Should I Cut Down My Driver?

[Typhoon92]

36 minutes ago, TourSpoon said:

I have had the last 2 drivers cut 1/2" to 45" and just used a lighter grip and everything worked out fine.  I still grip down for a wind cheater or a bunt but normally just grip it like any other club. 

45” is a nice length.  It doesn’t feel too long, chances are you won’t be adding weight to the head, and you should get a great combo of distance and accuracy.  I get that now with what I hit.  I’m comfortable going longer without losing much in accuracy.  The only issue I have is getting to the point of diminishing returns....

I’m starting to scale back my 48” driver because it goes as far as my 45” but it’s all carry.  I hit it and it’s in the air forever.  Looks impressive but end result is the same as the shorter one.  I’m 5’5” and I know a few other guys whose optimal length is 46.5”.  Anything past that they end up losing distance.

[CharlieB]

I have a Titleist 915D2 that I had cut to 44”. I changed the weight in the sole from 7gr to 14g. I lost very little distance, but I gained a lot in accuracy.

[TourSpoon]

13 hours ago, Typhoon92 said:

45” is a nice length.  It doesn’t feel too long, chances are you won’t be adding weight to the head, and you should get a great combo of distance and accuracy.  I get that now with what I hit.  I’m comfortable going longer without losing much in accuracy.  The only issue I have is getting to the point of diminishing returns....

I’m starting to scale back my 48” driver because it goes as far as my 45” but it’s all carry.  I hit it and it’s in the air forever.  Looks impressive but end result is the same as the shorter one.  I’m 5’5” and I know a few other guys whose optimal length is 46.5”.  Anything past that they end up losing distance.

I just don't see where anything longer gets you much more without sacrificing something. Like you said, diminishing returns. I remember when the longer shafts came out, it took me a while to even go past 44. 

It sounds like you have 2 scenarios going on. Normal conditions and then wet conditions where carry is king. I also wonder if you adjusted the 45" if you could get more out of it playing with trajectory, spin, launch angle, etc. 

 

 

[Typhoon92]

12 hours ago, TourSpoon said:

I just don't see where anything longer gets you much more without sacrificing something. Like you said, diminishing returns. I remember when the longer shafts came out, it took me a while to even go past 44. 

It sounds like you have 2 scenarios going on. Normal conditions and then wet conditions where carry is king. I also wonder if you adjusted the 45" if you could get more out of it playing with trajectory, spin, launch angle, etc. 

 

 

Next time I get some time I am going to compare the 45” shafts at 9 degrees instead of 10.5 just for distance and accuracy.  After that experiment I’m going to take a 45 up to 46.5.

[DrvFrShow]

I played around with the shorter driver. Went back to the full length. Does it make any difference? Not really. I found it more of a band aid. Better to find out what's wrong in the swing and fix it.

[GolfLug]

On 7/29/2020 at 3:04 PM, ChetlovesMer said:

Did you go to Chicago Public Schools as well?

LMAO..

[Grizvok]

6 hours ago, DrvFrShow said:

I played around with the shorter driver. Went back to the full length. Does it make any difference? Not really. I found it more of a band aid. Better to find out what's wrong in the swing and fix it.

Or it's preference because we as humans have drastically different body types and strengths. It's like saying every player should use the same length irons no matter what and changing length/lie/loft on them is a bandaid.

You also realize drivers have been getting longer and longer, right? What exactly do you consider "full length"?

Why is the tour average driver length 44.75"? I guess those guys need a bandaid to be able to play well, huh?

Ridiculous statement.

Edited July 31, 2020 by Grizvok

[knott]

I am ultra confident now about shorter shaft. But I am quite fine gripping down. Getting used to the new feel. 

[TourSpoon]

9 hours ago, DrvFrShow said:

I played around with the shorter driver. Went back to the full length. Does it make any difference? Not really. I found it more of a band aid. Better to find out what's wrong in the swing and fix it.

I consider 45" to be "full length" and that has been creeping up the last 20 years from 43.5." I don't see an off the rack driver at 46.5" being something that I really want in my bag. Its about having a shaft that works for your swing and at some point everyone can get too far from the ball. There was a club back in the day called the "Killer Bee" that was 46-48" at standard and I think you could get it even longer. It generated some more ball speed but at what price? It didn't really catch on once the novelty effect was over. Now that the technology is better maybe we need to bring it back. Here's Rocky Thompson with the Killer Bee! 

[DrvFrShow]

Drivers also used to have lofts of 5 - 7 degrees and be made of persimmon or laminate. I had one. I couldn't hit it. I teed off with my 3W because of the loft. You don't need to edumacate me. Many pros play 44.75" or 44.5" with @ 7.5 degrees and have 120+ mph swing speeds. We on the other hand have swing speeds under 100 mph as a rule and use drivers with 10.5 degrees of loft adjustable. 

