Custom made driver...

[og512]

My understanding is that the fundamental difference between a driver and 3 wood is that the driver is gets more distance because of the longer shaft and increased swing speed and the 3 wood is more accurate not as long because of the shorter shaft. {i am assuming the head sizes have less of an impact on distance than the shaft}

In theory, wouldn't it be beneficial to put a 3 wood head on a driver length shaft? You get more length than a normal 3 wood but still get the accuracy?

[pshizz]

it would also be harder to hit than either because with the longer shaft and small head making solid contact would be difficult. Also the longer shaft= higher ss which with a 3 wood loft will cause the ball to balloon. so i dont think that it would be a very smart idea, unless you make slid contact and need extra loft, because your ss is too low.

[og512]

it would also be harder to hit than either because with the longer shaft and small head making solid contact would be difficult. Also the longer shaft= higher ss which with a 3 wood loft will cause the ball to balloon. so i dont think that it would be a very smart idea, unless you make slid contact and need extra loft, because your ss is too low.

ok. I never thought about it that way.That's makes a lot of sense.

[hamletsdead]

A number of people do the exact opposite -- put a driver head on a 3-wood shaft, since the shorter shaft makes it easier to control. Tiger golfed on the tour for a long time with a 43.5" driver and his distance didn't seem to suffer. And Kim chokes down on his, effectively making it 43", and still drives 300 yards.

[Stacey_E]

My understanding is that the fundamental difference between a driver and 3 wood is that the driver is gets more distance because of the longer shaft and increased swing speed and the 3 wood is more accurate not as long because of the shorter shaft. {i am assuming the head sizes have less of an impact on distance than the shaft} In theory, wouldn't it be beneficial to put a 3 wood head on a driver length shaft? You get more length than a normal 3 wood but still get the accuracy?

I think it's better to put a 3 wood shaft on a driver head.

Don't forget the loft effect of a driver vs. the 3 wood. A driver generally has a lower loft 7 to, well, 12 or more degrees now. A 3 wood traditionally has around 15* of loft. I think the ideal combo for a mid to high handicapper is a 12* or more 425 cc+ driver head with a 44" or less shaft. The 3 wood basically has a 43" shaft, but golf companies are still going berzerk with their shaft lengths. The drivers are up to 46"plus and 3 woods are 43 1/2" plus. This is so stupid and a real pet peeve of mine! Distance comes from ball speed and that is directly related to the quality of the contact on the face. PERIOD. If you add length to the shaft you might, repeat might, increase clubhead speed. But if you miss the center of the face by 1/2" what have you gained? I could go on about this for days! Here's my example: I cut my driver to 44" (added swingweight to compensate) and added 10-15 yards to my average drive. I'm not counting peak, balls out drives - but average drives. Why? Because I am catching the center of the face more. As a bonus I'm now hitting 72% of my fairways. Something to think about. Rant over haha!

[deronsizemore]

Yeah, the reason you're generally more accurate with a 3 wood over a driver is the same reason you're generally more accurate with a PW over a 5 iron. Shorter shaft and more loft.

So, to take it a step further, what causes the ball to curve left or right? Sidespin right? The ball cannot spin in a bunch of different directions at once, so you'll either have more sidespin than backspin or more backspin than sidespin. With a driver where you've got, lets say 9 degrees of loft, it's more difficult to put backspin on the ball thus much easier to create sidespin causing shots to go offline. With a wedge in your hands, it's very easy to create backspin and much more difficult to create sidespin simply because of the loft of the club, so as an end result you'll likely see your shots go straighter with a wedge over a lower lofted iron.

[Chief Broom]

A lot of companies make their drivers in lofts up to 13 degrees (Nike's "Lucky 13" comes to mind). That doesn't address the shaft lenght issue but it does give you more loft for less sidespin. You could simply choke down on a club like that and get pretty much the effect you desire (shorter shaft - higher loft).

Personally I prefer getting the club square at impact and really bombing my drives (long shaft - low loft), but obviously doing this is easier said than done...

[Henry]

I have a regulary lenght driver not sure what length that is but i find that gripping down on the shaft makes me up to 50% more accurate which is a lot of different for a very minor change.