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Longer Driver Shaft - 48 Inches

Having some real experience with this, the biggest thing I fought was the swing weight. It felt so, so heavy without manipulation.
 
I’ve tried a 45.5” shaft but even that length gives me difficulty with finding center face. A 47” shaft would just make my scores go higher.
 
as a cheap experiment, pick up a Grafalloy ProLaunch SuperCharged for as little as $25, Blue for high launch, Red for low launch

build quality as good as the $300 shafts, and the SuperCharged versions are counterbalanced which helps manage swingweight at longer lengths
 
I think the longest I've played is 46". I tend to find the center of the face more often with a club around 44.75"-45".

However, I do want to try an actual long drive driver with a 48" playing length and very low loft (4-5*). I will get around to buying one at some point.
 
I have not tried it and almost certainly won’t - it’s too hard to hit properly for me.
 
Lions81 said:
Those of us that have been in the Shaft Up events have seen that Danny plays a 47 inch driver shaft. 48 is the longest legal length allowed. He says it adds distance for him and he can still hit the center of the face. Now he is obviously an extremely good player, and hitting the center of the face with a club that long is much more challenging. Has anyone tried it? Would you try it? I'm strongly considering getting one to try. I mean we all like more distance right?
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I hit a THP member's longer driver setup (I think like 47) years ago and found it to be brutal. Probably because I didn't spend any extra time with it, but it just wasn't for me. I'm happy with my 45ish setup.
 
Several years ago I did and it was fun. Have often thought about going at it again.
 
I've got a 48" Spectre XXX Flex shaft Long Drive Driver with a 3* driver head on it. I can hit it. Obviously accuracy suffers. But I'll throw it in the bag for some charity scrambles, usually removing my 52* wedge when I do so. I just turned 40 so my best SS days are behind me but I still got it up into the low 130's last winter. It's fun to play with but I'd NOT even think about using it for normal golf.
 
Extra long driver shafts are great for achieving maximum distance.
The problem with playing one is that if the swing is grooved to work well with a 47" or 48" driver shaft then the transition to other clubs within the bag is a significant challenge.
 
Yeah that's a good point, particularly transitioning back to my normal length driver more so than irons. Most of the time I use it is indoors on a sim range and it always takes me a few swings with my regular driver before I get the feel of it again. It's hook city those first couple swings. Adding 5* of loft and going down 2 shaft flex's will do that.
 
SmiterOfPv1x said:
Yeah that's a good point, particularly transitioning back to my normal length driver more so than irons. Most of the time I use it is indoors on a sim range and it always takes me a few swings with my regular driver before I get the feel of it again. It's hook city those first couple swings. Adding 5* of loft and going down 2 shaft flex's will do that.
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Im trying to wrap my head around how going from 47 or so to a 9 iron is any different than 45.5 or so to a 9 iron?
 
JB said:
Im trying to wrap my head around how going from 47 or so to a 9 iron is any different than 45.5 or so to a 9 iron?
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Yeah as I stated I really only struggle going back to a normal length driver. Irons aren't really impacted, at least for me. It does take a few swings with my regular driver usually before I can get the feel of the swing right again. It's enough of a difference in how you have to swing the LD driver compared to my normal driver that it takes a minute or two to work it out. Irons though, I'll suck just as bad as I normally would either way.
 
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