Northmoose Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 My regular golf partner got fitted for new irons over the winter and they were an inch shorter than stock. I cut down his driver, three wood and hybrids by an inch this spring and he hits his driver and three wood significantly better then he used to and it fixed his slice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Bozarth Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 I have been shortening my Driver shafts from 45+" to 43.5" for years and find more fairways and exact same distance as stock length. BTW this is same length that Tiger woods played during his prime years. Quote Cobra Driver 11 degree Cobra 3 Wood Cobra 7 Wood Sub 70 669 irons 5-7 Sub 70 699 Pro irons AW-8 Callaway Forged SW 56 degree Callaway MD 60 degree Tour Edge Blade Putter Kirkland Signature V2 balls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonSal Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 58 minutes ago, Tim Bozarth said: I have been shortening my Driver shafts from 45+" to 43.5" for years and find more fairways and exact same distance as stock length. BTW this is same length that Tiger woods played during his prime years. The current model 307cc TaylorMade driver comes standard with a shaft about that long. It's a fairway finder and long enough from my point of view. I still bag a driving iron for the really scary tee shots, though. Better safe than sorry. Quote Louisville Golf Persimmon___2, 4, 5, 7-woods; Epon AF-906___driving iron; Titleist T100 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-irons; Titleist T100S___48°; Edison 2.0___53º; Titleist SM-9 (T)___58º; Tad Moore Otto Hackbarth___putter; Titleist Pro V1x___ball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfnut0226 Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 On 5/11/2020 at 8:40 PM, Guest Delete said: Shortening the shaft will make the lie more upright, lower the swingweight, make the club slightly lighter, and could make it play a fraction stiffer. Being short usually means making the lie flatter with standard length clubs. If you feel you have to make adjustments to get good strikes, have perfect timing, or just feel inconsistent, then getting fitted for shorter shafts may help. On good way to know a club is to long is how you stand. If you feel like you have to stand almost straight up and swing out to the ball, only to have the toe of the club sticking up in the air at impact then the clubs are too long. Also, checking your divot for the heel digging in will show you. The goal is the divot to have the club enter and exit as square as possible. This reason you state is why I play mine shorter. My irons are 4 deg flat and naturally with fairway clubs you are stuck with the factory lie unless you shorten the length. It's about the only way I can make up for what I need. Shortening a club "flattens" the lie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badams69 Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 As someone about your height exactly but with a 6" wingspan over height differential, I can from 35+ years experience tell u: 1. If u find yourself hitting the ball a bit fat more often than thin it wouldn't hurt to find a choke up length that works well across multiple range sessions. Last thing u should worry about it distance. It is insanely overrated to hit an 8 or a 7 iron 3-5 yds shorter or longer. Precisely why u have several irons to choose from in your bag. IMPORTANT and it will make more difference than most would imagine ....Work in 1/4" or 1/3" rather than 1/2" increments. It correlates better with grooves spacing and hosel to sweet spot relationshipas well. 2. If u find a length that coordinates better with your distance from the ball to hands .... your plane will improve naturally. Your contact will improve beyond comprehension compared to now. Your distance likely will imorove as u will gain in smash which improves ball speed ....which also follows from reduced variation of strike ....which begets accuracy and consistency of said accuracy which begets strokes gained frequency which begets workability which begets better recovery shots which begets and u will be-gets PAID when u kick their hindquarters over and again! I've NEVER lost yardage from any shorter of irons change in as everything improved instantly after roughly 20 swings. Conversely though is driver. Up to 45.75" it improves across the board absent a poor shaft/head setup for me. But that surely can vary as I've driven the ball well with 43.75 up to the 45.75 mentioned. And poorly with each if bad setup. I see zero downside here for you! Just my 35 cents Ho Lee Khrab 1 Quote WITB Drivers: Cobra F9 w/Atmos HOOK STICKS(hybrids): Adams Pro 20*/23* hook sticks! IRONS: Bridgestone Tour Stage TS-202 (5-PW) / Yamaha Inpres XV Forged (5-PW) / Ping Eye2 (3-S) WEDGES: Callaway MackDaddy2 52*/56* PUTTER: Ping Zing2 / Anser4 / Bobby Grace LoPro / Bobby Grace Fat Lady Swings BALLS: Z-Star Pro + Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesmandan76 Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 On 4/26/2020 at 2:05 PM, Pupini said: Hey guys - Considering shortening my golf shafts. I'm short 5'4" and currently use standard length shafts. What would happen to my distance if I shorten the clubs. I am a 12-14 handicapper and hit an 8 iron about 155. I would gladly give up some distance if I would see an