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Is short the way to long?

SuperStroke
I'll just say this, after my time at UST I'll be playing a 46" from now on. Longer if it's feasible. I've not only seen a huge increase in clubhead speed and ball speed but my dispersion hasn't changed a bit.

Good or bad, it is what it is and as golfers we are all going to play what we are comfortable with. But to say someone is wrong for their opinion is not cool. As golfers we are all not comfortable with change, it's just an inevitability, so if it works for some but not you than that's fine. But after talking with one of the best in the business and seeing the numbers there is no denying that going longer can be beneficial.
 
Is short the way to long?

No doubt the important piece to all of this is demoing shafts of different lengths, not just choking down. I have only been at one fitting location in my entire life that had multiple lengths of the same shaft to try... Hitting a TM at 46" with a certain shaft well, then trying a Cally with a 45" and hitting poorly doesn't mean one hits 46" length drivers better. So many variables at play. Drivers even have lie angles... Could be that, to a degree. Could be stiffness, weight of the shaft, even head weight, overall static weight. To truly find one's "ideal length" it would require testing the same shaft, in the same head, same lies, same weighting, etc, etc.
The guys that went to UST probably heard about "butt stiffness", "tip stiffness", loading zones, etc. all of these variables JUST in the shaft affect the quality of contact and hitting the ball in the center of the club face. A single shaft brand at different lengths will have all of these variables change...
 
braddman19 said:
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.
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There was a time, while on thp that I hit my 3W longer than my driver. And after my first MC, I hit my 4w longer than my three wood.

There were factors related to this but the fact that I was crushing shorter woods told me a lot. I know it won't fit very golfer going shorter but it will fit a great many and their current swings.

As for the guys that saw gains, I was reading the forum and saw it. I'd really be interested in your dispersion and distance in a month. If your still on par with what you saw in dallas then the switch was good. But if not, are you going to stick with longer is better?
 
I actually went longer because I'm 6'4". But I think for the average person it could definitely help.


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I understand the thought behind "we're going to hit bad shots anyway, so why not make the good shots better", I really do. But, last time I got fit I was swinging the 44.5" driver faster than I was the 46" because I was more comfortable with it, and I was finding the center of the face more often. And for my skill level, that's what I'm usually looking for for a fitting perspective - I'll take less possible distance in exchange for consistency every time.

I know some of this is my swing, and maybe as I continue to improve this will change, but for now I'm sticking with the shorter length. But, any time I am fit for a driver, I'm going in with an open mind. Give me a club, I'll swing it, and we'll see how things go. Maybe next time the driver that performs best for me will be on the longer side.
 
GregDan said:
I'll just say this, after my time at UST I'll be playing a 46" from now on. Longer if it's feasible. I've not only seen a huge increase in clubhead speed and ball speed but my dispersion hasn't changed a bit.

Good or bad, it is what it is and as golfers we are all going to play what we are comfortable with. But to say someone is wrong for their opinion is not cool. As golfers we are all not comfortable with change, it's just an inevitability, so if it works for some but not you than that's fine. But after talking with one of the best in the business and seeing the numbers there is no denying that going longer can be beneficial.
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I'm quoting this because it is spot on.
 
At 6'4" you should play a longer driver. Unless you have super long arms.
Flowmosapien said:
I actually went longer because I'm 6'4". But I think for the average person it could definitely help.


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GregDan said:
I'll just say this, after my time at UST I'll be playing a 46" from now on. Longer if it's feasible. I've not only seen a huge increase in clubhead speed and ball speed but my dispersion hasn't changed a bit.

Good or bad, it is what it is and as golfers we are all going to play what we are comfortable with. But to say someone is wrong for their opinion is not cool. As golfers we are all not comfortable with change, it's just an inevitability, so if it works for some but not you than that's fine. But after talking with one of the best in the business and seeing the numbers there is no denying that going longer can be beneficial.
Click to expand...

My question is where is the handicap break that going from 44.5-45 to 46 being better?

You can have all the data in the world but if its factored around sub 10 handicaps that drive the ball well and have a solidly/pretty repeatable swings that data doesn't mean anything to me when you look at a 25+ HC player who already struggles with driver control.

Also we all know how swings change when we are in fitting mode vs playing mode, this is seen all the time here guys get fit for clubs everything is spot on when they get fit but 2 months later they aren't seeing those same results on the course.
 
GregDan said:
Good or bad, it is what it is and as golfers we are all going to play what we are comfortable with. But to say someone is wrong for their opinion is not cool.
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Maybe I missed something but it seemed like a pretty healthy discussion to me with some valid points on both sides of the issue.
 
I went back to 44.5 on my driver and has worked great for me, no distance loss and more control. It may be mental but is working for me
 
I love thp. Shortening the driver was all the rage last year. OEMs are evil for putting long shafts in their woods.

So I went shorter with my woods. Now, long is the way to be. Dangit.
 
golfinFF said:
My question is where is the handicap break that going from 44.5-45 to 46 being better?

You can have all the data in the world but if its factored around sub 10 handicaps that drive the ball well and have a solidly/pretty repeatable swings that data doesn't mean anything to me when you look at a 25+ HC player who already struggles with driver control.

Also we all know how swings change when we are in fitting mode vs playing mode, this is seen all the time here guys get fit for clubs everything is spot on when they get fit but 2 months later they aren't seeing those same results on the course.
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I don't think you can have a handicap break. I think this to me is another case of chasing numbers. If 46 works best for you play 46 if 44 works best play 44. It won't be one size fits all (nothing in golf is) but everyone should have an open mind for BOTH sides of this one and only make their choice on personal results without any bias going in. Everyone is different and all with adjust differently.
 
sposey013168 said:
I went back to 44.5 on my driver and has worked great for me, no distance loss and more control. It may be mental but is working for me
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No sense in changing then for sure.
 
