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Pros Driver Lengths

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Alan4014

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So I've been looking at alot of the WITB lately, mostly just for entertainment but something has stood out to me. Very few pros play a driver over 45" long. I ran across a few this morning and I wanted to post a few to get your thoughts.

Bubba Watson 44 1/2". Bubba is 6'3" and plays his irons 1/2" long and 2 1/4* upright
Harris English 44 3/4". Harris is also 6'3" and plays his irons 1/2" long
Hunter Mahan 45.25". Hunter is 5'11"
Patrick Reed 44.25". He is 6'0"
Pat Perez 44 1/4" Pat is 6'0"
Hideki Matsuyama 44.75" Hideki is 5'11"

Not all list length, but these are just a few from the tournament this weekend I noticed. So my question is, is their anything to gain from this?
I've shortened my driver from it's stock length, but seeing this just makes me wonder if I should shorten it more. If the pros play a shorter driver for accuracy, seems like maybe we should follow their example.
Thoughts?
 
We learned from the Callaway fitters in Carlsbad that very few pros play their driver longer than 45.25"

It allows for more control and more consistent contact with the sweet spot of the driver. More sweet spot contact often leads to more distance than non-sweet spot contact with a longer driver
 
Pros Driver Lengths

Since I started to play with a 44.50" driver I've only gotten longer and getting more FIR's. The only thing I wonder is how long my 3 wood should be.
 
It's all about center of the face contact. I'm 5'6" on roller skates, but was fit into a 46" driver. My fitter thought I should be playing the longest driver possible that I could consistently find the sweet spot.
 
I learned a long time ago on THP to not concern myself how/why the pros play golf, as it relates to me. They aren't playing the same game I am.
 
When I was a kid, Bruce Lietzke used to play a charity event at my home course and he would give a little clinic. He talked once about having his driver cut down slightly in length. For those who may not remember him, he was always near the top of the stats list in Total Driving (Distance + Accuracy).
 
blugold said:
I learned a long time ago on THP to not concern myself how/why the pros play golf, as it relates to me. They aren't playing the same game I am.
Click to expand...

But I think the concept remains valid that you should play the driver shaft length that gives you the most consistent sweet spot contact, not the one that gives you the highest swing speed
 
I experimented with this and am now playing 44" in my driver. My accuracy is good at this length and when I am swinging well, my distance is just as good as with a longer shaft. I'm 5'5".

I think the shaft technology we have these days allows for such customized kick points, weights, torque etc that simply getting a long stiff shaft is leaving a lot of accuracy and fairways on the table.

Ive been telling people all my life that short is good! :clapp:

JM
 
You can check yourself fairly easily if you have impact tape (if not, most golf retailers do have it). Put some marks (I use tape) on your driver grip in 1/2" or 1/4" steps and see what happens to your contact on the impact tape. Your goal is to get centered contact. This is not ideal as you do change swingweight as your grip down and some people are sensitive to that (and many are not). You can address this by taping pennies on the back of the head - each penny is worth a SW point and each 1/2 inch you choke down is 3 SW points removed. Hence to retain your current SW if you are choking down 1/2 inch, you would need to add 3 pennies.

Alan4014 said:
So I've been looking at alot of the WITB lately, mostly just for entertainment but something has stood out to me. Very few pros play a driver over 45" long. I ran across a few this morning and I wanted to post a few to get your thoughts.

Bubba Watson 44 1/2". Bubba is 6'3" and plays his irons 1/2" long and 2 1/4* upright
Harris English 44 3/4". Harris is also 6'3" and plays his irons 1/2" long
Hunter Mahan 45.25". Hunter is 5'11"
Patrick Reed 44.25". He is 6'0"
Pat Perez 44 1/4" Pat is 6'0"
Hideki Matsuyama 44.75" Hideki is 5'11"

Not all list length, but these are just a few from the tournament this weekend I noticed. So my question is, is their anything to gain from this?
I've shortened my driver from it's stock length, but seeing this just makes me wonder if I should shorten it more. If the pros play a shorter driver for accuracy, seems like maybe we should follow their example.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
 
Johnny mojo said:
I experimented with this and am now playing 44" in my driver. My accuracy is good at this length and when I am swinging well, my distance is just as good as with a longer shaft. I'm 5'5".

I think the shaft technology we have these days allows for such customized kick points, weights, torque etc that simply getting a long stiff shaft is leaving a lot of accuracy and fairways on the table.

Ive been telling people all my life that short is good! :clapp:

JM
Click to expand...

