Jump to content

Who is playing 44.5” driver?


Norboo

Recommended Posts

Been playing 44.5 since the beginning of last year. It was the best thing I did with the driver. Although it was a mess until I got the swing weight back to where I like it at D2. I hit it straighter, with more control and if I've lost yards I haven't noticed. I hit 13 of 14 fairways my last round and am consistently 11+ fairways. Unless that changes, I'm not looking to make any changes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 164
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

9* Ping G30 with a 44.5* Graphite Design YS-7 Nano Reloaded shaft works pretty well for me. Surprised I don't seem more of these shafts in play.

Callaway 2015 Great Big Bertha 10.5
Callaway Great Big Bertha ll 3W & 5W
Callaway Steelhead lll 9 wood 
Ben Hogan Apex Edge 4/E
Cleveland 588 TA 51* & 56* 
Ray Cook Blue Goose 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m 6’1” and I play 44 most of the time sometimes I tinker with 44.25-44.5 but I like the shorter driver because I hit the center or close to the center more often than I do with a longer driver. With a 45” I would hit the face, toe, heel, center low, there just wasn’t anything consistent so since switching to 3 years ago my driving is so much better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have a Epic sz 10.5. had to move it up to 12.5 to hit it with some consistency. Sent it to Peoples and Will said cut it to 44.5" and hot melted it to 202g and took the lefts out of it. Consistently hit with an inch of dead center. Now down to 9* and controllable fades. I also play my irons +.5". Can't explain it it just works.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still gaming a Nike vr str8 fit tour set at 11 degrees. Liked it with a 46” aldila voodoo shaft it came with, but was a bit wild. Changes to a 44” project x driver shaft and love it. More consistency and less wild misses. No distance loss noted and like others above probably a big t better due to more consistent strikes. I’m 6’4” and have no issues with the set up. Built an old callaway deuce warbird with a similar set up for the Sunday bag and it is also a beast.

Modern bag:
Nike vr str8 fit tour set at 11
Ping rapture v2 4 wood
Nike vr_s 3 and 4 hybrids
Maltby mmb 5-pw
Carnahan 52/56/60 wedge
Rotating door of putters

Sunday/quick nine walker:
Callaway warbird deuce 2 wd
Callaway warbird 4 wd
Hogan apex pro 4-E
Ping eye 2 W and S
Ping cushin putter

Classic bag:
Palmer Chattanooga driver
Hogan Slotline 4 wd
Palmer Standard 85 3-pw
Same ping eye 2 sw
Wilson professional 600 putter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I play 44.75” and like about a quarter inch above my left hand for grip. Really works for me vs the longer drivers out. I also play my 3metal at 42.5” and all irons are minus 1/2” 4 degrees flat.

 

If staying in the short grass is a focus of your game, it’s for sure not going to hurt anyone.

 

For giggles I played my buddies 45.75” M4 with even flow 55 S and it went really far compared to my gamer, I hit zero fairways with that stick that round. Immediately answered my question if the length I was giving up worth it and the answer was absolutely not.

 

PXG GEN6 0311 10.5*DRIVER/FUJI RED VELOCORE 6S/GP TW WHT

PXG GEN5 0311XF 17*FAIRWAY/FUJI MOTORE X F3 7S/GP TW WHT

PXG GEN3 0311XP 3 IRON/TT ELEVATE TOUR S/WINN DT WRAP

PXG GEN3 0311P 4-PW/TT ELEVATE TOUR S/WINN DT WRAP

PXG GEN4 0311P GW/TT ELEVATE TOUR S/WINN DT WRAP

PXG SD II WEDGES/56/13&62/10/TT ELEVATE TOUR S/GP TW BLK

MACHINE M2A 1018RAW CS PUTTER/ACCRA I-STEEL/SS FLAT 1.0

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Played 9 on my home course today, first time with new shorter driver.....I dig it!!! Much straighter and i hit to normal if not longer distances as last year.

Ping g430 LST Hulk Green
Ping g430 LST 3w ventus Red
TSR2 5w Kai'Li White

Stealth 2 (3 & 4)Hybrid Ventus Red TR HB

Mizuno HMP 6-pw i110 Steelfiber

CBX 48
RTX6 54/59 DG
LAB MEZZ.1 Max Accra Shaft

Bridgestone Tour B XS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of my drivers are now 44". Three woods are 43". One of the best moves I've done.

Primary bag:
Titleist 913 D3 8.5
Titleist 915Fd 13.5
Titleist 913h 17
Mizuno MP-18 4-PW
Scratch wedges 50, 55, and 60
Bettinardi mid-shank putter

Backup bag:
Ping G400 9
Ping G30 fw 13
Ping G30 hybrid 19
Ping iBlade 4-PW power spec
Macgregor VIP wedges 51, 56, and 60
Bettinardi mid-shank putter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just switched to 44.5" in my rogue sub zero... actually picked up 4 mph club head speed, and better accuracy!