increase in accuract (which I expect). I just don't want to lose a full club. My thought is cutting 1/2 inch off. - Thanks. I'm like you. 5'4". I play my clubs 1/2" short and ALSO have the lie adjusted several degrees flat. You will not see any loss of distance with just 1/2 inch. Now if you take 3-4 inches off, yeah, you'll see about half a club or so. But half an inch will do very little, except make the club marginally easier to play. Getting your lie adjusted is FAR more important. Quote Driver: TM M1 9.5* 4W: Wishon bent FLAT Irons: Mizuno MP20MB Wedges: 50/55/60 Mizuno Putter: Evnroll ER2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_R_A_D_Y Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 Doesn’t increased control from choking down come from the change in leverage you get from that 1/4-1/2” of grip sticking out? Aside from less distance, that’s the other reason we were told to choke down. Seems like going back to gripping the club at the butt, even if it’s shorter, is not as controllable as choking down. Are these steel or graphite? Doesn’t butt trimming make a shaft more flexible? Or is that just steel? Or is that only for taking off an inch? Looks like I don’t have any answers, just questions. Quote TSi3 #1-3-5 all with Tensi Blue S-flex 2019 Apex Pro black 3 & 4H Catalyst 70 or TSi3 #2-3 depending on how I’m playing. Tensi Blue 2019 Calloway Apex Pro black, 5-PW, Catalyst 100 - 6.0, Super Stroker Jumbo 2020 RadSpeed OL 4H, 5-GW … won’t get to actually use till warmer weather 2019 PM-grind, 56° & 60°, KBS steel, Green Cap Blue Spider EX Pro V1X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantine Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 Get fitted by a professional dummy! Billy-Bo-Jim-Bob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guam135i Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 (edited) Club fitting was the best decision I did. I used to play a 44" driver and I am 6' it was consitent but lost some distance which was okay. I got fitted in August and they set me up with a 45" driver with the correct shaft, head, loft lie and grip and I gained yardage and am now more consistent than playing my 44" driver. Just my 0.02 cents Edited October 23, 2021 by Guam135i Quote Driver: Callaway Epic MX LS, Mitsubishi Diamana ZF Series 40 R-Flex 3 Wood: Callaway Epic Max 3 wood, Mitsubishi Diaman Thump Fairway 55 R-Flex Hybrid: PXG 0317x GEN4 19 degree, Fujikura Ventus Hybrid Blue 7R PXG 0311x GEN2 22 degree, Fujikura Ventus Hybrid Blue 7R 5 -Gw irons: Srixon ZX4, KBS Tour Graphite 60g Taper Shaft R-Flex Wedges: 54 and 58 degree, SM8, Tour Graphite shaft 70g R -Flex Putter: Scotty Cameron Select Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Grigore Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 I'm 5.7 and I tested 4 lengths in my driver (43.5 / 44.5 / 45 / 46) and 2 in my irons (standard and half inch shorter). All what I can tell the only and the most important thing is your swing! I have the same distances with all shafts and the same bullshits with all of them for the driver. I chose one of them just for the feeling. For the irons is the same story! Finally I chose to standard length in all my clubs. I change my grips moving from regular size to midsize so I can grip down the clubs when I need and for a better control. My only advice is to use the same lengths in all your clubs and visit a custom fitting centre for a good adjustment of your clubs. And don't forget to take few lessons before custom fitting, you will understand why, don't worry. Good luck! Quote Morris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnosil Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 10 hours ago, B_R_A_D_Y said: Doesn’t increased control from choking down come from the change in leverage you get from that 1/4-1/2” of grip sticking out? Aside from less distance, that’s the other reason we were told to choke down. Seems like going back to gripping the club at the butt, even if it’s shorter, is not as controllable as choking down. Are these steel or graphite? Doesn’t butt trimming make a shaft more flexible? Or is that just steel? Or is that only for taking off an inch? Looks like I don’t have any answers, just questions. In my opinion: Maybe choking down changes the leverage that increases control; but I would say that you really don't get more "control", you in theory get less club speed with the same control. Since the ball goes a shorter distance, the same face angle results in a ball that is less offline. is that more control? Short may also enable you to swing the club better and get the path and face angle numbers to have less deviation. That would be more control. Trimming shafts; in theory, makes them stiffer not softer. Trimming the butt end an inch really doesn't make a significant difference in flex in either graphite or steel. Ultimately we shorten or lengthen a shaft to improve contact conditions and there isn't a single answer, the answer depends on the player and the players specific needs. Quote Driver: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven Fairway: XCG7 Beta 15* w/Fujikura Fuel Hybrids: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype 915H 24* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype Irons: TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite Wedge: 54/12D, 60/8M w/Accra iWedge 90 Graphite Putter: Sacks Parente MC 3 Stripe Backup