I've cut a driver down to 44.5". I've tried a 44.25" driver. I'm playing with a 45.75" driver now. This is the longest driver I've ever played. I think it's a band aid. I hit the ball no better with the shorter driver than I do with the with my current driver. In fact, I'm hitting the ball better with this one. Why? Swing changes that corrected problems. It's important to get properly fit for your driver and see a qualified professional to work with you on your swing.

[Grizvok]

44 minutes ago, DrvFrShow said:

Drivers also used to have lofts of 5 - 7 degrees and be made of persimmon or laminate. I had one. I couldn't hit it. I teed off with my 3W because of the loft. You don't need to edumacate me. Many pros play 44.75" or 44.5" with @ 7.5 degrees and have 120+ mph swing speeds. We on the other hand have swing speeds under 100 mph as a rule and use drivers with 10.5 degrees of loft adjustable. 

I've cut a driver down to 44.5". I've tried a 44.25" driver. I'm playing with a 45.75" driver now. This is the longest driver I've ever played. I think it's a band aid. I hit the ball no better with the shorter driver than I do with the with my current driver. In fact, I'm hitting the ball better with this one. Why? Swing changes that corrected problems. It's important to get properly fit for your driver and see a qualified professional to work with you on your swing.

And multiple people in this thread have had success going from a longer to a shorter driver. I played a 45” in my old 910D2, played a 46” in my new TS2 (with multiple shafts and hit it considerably worse than the 910D2) and then cut down to a 44.75” and have been hitting the best drives I ever have. It's ridiculous to base this off of a personal anecdote.

You are making nonsense blanket statements about driver length, so I’ll “edumacate” you all I want.

Edited July 31, 2020 by Grizvok

[knott]

45 minutes ago, DrvFrShow said:

Drivers also used to have lofts of 5 - 7 degrees and be made of persimmon or laminate. I had one. I couldn't hit it. I teed off with my 3W because of the loft. You don't need to edumacate me. Many pros play 44.75" or 44.5" with @ 7.5 degrees and have 120+ mph swing speeds. We on the other hand have swing speeds under 100 mph as a rule and use drivers with 10.5 degrees of loft adjustable. 

I've cut a driver down to 44.5". I've tried a 44.25" driver. I'm playing with a 45.75" driver now. This is the longest driver I've ever played. I think it's a band aid. I hit the ball no better with the shorter driver than I do with the with my current driver. In fact, I'm hitting the ball better with this one. Why? Swing changes that corrected problems. It's important to get properly fit for your driver and see a qualified professional to work with you on your swing.

In your case the longer shaft is your bandaid. 

The better your swing the longer shaft you can make use of to take advantage of more club speed. The further away the ball is to your hands the harder for me though just makes total sense 🙂

 

Gripping down I am much more successful now. Can shot scape now. May actually not need a new shaft getting used to the feel. When ever feeling superconfident I could try gripping up. There is some weird things happening with the urge to pull my hands in when not gripping down which dont happen now. May not be able to handle the centrifugal forces. I actually swing it now like my old driver 🙂

[Darkfrog]

I'm not sure where I stand in this discussion. My gut says it's probably dependent on the individual golfer, and that there is no right or wrong answer for the OP.

Before I started lessons, I struggled with driver (and every other club too). I adjusted my drivers everywhere between 42.5" and 46". Didn't matter what length I played, I still sucked. The issue then was with my swing, not the equipment.

With my previous driver, I tried three different shaft lengths - standard (what it came with, don't recall what the length was), 43.5" and 44.5". I didn't perceive any difference in performance, but for whatever reason I felt most confident with the 44.5" shaft, so that's what I ended up sticking with.

My current driver is 44.5" and I'm very happy with it, but I was pseudo-fitted into the shaft flex/weight in a lesson, so it could be that the weight and flex is appropriate for my swing and it would be fine at 46" too. But since I am hitting it well, I don't see any need for more experimentation.

[DrvFrShow]

6 hours ago, knott said:

In your case the longer shaft is your bandaid. 

The better your swing the longer shaft you can make use of to take advantage of more club speed. The further away the ball is to your hands the harder for me though just makes total sense 🙂

 

Gripping down I am much more successful now. Can shot scape now. May actually not need a new shaft getting used to the feel. When ever feeling superconfident I could try gripping up. There is some weird things happening with the urge to pull my hands in when not gripping down which dont happen now. May not be able to handle the centrifugal forces. I actually swing it now like my old driver 🙂

No. My band aid was instruction.