Driver shaft length thoughts???

[buckpillar]

I've been playing my Taylormade Sim 2 Max at the stock 45 1/2 length, I was able to hit it well yet would spray the drives. I decided to cut it down from 45 1/2 inches to 44 1/4, What a difference, I gained approximately gain about 2 yds and the spraying has subsided.

I'm making better contact now and have become more consistent.

Has anyone experienced the same success? What has your results by going to a shorter or even a longer shaft in your driver? 

[McGolf]

we found after several fittings that most golfers will do better with a shorter club. 

the quality of hit goes up resulting in longer drives and tighter dispersion

[tony@CIC]

1 hour ago, McGolf said:

we found after several fittings that most golfers will do better with a shorter club. 

the quality of hit goes up resulting in longer drives and tighter dispersion

What is the 'cut down' range you've found in driver fittings? 1/2", 3/4"? or more? 

[Julius]

6 hours ago, buckpillar said:

I've been playing my Taylormade Sim 2 Max at the stock 45 1/2 length, I was able to hit it well yet would spray the drives. I decided to cut it down from 45 1/2 inches to 44 1/4, What a difference, I gained approximately gain about 2 yds and the spraying has subsided.

I'm making better contact now and have become more consistent.

Has anyone experienced the same success? What has your results by going to a shorter or even a longer shaft in your driver? 

Same.  I experienced it the other way, I had a shorter shaft in my PING 400Max, then when I went to the PING 425 the shaft was longer (maybe 1 inch), can't hit it straight, reduced the shaft and the dispersion was better.  I am still playing the Max400 as I just like the contact and feel better, but for example with the shorter shaft yesterday on my home course, I was 11/13 FIR (my average is 53%), I feel it is much better for my swing.  But I only drive the ball about 200-210, I don't swing big either. 

[MIGregB]

2 hours ago, McGolf said:

we found after several fittings that most golfers will do better with a shorter club. 

the quality of hit goes up resulting in longer drives and tighter dispersion

As a club builder, you can cut the shaft to the appropriate length from a raw shaft and glue the proper adapter in place. But is it reasonable to cut down a shaft that it already tipped and fitted with a shaft adapter? I guess I'm asking where you make the cut; the butt section so only a new grip is needed, or the tip end where a new adapter needs to be installed? I have a spare Motore X F3 65R shaft that I'd like to experiment with, but I don't want to hose it by doing something stupid  Thanks!

[BCases]

49 minutes ago, MIgregb said:

As a club builder, you can cut the shaft to the appropriate length from a raw shaft and glue the proper adapter in place. But is it reasonable to cut down a shaft that it already tipped and fitted with a shaft adapter? I guess I'm asking where you make the cut; the butt section so only a new grip is needed, or the tip end where a new adapter needs to be installed? I have a spare Motore X F3 65R shaft that I'd like to experiment with, but I don't want to hose it by doing something stupid  Thanks!

Yes, most driver shafts are trimmed only at the butt unless you need tipping. If the shaft was originally a good fit, I would think butt trimming should work nicely for you. However, remember when you shorten the club the swing weight will be reduced so you might need to add weight to get the feel you desire.

[buckpillar]

2 hours ago, Julius said:

Same.  I experienced it the other way, I had a shorter shaft in my PING 400Max, then when I went to the PING 425 the shaft was longer (maybe 1 inch), can't hit it straight, reduced the shaft and the dispersion was better.  I am still playing the Max400 as I just like the contact and feel better, but for example with the shorter shaft yesterday on my home course, I was 11/13 FIR (my average is 53%), I feel it is much better for my swing.  But I only drive the ball about 200-210, I don't swing big either. 

fairways and greens is what its about, keep hitting the short grass. take care!

[SteveGH7]

I was thinking about doing the same with my Ping, but I don't quite understand the weight dynamics and if I will need to add some type of weight.

[TylorJudd]

10 hours ago, buckpillar said:

I've been playing my Taylormade Sim 2 Max at the stock 45 1/2 length, I was able to hit it well yet would spray the drives. I decided to cut it down from 45 1/2 inches to 44 1/4, What a difference, I gained approximately gain about 2 yds and the spraying has subsided.

I'm making better contact now and have become more consistent.

Has anyone experienced the same success? What has your results by going to a shorter or even a longer shaft in your driver? 

After going into the Paradym TD this season at 45.5, I found my longest drives were when I would play that length but choking just a 1/2" down even made it so much more consistent. 

[Julius]

26 minutes ago, SteveGH7 said:

I was thinking about doing the same with my Ping, but I don't quite understand the weight dynamics and if I will need to add some type of weight.

Might be best to get refitted, there is something about the shaft length and kick points along with shaft weight that you just need to work through in the fitting.  I just found that the shorter length help me have more control for accuracy and no impact on distance really. 

[Fred Mitchell]

48 minutes ago, SteveGH7 said:

I was thinking about doing the same with my Ping, but I don't quite understand the weight dynamics and if I will need to add some type of weight.

The moveable weight in the head of the newer Pings is available in multiple different weights from both ping and aftermarket / Ebay or Amazon . 

[cnosil]

1 hour ago, SteveGH7 said:

I was thinking about doing the same with my Ping, but I don't quite understand the weight dynamics and if I will need to add some type of weight.

That is largely based on how you respond to the club.  I cut my g400 max down and it worked fine for me without any adjustments but I don’t notice swingweight changes.   You can always add lead tape or change the weights to be heavier if needed.   Figuring it out is trial and error; there is no “standard” that should be followed.  

[GolferXY]

I mess around all the time with different shafts and lengths.  Last year I put a 46" shaft in my Titleist TSi 2 and gave it a few whacks.  The first drive went nowhere, the second drive carried about 20 yards further than my gamer 44 1/2" shaft.  Both were Hazrdus black 60g shafts.  

My swing speed averaged 155 with the longer shaft, 153 with the gamer.  However, it was a hit-and-chase evolution with the longer shaft as I had trouble squaring the face with any consistency.  I have a long swing and basically allow the force of rotation to close the club face at impact.  The longer shaft lagged behind and I was hitting it to right field a lot.  When I tried to speed up my hands, I started hitting duck hooks.  Because of the speed gain, I tried to make the longer shaft work for a couple of weeks, then returned to the 44 1/2" shaft due to the consistency issues.

After that, perhaps due to the messing-with-a-good-thing attempt, my driver went from being my best club to being left in the bag on shorter par 4's that I used to hit into.  I won't be trying that experiment again.  

XY

 

[Donn lost in San Diego]

I have curved spine, un-even sets of muscles between the eyes and the belt, can't swing a normal length driver with any accuracy.  I have a 1 inch or 1.5 inch shorter shaft.  I still hit 3 wood better.  Like fairways?  Trim a 1/2 inch or more.

[McGolf]

On 7/31/2023 at 7:52 AM, tony@CIC said:

What is the 'cut down' range you've found in driver fittings? 1/2", 3/4"? or more? 

The average is about 44.5" drivers so in typical comparisons would be about an inch.

That is the bunch under the bell curve for sure.  44.5 to 44.75 ish.

[SteveGH7]

24 minutes ago, McGolf said:

The average is about 44.5" drivers so in typical comparisons would be about an inch.

That is the bunch under the bell curve for sure.  44.5 to 44.75 ish.

Are you finding most of them are needing to add weight afterwards?

[GolferXY]

Would you add weight to the butt end to compensate for the added length?

[ctg44]

On 8/1/2023 at 10:15 AM, GolferXY said:

Would you add weight to the butt end to compensate for the added length?

I added a heavier sliding weight to my Epic Flash Tour Certified driver (19 gram instead of stock 15 gram).  Considering adding some hot melt as I am still getting too much elevation even with the 8.5* head turned down to 7.5* and the shaft is a 70 gram TX shaft tipped another 1".  However, it's WAY more stable and almost as long as it was before I cut the shaft 1", so it's already a huge win for me going shorter.  Still normally getting over 110 swing speed as an almost 50 year old.

[Sinjin Todd]

Definitely found that playing a shorter driver can help with quality of contact. I went from 45.75 to 45 and hit it better for sure


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[revkev]

On 8/1/2023 at 10:33 AM, McGolf said:

The average is about 44.5" drivers so in typical comparisons would be about an inch.

That is the bunch under the bell curve for sure.  44.5 to 44.75 ish.

I recently went for a fitting where I ended up at 44.25.  My smash factor went way up, my ball speed and distance a bit and my dispersion much better.  Hitting it far more solidly than before.  The sad thing is that I was "fit" for my previous two drivers into the stock length.  I even asked my fitter on both occasions if he didn't think shorter might be better for me (I've been fit before to something between 44 and 45.)  It seems that different fitters have different opinions on this matter.  I'm settled in on needing under 45 for certain.  I always eventually get into trouble when I'm at 45 or above.  It's fine when I'm swinging well - we all know that story, right?

[russtopherb]

I've gone shorter a few times in the past and added some lead tape to the head to compensate but I never really noticed any major gains. What's worked better for me is a mid-sized grip and a couple of layers of tape so I can choke down a bit and still feel like I have a solid grip on the club. 

When I went for my Mizuno driver fitting, the fitter was fine with the stock length for me based on my impact patters, there was nothing that said to him I needed to shorten things up. 

[BCases]

On 7/31/2023 at 10:11 PM, GolferXY said:

I mess around all the time with different shafts and lengths.  Last year I put a 46" shaft in my Titleist TSi 2 and gave it a few whacks.  The first drive went nowhere, the second drive carried about 20 yards further than my gamer 44 1/2" shaft.  Both were Hazrdus black 60g shafts.  

My swing speed averaged 155 with the longer shaft, 153 with the gamer.  However, it was a hit-and-chase evolution with the longer shaft as I had trouble squaring the face with any consistency.  I have a long swing and basically allow the force of rotation to close the club face at impact.  The longer shaft lagged behind and I was hitting it to right field a lot.  When I tried to speed up my hands, I started hitting duck hooks.  Because of the speed gain, I tried to make the longer shaft work for a couple of weeks, then returned to the 44 1/2" shaft due to the consistency issues.

After that, perhaps due to the messing-with-a-good-thing attempt, my driver went from being my best club to being left in the bag on shorter par 4's that I used to hit into.  I won't be trying that experiment again.  

XY

 

Dang , your swing speed is almost as high as my ball speed. Keep crushing it !

[McGolf]

On 8/1/2023 at 10:58 AM, SteveGH7 said:

Are you finding most of them are needing to add weight afterwards?

not at all

[GolferXY]

2 hours ago, BCases said:

Dang , your swing speed is almost as high as my ball speed. Keep crushing it !

LOL, that is ball speed of course.  Swing speed is 105.  

[KC Golf]

3 hours ago, revkev said:

I recently went for a fitting where I ended up at 44.25.  My smash factor went way up, my ball speed and distance a bit and my dispersion much better.  Hitting it far more solidly than before.  The sad thing is that I was "fit" for my previous two drivers into the stock length.  I even asked my fitter on both occasions if he didn't think shorter might be better for me (I've been fit before to something between 44 and 45.)  It seems that different fitters have different opinions on this matter.  I'm settled in on needing under 45 for certain.  I always eventually get into trouble when I'm at 45 or above.  It's fine when I'm swinging well - we all know that story, right?

I really need to look at this. I also got fit and told stock was fine. I am just getting more heel strikes this year and it’s hurting my distance and FIR stats big time. Need to think about another fitting for shaft length. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, KC Golf said:

I really need to look at this. I also got fit and told stock was fine. I am just getting more heel strikes this year and it’s hurting my distance and FIR stats big time. Need to think about another fitting for shaft length. 

I’ll save you some money and possibly time. You would need to go to a club champion, TruSpec, type place to do a true shaft lefty fitting as most retail shops and fitters only carry stock length and maybe a few shorter ones

 

https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/960350-diy-driver-tune-up-diy-fitting/

[KC Golf]

3 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

I’ll save you some money and possibly time. You would need to go to a club champion, TruSpec, type place to do a true shaft lefty fitting as most retail shops and fitters only carry stock length and maybe a few shorter ones

 

https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/960350-diy-driver-tune-up-diy-fitting/

Wow. Thanks for the info.  This is awesome. This will save me some cash and time!

[RickyBobby_PR]

8 minutes ago, KC Golf said:

Wow. Thanks for the info.  This is awesome. This will save me some cash and time!

You’re welcome 

[benrd5420]

I agree with basically all the posts here.  I did an experiment over the summer slowly cutting my driver down (trying not to go too short and regret it).  I did it with an older shaft, than matched my gamer later (similar profiles, older vs newer version).

In the end I was down to a 44.25", and it had changed my game.  The stock 45.5" definitely gave me higher swing speed, but was inconsistent on strike.  When I caught it clean, it gave me the best numbers, but that was 1 in 5 at best.  The rest of the hits had diminishing returns depending on strike location.  With the shorter shaft I am getting less speed, but finding the middle much more consistently which has led to better smash factor and dispersion.  

While I may have lost 15 or so yards on a centered strike, I am much more likely to be in the fairway.  Less looking in the woods, chipping out, or being blocked out on my shot into a green has definitely translated to better scores, even if am a little further out.  I know strokes gained data would dispute this, but for me it's been a game changer.

[JStapp]

On 7/31/2023 at 12:05 AM, buckpillar said:

I've been playing my Taylormade Sim 2 Max at the stock 45 1/2 length, I was able to hit it well yet would spray the drives. I decided to cut it down from 45 1/2 inches to 44 1/4, What a difference, I gained approximately gain about 2 yds and the spraying has subsided.

I'm making better contact now and have become more consistent.

Has anyone experienced the same success? What has your results by going to a shorter or even a longer shaft in your driver? 

Careful changing length of shafts as it will effect lie angles as well, just a thought.