How long is your driver shaft (thats what she said)

[colnago1331]

I'm 5'4".  My 910D3 is 45" but I grip down on it about 1/2" - 1".  I'm also testing out an SL290 which is abhorrently long at 45 3/4".  That one I'm finding myself choking down over 1" every time.

[erock9174]

Originally Posted by colnago1331

I'm 5'4".  My 910D3 is 45" but I grip down on it about 1/2" - 1".  I'm also testing out an SL290 which is abhorrently long at 45 3/4".  That one I'm finding myself choking down over 1" every time.

"Abhorrently".....nice

Cool thanks for the input.

I actually got my Adams 4g cut down today.  Adams lists it at 46" but Golf Galaxy said it was 45 1/2" so I had them take it down to 44 1/4".

Feels much better now but I haven't had a chance to take it to the range yet.

I hit some used drivers while waiting and I noticed that full length drivers, even gripping down an inch or so I was pushing right.

I found a Callaway driver that seemed really short.  I hit it a few times and noticed they were going pretty straight and some even a little draw.  I had them measure it and they said it was 43 3/4"....thought to myself, hmm maybe I should have went another  1/2" lol

Even on the longer clubs, the more I gripped down, the more closer to center I got.

[mrchi]

My driver plays to 44.5". I'm 5'8", wrist-to-floor 33". I'm considering going down to 44": anyone else my height/w2f measurements make this change?

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by erock9174

Adams lists it at 46" but Golf Galaxy said it was 45 1/2" so I had them take it down to 44 1/4"

I'm curious to know if Golf Galaxy corrected the swing weight for you after shortening it as part of their service (or if any mention of swing weight was made at all), or just shortened it and handed it back to you?  Cutting off 1-1/4" will lower the SW by about 7.5 points.

[erock9174]

this is golf galaxy you are talking about.....they never mentioned anything about swing weight nor corrected it.

To be honest, I don't think at my level I am even good enough to notice the SW difference.

When I got my r9 cut down earlier this year I was all worried about this after reading posts here.

I added lead and it felt no different to me.  Just must not be sensitive enough to feel this.    Does it hurt the club to not have it corrected?

I was always under the assumption that as long as it doesn't feel too light for you it should play ok.  I have a slower tempo swing.

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

I'm curious to know if Golf Galaxy corrected the swing weight for you after shortening it as part of their service (or if any mention of swing weight was made at all), or just shortened it and handed it back to you?  Cutting off 1-1/4" will lower the SW by about 7.5 points.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by erock9174

this is golf galaxy you are talking about.....they never mentioned anything about swing weight nor corrected it.

To be honest, I don't think at my level I am even good enough to notice the SW difference.

When I got my r9 cut down earlier this year I was all worried about this after reading posts here.

I added lead and it felt no different to me.  Just must not be sensitive enough to feel this.    Does it hurt the club to not have it corrected?

I was always under the assumption that as long as it doesn't feel too light for you it should play ok.  I have a slower tempo swing.

No, it won't hurt or affect the club in any way.  But 7.5 points is a lot, and most people will notice that much.... that being the club head will feel much lighter, or have "no feel" during the swing.

BUT.... I looked up the specs for that club, and the factory swing weight is surprisingly heavy for a driver at D8.  So it should be somewhere around D0 to D1 now.  Most drivers are D2 to D4 from the factory, so you probably won't be affected by it much.  But if it feels a little "off", add a few inches of lead tape to it and see if it makes a difference.

[erock9174]

Really surprised this club had that high of a swing weight as well.  I figured it would be more like the new 9088 UL which is a D0.

I know at 282grams total its the lightest Speedline driver they make.

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

No, it won't hurt or affect the club in any way.  But 7.5 points is a lot, and most people will notice that much.... that being the club head will feel much lighter, or have "no feel" during the swing.

BUT.... I looked up the specs for that club, and the factory swing weight is surprisingly heavy for a driver at D8.  So it should be somewhere around D0 to D1 now.  Most drivers are D2 to D4 from the factory, so you probably won't be affected by it much.  But if it feels a little "off", add a few inches of lead tape to it and see if it makes a difference.

[erock9174]

Interesting tidbit.  Hit about 5 different drivers on the simulator at golf galaxy today.  My normal driver swing speed average is around 82.  I noticed when i picked up a 43" driver it actually increased up to 85-86 mph.  Distance increased too.  Since I am short I feel like I can take more of a backswing and can really get my hands through the ball with the 43" driver.   I had my Adams cut down even more today to 43 1/4".  curious to see what it does for me.  I just cant seem to get my hands through the ball with a longer driver and everything is a push or push slice.  I saw some chart that Wishon put out and with my wrist to floor measurement he claims i should be under 43".  I think 42.5" was the exact measurement.  that seems awfully short.

