Cutting 1" Off My Standard Length Irons?

well, i'm a short guy(5'4") and noticed that i've been grounding the heel of my irons on all shots when i was in the simulator using the impact tape and board.  the salesman says, "you need to cut your shafts half an inch. you can probably even go 1" since you choke down so much."  so off i went.

went home and decided to cut off an inch off my standard length irons.

question is...did i mess it up?  it might be in my head but when i took them to the range today, i feel as though i've lost some distance.  i'm not 100% sure as i'm a new golfer and don't have my distances down to perfection yet, but is this a possible effect of cutting my shafts?

Short answer is ......... maybe.  Shortening shafts could easily lead to lost distance.

If you were healing your clubs and the toe was "up" it sounds as though the problem could have been the "lie angle".  Could have kept the length of the club and had the lie angle adjusted a tad flatter so the clubhead layed flat at address.

Well...let this be your lesson not to do everything someone tells you.  You should have tried choking down for a while and if that felt good then you could go ahead and cut them down AFTER you proved that you liked shorted clubs.   Well since you seem to like to do it your self you can always put shaft extensions in if you want to go back to original length.  At your skill level..make changes slowly...and for heavens sake NEVER listen to salesmen!!

Sounds like something I would do!  Live and learn.  Part of the problem you may be having is that you have changed your swing weight.  I would personally go get fitted....take your irons with you.    They can make the necessary adjustments and retro fit your clubs for you.

What kind of advice is this?

First off, he was choking down on his own. It's not like the salesman told him to on his own. If he cut it an inch, there should be no difference in his distances if he already was choking that far down. And not listening to salesmen? lol...guarantee 95% of them out there are more informed than most people posting on this forum. Most companies pay to get their sales people pretty serious training before they're allowed out on the floor.

im about 5'2 and i just flattened my callaway x-forged 4 degrees and didnt cut them just choke down maybea half in 3/4 inch and they feel great. if i really feel a difference when i take them on the course i may cut them down half inch or so. i have only hit them at the range so far.

I'm 5'8"and I was grounding my driver, so I got the golf shop to cut off an inch and it solved my problem.

Maybe it's just me but if you were grounding only the heel of your clubs, isn't that a lie mismatch?  I'd try to address that first

Go check the Ping fitting chart to see what they recommend for your height and arm length. Compare that to your clubs.

You might have the right length now but still the lie is for a taller player.  And yes shorter clubs will play less distance, because the

club head is slower than a longer club.  You might even go get fitted for a set of Pings to see what they feel like when using the proper lie and length, you don't have to buy them

you're looking for confirmation of your problem.

Trimming a shaft or making the lie angle flatter will accomplish similar things as far as making square contact goes.

Lengthening a shaft or making lie angle more upright will accomplish similar things.

A skilled clubfitter would know the proportions for each.

I am about the same height 5'4.5". I play with G10's. I was fitted to them and hit so much better now. They are 2.5 flat and 1/2 shorter. The clubs I had before were Cobra's. I did the same as you and cut 1" off of them. It really did help me out. Did not loose any distance with them at all. On the G10's I actually gained about 5 yds.

Since some of the guys posting here are all within the 5'2" to 5' 4" height range.  Let me ask you this.  What length is your driver?

And also what is your swing speed?  By the way I am actually 5' 3.5" so that is why I am looking for some feedback from shorter players like myself.

I currently use a maxfli ladies driver since the the length of the club feels good to me.  Albeit a little whippy.

After my iron fitting last week (regular flex shaft was recommended) I figured maybe the ladies flex is a bit too much on my driver.

So I took 4 used drivers (R9, 2 Titelists and a Rapture in R and S flexes) yesterday into the simulator and seem to hit none of them well.  Some were cut down, some full length.

Swing speed was on average 80-82mph.

Then I tried a 2009 TM Burner ladies driver.  Super flexy but all I had to do was make a nice easy swing and clubhead speed actually picked up and the ball actually went further.

Now confused as ever as to what kind of a driver to buy and the correct length.

Perhaps a senior flex?

couple things:

1. check the swingweights.  i had the same issue.  i took 1 inch of my irons, and the swingweights went down to C2 in some cases.  i went to winn lite grips, added some tape, adn now its better than ever.

2. always check the lie angles.  thats one of the most important things.  take many many swings, so you get a good average.

3. im a bit taller 5'9", but i drop my hands low, so i play at 2* flat, and 1.25 short now.

4. driver at 44".  works great

Drivers, usually not, the hosels are to brittle and will crack.

Some fairway and hybrid heads can be bent but it's often an experimental process.

Quote:

Originally Posted by erock9174

Can anything be done with the lie angle of a driver?

Or is lie angle an iron only adjustment.

I was under the assumption you could only adjust the lie angle on irons.

driver lie angle isn't important.  bulge and roll take care of any influences caused by lie angle differences. drivers that have long hosels can be bent but the main reason is for face angle and loft. get your driver fitted for loft first then find the right shaft.