The lowdown on Driver shaft lengths

[virge666]

Picking the right driver shaft length.

I thought I would write this quick little explanation about drivers and why the shaft length is so important. It has to do with a lot of things... mainly weight and accuracy, let’s go through a few fallacies.

Longer Shaft = Longer drives. (This is both true and false)

It is true when you get it out of the screws. You know THAT drive you hit sort of once, or maybe twice a round. You will get approx 4m of distance for every half inch extra of shaft length. But you HAVE to hit it out of the centre and you have to be on plane. If you don’t – you are sacrificing the bonus that the extra length gives you.

Keep this in mind.

Every ½ inch off centre loses you around 4-5% of total distance.
So a swing speed that would result in a 250m drive but is just a ½” off-centre loses you between 12-13m of length... and that is only if you are perfectly on plane, i.e. no fade or draw (or slice or hook)

So work this out. Add 4m of distance with the extra half inch of shaft length – go and hit the ball but miss it by ½” . . . your net loss is a touch over 8m. So – YES, a longer shaft equals longer drives . . . but only if you NUT it.

OK then smartarse – why don’t the manufacturers make shorter drivers.

Because longer shafts go further . . . sometimes.

There are a few kinds of golfers out there, Let’s take 2 of them. We will ignore the professional – they always get custom fitted. Stupid amateur’s spend hundreds of dollars on different drivers each year searching for the right driver – smart golfers just go and get fitted for $80-100, but that is whole other story ...anyway...

Player A turns up with his new driver, 46” long, he hits about 5-6 fairways, but on one of the drives he nuts it. Up the centre, 260m. Then spends the rest of the days reliving THAT drive. He is still talking about it in the clubhouse. He may have shot 93, but that drive keeps him warm and brings him back next week.

Player B has his driver, 44” long, he hits maybe 7-8 fairways, he isn’t longer than anyone else, but he is straighter and usually in play. He may shoot 80, but in the clubhouse he isn’t talking about his new brand name driver that smoked it up the 12th hole 300m. (Even though it may be 240m)

If I was the manufacturer – who’s driver do I want to make . . . ?

The second part to all this – is that most of the population a crap golfers. And their only joy of the day may be that one or two drives that they smash past the low marker of the group. I and many others play in groups like this all the time. The golfing community is FULL of “Player A’s” and the manufacturers are just catering to the market.

There is more to it than just this . . . shaft weights, kick points and a few others that are out of the scope of this post. If you are interested, I can go further into it. But th elogic is sound and the measurements have been tested and published in more than one source.

This should give you some balance on the subject and understand the reasons why drivers are made the way they are.

Enjoy

[Grunt]

Thanks Virge, am really considering trying to grip down every time I use my Driver. If it works I am going to get it shortened.

[virge666]

Thanks Virge, am really considering trying to grip down every time I use my Driver. If it works I am going to get it shortened.

I shortened mine and added a couterweight in the grip for an extra couple of MPH. There are so many things you can do to help out... but you just cannot beat the logic of a shorter shaft is easier to hit straight with less spin.

What do you hit straighter ... Your 7i or 5i ?

One inch of difference there . . .

[PeteyD]

What do you use for counterweight in the grip?

[TS]

OK Virge. I am going to cut 2cm off my Sumo, will see if make much difference this weekend.

[virge666]

What do you use for counterweight in the grip?

Lead tape - or I glue some tungsten into the shaft . . . you can even buy counter weight kits.

[PeteyD]

Next question, If I cut 1.5" off the sumo shaft, how much weight into the grip end?

[SupaSubi]

in plan on shortening my driver to 44" or even 43.75" (its a ping so its probably already 46), and then also bringing my three wood to around 42-41?

i take it this is a good idea. i've already got enough length, i can scarifice even up to 20m (i carry my drives between 240-260 regularly) if i am in the fairway, i'm just wondering what the swingweight will do? and how much lead to add to the driver head to get it feeling right?

also - when i grip right down the shaft on the driver, it makes a very strange noise and the feedback is totally different on shots... so is feedback and driver noise dependent on shaft length?

thanks.

[virge666]

Settle down there . . .

Take a half inch off at a time - - the weight changes you are making a re HUGE.

[virge666]

I'm just wondering what the swingweight will do? and how much lead to add to the driver head to get it feeling right?

6 swingweights for every inch you cut off.... MASSIVE. You usually can feel a change of 3 SW.

also - when i grip right down the shaft on the driver, it makes a very strange noise and the feedback is totally different on shots... so is feedback and driver noise dependent on shaft length?

No difference ... That is call hitting the center...

[PeteyD]

Ok so for 0.5" (1.25 cm) how much weight are we talking? 6 Swingweights for 1"!!

Holy cow. how many swingweights back would a piece of lead tape be?

[leighthebee]

let me get my thoughts together virge. your thoughts would be appreciated. i know you've already posted some in my driver thread, but i have some questions you'll know the answer too.

