Anyone Had Success in Cutting Down Their Driver Shaft?

[Hugh Jars]

The other day I caught up with my friend who has just started playing golf, and I gave him a really old, and dented Maxfli driver with that I was given when I first started years ago with a shaft has had about 2 inches cut off it (its about the same length as my 3 wood). I had a few hits with it for fun, but couldn't believe how easy it felt to hit. Used it for my last couple of rounds - only getting about 205m out of it (a little further than my 3 wood), but it feels much more forgiving.

So now I'm thinking is it worthwhile cutting down a better quality driver I have to get a few more metres.

Anyone had success with cutting down the shaft of their driver? 

[pganapathy]

I have an R5 and Cleveland Hi Bore driver.  Occasionally I play my friends more modern drivers and have discovered that the longer shafts help with distance but unless the specs are just right, I tend to go all over the place.  Shortening a shaft generally helps with accuracy

[GolfLug]

8 hours ago, Hugh Jars said:

Anyone had success with cutting down the shaft of their driver? 

I have had drivers over the years that I have cut to 3", 1" and very recently 0.5" with older driver as I like to tinker a bit. One thing I learned is that even 0.5" cut off is a very different result compared to original. Takes a lot getting used to and at the end of the day it is not going to help with poor mechanics. You may initially absolutely love it but it will be different over a few weeks once you start to settle in with the new length, feel. Swing mechanics tend to have heavy recency-bias.  

Try it though if you are ok sacrificing a driver if you end up not liking it after some time. You might just find the missing link in your game or that you could get lost in the wilderness for years. General rule of thumb is faster the tempo better off you are with a shorter shaft, YMMV. 

[Big Lex]

I did this about 15-20 years ago. I experimented carrying 2 drivers. My first titanium driver was a Ping TiSI. After a couple of years, I bought a Callaway ERC titanium driver. I cut about 3" off the old Ping driver and carried it in the bag as a second driver. I had a couple of holes on the course I was playing at the time where, if I hit a full driver, I could reach bunkers or OB or whatever, and most guys played these holes with a 3W or hybrid. For me, it was easier to tee up and hit that huge headed driver instead of hitting a hybrid, and the shorter length obviously reduced the distance to 4W-ish territory. 

I did this for a couple of years then ditched it the next time I bought new clubs. Like you, I found the cut down driver easier to hit than the full length one. 

[David L Yskes]

Yes, I still play with a cut down driver...  when i bought my "new"  Nike Covert 2.0, one of the first things i did was cut down the driver to 3 wood length...     Now at the time and still to this day...  when i am hitting the ball good, I usually hit my 3 wood farther...  not sure why??  but it just happens..   

A couple weeks ago i after i bought my new irons, i was looking at new driver's and 3 woods...  But on the sim, I was actually out driving new products with my old Callaway X Hot 3 wood..   and my Nike Driver was going about the same distance + or -  some yards, depending on how i hit the ball...    the guy helping me, was like have you ever thought about cutting down your driver?   and I giggled a bit, and said it is cut down to a 3 wood..    And he's like, well this 3 wood, probably just fits your swing so good, that you are going to get better results..      Now i had the same thing happen years ago, i bought a box set of clubs, after not playing for several years, and the 3 wood in the set was Crazy good..  no joke i didn't even use the driver in the set..   And even after i got a new set of Irons and driver, I kept the 3 wood..  

I have friends who play, who are still using old driver's from early to mid 2000s, and their driver's are basically 3 woods, and they kill the ball with the driver..      

I remember back in 2013??  did 36 holes with my brother one day, and the first course we played at, we got paired up with two older guys, late 50's early 60's and one of them just hit his driver straight as can be, and it might of only went 225... but he was always in the fairway... and he was using a old Big Bertha War Bird Driver..   

Sometimes you just need to find something that fits your swing and puts you in the middle of the fairway

[DrvFrShow]

I cut the shaft on my old 2014 Big Bertha and inch to 44.5". One inch only made it about a C8 swing weight which was the same as a women's driver except it had a regular flex shaft. Didn't change the mass of the clubhead, of course. I didn't add any weight back. With the lighter club I actually gained a couple mph in swing speed, and the timing worked out well. I played it for a couple of seasons. I didn't really notice that much increase in fairway accuracy. Maybe one shot more per round was in playable position. I wouldn't play a driver shorter than that. 

I had a Callaway 3W shaft of similar vintage that fit. I tried that and that made the driver head feel too light. I would have had to add a lot of lead tape. Aldo I noticed that even on center strikes, it cost me distance. 44.5" is the shortest driver I'd play. You can always put a larger grip on your driver and choke down an inch. 

 

[arturo28mx]

For years I have experimented with shorter driver shafts. My conclusions:

1. Too long is bad and too short is bad. 44 inches is about right for me

2. Swing mechanics are just as important. A short driver will not fix bad technique.

3. If you start with a D3 swingweight driver and trim off an inch, you will have a C8 swingweight. It is still playable, especially for a senior. Some people like short drivers not because they are shorter but because they swing lighter. If it feels too light you will have to add lead tape or change the small external weight if this is possible.

[ChetlovesMer]

On 6/14/2022 at 2:22 AM, Hugh Jars said:

The other day I caught up with my friend who has just started playing golf, and I gave him a really old, and dented Maxfli driver with that I was given when I first started years ago with a shaft has had about 2 inches cut off it (its about the same length as my 3 wood). I had a few hits with it for fun, but couldn't believe how easy it felt to hit. Used it for my last couple of rounds - only getting about 205m out of it (a little further than my 3 wood), but it feels much more forgiving.

So now I'm thinking is it worthwhile cutting down a better quality driver I have to get a few more metres.

Anyone had success with cutting down the shaft of their driver? 

Three things.

1 - Why not choke down on the shaft? I have a good friend who is "stature-challenged" and he chokes down a good inch and a half on the driver. Seems to work for him.

2 - Daniel Burger chokes way down on his driver. Take a look at this: 

Daniel Berger: The Bullet And The Bomb! - Australian Golf Digest

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Daniel Berger: The bullet and the bomb! Attack your golf course with two different Tee shots.

3 - Mini-drivers are a thing. Taylormade and Callaway make them.