Driver: 9* Callaway Rogue sub zero w/ hzrdus yellow 6.5
3w: 15* Callaway epic w/ aldila rogue 110 s flex
Hybrid: 19* Mizuno Jpx 900 w/ fujikura s flex
DI:  Adams dhy 21* w/ aldilla green S flex
Irons: Mizuno mp 18 sc 5-pw w/ Nippon modus 3 120x
Wedges: Vokey sm7 raw 50 F, 55 S, 60 M w/ dynamic gold black s400
Putter: Scotty Cameron newport 3 w/ super stroke

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Went to 44" after a fitting this winter. Also went with a heavier shaft. Definitely more consistent and picked up a bit of distance, although not really enough to matter.

 

 

Taylormade M3 460 - Fujikura Speeder 757 Evo IV
Titleist 917 F2 - Fujikura Speeder 757 Evo IV
Titleist 816 H1 - Fujikura Motore Speeder TS 8.8 HB
Cobra King Forged Tour - 5-PW - DG 105
Cleveland RTX Zipcore 50/54/58 - DG 115
Scotty Cameron Futura 6M

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I should add I also went heavier!

Driver: 9* Callaway Rogue sub zero w/ hzrdus yellow 6.5
3w: 15* Callaway epic w/ aldila rogue 110 s flex
Hybrid: 19* Mizuno Jpx 900 w/ fujikura s flex
DI:  Adams dhy 21* w/ aldilla green S flex
Irons: Mizuno mp 18 sc 5-pw w/ Nippon modus 3 120x
Wedges: Vokey sm7 raw 50 F, 55 S, 60 M w/ dynamic gold black s400
Putter: Scotty Cameron newport 3 w/ super stroke

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just cut a Diamana S+ to a playing length of 44.5" for my Rogue SZ. I've been playing my drivers at 45" for a long time but thought it might be worth a shot. Early results are good. I'm getting a little more consistent ball flight. I dont think I'm giving up any distance but thats a little too early to tell. I've got a tournament next week and I'm confident enough to put the 44.5" driver into play.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got an old Nike SQ driver i cut to 44" and painted pink (to match a driver i built for my 2 year old daughter). Winters are too long in MI.... Anyways after playing with SW for a bit i took it out one day and go figure the think is a rocket launcher. My buddies thought it was the cutest thing ever and had a few laughs till they realized they were getting outdriven by a good 20-30yds every time. After few rounds with pinky i cut down my gamer and of course it made no difference to that club and the pink Nike is still the longest/straightest driver i have. SMH And im not spending the time to repaint the thing

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44" for me in my 915D2. Down from 45". Much more consistent. My 45" drives were slightly long when good, but very inconsistent. 44" drives are longer on average, better ball flight and more fairways hit. Took me a little bit of an effort to correct weights to get back to desired swing weight. 17g and 19g allows me to change between D2 and D3. All is good, not going back. I did not trim tip length. Butt trimmed only. Worked for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For those playing shorter driver shafts, do you recommend going up in weight...say shaft in 70 gram range?

 

 

Cant say for sure. I had tried heavier (70g) driver shafts in the past and had mixed results. When I did my fitting, the fitter early on clued in that I should be in a shorter and heavier shaft. I think the heavier shaft had something to do with my tempo...heavier to try to smooth me out. Much like jgard320 said, swingweight may be the bigger factor. I think my fitting resulted in a D4 or D5 swingweight. If you had told me that before going in, I would have said you were crazy. But now that I'm playing it I cant' see myself going away from it.

Taylormade M3 460 - Fujikura Speeder 757 Evo IV
Titleist 917 F2 - Fujikura Speeder 757 Evo IV
Titleist 816 H1 - Fujikura Motore Speeder TS 8.8 HB
Cobra King Forged Tour - 5-PW - DG 105
Cleveland RTX Zipcore 50/54/58 - DG 115
Scotty Cameron Futura 6M

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Been using a 44.5" driver basically my whole life. Got fitted for a 45" M2 with Kuro Kage XT last year but I couldn't get used to it. Ended up cutting it down to MY standard length and it felt like home again. My accuracy, solid contact and distance came back. Sometimes I'll even choke down a little more, and for some reason I get even more distance due to a better flight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Went to 44.5" a few months back. I am longer and straighter than ever.

