3-wood shaft in my Driver

[RP58]

After a 10+ year layoff due to injury, I was finally able to get back into the game last year - and with it I spent the season updating my bag.

While technology had changed, as a former clubmaker/fitter & teacher, I knew what I was looking for - and between attending a few demo days, and custom ordering straight from the mfg. (which never happened back in the day), I was able to narrow down what ended up in the bag fairly seamlessly.

Due to the weather where I live ending the golf season in October, and courses only opening again recently - I also had plenty of time to perview and HO the latest releases, do lots of reading (including forums like MGS), and watch a bevy of videos. ...

And that brings me to the subject at hand - Shortened Drivers, or more specifically using a 3-wood shaft in your driver.

Like most of you, I too suffered with accuracy with my driver (2017 TaylorMade M2) - and while some of my misses were a result of rebuilding a swing, some of them were because of the 45-3/4 inch (stock length) shaft.

Now I'm fairly tall (6-2), and had competed in long drive back in the day with an even longer big stick, my mind was also telling me that having this long of a driver was not going to help with my accuracy - and reading that my driver was at least an inch longer than what was used on Tour (on average), and that in recent years many tour pros had had their drivers shortened, I also took note that many of those pros were much shorter than I. So I've been a bit torn.

So a few weeks ago I stumbled across a video from a teaching pro in England -  and he did a basic test in which he compared a TaylorMade driver, and swapped back and forth between a full length (45-3/4") 60g driver shaft and a 70g 3-wood shaft (43-1/2") of the same brand (and it just so happened to be the Mitsu Kuro Kage I use). ... And while his various shot monitor results (swing speed, ball speed, etc) were about the same - not only was his tee shots just as long or longer using the shorter 3-wood shaft (even though it was 10g heavier), but he was drastically more accurate.

When I saw the video I all but shouted eureka!

I had thought about doing something similar, but was worried about swingweight, and had even looked into ordering some weight plugs to fit my TM head - but this video showed me I didn't really need to worry about all that, and instead it was more about ordering the right already-shortened 3-wood shaft.

So I did some shopping around online (eBay), and found one of my preferred Kuro Kage 70g 3-wood shafts, almost new, complete with TM adaptor, and ordered it - and it arrived the other day and I was able to use it yesterday when I snuck out for my first round of the year (though I have been able to put in a little range work the last few weeks).

Upon getting to the course I headed to the driving range as is my habit to warm up - and when I finally got around to hitting some drivers, I wanted to test both shafts before heading out, and while the 3-wood shaft did feel oddly short attached to the bigass driver head, it did inspire confidence (especially being as it was over 2-inches shorter), and I decided to leave it in the club as I headed out to my round.

Not having been able to swing a club for about 5 months I'm not going to suggest anything silly by saying I striped everything - BUT, I did feel as if I hit enough shots, in comparison to my typical leaves from last year, to form an early opinion. ... And I'm kind of giddy.

As the tester suggested, my accuracy window narrowed, my distance is at least what it was last year (and should improve as my golf muscles come back), and I even hit a few that left me with much shorter approach shots than I was used to - and the added caveat is that on holes playing into the wind, where I'd fought trying to make a 3/4 swing with a longer club, I was able to do so with confidence.

So anyways, while there have surely been a lot of discussions here about whacking an inch or so off the butt-end of your driver, and people worrying that it would ruin the playability of the shaft, and swingweight and such - my suggesting is to just order a 3-wood shaft.

Anybody else see that video, or better yet, has anybody else tried it?
Discuss.....

[Curly6]

Glad to hear your back in the game. I don't think I've seen the exact video, but have seen similar ones out there. Personally, I play all my woods shortened, driver short one inch to play at 44.5 and a 3 and 5 wood each 1/2 short, 42.5 and 41.5 I believe. I've seen a lot of mention of shortened shafts on the forum, so I'd be willing to bet one of the other spies can give some good input on what you're looking for.

[GolfSpy MPR]

My guess is that this was the video you were talking about:

 

 

I'm with you on this. I struggle mightily with consistent contact on the driver face. The last time I was able to hit on a monitor, I choked down on the driver a couple of inches, and it made an enormous (positive) difference in the quality of the shots I was hitting. I've got a fairway wood shaft in my driver now, waiting for the snow to melt to see how it treats me on the course.

[revrex]

After a 10+ year layoff due to injury, I was finally able to get back into the game last year - and with it I spent the season updating my bag.

 

While technology had changed, as a former clubmaker/fitter & teacher, I knew what I was looking for - and between attending a few demo days, and custom ordering straight from the mfg. (which never happened back in the day), I was able to narrow down what ended up in the bag fairly seamlessly.

