Is short the way to long?

[blugold]

Shortening your driver length is a valid way to gain that added distance.

You missed my point. My point is, just randomly shortening and likewise lengthening a driver shaft does not guarantee anything. A proper fitting, lessons, and some effort towards improvement sound like a much easier way to get distance than monkeying with the shaft length. At least to me.

 

[sposey013168]

I cut my alpha down to 44.5 but after this weekend I think I need to cut it down to 38 lol.

In all seriousness I did it just for the reasons you said Freddie, looking for control over distance

 

[choppstixxx]

It's funny I used to play my driver at sub 45" length, now with my Covert I play it at stock 45.5" and love it. I get both optimal distance and control, I always can grip down a half inch if I feel I need a little more control.

 

[deuce]

You missed my point. My point is, just randomly shortening and likewise lengthening a driver shaft does not guarantee anything. A proper fitting, lessons, and some effort towards improvement sound like a much easier way to get distance than monkeying with the shaft length. At least to me.

Who said anything about randomly cutting your driver down? As I said, it's pretty simple to test it out by choking up. Most people here know how bad their dispersion with the driver is, as well as knowing their distances so this is a pretty easy way to check to see if you possibly need a shorter driver length. Never mind the fact that half of what we talk about here could be answered with "Get lessons!" or "Get fit!". What's the harm in discussing the potential for a shorter driver length resulting in increased distances? It gets it into people's minds and they then know that when they go to get fit that they should also inquire about driver length.

 

[blugold]

Who said anything about randomly cutting your driver down? As I said, it's pretty simple to test it out by choking up. Most people here know how bad their dispersion with the driver is, and their distances so this is a pretty easy way to check to see if you need a shorter driver length. Never mind the fact that half of what we talk about here could be answered with "Get lessons!" or "Get fit!". What's the harm in discussing the potential for a shorter driver length resulting in increased distances? It gets it into people's minds and they then know that when they go to get fit that they should also inquire about driver length.

I am in the school, if you're 3wood is consistently longer than your driver, then you're doing something wrong with your driver. Especially as an amateur. If your goal is to cut down your driver to add consistency, fantastic. Enjoy your driver. But I would never cut my driver down to the point that I lose so much distance that it is no longer the longest club on the course.

The hardest part of being fit for length IMO is that it's not really feasible to try the same shaft out at different lengths to see what length yields that magic number of maximum length and tightest dispersion.

 

[deuce]

I am in the school, if you're 3wood is consistently longer than your driver, then you're doing something wrong with your driver.

It could very well be that the length of the driver is too long for you and you can't hit the sweet spot enough to get consistent results. Sometimes these things can't be fixed by more practice and/or lessons. Some people are limited by hand-eye coordination and while it could perhaps be fixed by 1,000's of hours of practice, that's impractical. It'd be silly ... no, insanely stupid ... to tell someone "Practice!" when a much simpler fix is to cut their driver down one inch. Especially for amateurs. It's like asking someone to hit a 100 mph fastball and when they can't do it, telling them to get fit for a proper bat weight and take a few lessons from a swing coach and that will cure all their ills. It simply won't.

Especially as an amateur. If your goal is to cut down your driver to add consistency, fantastic. Enjoy your driver. But I would never cut my driver down to the point that I lose so much distance that it is no longer the longest club on the course.

And neither would anyone else, so this is a non-starter.

 

[Tadashi70]

I'm not trying to be a jerk with this. I am using hyperbole. Wouldn't a 36" shaft be the best option then? But a 460cc driver head on a wedge shaft. If the golfer has a goal of maximizing distance, they need to be mindful of their own swing and the fit of their clubs. Just expecting a short/longer shaft to give them that added distance is going to be a pipe dream.

I know you're not trying to be a jerk, it comes naturally

Angles have to be achieved to maximize distance. So a 36" shaft wouldn't work.

 

[ryebread]

I'm not trying to be a jerk with this. I am using hyperbole. Wouldn't a 36" shaft be the best option then? But a 460cc driver head on a wedge shaft. If the golfer has a goal of maximizing distance, they need to be mindful of their own swing and the fit of their clubs. Just expecting a short/longer shaft to give them that added distance is going to be a pipe dream.

