Shortening the driver shaft...

[Mathwiz]

Bumping to the top because I'm looking for some advice. I am really struggling with slicing my driver. I hit every club in my bag straight, but the driver. I am hitting a Ping G25 and I am thinking about cutting down the shaft. I am a little over 5'7 and I just feel like I have no control with the driver. Good idea to cut it down? And how far should I take it?

Hey Adam, If you are slicing your driver, it is probably because you are swinging from outside to in with your club path. Have someone video your swing with their iphone and it will probably give you what you need to begin the correction process. As far as cutting the driver shaft down, if you aren't hitting the ball with the center of the clubface consistently , then cutting the shaft down can often help (it's not always the cure all, but sometimes it helps a lot). I bought a driver from Cobra and ordered it at 45 inches. I hit it good, but I was just a little off as far as "catching it" in the sweet spot on a consistent basis. I cut it down to 44.5 inches and I can really tell a huge difference in the consistency of hitting it solid. I always look at the face of the club after I hit my drive, and see where I hit the ball with the club. That is where the proof is.

Ok, I typed the word consistent 3 times in the above post. That is what driver shaft length is all about. It is just that simple. That is why all the pros don't play 46 inch long drivers. They have them cut to a length that helps them hit the ball with the center of the club face on a you-know-what basis.

Hope this helps,

Mike

[cincyadam]

Ok, so I went to the range Saturday and played a round on Sunday. I tried choking down on the club at the range at various lengths. It seemed I was more consistent when I choked down 3/4 or 1 inch on the grip. It carried over on the course and I played my best round yet on the year. I was much more consistent with the driver either hitting it straight or a controllable slice. I took video at the range Saturday and will try posting.

[Flop Shot]

While I agree that going to a three wood will certainly fix much of the problem except one.  The driver face has a much bigger area to hit the ball.  When I hit my 3 wood accurately I can hit it 230 yards which is often better than my driver which I usually slice or snap hook it as I warm up. I'm 6'-4" tall and 65 years old and have had surgury on both shoulders. So needless to say when it comes to accuracy, I miss hit more three woods than with the driver. I'd like to find a 14-16  degree lofted three wood that has a larger head (club face) that I can use for Teeing off and use it off the deck.  I'm presently looking into the little Bertha Three Wood and the Callaway RX fairway Wood.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Dave2512]

Look into the Kick X Blast Driveway. Feels like a 3w long like a driver.

[zero]

Wow, after reading this I realize I have no idea what I'm doing with my driver. Any advice appreciated. Thinking I may need to chuck this club altogether.

I bought a used TaylorMade Burner 9.5*. The shaft soon broke, I replaced it with an Aldila NV 65 and cut it to the original length. Just yesterday, I got so frustrated with my drive I cut it down to 44" from 46". Now I read that I've messed with the weight... oh boy, lost. Here's my swing if interested. I've worked really hard this year and improved a lot, but driving is still not as consistent as I know it should be by now. http://thesandtrap.com/t/84372/my-swing-zero#post_1200412

[Golfingdad]

Finally read through this thread for the first time because I've been thinking of doing this.  I'm going to be getting a G30 here pretty soon, but prior to that, I figured I might as well see what happens with a couple of my older drivers when I cut them down.  I will probably try the same thing with a couple of fairway woods as well.

[Dave2512]

Finally read through this thread for the first time because I've been thinking of doing this.  I'm going to be getting a G30 here pretty soon, but prior to that, I figured I might as well see what happens with a couple of my older drivers when I cut them down.  I will probably try the same thing with a couple of fairway woods as well.

It's a worthwhile experiment.

[DrvFrShow]

I cut an inch off my 2014 Callaway BB from 45.5" to 44.5" and the SW dropped from D2 to C8. Of course it didn't change the mass of the club head, nor the MOI. I was able to get the club head more square at impact, and due to the lower SW, I picked up about 3 mph on the club head speed. Just as an experiment, I happened to have a Callaway BB 3W shaft laying around and since it had the same fitting I put that on the driver, and although I gained even more control, I lost distance. There seems to be a sweet spot, and I think it depends upon the person's swing and the shaft and everything. I don't have the money to test it. I'll say what works for one person might not work for another.

[Golfingdad]

It's a worthwhile experiment.

Hit the range this afternoon and confirmed that it's a lot harder for me to find the face of my longer driver and 3w. So I pulled the trigger tonight and cut 1/2" off each of them to match the older two clubs. Will test them out tomorrow to see what happens.

[vangator]

While I agree that going to a three wood will certainly fix much of the problem except one.  The driver face has a much bigger area to hit the ball.  When I hit my 3 wood accurately I can hit it 230 yards which is often better than my driver which I usually slice or snap hook it as I warm up. I'm 6'-4" tall and 65 years old and have had surgury on both shoulders. So needless to say when it comes to accuracy, I miss hit more three woods than with the driver. I'd like to find a 14-16  degree lofted three wood that has a larger head (club face) that I can use for Teeing off and use it off the deck.  I'm presently looking into the little Bertha Three Wood and the Callaway RX fairway Wood.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I have an old Goldwin 3 wood that has a larger face then my other 3 wood. I hit it very well off the tee, but not so good off the deck. I will try to het a few off the deck this weekend to see if I've improved any. The Goldwin has a 0.860 shaft butt which is a problem. Golf Pride used to make grips for that diameter, but I haven't checked in years. I don't think shaft makers use that butt size any longer. Right now I'm chucking my 5 wood and carrying the Goldwin 3 wood and a Ping K15 3 wood. I have no confidence in the K15 off the tee. The face is so shallow. Hit it well of the turf though. So why not hit the K15 off the tee like I do off the turf? That's an age old question.... I'm thinking hard about shortening my driver as well. I can always put an extender in if I want to go back.

[Golfingdad]

Hit the range this afternoon and confirmed that it's a lot harder for me to find the face of my longer driver and 3w. So I pulled the trigger tonight and cut 1/2" off each of them to match the older two clubs.

Will test them out tomorrow to see what happens.

First set of test results are in and that 1/2" really does make a difference.  I was hitting the driver much more solidly than yesterday.  Solidly enough that I opted to leave it in the bag for now over the old driver.  The 3wood, however, is still not as solid as my old 3 wood.  It's better, but not quite as good, so the old 910f is back in the bag.

Still excited to try the G30 though.

[petegian1010]

Found a Vapor Speed driver head on the golf course. Paid $50 bucks for Motore Speeder 6.0x. Had it trimmed down to 44.5 inches. I didn't think it would make much of a difference just maybe less unwanted fades. Wow when i used to hit my old burner st8 I carried between 240-250. But only 2 of 5 flew str8. Now i carry 240 consistently becauae 9 of 10 are str8. Big difference. It is mostly felt at address I just feel so confident I let it fly without worry.

[Kujan]

Just had an inch taken off the driver, 4 wood, and 4 hybrid, after hitting balls choking down that much. Looking forward to a good week of practice and better results next time out.

[vangator]

I shortened my driver shaft from 45.5 to 44 inches.  I replaced the lost swing weight with lead tape on the toe and back of the club.  My driver is a Ping K15 which has added weight in the heel to aid closing the club face.  I hit a natural draw, so I was always fighting a hook.  With the shorter club and toe weight, I'm hitting a slight push fade.  I'm also hitting it higher.  I think I'm going to like it.  Really feels solid.  The added weight also really muffled the sound of the driver.  I like it better.

[Golfingdad]

First set of test results are in and that 1/2" really does make a difference.  I was hitting the driver much more solidly than yesterday.  Solidly enough that I opted to leave it in the bag for now over the old driver.  The 3wood, however, is still not as solid as my old 3 wood.  It's better, but not quite as good, so the old 910f is back in the bag.

 

Still excited to try the G30 though.

Got the G30 and hit it at standard length (45.75) and, as expected, not well.  Experimented with choking up different amounts and it seemed the further I choked up the better.  Accuracy of contact kept going up and seemingly with very little drop off in distance.

For now, I cut it down to about 44.5" and will try it there.  I wont hesitate to shorten it to 44 if need be but Im gonna start here.

I like the way it feels so far so I won't mess with the weighting just yet.  And it's raining off and on today and tomorrow so I guess I'll have to wait a few days to test it out. :(

[vangator]

Got the G30 and hit it at standard length (45.75) and, as expected, not well.  Experimented with choking up different amounts and it seemed the further I choked up the better.  Accuracy of contact kept going up and seemingly with very little drop off in distance.

For now, I cut it down to about 44.5" and will try it there.  I wont hesitate to shorten it to 44 if need be but Im gonna start here.

I like the way it feels so far so I won't mess with the weighting just yet.  And it's raining off and on today and tomorrow so I guess I'll have to wait a few days to test it out. :(

Trimming off over an inch will really mess with the weighting.  It's probably a little light which for me will mess with my downswing transition.  I'm going to bring a roll of tape with me to the driving range if I need to make some adjustments.

 

I put my normal grip back on the driver (had a really big heavy grip before).  The SW is now D4.  This weekend I had so much lead on the head it would probably have been an E5 or so.  I liked the tempo much better with the heavy head.

[Golfingdad]

Trimming off over an inch will really mess with the weighting.  It's probably a little light which for me will mess with my downswing transition.  I'm going to bring a roll of tape with me to the driving range if I need to make some adjustments.

Well, what I'm thinking is that part of the reason I like the shorter shaft might just be because of the weight.  I've assumed its simply a matter of it being easier to return the shorter shaft back to the ball, but it could also be the weight.

Just in case, though, I have some lead tape lying around that I can add if need be. :)

[vangator]

Well, what I'm thinking is that part of the reason I like the shorter shaft might just be because of the weight.  I've assumed its simply a matter of it being easier to return the shorter shaft back to the ball, but it could also be the weight.

Just in case, though, I have some lead tape lying around that I can add if need be. :)

I was just reading an article in a Golf mag about drivers being too long.  They also mentioned that the lighter club heads will slightly increase the swing speed, but will cause tempo issues.  They recommended increasing the club head weight like the old days.  I am going to bring a roll of lead tape to the range tomorrow and adjust the weight.  I had a lot of lead tape on this weekend and the heavy head really helped my tempo.  I bet the SW was around E5.  That's too heavy, but man was the swing smooth.