Titleist TSR2 9* w/ Tensei Pro Orange CK 60TX

Titleist TSR2+ 14.5* w/ Graphite Design AD-DI 7S

Titleist TSR3 18* w/ Graphite Design AD-IZ 8S

Titleist u505 3i 20* w/ Graphite Design AD-IZ 9S

Srixon ZX4 MkII w/ Project X LZ 6.0 5-PW

Cleveland CBX Zipcore 50@49* - Mizuno T22 54* - Taylormade High Toe 58*

LAB Golf Mezz Max Broom 79.5* lie, 45" or one of my Armlocks

Ball:  Srixon Z-Star XV or Maxfli Tour X

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 inch here and I haven't lost any distance on average. If you are struggling with your driver, hitting the center of the club face more often will be key for you, and shortening the shaft can help. Most golfers out there are going to gain accuracy and could maintain or even gain distance on average, because they are finding the middle of the face more often. Maybe your max drive goes down with a slight loss of swing speed, but that really isn't important.

Ping G425 Max 10.5* - Ping Tour 65s - 43.75 in.
Ping G425 Max 17.5* 5 wood - Ping Tour 75s - 41.50 in.

Ping G425 19* 3H - Ping Tour 85s - 39.5 in.
Srixon ZX5/ZX7 Combo - 4-PW - DG X100
Cleveland RTX 50*
Cleveland RTX-3 54*
Cleveland RTX-3 58*
Cleveland HB Soft 10.5 Putter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Our picks

    • 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Discussion and links to Photos
      Please put any questions or Comments here
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Monday #1
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Monday #2
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Tuesday #1
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Tuesday #2
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Tuesday #3
       
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Thorbjorn Olesen - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Ben Silverman - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Jesse Droemer - SoTX PGA Section POY - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      David Lipsky - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Martin Trainer - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Zac Blair - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Jacob Bridgeman - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Trace Crowe - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Jimmy Walker - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Daniel Berger - WITB(very mini) - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Chesson Hadley - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Callum McNeill - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Rhein Gibson - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Patrick Fishburn - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Peter Malnati - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Raul Pereda - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Gary Woodland WITB (New driver, iron shafts) – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Padraig Harrington WITB – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
       
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      Tom Hoge's custom Cameron - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Cameron putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Piretti putters - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Ping putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Kevin Dougherty's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Bettinardi putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Cameron putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Tony Finau's new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
       
       
       
       
       
      • 7 replies
    • 2024 Valspar Championship WITB Photos (Thanks to bvmagic)- Discussion & Links to Photos
      This weeks WITB Pics are from member bvmagic (Brian). Brian's first event for WRX was in 2008 at Bayhill while in college. Thanks so much bv.
       
      Please put your comments or question on this thread. Links to all the threads are below...
       
       
       
       
        • Like
      • 31 replies
    • 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Discussion and Links to Photos
      Please put any questions or comments here
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Monday #1
      2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Monday #2
      2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Monday #3
       
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Matt (LFG) Every - WITB - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      Sahith Theegala - WITB - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      New Cameron putters (and new "LD" grip) - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      New Bettinardi MB & CB irons - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      Custom Bettinardi API putter cover - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      Custom Swag API covers - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      New Golf Pride Reverse Taper grips - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
      • 15 replies
    • 2024 Cognizant Classic - Discussion and Links to Photos
      Please put any questions or comments here
       
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #1
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #2
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #3
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #4
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Brandt Snedeker - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Max Greyserman - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Eric Cole - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Carl Yuan - WITb - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Russell Henley - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Justin Sun - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Alex Noren - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Shane Lowry - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Taylor Montgomery - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Jake Knapp (KnappTime_ltd) - WITB - - 2024 Cognizant Classic
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      New Super Stoke Pistol Lock 1.0 & 2.0 grips - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      LA Golf new insert putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      New Garsen Quad Tour 15 grip - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      New Swag covers - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Jacob Bridgeman's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Bud Cauley's custom Cameron putters - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Ryo Hisatsune's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Chris Kirk - new black Callaway Apex CB irons and a few Odyssey putters - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Alejandro Tosti's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
      • 2 replies
    • 2024 Genesis Invitational - Discussion and Links to Photos
      Please put any questions or comments here
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Monday #1
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Monday #2
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #1
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #2
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #3
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #4
       
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Rory McIlroy - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Sepp Straka - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Patrick Rodgers - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Brendon Todd - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Denny McCarthy - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Corey Conners - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Chase Johnson - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tommy Fleetwood - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Matt Fitzpatrick - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Si Woo Kim - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Viktor Hovland - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Wyndham Clark - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Cam Davis - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Nick Taylor - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Ben Baller WITB update (New putter, driver, hybrid and shafts) – 2024 Genesis Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      New Vortex Golf rangefinder - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      New Fujikura Ventus shaft - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods & TaylorMade "Sun Day Red" apparel launch event, product photos – 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods Sun Day Red golf shoes - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Aretera shafts - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      New Toulon putters - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods' new white "Sun Day Red" golf shoe prototypes – 2024 Genesis Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
        • Like
      • 22 replies

×
×
  • Create New...