Valid point. Don't go down any further than you absolutely need to in order to tighten up the face dispersion. There is a reason the shaft is longer -- to generate more club head speed. You want to play it as long as you can realistically control.

 

[Just_Brad]

The length of the club is just one of the factors related to length. As shorter shaft should give more control and hence more center face hits and longer distances. Some hit their 3W longer than their drivers with a smaller head and smaller sweet spot.

So if that is the case, would it stand to reason that putting a 3W length head into your driver should equate to better contact and longer distance with the driver? Or is the main determining factor the loft difference between the two that results in the better distance/accuracy.

 

[Awkward silence]

I think about this everytime I pipe my 3 wood down them middle of the fairway. I mean what is really the difference? I should be to hit my driver with the same consistancy as the 3 wood but I dont, I am going shorter.

 

[blugold]

It could very well be that the length of the driver is too long for you and you can't hit the sweet spot enough to get consistent results. Sometimes these things can't be fixed by more practice and/or lessons. Some people are limited by hand-eye coordination and while it could perhaps be fixed by 1,000's of hours of practice, that's impractical. It'd be silly ... no, insanely stupid ... to tell someone "Practice!" when a much simpler fix is to cut their driver down one inch. Especially for amateurs. It's like asking someone to hit a 100 mph fastball and when they can't do it, telling them to get fit for a proper bat weight and take a few lessons from a swing coach and that will cure all their ills. It simply won't.

And neither would anyone else, so this is a non-starter.

I am not saying that a shortening the driver shaft isn't a viable option. I did it. I fully understand that everybody has different physical limitations. My point is that if the goal is too increase distance and you shorten the driver to the point that it is a low lofted 3 wood, then the answer is to go practice.

I know you're not trying to be a jerk, it comes naturally

Angles have to be achieved to maximize distance. So a 36" shaft wouldn't work.

#samepage #highfive

 

[Golf 'N Gator]

I am seeing a lot of 44.4" drivers popping up and I wondering if this is the course to long and straight. The industry has gone longer but it seems the golfers want more control which I feel will lead to longer shots. Lets face it, a ball hit down the fairway has more of chance of running out than a ball hit in the rough.

Why did you go shorter? Are you thinking about going shorter?

I'm at 44.75" in my X Hot driver, and I'm shorter than standard on my 3 Deep, 4 wood, 3, 4 and 5 hybrids. This comes from the fact that I am 5'9 and 1/2" tall, plus for me, shorter means accuracy. I really gave up very little if anything with these shorter clubs. I also did nothing SW wise after butt trimming. Feel is subjective and the clubs all feel fine to me.

Driver standard=46.00 trimmed 1.25 to 44.75
3 Deep standard=43.50 trimmed 1.25 to 42.25
4 Wood standard=43.25 trimmed 1.25 to 42.00

3 Hybrid standard=40.75 trimmed 0.75 to 40.00
4 Hybrid standard=40.00 trimmed 1.00 to 39.00
5 Hybrid standard=39.25 trimmed 1.25 to 38.00

From there I'm standard with the irons;

7 Iron=37.00
8 Iron=36.50
9 Iron=36.00
PW=35.75
AW=35.50
SW=35.25
LW=35.00

This is the whole point of being fitted. There is an optimal length for every club for every player. We are not all the same. Shorter shaft doesn't always mean shorter shots.

 

[Tadashi70]

I am in the school, if you're 3wood is consistently longer than your driver, then you're doing something wrong with your driver. Especially as an amateur. If your goal is to cut down your driver to add consistency, fantastic. Enjoy your driver. But I would never cut my driver down to the point that I lose so much distance that it is no longer the longest club on the course.

The hardest part of being fit for length IMO is that it's not really feasible to try the same shaft out at different lengths to see what length yields that magic number of maximum length and tightest dispersion.

I would love for you to tell Henrik what school you are from since he plays his 3W better than his driver.

You could use a shorter driver as your control is suspect at best. Your swings is predicated on swinging hard and hoping for the result.

