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Getting fitted for a 45 inch driver when you play 44 inches


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In the asking around and reading and viewing I've done, I find that if a person wants to buy an OEM driver, almost nobody is equipped to fit them less that 45 inches.  So I'm wondering if it makes much sense for me to get fitted at 45, then order it at 44 (hopefully with added weight), or no, the fit won't translate well to the shorter length. 

 

I am an experienced, well-equipped amateur clubmaker so I can do any mods myself if I need to, but that's secondary.  The main question is will the fit for a 45" driver still be good when I make it, or get it made, 44"?  In  my own builds and modified OEMs, I would say yes, pretty much. 

 

If you play less than 45 inches and have been fitted at 45 or more, what has been your experience after cutting it down?  Did the fitting hold up?

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I was in Orlando and did the PGA Superstore driver fitting so take that for what it is. Either way I ended up buying a 45.25” driver after the fitting. I had to have it shipped to RI and I wanted them to take an inch off so it would play at 44.25”. They did the work and I took it straight to the course and pulled the crap out of it all day. Went to a club guy and he added I think 12 grams of hot melt to the head and straightened my drives right away. So in my experience 1” off made a huge difference.

 

 

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Driver - XXIO X Driver 9.5

:cleveland-small: - Launcher Turbo 2 hybrid

:cobra-small: - F9 One Length 3-L

:EVNROLL: - ER 1.2

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Play Right

 

 

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As an "experienced clubmaker" I'm puzzled why you're even asking this?

 

Because I'm not a club FITTER.

 

Jeesh.  Thanks for the welcome to the site.

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Sorry for the rude welcome you received. Don't let that be a reflection of the kind of people and responses you will usually get. Welcome to the site and we are glad to have you here.

 

 

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Wedgie

 

Driver - XXIO X Driver 9.5

:cleveland-small: - Launcher Turbo 2 hybrid

:cobra-small: - F9 One Length 3-L

:EVNROLL: - ER 1.2

Top Flite Gamer

Play Right

 

 

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I like to do my own clubwork as well. I know that there is a thread here somewhere where guys where discussing cutting down their drivers and the experiences that had with that. I am tall so cutting them down hasn't been in my mind yet, but stick around someone will give some help with the question only he best way to do it so that the weight is correct.

Lefties are always in their Right Mind

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Up until this year I did a lot of tinkering on my own clubs and never played a driver longer than 44.5”. This year is the first time in probably 20 years that I'm using a full length club.

 

My last short driver was a 913D3 with a Diamana white that I just cut to length. The overall weight was light but I'd still throw bombs. My misses were giant snap hooks but that was more of a swing flaw than an issue with the club. Swing weight was definitely less but it was what I felt was comfortable; I made that work for me. What did you have in mind for a shaft and driver combo?

 

 

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  • Titleist TSi3 Fujikura Speeder NX Blue 60X
  • TaylorMade SIM2 3 wood Fujilkura Ventus Blue 7-X
  • Titleist U505 2 Tensei 1K Black 85 X
  • Titleist T100 4-P Nippon Modus 3 120X
  • PING S159 50-S 55-H 59-T DG X100
  • Vokey SM8 50, SM9 54 & 60  Nippon Modus 3 120s
  • L.A.B. MEZZ Max Broom Accra 47" 79.5*
  • Srixon Z-Star XV 

Currently testing the 2024 PING S159 wedges…

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/63483-testers-announced-ping-s159-wedges/

Was testing, still loving the 2023 Titleist T100 Irons 4-P

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/60456-titleist-t-series-irons-2023-forum-review/

 

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My understanding is that the swing weight will be affected by butt trimming down to 44”. This would be a good question for the guys over at TXG. Can probably add a bit more insight than most of us.

@matt416

 

 

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Just recently I trimmed 1/2 inch off my new G400 shaft ( to 44 3/4 ) and added weight to keep same swing weight. Very satisfied so far with results. Previous to this year never had a driver over 44.

