So I decided to cut the shaft of my driver...

[kurisu]

…I had it all figured out:
off the rack (well, I was fitted for that loft and shaft anyway), the shafts in the Taylormade R9 Supertri sold in Japan are 45.25 inches (that is what the stickers say and that is what their website says ) and the swingweight is about D2.5/D3
Since I choke down about an inch every time I swing with it, I decided to have it cut.
Reading and learning a lot in these forums, I found out:

*shaft -0.75 inch (to 44.5) = -4.5 sw point
*grip -6 grams (original 53g, Golf Pride MC =47g) = +1 sw
*remove 1g x 2 and replace with 4g x 2 = +6g = +3.75 sw

and I would be with about the same flex and about the same swing weight as before.

Well, I went to my repair shop, told the guy what I wanted to do, and he went to start measuring the shaft… well, from the bottom point of the heel to the butt end, we got 44.75 inches! and balance was closer to D1.5 than D3.

Since that doesn't change the fact that I choke down, I proceeded anyway and now my driver is 44 inches, SW is D2.
I went to a golf shop close to the office and checked another Supertri: sticker says 45.25, but measured exactly 113.5cm= 44.68 inches. Checked a Calloway driver, sticker and measurement matched.

Not sure what's going on, but could that be another great marketing trick from Taylormade?
They say longer shaft=longer drive but actually it's shorter to help produce better contact?

[JML22]

Yeah
that's generally how it is
i want to cut my 09 burner down just cause holding a 45 feels better
people just say grip down but i grip down on a 45 aswell

[kpaulhus]

I say if you can hit it, does the math really matter :)

I believe Taylormade measures the whole shaft from tip to tip. That might be why your getting a shorter shaft(if your measuring from the butt end to the part where it goes into the club head)?

[Joeyvee]

I was jsut giong to ask that. Where do I measre the length of shaft on my R7? It's a fwe years old so it's probably nto as long as some of the super long ones theyre throwing in there now but... You know what. Im just gonna haev 1/2 inch chopped off anyway.

[kurisu]

I say if you can hit it, does the math really matter :)

We measured from the bottom of the club (i.e. from the heel of the club, where the shaft and the sole would meet) to the butt of the grip, so that's the correctly measured length.

Attachment 2437

[LBlack14]

Swing weight is just a number that don't mean much IMHO.

[andef]

That sounds weird but as long as you don't see/feel any differences in the clubs performance you'll be fine.
However, I doubt that the Superfast is shorter than the shaft distance on the website.

[Shagbag]

I disagree that SW is just a number that doesn't mean much but that doesn't mean clubs have to be SW matched. MOI matched clubs all have different SW's but they increase on a consistent predictable scale from long irons to short irons. It's difficult to "feel" the head if the SW is too light, and it can cause you to get "too quick" with your swing. The club can feel cumbersome to swing if it's too high. The right sw is an individual thing, but very inconsistent SW's within a set will definitely cause problems. Just my two cents worth.

[LBlack14]

MOI matched clubs are ALL OVER the board in SW's and not consistent in their progression from 1 club to the next.