I'm 5'5" as well and my current driver is 45.25 only because I don't like lead tape and going shorter than that made it hard to feel the clubhead. I've been looking at drivers that have replaceable weights here lately not because I want to adjust fade/draw bias, but because I can keep a reasonable swingweight with a 44" driver without using lead tape.
 
I have been fairly happy at 45" (I am 6'2"), but I am thinking about making the move to 44.5" to see what effect that may have.
 
jlukes said:
But I think the concept remains valid that you should play the driver shaft length that gives you the most consistent sweet spot contact, not the one that gives you the highest swing speed
Click to expand...

Yes and no. I could make pretty consistent contact with a 38" driver. I want my driver to be the longest (yardage) club in my bag to be used as such. But if I shortened to 45" or even 44-3/4" I could maybe hit more fairways, but I'm not bad off the tee. Not great, but not bad.

The otherside of this debate, amateurs hit driver too much. Move up a tee and use 3woods and hybrids more.
 
I play a 45 inch driver. Much longer than that I get wild.
 
Jack Nicklaus played a good deal of his career with a 42.5" driver and he was always considered one of the longer drivers on tour in his prime. Of course not many hit the ball like Jack Nicklaus did. I must agree with Blugold that pros play a different game than us, but we can learn from them.
 
O'Carroll said:
It's all about center of the face contact. I'm 5'6" on roller skates, but was fit into a 46" driver. My fitter thought I should be playing the longest driver possible that I could consistently find the sweet spot.
Click to expand...


Finding the center is most important. It's also said that people with flatter swings have an easier time playing longer length clubs. I'm more upright for my swing so I play at 45.25 and choke down 1/2 inch. I find the center more often with this length.

For irons, they are 1/2 inch shorter than most fitters suggest based on my measurements. I played at 1/2 to +1 inches for years and found the length that I play irons at now has the most consistency. (5 iron 38")
 
Pros Driver Lengths

I have been sized for a 35" putter and miss the center at times. Maybe I should be playing a 33" driver
 
Pros Driver Lengths

jlukes said:
We learned from the Callaway fitters in Carlsbad that very few pros play their driver longer than 45.25"

It allows for more control and more consistent contact with the sweet spot of the driver. More sweet spot contact often leads to more distance than non-sweet spot contact with a longer driver
Click to expand...

Then why the heck did Callaway throw a 46" shaft in the Optiforce? Was it to back up the claims of faster head speed? I'm not criticizing Callaway per say. Callaway isn't the only company to do it either. Just makes me wonder why companies do this when very often a shorter shaft would greatly benefit the amateur golfer.

Not trying to start a debate. Just making an observation.
 
dcbrad said:
Then why the heck did Callaway throw a 46" shaft in the Optiforce? Was it to back up the claims of faster head speed? I'm not criticizing Callaway per say. Callaway isn't the only company to do it either. Just makes me wonder why companies do this when very often a shorter shaft would greatly benefit the amateur golfer.

Not trying to start a debate. Just making an observation.
Click to expand...

Perhaps because there is still some that prefer it longer and cutting down a shaft is an achievable fix (as opposed to lengthening).

I get what you're saying though...would love to see different length shafts available at purchase.
 
#Cookie said:
Perhaps because there is still some that prefer it longer and cutting down a shaft is an achievable fix (as opposed to lengthening).

I get what you're saying though...would love to see different length shafts available at purchase.
Click to expand...

There are though. A specific length can be ordered from just about any OEM. But most amateurs don't think about that. They think about the length of the shot, not the club.
 
The simplest answer to why OEM's are selling 46 inch shafts is because distance sells.
 
#Cookie said:
Perhaps because there is still some that prefer it longer and cutting down a shaft is an achievable fix (as opposed to lengthening).

I get what you're saying though...would love to see different length shafts available at purchase.
Click to expand...

Ya I see where you're coming from. I just feel like we are always talking about how to make the game easier for amateurs and, IMO, this is a pretty simple way to help do it.
 
#Cookie said:
Perhaps because there is still some that prefer it longer and cutting down a shaft is an achievable fix (as opposed to lengthening).

I get what you're saying though...would love to see different length shafts available at purchase.
Click to expand...

Most stores and manufacturers will cut it for you, but most won't even think about the swing weight.
 
blugold said:
There are though. A specific length can be ordered from just about any OEM. But most amateurs don't think about that. They think about the length of the shot, not the club.
Click to expand...

People don't want to order them and wait though.

Plus how do they know that the driver they are swinging in the store would give better results if an inch shorter?

Getting those options in hand for them to see results is key.
 
I agree that you should swing the longest driver that still gives you control. I watch the pro ladies and some of their drivers look like they reach the middle of their chest. But their tempo is just soooo good and they come into the ball so nicely.
 
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