Shortening the driver shaft...

[Party]

Originally Posted by antnee94

What did your driver measure before (45.5 or 45)? I can tell you I love the 44.5 inch driver right now. I have a lot more confidence and like I posted above, I'm seeing more distance because I'm hitting the sweet spot or closer to it. I didn't think it would make that much of a difference, but it does (for me at least).

By the way, I'm 5'11" and only carry the driver the same distance as you. If you are getting that distance I would not worry about it. Every time I try and gain more distance I mess myself up. I'm working on mechanics like you said.

45" so I am now at a 43".  I had the swing weight measured last night and both the driver and 3 wood are at a C3/4.  No wonder they feel a little light and sometimes it is tough to feel where the clubhead is at in the backswing.  I am thinking about going with a Winn Lite grip on both and then possibly adding the 11g or 14g weight.  While it wouldn't get me back to the original swing weight it would get me close.  I have noticed that I have been hitting a push/fade more which sounds like it could be the result of such a light swing weight.  I really have to work to get the clubhead to turn over.  With my hybrid and irons being -1" I would probably just go with the Winn Lite grips in those to try and bring the swing weight back to the original.

When I was fitted for my irons I hit my 6 iron  92/3/7/?/3, 92/3/6/?/3, 92/3/7/?/3 in the shaft optimizer.  Couldn't remember the third value but I hit pretty much the same numbers in all three swings.  I am thinking the C3/4 is just too light for me.

It's my first night of league tonight so if I struggle I have a new excuse, it's obviously the swing weight.

[bluecollar01]

I recently bought a new driver that was 1/2" shorter than my previous driver and certainly feel I have better control, plus the swing-weight was higher (d4 vs d2) which I like as well.

I'm only 5'7" and was having trouble making consistent contact with my fairway woods and 3 & 4 hybrids (stock length shafts) as well so I had a 1/2" taken off them as well.  Contact is much more consistent and average distance is about the same.  With the longer shafts I would every so often hit one 10-15 yards longer than normal but I'd much rather have the consistency as I'm just a weekend hacker.

Playing more often from the fairway has made my rounds much more enjoyable.

[Party]

Went to another store yesterday and they didn't agree with the adjustments to my new driver and 3 wood.  They said that they never should of went -2" on both.  They suggested adding an 1" and going with a 10 gram lighter grip.  I could then add the 11 g weight instead of the 9 g and I should be right around a D1 instead of a C3/4.  They also suggested adding 1/2" to my irons and hybrid as they were -1" and going with a a 10 g lighter grip.  They measured out at C7 so this would get them close to D1.  I told the guy, watch I will go out and have a good night at league.  Well I went out and shot a 37 in league last night with a 3 club wind so who knows at this point.  I still do have a tough time finding the club in my backswing so I think I am going to have the alterations done.

[noSnowman]

I might do this also... I find gripping down gives me a better lie angle and shaft plane. Can't hurt if I hit it more consistently!

look up Anthony Kim on how he swings the driver... He chokes down on it. I do think the drivers are getting a little huge. I am hitting a TM R 580 that head was a monster back in the day now it looks like a 4 wood

[mgd150]

I have a stock burner super fast 2.0 driver, think it's 46.5", thinking about getting it cut to 45.5" at golfsmith. Should I worry about swingweight or anything, or will they make sure to adjust whatever needs adjusting?

[Blueman]

Have only been playing like 7 months so take it for what it is worth, but forever I couldn't get a driver to go straight. Somehow I decided to choke up on the driver. Bam, bam,bam, right down the middle. I am 6'1" .  Played 9 holes this morning, hit 2 tee shots on every hole +3 on 18, (didnt think one was playable but it did in fact make the shortcut), for a total of 15 drives. 12 were right down the middle. 2 were on 1st cut and one was slice city in the woods. Choking up really helped me.

[Mulligan Jeff]

I agree totally didn't Anthony Kim play that way he choked up on every club - nice guy too met him at Buick Open some years ago. [quote name="NormH3" url="/t/37064/shortening-the-driver-shaft#post_480318"]Silly question. Won't choking down on the club give you a similar outcome? I realize that swingweight can be affected, but wondering if this might be an easier fix to the longer shaft problem.[/quote]

[antnee94]

Originally Posted by Party

45" so I am now at a 43".  I had the swing weight measured last night and both the driver and 3 wood are at a C3/4.  No wonder they feel a little light and sometimes it is tough to feel where the clubhead is at in the backswing.  I am thinking about going with a Winn Lite grip on both and then possibly adding the 11g or 14g weight.  While it wouldn't get me back to the original swing weight it would get me close.  I have noticed that I have been hitting a push/fade more which sounds like it could be the result of such a light swing weight.  I really have to work to get the clubhead to turn over.  With my hybrid and irons being -1" I would probably just go with the Winn Lite grips in those to try and bring the swing weight back to the original.

When I was fitted for my irons I hit my 6 iron  92/3/7/?/3, 92/3/6/?/3, 92/3/7/?/3 in the shaft optimizer.  Couldn't remember the third value but I hit pretty much the same numbers in all three swings.  I am thinking the C3/4 is just too light for me.

It's my first night of league tonight so if I struggle I have a new excuse, it's obviously the swing weight.

When I got fitted for the 913 D2 driver, they measured the swing weight of my old 910 D2 at E1. I put a nice amount of lead tape on the heel to get the toe to close and mirrored it on the new driver as well. I really like a heavy club especially the head.

