44" Driver

[MarvChamp]

There was a time, I believe, when the "standard" was 43". I had mine cut down without doing anything with swingweight. More accuracy and distance. I do suggest using a pro to do the work and fit it to you as needed. -Marv

[ThumbtackR9]

If you have a 45 inch driver and cut it down to 43 1/2 should you add a little lead tape to the head?  The shorter driver just feels better to me.  I cut one down and didn't do anything to it.  

[Jack Watson]

I just choke up a couple inches ala A Kim.  IMO modern drivers are too long.

Ive played with lead tape before and if you use a lot you can influence ballflight.  

I always wanted to try hot melt,  but I am not serious enough.  I would think the ideal weight addition would be as close as possible to the clubs cog as designed.

Its like if you get used to a persimmon driver and then switch modern.  Takes some getting used to.

Edited July 15, 2017 by Jack Watson

[pgone]

Jack- This is not rocket science. The Prorythmic  scale will give 2 readings- Swing weight and Total weight. Swing weight is a balance between grip end and club head. You have a 45.5"  driver that reads D-2 but you want 44" - so you cut off 1.5" - Now your looking at low C swing weight. Your starting std grip weight is 52 grams - So they go to their Techies and they are told to add 12 grams to the head weight. That makes the total weight heavier. So you find a ultra light grip ( WINN LITE ) 26 gram grip in O/S. Now your back in the low Ds and the total weight is lighter.   Again Why raise the bridge when you can lower the water?

 

[Jack Watson]

@pgone

I understand that,  I am simply saying for myself that choking up works well in practice,  for me,  without getting a certain sw back.  I just never found that playing with sw/total weight made much difference in reality for me.    I think people get way too anal about these things.

For me the length has far more effect.  I'm average dimensions and choke up a bit on most of my clubs and get better results.

 

[pgone]

Jack- I know you understand that - Choking down on the grip reminds me of trying to lay down a bunt. The golf industry has them all bent over, they seem to enjoy it!!      Plenty of ways to skin a cat in this business.

[1badbadger]

  On 7/15/2017 at 12:24 PM, pgone said:

Jack- This is not rocket science. The Prorythmic  scale will give 2 readings- Swing weight and Total weight. Swing weight is a balance between grip end and club head. You have a 45.5"  driver that reads D-2 but you want 44" - so you cut off 1.5" - Now your looking at low C swing weight. Your starting std grip weight is 52 grams - So they go to their Techies and they are told to add 12 grams to the head weight. That makes the total weight heavier. So you find a ultra light grip ( WINN LITE ) 26 gram grip in O/S. Now your back in the low Ds and the total weight is lighter.   Again Why raise the bridge when you can lower the water?

 

Expand  

I get what you're saying, but sometimes lowering the water won't work. Or you might have to do a little of both.

In your example, cutting off 1.5" reduces the swingweight by about 9 points.  Using a 26g grip vs. a 52g grip increases the SW back by about 6.5 points.  But what if I don't want a Winn Lite grip?  If I want the same grip that was on the driver before, then you have to raise the bridge.

Something else I believe, and you might have found this to be true also... the head weight feel of D2 in a club that is 45.5" with a 55g shaft and a 52g grip is not going to be the same head weight feel as D2 in a club that is 44" with an 80g shaft and 26g grip.  

[1badbadger]

Found this in my archives.  It's from 2014, but still interesting to see: