How long do you like your driver shaft?

[goughy]

Just wondering what everyones preference is (if you have one that is). I've always assumed that around 45" was about right. Anyway, I just had my driver reshafted with a speeder and the shaft lenght seemed short before it I got it done, so I asked them to extend it about an inch.

Picked it up today and it's about 43", so I doubt they extended it at all. But I really liked the look of it at setup and the feel was nice throughout the swing. So I had a hit with it this arvo and it was ok. Because it's shorter I started to try and smash it without great results, but not really any shorter than any of my other drivers.

On the last hole I sliced my first one. I decided to hit a second and just relaxed and put an easy smooth swing on it. It finished just as far as my longest drive on that hole with not much run because of very wet conditions. So it's staying for now.

Has anyone else considered going to a shorter driver length to increase control? Did you find that because of the better contact you didn't lose anything much in distance.

It also fits in well for me as my 3 wood is only 41".

By the way, the speeder is a 757 X flex

[BrisVegas]

Glad it's working for you at 43 inches Dean. That was probably "normal" only a few years back. Most people would probably find more fairways at that length. I think mine is 43.5, not too sure. I tend to grip down an inch or two sometimes when I'm trying to hit a narrow target. My arms are long enough as it is, so doubt I could handle a 45+ inch driver. It'd probably go a long way if I ever caught it square though!!

[drunken]

Currently at 44.75" & tend to grip down a bit as well. All my other recent drivers have been at 45".

[Ona]

went from a 250cc, 46" driver to a 455cc at 44.25". Put the shorter shaft with the illiusion that the big heads give, it was a massive change, but if I try to isolate the shorter shaft, I'd say it's been a good thing.

[markTHEblake]

Has anyone else considered going to a shorter driver length to increase control?

The point of the bigger heads is counteract the loss of control with the longer shafts. And the clubhead is designed to be used with an optimial shaft length. So the answer to your question should be No. Shortening the length of the shafts would be overkill.

Whilst i didnt seem to have any trouble hitting the ball further a while back with a steel shaft and probably a <100cc head, there doeesnt seem to be any trend now towards using shorter shafts and smaller heads.

I would say that if a golfer neds to improve control with his driver its not the length thats the problem, but the flex.

There is a guide to lengths here
http://www.tutelman.com/golfclubs/De...nline#standard

I dont know what driver shaft lengths were 20 years ago. In those days we just bought whatever looked nice on the shelf.

[Ona]

I would say that if a golfer neds to improve control with his driver its not the length thats the problem, but the flex.

If we were on some another forum I'd disagree with that

[goughy]

[quote="markTHEblakeI would say that if a golfer neds to improve control with his driver its not the length thats the problem, but the flex.

I dont know what driver shaft lengths were 20 years ago. In those days we just bought whatever looked nice on the shelf.[/quote]

I would agree with you on the flex blakey. I actually put this shaft in the club for selling it, but thought what the heck, give it a go first. I was looking to scale back in my shaft flex and shaft weight.

I always thought that driver shafts from years ago were in the vicinity of 43" to 43.5". In fact my old tm200 3 wood is .5" longer in length than this driver.

How things have changed.

[Iain]

Has anyone else considered going to a shorter driver length to increase control?

The point of the bigger heads is counteract the loss of control with the longer shafts. And the clubhead is designed to be used with an optimial shaft length. So the answer to your question should be No. Shortening the length of the shafts would be overkill.

I disagree with that Blakey, I think the longer shafts came about after big headed drivers, not the other way around. And the point of bigger heads is forgiveness for the average hacker, the materials the manufacture's used became light enough that they could make 400cc heads, and because the drivers were more forgiving they could put longer shafts in to increase said hackers distance, when they didn't hit it out of the middle. The whole reson the pro's play driver length's from 43.5-44.5" is for control, you're more likely to hit the sweetspot more often with a shorter shaft than a longer one.

Whilst i didnt seem to have any trouble hitting the ball further a while back with a steel shaft and probably a <100cc head, there doeesnt seem to be any trend now towards using shorter shafts and smaller heads.

I don't know of any pro's, but there most likely are some, that play a driver longer than 44.5". But I don't think pro's are longer today than they used to be. As, the result of an old driver hit out of the sweetspot would be similar distance wise to a new driver hit on the sweetspot. Now a mishit compared to todays driver and one of 20yrs ago, the difference would be huge.... Which is why they all use big heads.

I would say that if a golfer neds to improve control with his driver its not the length thats the problem, but the flex.

I dont know what driver shaft lengths were 20 years ago. In those days we just bought whatever looked nice on the shelf.

I would say it's a combination of flex and length, not just flex.....

Iain

[McMw]

IMO, with the bigger head, everyone can afford to have their drivers capped at 44inch....
afterall...it's not how hard you swing it, but how well you make contact...

it's prob more important to make sure that your 3wood length is set up correctly...too many 3woods this days are just too long (shaft wise)...

[AndyP]

I have no idea what my shaft lengths are, but I guess I should. That's something I will probably look into next year.

I like the idea of gripping down the driver for more control, I just don't do it enough.

[Jarro]

44.75" for all the drivers i've had.

i might look at going down to 44" soon though, to get some more control happening

[andylo]

What is the legal length of driver shaft? 47"?

I perfer a longer shaft because its easier for me to feel where the head goes.

With shorter shaft, say 43", I tend to swing it too hard and too up right... which result either A: unusual high trajectory (NOT SKYING IT!!) or B: Fat soht

I like to have the shaft longer, feel where the head is, swing a flatter plane and smack the living sh1t out of it

[Fishman Dan]

No idea what mine is, but did a side-to-side comparison last weekend and looked about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch shorter than my partner - so assuming it's 44.5 or 44.75.

Works for me (sometimes)?

[McMw]

48inch limit on drivers....470cc limit on heads...

[Jarro]

48inch limit on drivers.......

.. unless you're one of those long-drive monsters

[davidp]

I tried to use a shorter driver but couldn't get used to it.

I had one built to 44.25" which performed pretty well, but in the end, I couldn't get used to it. In the process of selling it...

Have gone back to 45" drivers...

[prmeier]

Play mine at 45 inches. Grip it normally to swing easy but choke down an inch when I want to try and smack it. Find the shorter length and lighter swingweight help me to get the driver through quicker.

I would think that most drivers these days are made to play at 45 inches so if you shorten them you change the swingweight quite a bit.

[AndyP]

No idea what mine is, but did a side-to-side comparison last weekend and looked about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch shorter than my partner

Sorry. Tried to let it past, but I just couldn't.

[goughy]

Well, I got in 2 holes yesterday and while I hit both in the rough, distance was comparable with any other driver I've hit. And I still really like the length at setup.

And while they were both in the rough they weren't neally as bad a drive as my usual.

I may stick with it for a while and try and build up some confidence with a driver before I go back to the standard.

[Fishman Dan]

No idea what mine is, but did a side-to-side comparison last weekend and looked about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch shorter than my partner

Sorry. Tried to let it past, but I just couldn't.

You know what, as much as that appeals to my own childish sense of humour, i never saw that one coming....

[Jarro]

No idea what mine is, but did a side-to-side comparison last weekend and looked about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch shorter than my partner

Sorry. Tried to let it past, but I just couldn't.

You know what, as much as that appeals to my own childish sense of humour, i never saw that one coming....

not because of the fact that your partners is 1/4 to 1/2 " shorter than yours,
what's even more worrying is the fact that your "partner" has one

.. something you're not telling us mate

[drunken]

.. something you're not telling us mate

1 in 9, 1 in 9.....

[AndyP]

.. something you're not telling us mate

1 in 9, 1 in 9.....

Nice pickup, drunken.

[Jarro]

.. something you're not telling us mate

1 in 9, 1 in 9.....

Nice pickup, drunken.

um, yeah AndyP.. that's why i wrote it

[Fishman Dan]

Children, children....

Besides, it's not like most adolescent boys don't do a measure-off at some stage, is it?