44" Driver

[Drummerboy]

I hit my 3 wood further than my driver. I believe it is because my 3 wood is shorter and more easily controlled. Other than a slightly slower swing speed what would be wrong with sticking a shorter shaft in my driver, say 44".

Edited March 16, 2017 by Drummerboy

[Golfingdad]

16 minutes ago, Drummerboy said:

I hit my 3 wood further than my driver. I believe it is because my 3 wood is shorter and more easily controlled. Other than a slightly slower swing speed what would be wrong with sticking a shorter shaft in my driver, say 44".

IMO ... nothing.  I did that last year and gained distance because I had better control of the club, and thus, was hitting the center of the face a lot more often.  I even choke up another inch - might as well have a 43" driver. :)

@Gunther is in the middle of this experiment as well.  Hopefully it's still going good for him.

[Foot Wedge]

20 hours ago, Drummerboy said:

I hit my 3 wood further than my driver. I believe it is because my 3 wood is shorter and more easily controlled. Other than a slightly slower swing speed what would be wrong with sticking a shorter shaft in my driver, say 44".

The slightly slower swingspeed is marginal, and offset by better contact if you swing the shorter club better.  I didn't see too much of a difference when I shortened mine, but then again it's because I was choking up an inch to begin with.  Now the grip feels more comfortable.  Be sure to get the swing weight checked so it doesn't change the feel of your driver.  Best of luck!

[Gunther]

20 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

IMO ... nothing.  I did that last year and gained distance because I had better control of the club, and thus, was hitting the center of the face a lot more often.  I even choke up another inch - might as well have a 43" driver. :)

@Gunther is in the middle of this experiment as well.  Hopefully it's still going good for him.

Yes, about 6 rounds with the 44" and definitely finding the fairway more frequently.  Max distance potential gone but average distance up.  I'll never go back to 45, let alone TM's standard of 46.

Oh, and 2 of my buds have done the same after seeing my results.  It's a goddamn movement, like no one has ever seen.  Believe me!

Edited March 17, 2017 by Gunther

[Drummerboy]

44" driver

[1badbadger]

I have seen this quite a bit where a player hits his 3 wood as far or further than his driver.  It's usually a combination of more loft and the shorter shaft.  I have been a huge proponent of shorter driver shafts for many years and would encourage you to try it. Most players see an increase in accuracy and distance.

Since you mentioned re-shafting your driver as opposed to cutting down the existing shaft, I would recommend going with something heavier to help keep the swingweight up.  A model in the 75-80g range will make a nice difference.  Keeping the swingweight from getting too light is the key to making it work.

[OrangeHog]

I've been experimenting with this recently myself.  A couple weeks ago I had a spare shaft cut down to play at 44.25" in my M2.  I got to play 4 rounds with it and had pretty solid success hitting fairways.

Today I decided to try a different combo.  I got a deal on a Ping G driver (9 degrees) and had a Fujikura Speeder VC 6.2 Tour Spec shafts from my old Ping fairway wood out in the garage so I plugged that bad boy into the G driver head and hit the range for a while today.  The driver plays at 44" on the button and results today were amazing.  I wore out the sweet spot on the club face on the range!

Always hard to tell what distance is like with range balls but I will say control was massively improved.  I felt like I could go after the ball and just point and shoot with this set up.  I'm really interested to get on the course with it this next week and see how it really performs.  Honestly, I'd gladly give up a few yards to see my FIR numbers increase and give myself better looks at hitting the green more often.

[boogielicious]

13 hours ago, 1badbadger said:

I have seen this quite a bit where a player hits his 3 wood as far or further than his driver.  It's usually a combination of more loft and the shorter shaft.  I have been a huge proponent of shorter driver shafts for many years and would encourage you to try it. Most players see an increase in accuracy and distance.

Since you mentioned re-shafting your driver as opposed to cutting down the existing shaft, I would recommend going with something heavier to help keep the swingweight up.  A model in the 75-80g range will make a nice difference.  Keeping the swingweight from getting too light is the key to making it work.

Are you saying that if we are going to trim down the shaft, we should go with a heavier shaft? Is the flex kept the same?

I was fitted a few years back with an Aldila Habanero stiff shaft with my Titleist 910D2 driver. The fitter put me in essentially a light higher launch shaft. I just measured the length at 44 3/4" and the swing weight at D2.

