individually, five testers had better numbers with the PURE’d shaft for dispersion range.  Five (not the same five) got better total offline numbers with the PURE’d shaft.

What’s interesting about the accuracy data is how much variance we saw.  Part of that is the test group’s speed: players swinging 110-120 MPH are going to produce larger offline numbers than those swinging 80 MPH, all else equal.  Also, as we saw with Tester 10, one shot can really skew the numbers, particularly dispersion range.

Given how muddy the numbers are, it seems worthwhile to include the testers’ subjective feedback.  With two exceptions, our testers felt more in control of the PURE’d driver shaft.

80% of our testers correctly identified the PURE’d driver shaft.  The two players who selected the non-PURE’d shaft chose the shaft they hit second.  I’ll add that those two selections were made with some confidence where most of the players who chose the PURE shaft were very confident in their decision.

The comments from our testers about the PURE’d shaft show how subjective feel is.  One stated that the PURE’d shaft felt “obviously more stable” – stability was a common theme – while another said that the PURE’d shaft felt “smoother and softer.”  Another frequently made observation was that the PURE’d shaft led to better, more consistent strikes.

Opportunities for Future Testing

While this was one of our larger test groups, it’s always true that we’d like more testers and more shots.

In combing through the data, one of the things that stood out to me is that the head/shaft combination that we used – while a fine “middle of the road” set up – was a poor fit for several of the players.  One reason is that this was one of the fastest-swinging test groups we’ve ever had; the stiff flex shaft was struggling to keep up.  It would be fun – though deeply impractical – to do this test again but give every player a combination that was fit to their swing.

The Takeaways

While the accuracy data was murky, our testing showed that PUREing a driver shaft can lead to very substantial distance gains off the tee as well as better feel.  If you’re chasing longer drives – and, honestly, who isn’t – having your driver shaft PURE’d is one of the cheapest, easiest ways to do it.

Additional Reading

Everything you want to know about PURE – FAQ

Can PUREing improve iron performance?

Should you PURE your putter shaft?

What shafts need SST PURE the most?

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Matt Saternus

Editor In Chief at Plugged In Golf

Matt has worked in nearly every job in the golf industry from club fitting to instruction to writing and speaking.

He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.

Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.

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