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I realize that this is a topic that has been visited and revisted some more here. The email sent about the blogs earlier today reminded me of this aspect of my fitting.

 

According to Avery Reed, my fitter at TPC, he has never fit any tour player for a driver at more than 45" - ever. In my case we found that I hit a 44.5" shaft farther than a 45" shaft but I was also shocked to learn that I have a more upright swing - I've always thought I had a flatter swing plane - a player with a flatter plane might do better at 45".

 

So if you're using a driver shaft that is more than 45" why do you use it? Was it the stock in your driver - 45.5 is the norm for the player's driver and 46" for the game improvement driver these days.

 

I also learned that the reason that Sergio Garcia has a 43.5" in his driver is to slow down his hand action - he also has a 25 gram plug in his driver for the same purpose. TMag has found that 18 mph is the ideal speed for hand/wrist action. His would be in the mid 20's without those modifications to his club.

 

If the average driver length on tour is 44.5" I'm hoping that there is some way to get it to 44.5" here. That's the purpose of this thread. To have those with longer driver shafts give a clear reason for why they have them.

 

Good luck. :)

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India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

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Nope. Mine is 44"

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As you remarked, my driver shaft was like a telephone pole. It is 46 inches, and it was 48". I actually hit the ball better when it was 48". But I have a really upright stance and a flatter swing, I think. As you stated, what you think you do and what you actually do are two different things. I was killing this thing at 48" and then cut it down, and did not hit it well. Now I am hitting it well again. I am considering changing putting my 3 wood shaft in my driver and hitting it and seeing the results.

 

My original thought of not cutting the shaft was to have a bomber of a driver and only hit it on certain holes where I did not worry about OB or hazards and use the 3 wood for the tee shots. My 3 wood is 43.5 inches. Then I got to feeling guilty about having a driver that long and cut 2 inches off the butt, and never hit it as well as I did at 48 inches. However, I did that after my last round before I left, yes I know it was stupid to do it then, and the first time I hit it was in Florida and was not swinging well. I am hitting it in the center of the face now. Well, I do 3 out of 4 times. While you and I were playing I hit it once in the center. At 48 inches I was hitting it 9 out of 10 times. But I would also say that I am just now recovering from the trip.

 

After my next trip, I do not expect to recover until almost December. I have 52 hours on airplanes and many car trips and 14 days of nonstop meetings starting Sunday. They will start at breakfast and end with a big dinner somewhere. These are the most exhausting trips I have ever been on, and I swear I got more rest in the Army. I was also half as old as I am now but will be 10 years older when I get back for several days.

 

But to answer your question, I had longer shafts in all my clubs because I changed to a more upright stance. I also am back to the broomstick putter so I can stand taller when I putt. I had to go longer to keep from topping the ball. Does it add distance? Only if I hit it in the center.

 

But I will be not be making anymore adjustments, except to swap my C Tapers for KBS Tours in my irons Thursday, until December.

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I have mine at 45" just because that was "standard" length.

Thinking about cutting it myself to 44.5" or 44".

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I personally play a 44.50" Driver, best decision I ever made moving to the shorter shaft. Gave me more control and I only rubbed about 5 yards distance. 5 yards is not that big of a deal to me assuming i find the fairway more often.

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I personally play a 44.50" Driver, best decision I ever made moving to the shorter shaft. Gave me more control and I only rubbed about 5 yards distance. 5 yards is not that big of a deal to me assuming i find the fairway more often.

 

Great point...5 yards is very often the difference between hitting a 7 iron...and well...a slightly firm or slightly soft 7 iron.

 

Hitting the fairway is often the difference between a GIR (birdie or par) and a bogey or worse.

 

It sure as hell looks impossible to successfully market a driver as 5 Yards closer to the target line, but if anyone every figures it out, it's going to flip the industry on its noggin'.

 

Somebody needs to step up with an ad campaign along the lines of "Stop being a jackass, hit it straighter, not farther"

 

Look at PING, Titleist, and a couple of others that have true differentiation in their driver lines (specific models targeted at better golfers), apart from producing noticeably less spin, perhaps the most compelling thing on the spec sheet is that the stock length is often .5" less than nearly everything else on the market.

 

But again, control and accuracy only sell to guys who have already figured out that 5 more yards matters less than an extra fairway or two per round.

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44 or 43.75 for me. Though usually the issue there is finding a heavy enough shaft that doesn't get super stiff with the weight increase. Needing both a shorter shaft and a heavier shaft is a right PITA.

