Driver length help required.

Hilly9495 · October 29, 2018

Hi guys. I'm BNIB here. Very first post.

My question relates to driver length. I was once a 5/6 handicapper who packed in for one reason or another five years back. I'm just getting back into the game. I'm having to re buy clubs and I'm trying to find a set similar to my last. I do still have my old favourite irons but I'm going to reshaft them as the guy who put me the rifle 5.5s did a pretty shoddy job. Anyhow.....

I've just bought a ping i15 driver with a diamana kiali?? It measures a tad over 45 inches. Thing is I'm 5'7.5" with wrist to floor of just over 31 inches. I'm just after a general consensus of what my driver length should really be. I was always the worst driver of a ball in single figures anyway.... Always used drivers off the rack at factory length. Always been inconsistent. And length isn't #1 priority. Just wanted an idea of what length I should aim for before I take a hacksaw to the sucker!

Any help greatly appreciated

geochitown · October 29, 2018

Depends on how good your contact is...ability to hit "center" of the face

Wishon now throws out the WTF for driver fittings.

I'm a 12-13 index, but have gone to 43.5-44.25 for lengths on the driver.

You could always take off a half-inch at a time and put a little lead tape on as you go.

Or look up Howard Jones's DIY Driver tune up.

Here it is...

welcome back to the game

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/909991-diy-driver-tune-up-diy-fitting/page__st__120__p__18188704__hl__+driver%20+tune#entry18188704

Hilly9495 · October 29, 2018

Cheers for the reply.

I generally around the centre(ish). But just can't help but think I'm struggling to get/keep the face square. Bad s*** is normally a low hook with the odd push. I might just be looking for affirmation to give the shorter length a try. After all, I keep reading that avg on your is 44". And there's some biiiiig guys there! ?

geochitown · October 29, 2018

FWIW, I'm 5'8 and my wrist to floor is 32" or so...

I'm using a 43.5-44.25 driver now for the last 8 years, and won't go back.

my simple advice would be cut off 1/2" off of the butt, and add 4-5 inches of lead tape (multiple layers) on the back of the head.

It's good to do at a range (add a bit of lead tape, then swing), and keep adding until you start to feel the weight the head again in the swing.

jrr · October 30, 2018

Buy a can of dry hair shampoo powder and spray the face of the driver and hit a few balls. If marks are on the toe side of center choke down a bit hit some more, continue process untilyou are hitting in the middle a majority of the time. Measure how far you had to choke down and saw off the the butt and play at that length. However, the hard part is to remember the swing weight effect. You can get it hot melted, get a heavier grip or add tip weight or lead tape.

But then again you probably know this

Lancj1 · October 30, 2018

I am 5'11 and stuck a shaft from a G400 three wood in my G400 Max. I have never hit the ball better with a driver and never had better results - distance and dispersion . I read about swing weight however in a real golf situation it seems irrelevant (to me) Club feels like a wand.

Lancj1 · October 30, 2018

However, the hard part is to remember the swing weight effect. You can get it hot melted, get a heavier grip or add tip weight or lead tape.
But then again you probably know this

What is that? I only ask because I only noticed positive improvements and made no compensation. Surely how it feels overrides this ?

geochitown · October 30, 2018

don't knock it until you try it.

add some lead tape.

I know may guys who felt the club was fine post butt-trim, but the real aha moment was when they (and myself) tried putting a few strips of lead tape back on the head.

You don't have to restore original swingweight, just add until you find that you can feel the head in the swing.

jrr · November 1, 2018

However, the hard part is to remember the swing weight effect. You can get it hot melted, get a heavier grip or add tip weight or lead tape.
But then again you probably know this

What is that? I only ask because I only noticed positive improvements and made no compensation. Surely how it feels overrides this ?

As you shorten a shaft the swing weight gets lighter, its feel thing in limited amounts but at extreme swing weight lowering, ex shorten by an inch and put on a lighter weight grip and it can make the flew change to a bit stiffer. Those that know a whole lot more than me can chime in. Lead weight is your friend as has been suggested. Remember the reason to shorten a driver is to get closer to center hits which is really good.

Stuart_G · November 1, 2018

What is that? I only ask because I only noticed positive improvements and made no compensation. Surely how it feels overrides this ?

Getting a good swing weight fit is about feel (or at least one aspect of the weight feel - and that's NOT saying a swing weight _value_ is a representation of that feel). So they are really the same thing, not one overriding the other.

While shorting the club does lower the swing weight, the actual need for compensation (if any) will largely depend on how good a fit the SW was before it's cut down. Considering people who ask about cutting down have not been fit and usually just have a club taken off of the rack, we can't really assume that it was a good fit. Many have found that compensation is not needed (or a lot less than many would think). Never hurts to play around with some lead tape to verify it really is the best swing weight.

The link provided in the second post is the best approach to that process. So if you haven't, I'd go back and read through the opening posts of the thread that the link points to.

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1708574-driver-length-help-required/#entry18196912

Jagpilotohio · November 1, 2018

There are endless threads on this. Use the search box for more ideas and opinions.

I’m 5’7” and 33 inch Wrist to floor and I’ve played 43.5” on every driver for over 20 years. That’s 1.5” short for an LTD. I add about 13 grams of lead tape to get the sweight back up to where I like it. I’d never consider a longer driver.....never.

Check out the video I uploaded last year about Rickie Fowler’s driver. He’s been using 43.5” for quite a while now. They adjust his with heavier weights and hot melt. Heavier weights are available for many models.

jrr · November 1, 2018

Take what Stuart and Jag said and believe it

Hertsjoatmon · November 7, 2018

I'm 5"8 and 33.25 wrist to floor. Static fitting for irons say I should be 0.5 short of standard and 1 degree flat but my swing means I need to play neutral or one up. I mention this as while there are general rules of thumb, swing mechanics need to be taken into account as well. lie isn't as important for driver though I play one that I can adjust to be toe up slightly as I like to play 43.5" and am thinking of going to 43". Also make sure you have your fitter put a tip weight in the end of the shaft and/or hotmelt / lead tape to get the swing weight back up as taking off 2" will reduce it significantly. A lot of people chop and inch off with out thinking about the other factors.

what end of the 43.5 - 44.5 side you go based on the suggestions here should be based on how confident you are of making good contact at impact. if you have a tendency to hit out of the heel, go shorter and vice versa.

I'm a high handicap, but I am an obsessive and have read more books and articles on the subject than I can number. Any information from Tom Wishon is particularly informative. "12 Myths That Could Wreck Your Golf Game" is pretty easy to find online and a good place to start. Howard Jones on here is also a great source of information.

Boricua Golf · November 7, 2018

Like mentioned above, Stuart knows what he's talking about, as for me, I use a 44.25", have used 44" as well, both with great results, get fitted and you'll know for sure what really works for you, good luck and welcome to the family!!!!