I took a series of lessons last year that corrected a push hook. The one thing about my push hook is it really worked as a powerful draw when hit correctly. But when I was off it was left turn now.  Long story short, the lessons gave me more distance on every club in the bag including the driver by 15 yards helping me get it out 250 consistently. Problem my draw/hook turned into a power fade. Last year I was all screwed up because which ever way I aimed was wrong.  I aimed right and it a fade. I aimed left and hit a draw/hook. I had no idea where my miss was going to be. This year I have been dedicated to the fade and have hit more fairways in the 8 to 9 rounds so far this season. I also once again know where my miss will be.

To me lead tape is my friend. I have them on every club but a putter. Use some to make the head heavier and place it on the heel to get the toe to close.

[Dave2512]

Had mine shortened to 44.25 and I like the results. Had to add 12g to the tip to bring the swing weight back up. Didn't come without slight changes, the added weight makes the shaft a little softer and whip like. Definitely made it easier to control and if anything I picked up distance because I hit it a lot straighter. Heading out to a scramble in an hour and I expect to win the long drive prize.

[Kujan]

Had .75 inches taken off my G15 driver bringing it to 45 and .5 off the G15 4-wood leaving 42.5. I have a roll of lead tape and I may experiment with it at some point.

[Party]

Well I am seriously questions if I should lengthen the clubs now and am thinking swing weight is nothing more than a number.  I went out and shot a 74 today, 4 over with a 4 putt (don't ask) and two 3 putts.  That puts my last two rounds at 37 and 74.  I tried hitting someone's R1 today which definitely felt heavier do to the light swing weight I am used to and I sprayed it right.

[airguard]

I'm confused:

If you take an inch off the butt end and then need the swing weight higher again, wouldn't you add weight inside the butt end under the grip?

[Party]

Originally Posted by airguard

I'm confused:

If you take an inch off the butt end and then need the swing weight higher again, wouldn't you add weight inside the butt end under the grip?

To increase swing weight you would either need to add weight to the head or lighten the weight at the butt end.  The higher the swing weight, the heavier the club head feels.  If you were to add weight to the butt end it would decrease how heavy the club head feels taking the club back decreasing the swing weight.

[jake05]

Last year I purchased a new Ping G 20 wood, decided to go with a 4w instead of a 3w and had 1/2" cut off. It has played very well for me. I always wondered if I lost distance using the 4 instead of the 3. Over the winter I picked up a used 3 Ping G20 wood regular length. I have tested both clubs the last 4 times at the range - so far the 4w is longer & more consistent than the 3w. I can't really say I lost anything by cutting the shaft down.

[PirateJim]

I had been using a 46" Callaway Razr X Black driver and having VERY erratic results.  Hooks, slices, pushes, pulls, yadda yadda, yadda.  After reading this and many other threads I took 1.25" off the end of the shaft.  It did tame a lot of the inconsistency, though I started hitting a lot of "worm burners" (very low shots).  Lacking access to a swing weight scale I did nothing to adjust for the change to shaft length, but it did help me somewhat for a while.

However, I was still sort of inconsistent with the club and even after figuring out how to stay behind the ball and get good height out of most other clubs the driver was still hitting mostly low-balls for me, probably because cutting the shaft stiffened it.  I try to keep track of where I seem to be losing strokes when I play and it soon became apparent that the driver was costing me.  I then began to seriously question if the thing fit me properly and my confidence in the club went out the window.  I was fitted for a 913D2 Titleist at a nearby Advanced Fitting Center and the new club is night and day different.  Don't get me wrong.  It is still a driver and I am still a sort of crappy ball striker, but I am hitting a lot more fairways and when I get in trouble it is often not as bad.  Now, although I am fast becoming a big Titleist fan, I expect that a properly fitted club from other makers would also perform better than my old club (which was not fitted at all, simply grabbed off the rack and seemed to work better than the other stock clubs sitting nearby.)

Bottom line, in my opinion, cutting a club down requires some other thoughtful adjustments to swing weight (in the shaft butt/tip/grip etc. etc.) You're not cutting the club because it already works so well for you, and without making other adjustments in the proper manner you may not be making the club 'better' for the long term.

[Mathwiz]

Originally Posted by airguard

I'm confused:

If you take an inch off the butt end and then need the swing weight higher again, wouldn't you add weight inside the butt end under the grip?

When you cut the shaft at the butt end, it moves the fulcrum point on the scale closer to the head of the club since you slide the "new" cut end to the reference point on the scale where you butt the end of the shaft. That is why the head end of the club actually has a "lighter" feel to it.

[airguard]

Originally Posted by Party

To increase swing weight you would either need to add weight to the head or lighten the weight at the butt end.  The higher the swing weight, the heavier the club head feels.  If you were to add weight to the butt end it would decrease how heavy the club head feels taking the club back decreasing the swing weight.

Originally Posted by Mathwiz

When you cut the shaft at the butt end, it moves the fulcrum point on the scale closer to the head of the club since you slide the "new" cut end to the reference point on the scale where you butt the end of the shaft. That is why the head end of the club actually has a "lighter" feel to it.

Ah Ha!!!! I knew I should have taken basic physics in school! Thanks.

[Kujan]

Added 6 grams of lead tape to compensate for taking .75 inch off my driver and 4 grams to my 4-wood after shortening .5 inch.