Shaft cutting/clubmaking question

[catfell]

Hi all,

If I currently choke down half an inch on all my clubs because I need shorter shafts, have I already lightened the swingweight because I am holding the club further down the shaft?

If I cut the shafts down half an inch, regrip and hold the clubs without choking down a half inch, will the clubs still be the same swingweight as when they were a half inch longer and I was choking down my grip?

My head tells me it should be very similar, but I'm no clubmaker/clubfitter.

Thanks in advance,

catfell

[catfell]

Anyone, Bueller, Bueller?

Bump.

C'mon sandtrappers, I know you're out there, please help me out.

-catfell

[fusioncal]

Hi all,

How old & how tall are you? To be precise, measure the length from your wrist to the floor with shoes you normally wear on golf course.

[Everardo]

If I currently choke down half an inch on all my clubs because I need shorter shafts, have I already lightened the swingweight because I am holding the club further down the shaft?

No because the total weight is still the same

If I cut the shafts down half an inch, regrip and hold the clubs without choking down a half inch, will the clubs still be the same swingweight as when they were a half inch longer and I was choking down my grip?

No, now you will have changed the swingweight.

[golfnut_rlv]

Also, if you cut the shafts down, they will play stiffer than they do now.
You could also lose some distance from the shorter shaft.

Good Luck!

[iacas]

No because the total weight is still the same.

I agree, but the

effective swingweight will go down, yes. It'll FEEL like it's a lower swingweight. But it won't be, of course, because swingweight doesn't account for where you grip the club.

[IowaChop]

how does cutting the butt end of the shaft change the flex?

[gas_can]

how does cutting the butt end of the shaft change the flex?

IowaChop,

Butt trimming a shaft does not change dynamic flex. However, you are swinging a shorter lever, and as such it will play slightly stiffer. How much depends on the shaft and how much trimming is done. Also, if weight is added to the tip or club to compensate for lost swing weight, the club will actually play softer than it did before.

[fusioncal]

How would you fit someone who needs the shafts to be a half-inch shorter but still retain the original swing weight and flex?

Btw, my wrist to floor measurement is 32.5 inches. With golf shoes on is approx. 33-33.5 inches. Online fitting suggests me to play clubs with half-inch shorter shaft and probably 2 deg flatter lie angle. Any insights?

[gas_can]

How would you fit someone who needs the shafts to be a half-inch shorter but still retain the original swing weight and flex?

fusioncal,

This is easier to do with parallel tip shafts since you can decide the frequency slope and length with trimming. However, keep in mind that even adding an eight gram tip weight (the heavies I would add) only changes flex by 1/8 to a 1/4 of a flex (on the rifle scale), so the difference is negligible with taper tip shafts. As far as fitting, wrist to floor is only a mediocre starting point, I always fit with dynamic fitting that way the entire ball flight and contact are evident. Get fit dynamically, chances are good you won't need a shorter than average shaft.

[fusioncal]

fusioncal,

I see. The thing is I just bought a brand new & uncut set of 3-PW TT TC S3 taper tip shafts for my current irons and I kind of wanting to know what issues I should take note on before the re-shafting process. Dynamic fitting - check!

Thanks!

[catfell]

Great advise Gas_can!

Static fittings can only approximate what should work/fit.

Fusioncal, after going to my friendly local clubfitter and getting a dynamic fitting, turns out I do not need to change my lies, but I did end up shortening all my clubs by 1/2 an inch. (Except my putter ;) )

BTW, I'm 5'5" with a 32.5" wrist to floor.

My clubs do feel a teeny bit lighter, but after a Thanksgiving holiday on the range and 35 holes of play, I really don't notice the difference and still love my sticks.

And I have not lost any distance since cutting down, but as I mentioned in an earlier post, I was always chocking down a half inch before I cut down the shafts, so my effective club length hasn't changed.

The biggest difference for me has been regripping with the proper sized grips. I don't hold the club as tightly, and it's much easier to swing without tension.

-catfell

[fusioncal]

Great advise Gas_can!

How does it feel having half-inch shorter shaft in terms of the flex? Does it play a bit stiffer or more flexible?

Right now my irons set is in the process of re-shafting. I dropped them off at a local shop 2 days ago. The fitter told me that I should have the shafts cut half-inch shorter, but I insisted having the standard length. The reason is that I'd like to try them out first before I cut anything short. I have a question for clubmakers/fitters here. What is the reason for someone to use shorter shaft? Perhaps accuracy problem or...? Any inputs are greatly appreciated.

[catfell]

As far as I can tell, the shafts feel about the same.

I couldn't tell if my carry distance has changed since the cutting, because with the change in weather and temperature the air is more dense and everything is flying shorter than in the summer.

The clubfitter/clubmakers out there should know for sure, but with the rudimentary physics that I know, I believe since I was choking down half an inch before cutting down the clubs, they should play to the same relative stiffness as after cutting them down and gripping without choking down.

Like with my hockey sticks, when taking a face-off, by gripping the stick lower (closer to the blade) the stick flexes less. If I grip the stick higher, the stick flexes more since I'm using a longer lever.

Hope this helps,

catfell

[DaveLeeNC]

If you cut an iron down by a half inch it will end up somewhere in the 3-4 SW points lower than it started. You can get it back to where it was by adding 6-8 grams of weight in the tip/clubhead area. Assuming that you trimmed from the butt end of the club, the club will now play slight more flexible than it did before - not a full flex but something that SOME golfers might notice.

dave