Choke up 1" or cut shaft, same performance/results?

[Mach2]

I bought a new shaft for my driver and overall length of the driver now is 45.5" If I choke up 1" will I get the same performance/results as if I cut the shaft 1"shorter? I'm sure the swing weight will be marginally more with the driver at 45.5" as opposed to cutting the shaft to make the overall length 44.5" but I'm wondering if the performance/results be the same.

 

[Muchmore]

I think the change here would be consistency. And what I mean by that is making sure you continue to grip down the same length every time compared to knowing exactly where you'd be if you butt trimmed the shaft. Also another variable with gripping down is the grip thickness where your hands are, depending on what grip you are using. But gripping down and trimming the shaft should accomplish the same thing. Though it is easier to undo gripping down if you ended up not liking it.

TXG also has a great video that explains more. The driver portion starts at around the 18 minute mark

 

[GolfMT36]

Found this.

 

[-CRW-]

I don’t presume to know all the differences, but off the top of my head:

Gripping down will leave weight above/behind the hands making the club play more like a counterbalanced design. Whereas cutting short will just make the swing weight lighter.

Gripping down places a different portion of the grip in your hands than cutting down and gripping normally would. This could affect the rate of closure of the club face, which could be good or bad for you depending on your current rate of closure and the shots you produce vs. what you want to produce.

 

[Luchnia]

It depends on what I am doing, but I will club down sometimes if I am messing with a shaft just to see how it plays shorter. You can put a piece of tape on it so you club down the same length each time. Ultimately I cut the shafts to play at my favorite length as I don't prefer to club down, but for testing it is fine.

 

[OITW]

I think the change here would be consistency. And what I mean by that is making sure you continue to grip down the same length every time compared to knowing exactly where you'd be if you butt trimmed the shaft. Also another variable with gripping down is the grip thickness where your hands are, depending on what grip you are using. But gripping down and trimming the shaft should accomplish the same thing. Though it is easier to undo gripping down if you ended up not liking it.

TXG also has a great video that explains more. The driver portion starts at around the 18 minute mark

^^^ This

I would trim shaft for woods - if it's irons or wedges I would adjust the grip vs cutting those clubs. I have not watched the TXG video.

 

[Desmond]

Depends on how you deal with swing weight. We had a discussion where D5 seems to be a great starting point for SW.

You might experiment - keep at 45.5 but change grip to a less tapered grip or add more wraps for the lower hand.

If not working, trim the shaft to 45 and see how that works. Trimming an inch is a lot of swing weight.

 

[Snickerdog]

I would always trim on driver and fairways.

 

[Acesteve]

Ok, the video shows that choking down and cutting it have about the same SW. But both are unacceptable for me to play on a daily basis. I routinely cut shafts down if I play them at full length and like them. However, I can't stand a C7 club so I either add head weight or lighten the grip to maintain good headweight.

Just today I cut down a FW wood 1/2 inch but added a lightweight grip. The cut down reduced SW by 3. The lightweight grip increased by 7 and change. The net is the FW wood is now playing at d4.5 on my scale. I like to play my drivers around D4 but clearly I can't tell if it is D3 or D5 when I am swinging it.