Coping with longer shafted drivers

I demo'd the Razr Hawk on Saturday, and I honestly could not deal with its 46" length. That coupled with its whippy shaft (S-flex Rip) meant that I was hitting anywhere but the sweet spot.

Maybe I was setting up wrong... how does one set up for a long shafted club like this?
When I set up like I do with my regular driver, I found that the Razr Hawk was definitely sitting farther back on its heel, and its toe was father up in the air.

Any tips?

This seems silly considering I can hit a 45" 910 without any trouble.

Why not get a fitting and find out what the best length is for you?

If you do a driver fitting and look at length, do they just have a few different shafts at different lengths? Sorry I know it's a stupid question but I've never had length measure for a driver.

JB said:

Why not get a fitting and find out what the best length is for you?

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Yoccos1981 said:

If you do a driver fitting and look at length, do they just have a few different shafts at different lengths? Sorry I know it's a stupid question but I've never had length measure for a driver.

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Depends on the fitting I guess. When I was last fit, they did a full driver shaft fitting and determined that I need to go to 45" at the time. They made the adjustments and we went to the range to hit balls. We came back in and he handed me a 46" shaft again and we looked at some other numbers and the 45" put me in a better spot.

I agree...I play a 44.75 shaft and it suites my swing much better. Get fitted or if you are just having someone cut down the butt end of a shaft, make sure you do it .25 inches at a time. Easier to take more off than add.

Ahhh ok that makes sense. I didn't even think to ask that. We just kept hitting drivers. I thought his felt shorter though.

JB said:

Depends on the fitting I guess. When I was last fit, they did a full driver shaft fitting and determined that I need to go to 45" at the time. They made the adjustments and we went to the range to hit balls. We came back in and he handed me a 46" shaft again and we looked at some other numbers and the 45" put me in a better spot.

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MY Superfast came in at 46.5 inches. It was insane. Much more controllable after chopping an inch off it.

Snap Hook said:

MY Superfast came in at 46.5 inches. It was insane. Much more controllable after chopping an inch off it.

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I'm dealing with the same thing right now. I'll probably give it a couple more wild range sessions before resorting to the old chop-aroo.

Good idea. I know some find success when they choke down but it just isn't the same for me.

_JL_ said:

I'm dealing with the same thing right now. I'll probably give it a couple more wild range sessions before resorting to the old chop-aroo.

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The Cleveland rep talked me into keeping the added length because that's what helps you get the extra distance. He assured me I could handle the length and I have been able to after an adjustment period. He advised me to choke up a bit if I felt the need to but I haven't been doing that. My coach had recommended about 45" in a previous fitting but my Cleveland is 45.75". I know cutting it back will affect the swing weight a bit so I'm not messing with it. I will admit I have "off" days but I really don't think it is the length. I also have 100% days with it.

That's a good point KB. I think adjustments can be made. I bet the point of too long or too short for everyone is different, or do you think there is even that point?

KellyBo said:

The Cleveland rep talked me into keeping the added length because that's what helps you get the extra distance. He assured me I could handle the length and I have been able to after an adjustment period. He advised me to choke up a bit if I felt the need to but I haven't been doing that. My coach had recommended about 45" in a previous fitting but my Cleveland is 45.75". I know cutting it back will affect the swing weight a bit so I'm not messing with it. I will admit I have "off" days but I really don't think it is the length. I also have 100% days with it.

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_JL_ said:

I'm dealing with the same thing right now. I'll probably give it a couple more wild range sessions before resorting to the old chop-aroo.

Click to expand...

Besides just choking down might I suggest cutting the butt end of the grip off and spend a session at the range with -.25 if the shaft end. Then cut another .25 off and hit the range again. Rinse and repeat till you find the right spot.

I struggled with the question of driver shaft length for awhile. I am only 5'6" so I would often think about how much of the added length people are capable of producing with the driver is coming from added shaft length and how much I should try to extend the shaft length. At my height, the club head already has to be on a pretty flat plane to get around and back to the ball.

While I cannot see the advantage to being able to change the driver shaft length of the Adams 9064ls dfs driver on a regular basis, the fact that there are three different lengths that you can adjust for has helped with regard to convincing myself of the max length I can use. The minimum shaft length for that driver is 45" and you can adjust the length to either 45.5" or 46". In fact, it would likely be perfect for me if the minimum was 44.5" and the max was 45.5" but I was afraid to change the geometry of the club when I had my Dromos shaft fitted up for it.

Anyway, I have great success with the 45" length. Even just going to 45.5" makes the club impossible for me to hit. Now that is a stinking lousy 0.5" of shaft length on a shaft that is 45" long, like about a 1% change. However the entire feel of a club that for the most part feels great to me becomes pretty terrible. I use an S flex Dromos shaft and the shaft suddenly feels like is is an XS flex shaft with the added 0.5" in length. I cannot feel like I am loading the club properly as it feels ridiculously rigid. Everything feels wrong for that matter. I cannot get the club head back to the ball in a neutral position as the head is invariably wayyyyy to open. that 0.5" may not mean as much to other folks. I think what it is telling me is that 45" is the absolute maximum shaft length that I can handle effectively. While 0.5" might not seem like much it appears to be the straw that breaks the camels back in my case. So if I am losing some length of shot because I cannot use a 45.5" or a 46" shaft it just does not matter because I just cannot hit the ball. This with a club head and shaft that I am now very much accustomed to with the exception of the added 0.5" of length.

So I am going to stick my neck out here a bit and suggest that for shorter players the issue is more critical and it appears to be easier to get to a point where the club shaft becomes unmanageably long. Further while the "feel" of too much rigidity in the shaft might suggest that one can "handle" the longer length of shaft by stepping down and adding flex, I don't think that is an answer. The margin for error with the longer shaft is already reduced and going to more flex just makes accuracy that much more difficult to achieve.

Also, I don't want to leave folks with the impression that the shaft length adjustment of the 9064 dfs version is some big advantage because as I stated earlier I cannot see much need for changing shaft length regularly. I do believe in adjustable driver head technology but I believe that there is benefit to being able to adjust the lie angle and loft. In my case the ability to adjust the shaft length just made it so easy for me to see the problems and realize them very quickly because all I had to do was put the right insert in and swing the darned thing.

All of my fittings have me at the 45 inch length, but I hit a few more fairways at 44 inch, so that is where I'm at with my current driver. I think marketing alone has lead to the "new" standard where everything is either 45 or 46 inch shafts, as they are on the kick to get everyone more distance. I'll take a shorter shaft and accuracy anyday.