Driver length and distance - real world observations

[no3jacks]

Hello all I'm new here and want to see if anyone else has tried shorter driver shaft lengths. Here is my Accusport launch monitor test info. from last summer: 163.2 mph ball speed with 116.4 mph club head speed. These were averages from 10 drives and I definitely swing hard at my driver. My iron swing is a 3/4 move and comes in at 100-105 mph. At the behest of a group of our regular foursome I tried a shorter shaft as I routinely hit 50% of the fairways which is just horrible. Not OB, but always in the thick stuff.

Since going to a 43" from a 45" I can honestly give this real world observation. Sunday I hit 11-14 fairways and on average was hitting 1 club more into the greens...sometimes 2, sometimes the same club. The round before that I hit 13-14 fairways. I threw some lead tape on the heel and I can acutally cut a little bleeder that is just beautiful....I'm in love. I still swing just as hard, but I'm dead nutz on the center of the clubface much more often. I just cannot understand how 2" less can increase my accuracy that much with no real appreciable loss of distance. Wow, am I the only person who has tried this?

[dave.]

Lead tape on the heel will promote a draw not a cut,providing you can put enough on to effect the head at which point the head will probably be heavy enough to slow down your swing speed,so no offence but the little cut after you threw the tape on was probably just a good shot and a little bit of placebo,which isn't a criticism btw.Its how many not how.

[no3jacks]

Isn't that funny?! Must be placebo. I have been experimenting with opening my stance a bit so that could be a little of the cut as well. All I know is I'm thrilled with my newly found accuracy, but my buddies aren't Irons have always been my strong suit and getting the ball in the fairway has been my achilles. The guy who owns the launch monitor and did my club work said the average driver length on tour was 44.5"....can anyone veryify that? Lord knows what I was trying to do with a 45" if a tour pro can't manage one.

[LyleG]

Lead tape will do nothing other than increase the swing weight slightly. You need approx 20g of weight before it will begin to affect ball flight.

As for the driver length. Tom Wishon has been preaching this for years, and I am right next to him on the alter. I play 43.5 inch driver and have seen my fairways hit jump to about 75% from a dismal high 40's. I have noticed no measurable loss in distance at all. My sweet spot contact has improved and therefore my average distance has probably gone up in al reality.

Many people try this any do not like the results. The main reason being the drastic change in swing weight after lopping off an inch or 2. If someone wants me to shorten their driver from 45 inches to 43 I will pull the head to do it. I will add between 20 and 24 grams of weight to the head (internally) and tip the shaft accordingly to the new head weight. In most cases the full trim length is removed from the tip, not the butt. This assures the club will play at the same swingweight and have the same flex as before the shortening. By simply lopping 2 inches of the butt end you completely change the properties of how the club was designed to play.

[no3jacks]

Ok this is great info....thanks for the education. So, I'm guessing if I had the head pulled and weight added to the head I would like it even more??!!! Now that would be something b/c I am loving life now. What do you think I would gain by having weight added to the head, in your opinion. Distance? I just want to make sure it will get me something I want in terms of performance before I go and have a club manipulated when I already like the way it is now. Thanks all.

[LyleG]

If you like it now, do nothing.

All I was trying to say was that most people dislike going shorter without really knowing why.

Dont change what works simply for the sake of change.

[nm250eff]

Instead of pulling the shaft could you just add the extra weight down the inside of the shaft? And when cutting the buttend, does it change the flex?

[warbirdlover]

I like the 45-3/4" on my Rapture. For some reason I hit this (and the 45-3/4" G5 I had last summer) better (straighter) then all the 45" I used last year. I'm not so egotistical that I have to have a long driver. I have hit 43" drivers over the years. I want to hit fairways and I do with my Rapture. I'm probably the weirdo in the bunch...

[no3jacks]

Ok sounds like a plan. I sure am glad I joined this forum.....more good advice and knowledge in here than anywhere else I have seen. It's funny, but after being around the game most of my life I know very little about equipment and 'why' it works. I do know I have not switched my irons since my dad bought them for me in 1985...just reshafted them. If it ain't broke....

Thanks guys

[dave.]

I only miss fairways when they are to narrow which isn't my fault.When I hear people say they only hit 4 or fairways and they then blame their driver I wonder just how many times they hit it.In summer surely you only need a driver maybe 6 or so times? maybe the problem lies in club selection,so mnay players are looking for tighter dispersion to the point they change shafts all the time when in fact they are probably straight enough,they just need to hit another club when it gets tight

[no3jacks]

I agree with that assessment as well Dave. The only reason I use a driver now is because I started playing with some guys who are much better than I am and they play the Champ tees at World Woods down here in Florida. Before that I didn't own a driver and had 13 clubs in my bag....the 16.5 4 wood shared tee off duties with my Hogan CFT 21 degree. It made my short game better b/c I was missing greens left and right. Now that I can put a driver in play I hope to be able to compete with them rather than donate to their retirement funds!

[dave.]

You will beat them by becoming a better putter!

[LyleG]

Originally Posted by nm250eff

Instead of pulling the shaft could you just add the extra weight down the inside of the shaft? And when cutting the buttend, does it change the flex?

Yes, it changes the flex a lot. for every gram you add to the head the flex of the shaft will change by 1 cpm. 10 cpms = 1 full flex.
Adding more than 6 grams of weight down the shaft is not recommended as it will weaken the shaft. It will also create a draw bias.

[no3jacks]

Isn't that the truth...hence my name here....NO3JACKS. For some unknown reason, I have been a putting fool since the day I picked up a club. The only problem with these big dawgs I run with now from time to time is that I was putting for par or bogey all day b/c I was coming out of the rough, behind trees and whatnot. Those damn Champ tees are for the jaybirds. I hope to take some greenbacks home tomorrow morning. They will not be pleased to see my drives if the trend continues.

[cypressperch]

can hit their hybrids so easily. One of the main reasons for this is that the shaft is short compared to a fairway metal. This means better control over the club and therefore a higher percentage of hits on or near the sweet spot. Get away from the sweet spot and your yardage goes down quite a bit. Therefore, almost everyone would benefit from going to a 42-43 inch driver as opposed to longer shafted drivers. In theory, a longer shaft produces greater clubhead speed since the arc made is longer so that you are covering more distance in the time it takes to swing the club. In practice, however, contact is not as consistently good so that distance suffers even with the increased clubhead speed.

As usual, Warbird is the exception that proves the rule.

You sound like you are very satisfied with things as they are. The question is a good one, "Why change?"

Sincerely, Cypressperch