Shorten my shafts?

[Fozcycle]

Golftec lesson last night suggested that I shorten my irons by 1/2 inch and shorten my driver from 46 to 44 inches...... Would you regrip all your clubs and shorten them? Or would you try playing by choking up for awhile?

[18thbunker]

Just choke on the club. No need to spend $$$$ to shorten the club.

[RyderJ]

He COULD just do this....however, having his clubs static fitted(I believe it's called) would absolutely be the better option in the long run imho. Properly fit clubs will always improve your game over solely "choking up"...on a side note, shouldn't it be called "choking down?"...just wondering.

As far as grips are concerned, I feel they make all the difference in the world. If you don't have a club that feels great in your hands it's never going to IMPROVE your game.

Originally Posted by 18thbunker

Just choke on the club. No need to spend $$$$ to shorten the club.

[Fozcycle]

Yeah, I like my grips......got a complete set of golf pride grips in Kentucky Wildcat Blue with 'UK" logo on butt ends.....they feel great and match my bag, of course.....LOL

[MiniBlueDragon]

I choke down on my clubs as I have a combination of being 5'7", having an excessive lumbar curve and a one-plane swing. If I grip normally I find the toe sticks up too much and the heel digs into the turf, causing bad shots. I've been meaning to get fit for my irons but I've just not got around to it.

A negative point to choking down is that it's never the same amount of choke. For instance my 4i, 5i, 6i I choke down 2in or so. 7i, 8i, 9i an inch or so and wedges proper grip. There are occasions where I choke down the club a differing amount until it feels right. By having a correct length shaft and lie there's no messing about.

[Fozcycle]

The only thing is.....they recommended a 1/2 off my 6 iron....from 38" to 37.5"

That from 3 swings on a plastic grass mat with most of the grass worn off in a room....before I shorten anything, I will put tape on my 6 iron and go to the range....hitting more than 3 shots.

[RyderJ]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure they could have told you that without you striking a single ball...isn't a static fitting based partially on height?

Originally Posted by Fozcycle

The only thing is.....they recommended a 1/2 off my 6 iron....from 38" to 37.5"

That from 3 swings on a plastic grass mat with most of the grass worn off in a room....before I shorten anything, I will put tape on my 6 iron and go to the range....hitting more than 3 shots.

[MiniBlueDragon]

I wonder if the reason for the suggestion was a lie angle problem? If so I saw an excellent "dynamic lie angle" video a while back which seemed like an excellent way of testing your lie angle yourself. The process, from memory was:

- Put impact tape/masking tape on your club face (not required but stops you getting pen on the club face)

- Draw a "putting line" around a golf ball using a dry board marker, the type used on whiteboards.

- Set the ball so that the line is perfectly vertical.

- Hit the ball.

The idea being that if your lie angle is correct, the ball will roll up the face of the club perpendicular to the sole and draw a line up the face at the angle it rolled up the face. If it rolls up correctly the line will be perpendicular to the sole of the club. If the line points toward the toe it means the club is too upright and needs flattening. If the line is toward the hosel it means the club is too flat.

[glock35ipsc]

Go to the range with a dry erase marker.  Cover the face of your 6 iron with the marker, then hit a few balls and see where on the face you are hitting the ball.  Is it in the middle, toe, heel, or all over?

[Fozcycle]

All 3 shots were on the inside of the face.....

[imtomtomim]

When I got my fitting, I was told I needed to shorten my clubs about inch.  I'm 5'10" with arms and hands close to 2 inches longer than what would allow me to fit standard.  I was told that I already naturally choke about 1/2" so I just need to grip down that little bit more.  It doesn't seem worth it to take off grips I already like and aren't dead yet, cut off half an inch, and buy new grips and install that.  I like the extra little bit of length too when I need to get down that little bit further.

[glock35ipsc]

Inside the face.... meaning towards the heel?  Or inside meaning center of the face?

BTW: if the grips are in relatively good condition, and are not older than dirt, a good fitter or club pro should have the equipment to remove and reuse them.

[Fozcycle]

Hey imtomtomim

I like how you think......thanks

hey glock35ipsc,

inside more toward the heel

[glock35ipsc]

If that contact pattern is consistent, then I would try two things first before shortening them.  Move away from the ball a touch and check the contact location/pattern.  Then grip down a half inch and check the contact location/pattern.

If you are hitting towards the heel consistently , you might just be standing a hair too close.  Clubs that are too long usually are not consistently contacting with the ball in the same location on the face.

I had a problem hitting off the heel with my driver, and it was very consistent, but the problem was only with the driver.  My problem there was I had a tendency to not only drop my head a little, but move in towards the ball at the same time during my backswing, then pretty much remain there on the downswing.  When I did that, the clubhead would return to the ball a little farther outside from where I set up at.  Once I learned to keep my head from moving towards the ball, I got back to hitting the center of the face.

As for the driver, 44" is the magic length for me.

[sean_miller]

I'd get a second opinion before cutting down graphite shafts. Choking down is an option, but some people have grips that feel different when choking down. Try it at least, since it's by far the cheapest option.

Quote:

Golftec lesson last night suggested that I shorten my irons by 1/2 inch and shorten my driver from 46 to 44 inches......

Would you regrip all your clubs and shorten them?

Or would you try playing by choking up for awhile?

[inthehole]

shortening my driver was the biggest gain in my golfing to date - couldn't recommend it more.     If you have a hacksaw, double stick tape & workbench - you can do it in 15 minutes - it really is easy stuff.