 

Due to the weather where I live ending the golf season in October, and courses only opening again recently - I also had plenty of time to perview and HO the latest releases, do lots of reading (including forums like MGS), and watch a bevy of videos. ...

 

And that brings me to the subject at hand - Shortened Drivers, or more specifically using a 3-wood shaft in your driver.

 

Like most of you, I too suffered with accuracy with my driver (2017 TaylorMade M2) - and while some of my misses were a result of rebuilding a swing, some of them were because of the 45-3/4 inch (stock length) shaft.

 

Now I'm fairly tall (6-2), and had competed in long drive back in the day with an even longer big stick, my mind was also telling me that having this long of a driver was not going to help with my accuracy - and reading that my driver was at least an inch longer than what was used on Tour (on average), and that in recent years many tour pros had had their drivers shortened, I also took note that many of those pros were much shorter than I. So I've been a bit torn.

 

So a few weeks ago I stumbled across a video from a teaching pro in England (I think, I can't seem to find the video to repost here) - and he did a basic test in which he compared a TaylorMade driver, and swapped back and forth between a full length (45-3/4") 60g driver shaft and a 70g 3-wood shaft (43-1/2") of the same brand (and it just so happened to be the Mitsu Kuro Kage I use). ... And while his various shot monitor results (swing speed, ball speed, etc) were about the same - not only was his tee shots just as long or longer using the shorter 3-wood shaft (even though it was 10g heavier), but he was drastically more accurate.

 

When I saw the video I all but shouted eureka!

 

I had thought about doing something similar, but was worried about swingweight, and had even looked into ordering some weight plugs to fit my TM head - but this video showed me I didn't really need to worry about all that, and instead it was more about ordering the right already-shortened 3-wood shaft.

 

So I did some shopping around online (eBay), and found one of my preferred Kuro Kage 70g 3-wood shafts, almost new, complete with TM adaptor, and ordered it - and it arrived the other day and I was able to use it yesterday when I snuck out for my first round of the year (though I have been able to put in a little range work the last few weeks).

 

Upon getting to the course I headed to the driving range as is my habit to warm up - and when I finally got around to hitting some drivers, I wanted to test both shafts before heading out, and while the 3-wood shaft did feel oddly short attached to the bigass driver head, it did inspire confidence (especially being as it was over 2-inches shorter), and I decided to leave it in the club as I headed out to my round.

 

Not having been able to swing a club for about 5 months I'm not going to suggest anything silly by saying I striped everything - BUT, I did feel as if I hit enough shots, in comparison to my typical leaves from last year, to form an early opinion. ... And I'm kind of giddy.

 

As the tester suggested, my accuracy window narrowed, my distance is at least what it was last year (and should improve as my golf muscles come back), and I even hit a few that left me with much shorter approach shots than I was used to - and the added caveat is that on holes playing into the wind, where I'd fought trying to make a 3/4 swing with a longer club, I was able to do so with confidence.

 

So anyways, while there have surely been a lot of discussions here about whacking an inch or so off the butt-end of your driver, and people worrying that it would ruin the playability of the shaft, and swingweight and such - my suggesting is to just order a 3-wood shaft.

 

Anybody else see that video, or better yet, has anybody else tried it?

Discuss.....

Was it this video?

https://youtu.be/eALUwesAXys

 

 

 

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[Shankster]

I tried this last year when my R1 fell off the cart and broke. Worked rather well, but I liked my 3 wood better.

 

Got a 44” PING G I really need to try out on course, but the numbers are as good or better than the R1 with a 45.5” shaft on the monitor.

 

As I posted in another thread, I think the chart said I should be using a 43.5” Driver.

 

We'll see soon hopefully.

 

I will say when I got back into golf my mom had a 12° 42.5” Driver the I used while waiting on my gear to show up, that was a fairway finder, just too soft and too much loft.

 

Edit: after thinking about this, I had to have done this before it broke sometime because I put the driver shaft in the 3 wood to see what it would do too.

[PING Apologist #9]

Good stuff RP! Definitely worth a try with this on my end. I'll update after some range and course time. At this point I'm willing to try anything...

[Canucklehead]

Yes I've put my 3w shaft into my driver (same adapter). Got tired of hitting my 3w 250 right down the pipe, but being all over the place and not significantly longer with the big stick. So it usually went in timeout.

 

I understood the theory of using a shorter shaft so one day I said what the heck and decided to give it a shot. I did lose a bit of distance, but the dispersion improvement was blatantly obvious.

