Why Sam Burns switched into a smaller driver at Arnold Palmer Invitational

Most golfers upgrade into a new driver in hopes of hitting the ball farther, right?

Not Sam Burns, a three-time winner last season. He’s plenty happy with the distance he hits it. A switch into a new (and smaller) driver at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard is about tightening up the dispersion of his misses.

This season’s driving stats help to explain why:

In the first four events of 2023, Burns continued to use the Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond driver that he used throughout last year. Following a missed cut at The Genesis Invitational, though, Burns showed up to the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a new Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond S driver in the bag.

The “S” driver model is unique because it’s a low-spin design that measures just 420cc, rather than the USGA maximum of 460cc that is the size of most driver heads. This construction tends to benefit better players (such as Burns, a four-time TOUR winner) who prefer a compact shape at address and a lower-spinning trajectory.

“One of the main reasons I switched was just the downrange dispersion is tighter,” Burns said Wednesday. “That’s all we’re really looking for out here. I don’t think a lot of us are chasing distance, we’re just trying to get it tighter. For me I feel like this one is a little more consistent with the misses. The good ones are really good, but it’s just getting those bad ones to be closer. That’s how we landed on this. The S is just a smaller head. It’s more compact, which I like the look of. It’s kind of a deeper face and it sets up really nice.”

Burns’ driver switch wasn’t a simple plug-and-play, however. Due to the differences in design between his former driver and his new one, Burns had to make a few adjustments.

While he’s continuing to use the Fujikura Ventus 7 TX shaft that he used previously, this time around he tipped the shaft a half-inch; in layman's terms, that means he made the shaft slightly stiffer in the end that inserts into the head.

Additionally, the new head is a “9+” degree, rather than the 10.5-degree model he was using previously. According to a Callaway representative, the new Paradym head actually measures 10.5 degrees thanks to adjustments Burns made to the hosel.

Also of note, Burns’ driver has a 12-gram weight in the back port and a 10-gram weight in the port closer to the face. To put that in context, Callaway’s standard Paradym Triple Diamond drivers come stock with 2-gram and 14-gram weights.

Burns’ new TOUR-only Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond S driver isn’t exactly right off the retail shelf, but according to Burns, it’s helping him tighten up his misses. He’ll put the driver through its first PGA TOUR test this week at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, where the importance of driving accuracy is at a premium.