 

 

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Driver: Ping G400 LST 10 with Ping Tour 65 stiff 44.5
Wood: Ping G 15 with Ping Tour 80 stiff
Hybrid: Ping G 19 with Ping Tour 90 stiff
Irons: Callaway XR pro 4-A with KBS tour-v 90 stiff
Wedges: Ping Glide 2.0 Stealth 54-12 SS, Ping Eye2 SW 57.5 
Putter: Odyssey Versa #1 WBW
Ball: Snell MTB

Grips: Super Stroke S-tech

Shoes: Skechers

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Seems kind of like a 2 part question here.

 

1.  What length do you actually need?  If you are going to get fit then a good fitter is going to be able to tell you what length works best for your driver.  Same with swing weight.

 

2.  What changes will happen when you cut a 45" driver down to 44"?  If you butt trim the shaft the flex shouldn't change to any noticeable degree.  If you tip trim 1" it will play stiffer to flex.  In general cutting 1" from the butt will lose around 6 swing weight points.  To add that weight back in you would need to add around 12 grams to the head.  Those are all ball park numbers though, it could vary based on where the balance point of the shaft is.

 

If it's more of a "just hit a bunch of clubs at a local big box" type of fitting and you just want to cut it down to 44" and see what happens then I say go for it.  Just be aware of the changes that may happen and be prepared to add in club weight if it doesn't feel good.  

 

Another option would be to buy a 2nd shaft for whatever driver you get.  Leave the stock at 45", make the new one to 44" and see which performs best for you.

Driver: :taylormade-small: SLDR w/ Fujikura Ventus Black

3w: :taylormade-small:'16 M2 hl w/ Diamana D+ 82

5w: :cleveland-small: Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Yellow

Hybrid: :cleveland-small: 22 deg. Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Black

Irons: :cleveland-small: 5i - gap Launcher CBX w/ Nippon Modus 3 125

Wedges: :cleveland-small: 54 CBX & 58 Zipcore w/ Nippon Modus 3 125

Putter: :odyssey-small: Red 7s

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... Hopefully wherever you are fitted they have heavier weights for the club you are hitting. Still, you can choke down 1" to get a better representation as to how it will play for you in the fitting, even if they do not have heavier weights. 

Driver:     :taylormade-small:  Qi10 10.5* ... Ventus Red Velocore 5R
Fairway:  :cobra-small: Aerojet 3/5 ... Kai'li Blue 60R
Hybrids:  :ping-small:      430 Hybrid 22*... Steelfiber 780Hy 
                  :taylormade-small:  DHy #4 ... Diamana LTD 65r 
Irons:       :titleist-small:         '23 T200 5-Pw ... Steelfiber i95r
Wedges:  :taylormade-small: Vokey 50*/54*/58* ... Steelfiber i95r
Putter:     :cobra-small:  Sport-60 33" 
Ball:           Maxfli     Maxfli Tour

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... Hopefully wherever you are fitted they have heavier weights for the club you are hitting. Still, you can choke down 1" to get a better representation as to how it will play for you in the fitting, even if they do not have heavier weights. 

 

This is basically what I've done, off of your recommendation a few months ago. Combined with a helluva club in the G400 Max, the results have been great!

Driver: :callaway-small: Rogue ST Max LS Tensei AV Blue S

3w/5w: :titelist-small: TSi2 Tensei AV Raw Blue S

4h: :mizuno-small: CLK 22* Hybrid Tensei CK Pro Blue 80HY S

Irons 5-PW: :mizuno-small: 223 Steelfiber PR 95 S

Wedges: :cleveland-small: RTX Zipcore Tour Rack 50, 54, 58 Steelfiber PR 105

Putter: LAB Link.1

Ball: :srixon-small: Z-Star Diamond

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... Glad to hear it YK. Now lets get that index down to single digits!  :)

Driver:     :taylormade-small:  Qi10 10.5* ... Ventus Red Velocore 5R
Fairway:  :cobra-small: Aerojet 3/5 ... Kai'li Blue 60R
Hybrids:  :ping-small:      430 Hybrid 22*... Steelfiber 780Hy 
                  :taylormade-small:  DHy #4 ... Diamana LTD 65r 
Irons:       :titleist-small:         '23 T200 5-Pw ... Steelfiber i95r
Wedges:  :taylormade-small: Vokey 50*/54*/58* ... Steelfiber i95r
Putter:     :cobra-small:  Sport-60 33" 
Ball:           Maxfli     Maxfli Tour

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