 

[dhartmann34]

I've played golf for a long while, but ever since I've joined THP I've been learning so much about equipment and the things you can do to put myself in the best position possible to succeed and be a pretty decent golfer. Shortening a shaft for control and better club face contact is just another thing I've never thought about or tried. I guess it never occurred to me that's what I'm partially doing when I choke down on a club. I did just pick up a Diamana Kai'li (It's sitting on my doorstep waiting for me....if it wasn't stolen like a couple packages last week...) that is about a half inch shorter than the Blur I have now so I'm excited to see what happens with that....

I wish I didn't have to work and could just fill my head with all this wonderful knowledge all day long

 

[blugold]

I would love for you to tell Henrik what school you are from since he plays his 3W better than his driver.

You could use a shorter driver as your control is suspect at best. Your swings is predicated on swinging hard and hoping for the result.

FWIW, I did say amateurs. A top 5 tour pro isn't playing the same game of golf that I am. I'm happy how I am currently driving the golf ball. I played 45 holes this weekend and didn't have a single penalty stroke off the tee with the 1wood.

 

[Mulligan9111]

I am not saying that a shortening the driver shaft isn't a viable option. I did it. I fully understand that everybody has different physical limitations. My point is that if the goal is too increase distance and you shorten the driver to the point that it is a low lofted 3 wood, then the answer is to go practice.



#samepage #highfive

I don't recall anybody saying they are shortening their driver to the point the distance is less than the 3 wood. I think what was mentioned is that some people hit their 3w further than their driver because they can't hit the sweet spot on their driver all the time due to inconsistency. This is where shortening the driver could help them gain distance by hitting the sweet spot more consistently.

 

[Tadashi70]

FWIW, I did say amateurs. A top 5 tour pro isn't playing the same game of golf that I am. I'm happy how I am currently driving the golf ball. I played 45 holes this weekend and didn't have a single penalty stroke off the tee with the 1wood.

What was your lowest round?

 

[blugold]

I don't recall anybody saying they are shortening their driver to the point the distance is less than the 3 wood. I think what was mentioned is that some people hit their 3w further than their driver because they can't hit the sweet spot on their driver all the time due to inconsistency. This is where shortening the driver could help them gain distance by hitting the sweet spot more consistently.

Yup. Never argued that. Not once. Cutting down a driver may very well add consistency. But if cutting down the driver doesn't add distance, the answer isn't to keep cutting it down. The answer is to practice. I know nobody has said to keep cutting. But there always seems to be a search for an easy answer instead of the right answer. The right answer, in the end, may be to practice more.

 

[blugold]

What was your lowest round?

If I say anything over par, I hope you don't come back to me with a "see just cut it shorter". First 9 was a 40. Next 18 was 87. Next 18 was a best ball scramble where I didn't lose a ball off the tee. I didn't hit every fairway, but I didn't lose a ball. And that was me swinging hard.

 

[dizzyg12]

I might buy a duplicate shaft off ebay and cut it just to see what happens. Can't hurt my swing anymore than I already do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tadashi70]

If I say anything over par, I hope you don't come back to me with a "see just cut it shorter". First 9 was a 40. Next 18 was 87. Next 18 was a best ball scramble where I didn't lose a ball off the tee. I didn't hit every fairway, but I didn't lose a ball. And that was me swinging hard.

No my answer is why are you happy with your tee game which sets the table for the rest of the hole and you're shooting these numbers. Not having a penalty shot isn't the end game. Solid golf is and you could use more control and less manufactured power.

 

[blugold]

No my answer is why are you happy with your tee game which sets the table for the rest of the hole and you're shooting these numbers. Not having a penalty shot isn't the end game. Solid golf is and you could use more control and less manufactured power.

What does missing a GIR from a fairway lie have to do with driver shaft length?

 

[tequila4kapp]

I went shorter because standard size drivers were so unwieldy for me that I started feeling like I needed to manufacture a driver specific swing to have any chance of hitting the club.

 

[Tadashi70]

What does missing a GIR from a fairway lie have to do with driver shaft length?

So all the greens you missed where from the fairway?

 

[blugold]

So all the greens you missed where from the fairway?

Nope. I can miss greens from anywhere