In the latest study that will make news for a day and you’ll never hear from again…
The Ping G10 will jack up your eardrums.
According to the British Medical Journal, as outlined in this article, that loud clank from your titanium driver may be hurting your hearing. And what club is culprit number one? The Ping G10, of course. My driver.
The study says that a golfer who played three times a week with the King Cobra LD titanium driver suffered unexplained hearing loss in his right ear. From tests, doctors thought it was typical of noise-induced hearing loss.
Docs believe that thin faced titanium drivers can produce enough significant sound to cause temporary, or even permanent, hearing loss in “susceptible” golfers. Their suggestion? Earplugs. Seriously.
You know how nervous you get on the first tee at a tournament? Yeah, well imagine walking up to the teebox with a couple of earplugs in your ears. Now that will really impress ‘em. You’ll be like the kid in little who had to wear the extra, protective helmet. Or those guys in the NBA, like Richard Hamilton, who have to wear the dorky plastic masks to protect their noses.
Earplugs on a golf course. Ha! Wouldn’t that disrupt your feel and the feedback you get from hitting the sweet spot–or not. Bad idea. I think I’ll just go deaf.
But, really, I find this a bit hard to believe. I think aluminum bats at college games are much more noisy than titanium drivers. So I’d say college baseball players are more prone to become deaf than avid golfers.
Honestly, I don’t find the Ping G10 that noisy. When I was demoing clubs, I found the Nike Sumo driver to be the loudest club I ever hit. So maybe you can get deaf from using that driver three times a week. It sounds like your hitting a garbage can with a baseball bat.
The G10 is much louder than my old Great Big Bertha…but enough to cause hearing loss? Although, my wife does occasionally say I can’t hear. So maybe that explains it.
January 9, 2009 at 9:31 am
the study must have been done by lonely wives of golfers. My wife would argue that it causes selective hearing as well.
January 10, 2009 at 10:12 am
All men get Selective hearing in time!!
June 2, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I’ve been hitting a relatively old TaylorMade R580 XD (USGA approved version) for few years now, and aside from how much I love the club and wouldn’t trade it for any new driver on the market today, it is clearly the champion of ear-piercing drives.
A friend recently bought a Nike Sumo, and while not meaning to compare the two on the course, it was hard not to notice how much louder a clean shot off the sweet spot on my driver was.
While on the subject, I feel I should preach a little too. I’m 22 years young, and only 5′8″ and about 150 lbs. Pretty small for your average golfer. Granted I haven’t tried many other drivers to compare, I’m putting a good solid drive with the 580 XD 300+ yards every time. Maybe swing mechanics are having an effect here, but someone my size normally shouldn’t be driving greens on short par 4s