Putters: Milled Collection RSX 2, mFGP2, Futura 5W, TM-180 Member: MGS Hitsquad since 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_R_A_D_Y Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 Thx cnosil. Quote TSi3 #1-3-5 all with Tensi Blue S-flex 2019 Apex Pro black 3 & 4H Catalyst 70 or TSi3 #2-3 depending on how I’m playing. Tensi Blue 2019 Calloway Apex Pro black, 5-PW, Catalyst 100 - 6.0, Super Stroker Jumbo 2020 RadSpeed OL 4H, 5-GW … won’t get to actually use till warmer weather 2019 PM-grind, 56° & 60°, KBS steel, Green Cap Blue Spider EX Pro V1X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElmMan Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 I am 5'6" and I cut down my irons 1/2 inch about 6 years ago. It was one of the best things I've done. Other than that, I agree with most of the other comments and suggestions. Quote G400 Max driver, Alta CB shaft R heavenwood Hybrids - 3 and 4 set to different settings depending on course. Sometimes a Taylormade 4 Maltby STi2 irons 5-GW, Fujikura Shaft 54, 58 Ardmore 3 putter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cblade Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 I'm 5'6" and use standard length shafts. Due to lower back inflexibility the shorter the shaft the less clubhead speed I can manage. I also have problems with mechanics as well so I don't have a lot of accuracy, especially with half swings like with the wedges. I recently dropped my 4 iron for a 4 hybrid because I can make a much more comfortable swing with longer clubs, ie get my weight on my right side which lets me generate easy clubhead speed and better accuracy. I am am still putting together my gamer set but hope to be a single digit hc w/in the year. My strategy will be hitting it long off the tee and hope I can hit a short iron or wedge close enough to make a putt or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndySP Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 On 10/23/2021 at 8:48 AM, cnosil said: Trimming shafts; in theory, makes them stiffer not softer. Trimming the butt end an inch really doesn't make a significant difference in flex in either graphite or steel. I think I read that the reverse is true. On almost every shaft, no matter whether it is tip-stiff or otherwise, the butt end will be the stiffest part of the shaft because of the diameter. By cutting off the stiffest part, the overall profile becomes ‘softer’ than it was originally. Same reason why cutting off from the tip end makes a shaft become stiffer overall as well. That aside, I am short, around 5’5 but with long arms, and I cut off at least a whole inch on every club in my bag, save the driver. It’s a bit of a pain to get the SW back to normal, but I feel I get in better posture over shorter clubs, especially wedges and shorter irons. I think the added weight helps to offset some of the swing speed losses as well. Quote g430 lst TS2 20* hybrid, New Level PF-2: P-7; 902: 6-5 hi-toe 51* and 57* M Craft IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlow206 Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 1 hour ago, AndySP said: I think I read that the reverse is true. On almost every shaft, no matter whether it is tip-stiff or otherwise, the butt end will be the stiffest part of the shaft because of the diameter. By cutting off the stiffest part, the overall profile becomes ‘softer’ than it was originally. It is true that the butt is the stiffest part of the shaft on all shafts (except maybe Bryson's putter shaft. that thing is 0.580" at the tip lol) However, butt cutting has minimal impact on how stiff or soft the shaft will play. Quote Follow my golf journey to break into the 80s Tester for the Titleist TSi Driver Spring 2020 MGS Tester for the Fujikura Motore X Shaft Updated 07/15/2022 Driver: Rogue St Max LS - Autoflex Fairway Woods: Rogue Max St 3HL and 7 Wood Irons: JPX 921 Hot Metal 5 to AW - Aerotech Steelfiber i95 Stiff parallel tip Wedges: Glide 4.0 54 and 58 Putter: PLD Custom Kushin 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Mark Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 I too am short. I am almost 5’6”. I have had shorter clubs for about 25 years or so. Distance hasn’t been effected because of it at all. It sounds like we hit our 8 iron about the same distance. I would encourage you to get fit because the lie and the length work together to get you on the proper swing plane. It is more about the dynamic lie during your swing rather than the static lie when you are standing over the ball that determines what fits best. As you know, every club manufacturer has different specs (lie, loft, length). With that said, you can go to most big box stores (e.g. PGA Super store) and get fit using the Mizuno shaft analyzer. I have done this, it was really helpful. They take static measurements, then have you hit 3 balls with the club that has the analyzer attached, it processes the data, and let’s you know what your head speed, tempo, toe down, kick angle, and release factor. Then it tells you the top shafts that are for you, the flex, length, and lie they should be. Now the lie (i.e. + .5 degrees) and length (i.e. + .25”) are in relation to Mizuno’s club specs so you may need to adjust accordingly. I think this would be a good place to start. Let us know how it works out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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