When I reviewed my current driver for TST, the 915D2, I tested the stock shaft Diamana S+ Blue Reg against the Habanero and a Fujikura Motore F3 stiff I picked up (another light high launch shaft). The Fujikura measured 44 3/4". I tested the 915 against the 913 and 910 with all three shafts. I settled on the Fujikura with the 915 head being the longest in the review. But I never really looked at shaft length as a variable.

I picked up a couple another shafts on eBay recently, Aldila Rogue Black 60 and 70 stiff to play with (mid launch shafts). I trimmed down the 60 so it is a half inch shorter than the Fujikura, which was 1/2" shorter than standard (44 1/4"). I had to use the 14g Titleist weight to get the swing weight back to D2. I still have the 70 to play with. I can take another 1/4" off and make it 44". 

I will test that out and see what the swing weight ends up at.

 

[1badbadger]

4 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Are you saying that if we are going to trim down the shaft, we should go with a heavier shaft? Is the flex kept the same?

I was fitted a few years back with an Aldila Habanero stiff shaft with my Titleist 910D2 driver. The fitter put me in essentially a light higher launch shaft. I just measured the length at 44 3/4" and the swing weight at D2.

When I reviewed my current driver for TST, the 915D2, I tested the stock shaft Diamana S+ Blue Reg against the Habanero and a Fujikura Motore F3 stiff I picked up (another light high launch shaft). The Fujikura measured 44 3/4". I tested the 915 against the 913 and 910 with all three shafts. I settled on the Fujikura with the 915 head being the longest in the review. But I never really looked at shaft length as a variable.

I picked up a couple another shafts on eBay recently, Aldila Rogue Black 60 and 70 stiff to play with (mid launch shafts). I trimmed down the 60 so it is a half inch shorter than the Fujikura, which was 1/2" shorter than standard (44 1/4"). I had to use the 14g Titleist weight to get the swing weight back to D2. I still have the 70 to play with. I can take another 1/4" off and make it 44". 

I will test that out and see what the swing weight ends up at.

 

You don't have to have a heavier shaft, but it helps keep the swingweight up.  So if you're going to re-shaft a driver and make it a shorter length (as opposed to cutting the stock shaft down) I recommend selecting something heavier.

I think one of the big reasons people have the impression shorter drivers will cost them too much distance or don't perform as well as a 45" club is because they simply lop off an inch and don't address the loss of swingweight.  I guarantee that if they don't hit the ball almost as far or further with better accuracy, it's not because it's 1" shorter...it's because it's 6 swing weight points lighter.  Give these guys a 45" driver that weighs C6 and the results wouldn't be good. 

Driver heads with removable weight screws are really helpful in this situation, so guys who want to try a shorter shaft without re-shafting can cut down a lighter weight shaft and use heavier screws to get the s.w. back up.  If cost is not a factor I prefer using a heavier shaft because to me it helps the overall balance of the club.  Some weight will still need to be added to the head usually, just not as much.

[Golfingdad]

23 minutes ago, 1badbadger said:

You don't have to have a heavier shaft, but it helps keep the swingweight up.  So if you're going to re-shaft a driver and make it a shorter length (as opposed to cutting the stock shaft down) I recommend selecting something heavier.

I think one of the big reasons people have the impression shorter drivers will cost them too much distance or don't perform as well as a 45" club is because they simply lop off an inch and don't address the loss of swingweight.  I guarantee that if they don't hit the ball almost as far or further with better accuracy, it's not because it's 1" shorter...it's because it's 6 swing weight points lighter.  Give these guys a 45" driver that weighs C6 and the results wouldn't be good. 

Driver heads with removable weight screws are really helpful in this situation, so guys who want to try a shorter shaft without re-shafting can cut down a lighter weight shaft and use heavier screws to get the s.w. back up.  If cost is not a factor I prefer using a heavier shaft because to me it helps the overall balance of the club.  Some weight will still need to be added to the head usually, just not as much.

I don't disagree ... but I didn't do anything to my driver after I chopped off the shaft and didn't notice a difference in the weight.  I might just be very oblivious though :P

[Typhoon92]

How about just sticking with the 3 wood?  Look at Stenson.  For years I only hit 3 wood...blew it past everyone.  Then went to a 2 wood...in your case maybe go to a strong 3 wood.

 

From there...going back to the early 90's now...I got a Wilson Graphite Whale driver to try.  I could kill it...shaft length wasn't the issue, loft and head size were I think..the old Taylormade Tour Burner drivers in 9.5 degree were no good for me.

The whale was 12 degree.

 

My suggestion...either a strong 3 wood or a high lofted driver.  I wouldn't screw with shaft length unless your like 5'-3"...

[gregsandiego]

4 hours ago, Typhoon92 said:

How about just sticking with the 3 wood?  Look at Stenson.  For years I only hit 3 wood...blew it past everyone.  Then went to a 2 wood...in your case maybe go to a strong 3 wood.

I'm thinking the same thing. Isn't  there some science in the combination of driver length and loft? 

[Valleygolfer]

12 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Are you saying that if we are going to trim down the shaft, we should go with a heavier shaft? Is the flex kept the same?

I was fitted a few years back with an Aldila Habanero stiff shaft with my Titleist 910D2 driver. The fitter put me in essentially a light higher launch shaft. I just measured the length at 44 3/4" and the swing weight at D2.

When I reviewed my current driver for TST, the 915D2, I tested the stock shaft Diamana S+ Blue Reg against the Habanero and a Fujikura Motore F3 stiff I picked up (another light high launch shaft). The Fujikura measured 44 3/4". I tested the 915 against the 913 and 910 with all three shafts. I settled on the Fujikura with the 915 head being the longest in the review. But I never really looked at shaft length as a variable.

I picked up a couple another shafts on eBay recently, Aldila Rogue Black 60 and 70 stiff to play with (mid launch shafts). I trimmed down the 60 so it is a half inch shorter than the Fujikura, which was 1/2" shorter than standard (44 1/4"). I had to use the 14g Titleist weight to get the swing weight back to D2. I still have the 70 to play with. I can take another 1/4" off and make it 44". 

I will test that out and see what the swing weight ends up at.

 

Most fairway woods have heavier shafts and I would gather it would be better to use one for the driver to maintain swing weight. I trimmed a pro launch red a while back and just didn't enjoy the light feeling afterward.

[Typhoon92]

2 hours ago, gregsandiego said:

I'm thinking the same thing. Isn't  there some science in the combination of driver length and loft? 

You'll beat yourself up with science and empty your bank account experimenting with everything....and nothing will work...trust me..years and years building drivers for myself that were all within 5 yards of each other.  

I ended up goin to a real clubfitter and had him do the work for me...then I saw improvement.

 

 

[Gunther]

On Friday, March 17, 2017 at 0:25 PM, Gunther said:

Yes, about 6 rounds with the 44" and definitely finding the fairway more frequently.  Max distance potential gone but average distance up.  I'll never go back to 45, let alone TM's standard of 46.

Oh, and 2 of my buds have done the same after seeing my results.  It's a goddamn movement, like no one has ever seen.  Believe me!

Just a quick update:  used to be a long knocker, haven't been in 4 or 5 years.  Hit one 334 today, with a dead right wind (no direct help but does help a draw).  Not my longest ever but among my top 10 and longest I've hit in 3 years, so perhaps "max distance potential gone" was a bit premature.

Cut your driver down to 44" or even 43", you will never regret it. That I can tell you.

Edited March 20, 2017 by Gunther

[Ken11]

On 3/19/2017 at 9:26 PM, Gunther said:

Just a quick update:  used to be a long knocker, haven't been in 4 or 5 years.  Hit one 334 today, with a dead right wind (no direct help but does help a draw).  Not my longest ever but among my top 10 and longest I've hit in 3 years, so perhaps "max distance potential gone" was a bit premature.

Cut your driver down to 44" or even 43", you will never regret it. That I can tell you.

Gunther, did you cut a shaft down and added lead tape or did you buy a new shorter shaft with a higher weight? Or did you do nothing to make up for the reduced swing weight? I am happy for your success.

[Jack Watson]

IMO the modern drivers are RIDICULOUSLY too long.  I had a few cutdown by my club guy and liked them WAY more.  On my current model I just choke up a good two and a half inches or so.  Grip/sw feels fine for me.

Also I have never hit a club well when the shaft was a tip kick or however that's defined.  For some reason I like the ok mid or high.

[Pretzel]

I have my driver shaft cut down to 44" and I see no issues with distance or accuracy as a result. Accuracy went up and the driver just feels more comfortable to swing.