[SupaSubi]

okay... but it seems a waste of money to go through several cut downs (i don't have the facilities to cut down myself, so i'd rather pay just once to get to 44, rather than 3 times... hmmm...

i'll read what other people do and have a think.

[PeteyD]

Just checked my specs and the 13 * Sumo SQ is 44.5" long anyway!

[3oneday]

Enjoy

your bandwidth been down or something ?

I just stuck a 90 gram Phil Mick shaft in my 9.5 SQ, and have used it for 2 rounds at 45". I have experienced no loss of distance at all, in fact the smoother I swing the better it goes. Pity I swing smoothly twice a round .

I am going to stick it into my 11° Wishon this weekend and play it at 44", just to see how it performs.

[leighthebee]

So here's my thoughts.

I have a 905T 9.5 degree with an Aldila NV 65S and a 905R 11.5 with Speeder S.

Both are whatever length standard was for them.

I used to hit the 905T really low but reasonably long, so I changed to the 905R to get more lift. I lost a little distance but obviously gained a lot more carry in getting to a similar distance.

The Speeder felt too heavy when I purchased it, but concurrently I've been hitting the gym for a year or so and it now feels like I can load it properly. The problem now is that I am WAY more inaccurate with the 905R. So I've got it in my head that the higher loft is giving me too much sidespin and I'm cutting or hooking it out of play.

I put the 905T back in the bag over the past couple of days and while I am hitting it lower, my accuracy was noticably better and still with the same length. So neither driver is ideal.

So should I bother with reshafting the R or just cut my losses and grab a new driver. The Diamana Red Board felt like the ideal shaft, but how much was the Cobra L4V head involved in that feel.

I'm going to do a launch monitor session at Pacific to get the numbers. Pre gym I was swinging 105mph on the driver swing.

[LongDownunderGolf]

Hows this for a slightly different outlook on this......

Even though in long drive events we can use shafts up to a maximum of 50" long (measured vertically) most guys are using clubs between 48 and 49 inches long. Why?, because they are able to locate the ball closer to the middle of the face more often and improve their odds of getting a good bounce etc. Personally, I use clubs at about 48 3/4 inches to ensure I can keep them on plane and hit it in the middle more often. We are the guys there, purely to hit it miles and even we don't use maximum length

My play drivers have always been 44 maybe 44 1/4 inches, although now I'm using 45" becasue its slightly closer to my long drive stuff.

[Jarro]

How does your swing differ between long drive events and normal comp rounds ?

From what i've seen on TV, almost ALL longdrive participants don't have anything that resembles a normal type swing.

[mike]

Virge, what is the correct way to measure driver length? Is it from the heel of clubhead to butt end of shaft? If this is the case , my bog standard off the shelf R580xd measures a tad over 44". Does this sound right ?

6 swingweights for every inch you cut off....

Sorry if this is a dumb question.
Is '6 swingweights' a unit of measure or what ? Like, how many grams of lead tape are we talking about here?

[PeteyD]

Kinda helpful:

http://golf.about.com/cs/componentsc...wingweight.htm

[virge666]

I'm going to do a launch monitor session at Pacific to get the numbers. Pre gym I was swinging 105mph on the driver swing.

Sorry mate - I would have to see the swing to see how you load the hands...

too hard otherwise and I would be only guessing and anyone can do that !!

[virge666]

Virge, what is the correct way to measure driver length? Is it from the heel of clubhead to butt end of shaft? If this is the case , my bog standard off the shelf R580xd measures a tad over 44". Does this sound right ?

Not quite off the heel - we call it "playing length" so setup to the driver and measure from the floor under the head up...

Sorry if this is a dumb question.
Is '6 swingweights' a unit of measure or what ? Like, how many grams of lead tape are we talking about here?

2gr of lead tape = 1 swing weight.

[TS]

Cut 2.5cm off my driver this afternoon. Will see how it play this weekend.

[leighthebee]

Sorry mate - I would have to see the swing to see how you load the hands...

too hard otherwise and I would be only guessing and anyone can do that !!

the swings on here somewhere i think

[LongDownunderGolf]

How does your swing differ between long drive events and normal comp rounds ?

From what i've seen on TV, almost ALL longdrive participants don't have anything that resembles a normal type swing.

In my case they're remarkably similar. Obviously since I"m a reasonable player I can swing most clubs OK. The shorter drivers I swing sligtly more upright and really work hard to keep my shoulder angle through impact and avoid spinning my left shoulder (I'm a lefty) out through impact.

The long drive clubs obviously I swing sligtly flatter and with a LOT more effort but there really isn't much else. The ball gets teed maybe 1/2 or 3/4 inch higher and I have to work hard to get down to the ball to ensure I don't hit it in the bottom of the face therefore losing both speed and flight. The LD stuff is longer and heavier so balance become crital, but that doesn't always mean staying still, sometimes the little walk follow through is a good sign as guys aren't leaving their weight hanging back.