 

Interestingly I always thought I had a pretty flat swing, especially as I stand up tall to the ball at address. However, because I drive the right shoulder down and through the ball so much, it means that the plane gets quite a bit steeper. Hence the shorter shaft for me. Equally applies to needing such a flat lie angle for my irons (something that confuses people who watch my setup. At least until I swing)

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I went to the mailbox today, had to wait on it before golf. Cigars were coming and I did not want to miss it. In addition to the Cigars, I got the 2013 Titleist Test ball (Pro V1?) So I was definitely going to test that ball, but was also going to swap out the R11 3 wood shaft (43.5) for the R11 driver shaft (46). I started on the back 9 because there were lots of people on the front and an iron off 10 comparing balls, but when I got to 11 I swapped shafts. First I hit the driver shaft. not well I might add. It was into the wind and hit a low ugly bouncer 218 into the right rough. I swapped shafts, and smoked it down the middle, into the wind but 238 and perfect. I hit another ball, same results, 5 feet short of first ball. Hit the new Titleist 5 yards longer than the Velocity.

 

I played 12 another iron, and 13 a par 3 when a cable from the battery to the motor broke. Of course this is the most distant part of the course, and I did not have a flat blade screwdriver. Everything but.. I was able to drive it by removing a cover and physically holding the wire in place. However, hit a bump and bounce a finger in the wrong place it was like a sitting on a stun gun. I went ahead a played 14,15 and 16 on the way in. I pounded the ball right down the middle every time with the absolute prettiest ball flight I have ever seen. Part of me is tempted to keep the three wood shaft in it.

 

However, I have decided that tomorrow, the grip is already off the driver shaft now. Tomorrow, it will be 44.5 inches. If that does not do the trick it will be 44" on Thursday. I will also be changing the 3 wood shaft for a 42" and keeping the 43.5 for bad back days. It is an S Flex that has been tipped rather than an X Flex. I have ordered the new tip for the 42" Talamonti.

 

I had proven this before but before I went to Florida, I could hit everything square. Now things have changed.

 

RevKev, my trip to Europe has now been postponed again, this time because my partner lives in the Sandy destruction zone. So I will unpack the stuff I packed last night.:angry: This is at least the 9th time it was postponed since February, I have lost count.

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44 or 43.75 for me. Though usually the issue there is finding a heavy enough shaft that doesn't get super stiff with the weight increase. Needing both a shorter shaft and a heavier shaft is a right PITA.

 

Interestingly I always thought I had a pretty flat swing, especially as I stand up tall to the ball at address. However, because I drive the right shoulder down and through the ball so much, it means that the plane gets quite a bit steeper. Hence the shorter shaft for me. Equally applies to needing such a flat lie angle for my irons (something that confuses people who watch my setup. At least until I swing)

 

Sounds like you and I have similar swings. I was dead on consistent at a shade over 3 degrees up on all of my drives at the performance lab, nothing below 3.0 and nothing above 3.5 on all of my swings. I also play my irons at 2 degrees flat. As I said I always thought I had a flat swing but clearly the opposite is true.

 

Like you I needed to have the right combo of shaft flex/weight to avoid having too much spin on the driver and yet I don't spin my irons as well as I'd like. It's very interesting and I'm going to start a new thread on fitting in general. It's actually inspired by my experience plus a comment made by Richard a while back.

 

As usual J. Miller makes a great point that I'd like to elaborate on. You don't necessarily loose any "real" distance if you're giving up 5 yards for a good deal more accuracy. In fact if I hit it 5 yards shorter than a drive that is 25 yards off line in the rough I'm going to be in the fairway and closer to the hole - win/win for me.

 

I'll be anxious to hear how RR does with his mini-telephone poll. B)

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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If you own a cat, I know, no one really owns a cat. So if your cat has suddenly become mute, I know why. I found the cat's meow today.

 

I trimmed the driver to 45 inches and the 3FM to 42 inches today. With the driver not only did I find the center of the fairway every time with the driver, but every ball flight was absolutely perfect. I also hit the second longest shot I ever hit on one par 5. It was the absolute perfect line. I had 160 yards left, and after that shot I had 12 feet for eagle. My second eagle opportunity of the day and I made this one. The first eagle op was because after a great drive I hit the 3wood 238 laser straight and had 15 feet for eagle, but missed by an inch.

 

I am not hitting the ball quite as far as I sometimes did before the trim, but I am much more consistent. This was the length of the shaft when I played the Callaway Razr Fit. I just left this long on a temporary basis, but was hitting it so well before my trip I left it that long. I had been thinking about this change but this thread did prompt me to do it.

 

I also buffed up my bouncing 2 iron and bored it out to accept the KBS Tour Shaft. I also hit this really well today. I did not putt well but that is a different issue. I hit 15 great putts that did not go into the hole.

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I am playing a 45" driver, and have been since 1994. I am going to have a difficult time seeing myself changing shaft lengths anytime soon. I have fiddled around with longer and shorter shafts, but I cannot consistently find the center of the club with anything other than a 45" driver. Any time I pick up something new to test, I will figure out where "My stock length" is, and grip it there. I can't tell any other way.

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I'm wondering if this isn't the product of a players swing - a flatter swing plane might make it easier to use a longer shaft and/or adjust to differing lenght shafts.

 

A more upright swing plane means you have to stand closer to the ball and then would make a shorter shaft imperative.

 

Only wondering out loud not making a statement of fact.

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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