 

Was actually looking at my bag the other day and noticed difference in hybrid/driving iron shaft to my 4i was probably 1.5-2". Thinking about :

 

Head Shaft

Driver -> 3w

3w -> hybrid/driving iron

DI -> buy a ~4hybrid length

 

Would make the shaft length gapping more consistent at the top end of the bag.

 

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[revrex]

If I wanted to buy a 3w shaft for driver, then what would I have to do with adding weight back to the club? I'm brand new to this and may need some guidance before purchasing a 3w shaft.

 

 

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[PMookie]

I'm not going to go with 43.5”, but I'll probably go with 44.5”, an inch shorter, but it all depends on head weight. We'll see.

 

 

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[PlaidJacket]

This topic got my attention.

Seems like 3w shafts are heavier than a driver shaft of the same make.

For example...

My SLDR driver has a stock TM/Fujikura Speeder 57g S-flex shaft - while the TM SLDR 3w comes with a stock TM/Fujikura Speeder 77g S-flex shaft.

 

I'd be curious and interested in trying a 3w (shorter) shaft in my SLDR and see what happens.

 

Not sure how this would work since the 3w shaft is 20g heavier than the driver shaft.

 

Any thoughts?

[golfobsessed98]

I've recently tried a driver with a 43.25” 80g shaft and compared to a driver that has 70g shaft I have that's already at 44.5”. The one with 3 wood shaft felt tremendously better and more controlled. Also distance was practically the same. I'm rather short (5'6”) and this is anecdotal but it seems to be a good fit.

 

 

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[perseveringgolfer]

we could all do with an inch off!  Funnily enough my wife thinks the opposite.... ;)

[mooremikea]

My driver has a standard driver shaft cut down to a 44 inch playing length.  The only downside is all of the lead tape on the bottom of the club to add some head weight.  I don't feel like there is any loss in club head speed by going shorter but it is far easier to hit the center of of the club face.  

 

For any of the club makers out there will having a heavier shaft reduce the need for lead tape on the club head? 

[PING Apologist #9]

Let us know how it goes.

Gave this concept a try yesterday with very positive results! I indeed put my 3W shaft on my driver head and the feedback was immediate and exciting while on the driving range. I also tried putting my 5W shaft on the 3W head but had poor results there, so I just left the 3W in the penalty box for the day and played with a "shortened" driver and std. 5W.

Well I'll tell ya that for me, my driving was way better than before with less misses right and gave me more "playable" second shots than I can remember ever having before. I did see a drop in distance, but accuracy was up and made my round a ton more enjoyable.

I think my next step for this experiment will be to go to a fitter and have my driver shaft cut down by at least an inch and see if I continue along the same path to success.

Thanks for the great idea and I hope my feedback will possibly help others in this regard-Cheers!

[PlaidJacket]

I'd guess that it's fairly normal.

My 3w shaft is 15g heavier than my driver shaft, so I think you'd be OK.

 

Let me know how it works out for you.

Been looking on ebay a bit. I can find plenty of SLDR 3w's and shafts. Cheap! I might give it a try one day soon. What-the-heck.

[PING Apologist #9]

 

.

That's GREAT!

After years of seeing my 3-wood(s) being the least successful, least played, and least worn club in my bag I'd long ago abandoned the idea of having one in my bag and had for years kept a 4-wood in it's place. ... And now with seemingly no company making a 4-wood, and fairway woods also being loft-adjustable, I've decided to just carry a 5-wood instead, strengthen the loft a degree or two - and it being a more accurate choice anyway - along with accepting the idea that if I'm so far back on an approach shot that I need a 3w to get to the green that maybe I should be laying up anyway. ... But anyways, that's another story.

 

I too had mulled over the idea of just shortening my driver shaft, but having just butt-trimmed more than one over the years and finding it ruined the playability of it (which resulted in me discarding it) - I had thought about the idea of removing the sleeve and tip-trimming it (in addition to butt-trimming it) to more of a overall 2-wood length.

But I think for the time being that I'm going to keep the 3w shaft in my driver and playing it that way for a time, as more of a long-term test, and see how the summer progresses.

But hey, thanks for your feedback - and will be interested in hearing how your experiment progresses.

 

Good stuff there!

 

Indeed I went to WWoG yesterday and had them cut my driver shaft down by 1" from the butt-end. Also had them re-align my grips for D, 3w & 5w since when I originally put them on, I did so before finding the "better" loft settings for me. The did this all for me a no charge since the fella doing it got sidetracked and made me wait 30 or so minutes...

 

Anyhow, I am excited to attempt this and will do some swinging into my net tonight (after the yard is done) and them my scramble group and I are hitting a very challenging course tomorrow over in Boise called Quail Hollow. That'll give me some very immediate feedback on this experiment.