Unless some posts have been deleted I don't understand why anyone is butt hurt in here.

I've played with drivers from 43.5 - 46 and based on real world-on course experience somewhere from 44.5-45 is where I have the best results.
I like UST Dan's take on this and I understand his reasoning behind it but I'm sure there are a ton of other industry gurus who would have a different approach. If the guys who were at UST have gained consistency, distance, and accuracy for the long term I think I'll have to give this a closer look.
 
blugold said:
I love thp. Shortening the driver was all the rage last year. OEMs are evil for putting long shafts in their woods.

So I went shorter with my woods. Now, long is the way to be. Dangit.
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You should play what works best for you not what you read on THP. THP provides great opinions/reviews on almost every option out there that gives us all a great starting point. What they can't tell you is how you personally will react to something. It is amazing to have a place with so much info on so much but we have to remember how different we all are and I have yet to see something in golf that is 100% for anybody.
 
when going longer do most ned to go lighter, heavier, or same weight shaft?

What needs to be done to the head to keep swing weight close?

Does going longer work better for the lighter heads out there vs the heavier ones?
 
lightningbolt44 said:
I don't think you can have a handicap break. I think this to me is another case of chasing numbers. If 46 works best for you play 46 if 44 works best play 44. It won't be one size fits all (nothing in golf is) but everyone should have an open mind for BOTH sides of this one and only make their choice on personal results without any bias going in. Everyone is different and all with adjust differently.
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I agree, play what works for you and makes you comfortable. Everything isn't going to be the same for everyone, otherwise we'd all play the same equipment. I don't think there's a right or wrong on long vs short. And even if there was, people admit on here every day that certain things don't work for them and it's all mental. But that's cool, as long as you know what works for you.
 
golfinFF said:
My question is where is the handicap break that going from 44.5-45 to 46 being better?

You can have all the data in the world but if its factored around sub 10 handicaps that drive the ball well and have a solidly/pretty repeatable swings that data doesn't mean anything to me when you look at a 25+ HC player who already struggles with driver control.

Also we all know how swings change when we are in fitting mode vs playing mode, this is seen all the time here guys get fit for clubs everything is spot on when they get fit but 2 months later they aren't seeing those same results on the course.
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I don't think there is a break to be honest. The reason is that it doesn't matter your skill your swing is your swing and that's not going to change. Whether you are comfortable with a longer driver or not is up to you but if you put in a little practice you will get used to it. I think the one reason people feel a shorter driver is better is because of how short all the rest of there clubs are and they are used to that.

Kinda goes with the iron set that tried to have every club the same length, get used to it with one club and nothing changes be the loft of the club head.

So I don't think that everyone needs to switch to a longer driver, it's whatever you are comfortable with, but to deny the extra SS and extra distance is silly. A little practice on the range and getting used to the different tempo and you will be good to go.
 
lightningbolt44 said:
You should play what works best for you not what you read on THP. THP provides great opinions/reviews on almost every option out there that gives us all a great starting point. What they can't tell you is how you personally will react to something. It is amazing to have a place with so much info on so much but we have to remember how different we all are and I have yet to see something in golf that is 100% for anybody.
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Trust me, I play what I want.
 
Otis32 said:
Maybe I missed something but it seemed like a pretty healthy discussion to me with some valid points on both sides of the issue.
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You are correct. Maybe a little harsh on my part. It's fun to see everyone's opinion, and everyone is going to have one, I was more just putting a general statement out there.
 
GregDan said:
You are correct. Maybe a little harsh on my part. It's fun to see everyone's opinion, and everyone is going to have one, I was more just putting a general statement out there.
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Good discussion going on so far I enjoy hearing both sides and would be curious to see a large amount of data for various thpers on the subject.
 
lightningbolt44 said:
I don't think you can have a handicap break. I think this to me is another case of chasing numbers. If 46 works best for you play 46 if 44 works best play 44. It won't be one size fits all (nothing in golf is) but everyone should have an open mind for BOTH sides of this one and only make their choice on personal results without any bias going in. Everyone is different and all with adjust differently.
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Then whats the controlling factor on wether its better or not to go long? because from my gathering from UST is that everyone should go longer as your good shots will better(longer) and bad will still be bad.

What about the mediocre shots? we've all hit them the one that we crsuhed but is offline but stays inbounds by a 3 yards, but if that same shot goes another 4 yards longer its OB or in the water and now costs me a penalty stroke.
 
lightningbolt44 said:
Good discussion going on so far I enjoy hearing both sides and would be curious to see a large amount of data for various thpers on the subject.
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So far I have seen nothing but positives. But like Tadashi said, after a month if the distance and consistency is still there those will be a major factors if longer is better for me.
 
GregDan said:
So I don't think that everyone needs to switch to a longer driver, it's whatever you are comfortable with, but to deny the extra SS and extra distance is silly. A little practice on the range and getting used to the different tempo and you will be good to go.
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I don't think anyone is denying what everyone at UST saw, but I don't think just because it worked for the people there that it will work for everyone across the board. Aren't the discussions here always about how different things work for different people? See below, in a fitting he swung the short shaft faster than the long. I do the UST event was good because there probably are people who could benefit from going longer.

mpeterson said:
I understand the thought behind "we're going to hit bad shots anyway, so why not make the good shots better", I really do. But, last time I got fit I was swinging the 44.5" driver faster than I was the 46" because I was more comfortable with it, and I was finding the center of the face more often.
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