[JasonFL]

I just finished cutting down my 2007 burner. I took roughly 2 1/2 inches off the tip, from 46 to 43.5. I hit the hosel with a heat gun until the shaft came out, cut it, sanded the paint off, lightly sanded the inside of the hosel, used 24 hour epoxy.Cannot wait to try it. Someone way back in this thread said gripping down is better than cutting? I have to strongly disagree just out of personal preference. If I grip down, the club feels way more loose because the palm of my hand cannot secure the butt end.

Curious how this worked out because you increased the stiffness of the shaft considerably. As far as trimming the butt causing grip issues you can make up the lost thickness with grip tape.

[erock9174]

Gents,

Since this thread is dedicated to driver length and after reading all the posts its pretty much a general consensus that most players are gaming drivers well under the 46" modern driver length.

So my question is, say you take a driver down from 46" to say 44.5", what are you doing to bring the swingweight back up?

Reason I ask is, I currently game a Superfast 2.0 Senior flex driver.  Factory its 46.5" so I had it cut down an inch to 45.5" with an undersized grip placed on it.

Factory swing weight was D9.

After the cutdown it now measures a C6.  The fitter who cut it down, remeasured the shaft flex on his Maltby scale and the OEM Senior flex shaft now shows "stiff flex".

I said is that because no weight was added back and he said, technically when you butt cut a shaft it should play slightly flexier because you are cutting the stiffest part of the shaft (the butt).  ok makes sense to me....but then he said since no weight was added to the head, the shaft will now play firmer.  And as I understand to get it back up from a C6 to D8 would take a whole role of lead tape which will not work.

Since my swing speed is roughly 82 mph I prefer the senior flex shaft.  Since I cant add that much weight back to the head after the cutdown how do i get the swingweight back to get the flex back into the shaft?

Or could I just reshaft with a heavier shaft and then cut it down?

I really like the 2.0's head but would like it to be around 44" long.  So how does one properly build a short driver like that in this day and age of superlight heads?

.

[LBlack14]

Forget SW. It's just a made up number that means absolutely nothing. As far as your shaft and the flex. The loss of the inch didn't cause it to gain that much stiffness. The shaft was off in the 1st place. This is very common amongst OEM shafts and others. What "scale" did he use and did he measure the flex before cutting the shaft? Shafts are all over and off from the letter painted on them, this is COMMON and more likely than not. Put your shaft on a frequency meter to get a accurate reading and profile it from the butt to the tip. Not just a butt frequency reading to find overall stiffness. Who was the "fitter" or who is he/she emplyed by?

[namkrats]

45.75 but I often grip down 1-2 inches

[snofrog]

I play my xlh at 48" with a house of forged s flex shaft

[inthehole]

I have a huge problem with grounding out the driver.     Snap hook city.     My first driver, I cut 2 inches off - started off as stiff, became ungodly stiff & unplayable ... everything pushed right after it was shortened.     I've had several drivers since (shortened to various degrees) & settled on my latest driver, which I've shortened in increments - wound up taking an inch and a quarter off and absolutely love it.     Started out with a regular shaft, as I knew it would get stiffer.    Haven't grounded it in the last few rounds & I'm keeping it on the fairway consistently - makes the game so much more enjoyable.      I'm focusing on hitting center club head rather than distance, so there's no discernable loss in distance.      Maybe it's mental for me, but what a difference it makes making the driver a more manageable length ...

I've even taken an inch off the 3 wood - helped especially off the tee.

[erock9174]

The fitter used a Maltby Shaft Deflection scale.  Basically the fitter strapped the club in and then hung a weight on the end, then as it droops there is a stiffness factor associated.  He said it measured Stiff even though its a Senior shaft.

He did not measure it before cutting it down an inch, so I don't have a comparison.

I agree with you on SW and it being more of a personal thing.  I for instance do not notice much at all.  I guess what my original post should have asked was how does one get head weight back up to accomodate a shorter driver shaft, especially in today's light headed driver boom.  Adding that much lead tape is not an option.

If I cut the shaft down and do not increase head weight, the club will loose whip and therefore play stiffer.

The fitter is DV Golf in Akron, OH

He is a KSG distributor but will work on other brands.

Originally Posted by LBlack14

Forget SW. It's just a made up number that means absolutely nothing. As far as your shaft and the flex. The loss of the inch didn't cause it to gain that much stiffness. The shaft was off in the 1st place. This is very common amongst OEM shafts and others. What "scale" did he use and did he measure the flex before cutting the shaft? Shafts are all over and off from the letter painted on them, this is COMMON and more likely than not. Put your shaft on a frequency meter to get a accurate reading and profile it from the butt to the tip. Not just a butt frequency reading to find overall stiffness. Who was the "fitter" or who is he/she emplyed by?