 

I'm not overly worried about "messing" up the swing weight so much since to me this is a stop-gap effort to help me (I hope) in the interim before I schedule a fitting for a new driver anyway. Will post my experiences with it after tomorrow fer sure.

 

And thanks for all your solid insight and no BS approach! Cheers!

[yungkory]

I was obsessing about this when Chisag posted about tour length Cobra F8s until I saw the TXG video with Sam. Yes, it's easier to control and I've had success choking down an inch, but then I saw Sam go from a shorter shafted driver to a 45.5" playing length and he was absolutely destroying. I think there's a shaft and head combo for everyone that will net better results than just chopping an inch off and being satisfied that it's not as bad as before.

 

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[Canucklehead]

I was obsessing about this when Chisag posted about tour length Cobra F8s until I saw the TXG video with Sam. Yes, it's easier to control and I've had success choking down an inch, but then I saw Sam go from a shorter shafted driver to a 45.5" playing length and he was absolutely destroying. I think there's a shaft and head combo for everyone that will net better results than just chopping an inch off and being satisfied that it's not as bad as before.

 

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The only thing is for most people, chopping an inch off your driver is the better option than a shaft that'll give you ~10 more yards for a few hundred bucks

 

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[yungkory]

The only thing is for most people, chopping an inch off your driver is the better option than a shaft that'll give you ~10 more yards for a few hundred bucks

 

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I thought the same thing until I saw it with my own 2 eyes. Ask OG, I'm sure he would agree right now that a better fit is doing him more justice than chopping an inch off his previous gamer.

 

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[yungkory]

.

Then I think you missed the point of this thread, because it definitely IS NOT about "chopping an inch off my previous gamer."

But you "liked" a post made right after saying most people would benefit more from an inch being lobbed off of their shaft vs spending a couple hundred dollars on a shaft that's fit for them.

 

I know what the point of the thread is, I'm just trying to provide a different POV to the discussion. We all know a shorter club is easier to control, and like I said I obsessed about it for a few weeks until I watched a 20-something handicapper hit a longer, lighter swingweight driver, 50+ yards further and 20+ yards closer to center.

 

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[Canucklehead]

I thought the same thing until I saw it with my own 2 eyes. Ask OG, I'm sure he would agree right now that a better fit is doing him more justice than chopping an inch off his previous gamer.

 

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No doubt, but from what I've heard and responses I've gotten from a fitting suggestion, that cost of shaft and fitting is a couple more rounds of golf they'd rather have. I wholeheartedly agree that a proper fitting will give you better results than cutting an inch of a stock shaft

 

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[PING Apologist #9]

.

Well, I'll be interested in hearing how your approach goes.

 

But, might I also suggest you try my idea (3w shaft in D) as well. ... I mean, for you, it is as easy as loosening a couple of screws and swapping heads.

Indeed I may go back to that and sorry, didn't mean to derail the thread. My weakling mind just thinks that I may have a "similar" result by shortening my D shaft as I had when I used the 3w shaft in the D last weekend. Again, this is a stop-gap experiment until I get fitted for a new driver, and YES, swapping around shafts for me is super easy!

[PING Apologist #9]

No doubt, but from what I've heard and responses I've gotten from a fitting suggestion, that cost of shaft and fitting is a couple more rounds of golf they'd rather have. I wholeheartedly agree that a proper fitting will give you better results than cutting an inch of a stock shaft

 

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My "chop" job seems to be a success thus far. The 1" shorter D shaft gave me way more control yesterday than I've ever had before-and a lot more confidence. RP58's personal experiment continuing on with the 3w shaft seems to also be a viable test as his results sound similar to mine doing the same. Would never have thought of such a thing if not for this thread which is why I enjoy the chatter out here with all of you!

[PING Apologist #9]

The experiment continues....

 

Haven't been able to play for a couple of weeks, but I got my second round with my 3-wood shaft in my driver experiment today. ... And the honeymoon continues.

 

I hit more fairways today than I did all last year, and on select holes when I wanted to dial up kill I could hit a moonball out chasing ol' 300. I feel like I'm getting tuned into the shorter shaft, and feeling a lot more confident on the teebox. After a long winter, and months of not swinging a club, I can't want until my golf muscles come back.

 

As always, your results may differ...

Awesome stuff there RP! Fingers crossed here that your index shrinks closer that scratch barrier!!!

[cksurfdude]

It was noted earlier that .. in general .. a 3W shaft will be heavier vs a driver shaft. Another spec that can also be different is the torque .. in general .. a 3W shaft can have a lower torque. As I understand it, this may affect "feel" and forgiveness, BUT - that all depends, of course, on the individual player and their swing, tempo, head/shaft combo, etc etc.