Would a shorter driver shaft mean shorter distance?

[andrew.weyrens]

I have been toying with this idea ever since I put the SIM Driver in the back. I have an old Ping G400 driver that is still in great condition. I also have an M3 3 wood in the bag at a 15 degree loft. With the 3 wood I am not super consistent with the shot, and this could be a perfect little draw or cut, but then the occasional duck hook, or power fade. I average about 295 if not more with the SIM Driver which on shorter courses can put me in some uncomfortable yardages into Par 4 greens. I am comfortable hitting driver, and wondering if I should cut down an old shaft for my PING G400 to about 42.5" or even 43" to get me into the 250 yard range and be more consistent with my misses? 

[Fairway14]

4 minutes ago, andrew.weyrens said:

I have been toying with this idea ever since I put the SIM Driver in the back. I have an old Ping G400 driver that is still in great condition. I also have an M3 3 wood in the bag at a 15 degree loft. With the 3 wood I am not super consistent with the shot, and this could be a perfect little draw or cut, but then the occasional duck hook, or power fade. I average about 295 if not more with the SIM Driver which on shorter courses can put me in some uncomfortable yardages into Par 4 greens. I am comfortable hitting driver, and wondering if I should cut down an old shaft for my PING G400 to about 42.5" or even 43" to get me into the 250 yard range and be more consistent with my misses? 

 

If your driver shots leave you too little yardage to the green, play 3-wood from the tee box.

If you are not comfortable swinging 3-wood then use it more often (leave driver at home) and chances are good you will soon like the shots the 3-wood produces.

Shortening a driver shaft to below 44" causes creates challenges including swing weight, the balance of the club, the amount of shaft tipping needed etc...and in the end a 43.5" shafted driver will likely be less accurate and produce no more distance than a 43" or 43.5" shafted 3-wood.

[Clubhoe]

As mentioned above, cutting the driver shaft will affect swingweight. 

There is a club that has a larger head than a 3 wood, but without the challenges of the driver - The mini driver. The swingweight etc is engineered to the shaft length. The Original one is the most underused and underrated club.

Edited October 31, 2020 by Clubhoe

[Fairway14]

On 10/22/2020 at 6:15 AM, andrew.weyrens said:

I have been toying with this idea ever since I put the SIM Driver in the back. I have an old Ping G400 driver that is still in great condition. I also have an M3 3 wood in the bag at a 15 degree loft. With the 3 wood I am not super consistent with the shot, and this could be a perfect little draw or cut, but then the occasional duck hook, or power fade. I average about 295 if not more with the SIM Driver which on shorter courses can put me in some uncomfortable yardages into Par 4 greens. I am comfortable hitting driver, and wondering if I should cut down an old shaft for my PING G400 to about 42.5" or even 43" to get me into the 250 yard range and be more consistent with my misses? 

 

 

Your driver distance is longer than Tour player average. For par 4 or par 5 holes where 295 yards is too much from the tee box, Tour players swing fairway wood, hybrid, driving iron, 4-iron etc....The more you swing 3-wood, hybrid, long iron from tee boxes the more comfortable you become.

[Buzzkill]

Chopped my driver down to 43, no loss, no issues!

[Pepperturbo]

Course management before lopping off inches of shaft.

 

I tried a 43, 43.50, 43.75 and 44" playing lengths and though it was easy FIR club but cost me 10-15yrds.  So I went with 44.75" and all is good.  My 4wd is 42.75" not 3wd length but awfully close so yardage is often close or equal to 3wd sometimes a smidgen more.  I am in the 245+ carry range.

 

Yep, I could hit driver on many holes and have something short into the green, but I rather hit 2 iron or 4wd and have a mid to 9i or PW left.  More people need to work long irons and 3/4 wood into regular play.

Edited November 5, 2020 by Pepperturbo

[GBBM]

Yeah not sure 2i/9i is better for “more people” than driver/wedge 

[DHoch]

Related to this topic. I have a TS2, which I bought with the stock HZRDUS Black shaft. I'm not getting enough launch out of the shaft because I changed my swing in the name of consistency over the last season. I love the ATMOS Blue shafts, so I bought one second hand, but it is about an inch shorter than the 45.5 stock length of the TS2. Would any of you recommend using a heavier weight in the heel of the driver than the stock 9 gram weight?

[eth4and]

DHoch - yes - you absolutely need to add weight to your TS2 head to counteract the 1" shorter shaft. Shaft length is one of the biggest factors in a club's swing weight. All else being equal, playing a 44.5" driver shaft vs. a 45.5" driver shaft will drop the swing weight by apx. 6pts. That's ALOT! For example, I play my driver at D5, cutting off an inch would drop the swing weight to C9... you'd definitely notice that

 

You'll need to add +/- 12g of additional weight to the head to maintain your original swing weight. Removeable weights in modern drivers make this very easy (vs. lead tape / hot melt). I played a TS driver for much of last season and picked up an aftermarket weight kit off ebay that allowed me to play around with swing weights depending on shaft. 

 

Good luck!

 

[Davidv]

Might improve dispersion, and consistency but will reduce distance versus a longer shaft for most golfers.

[KGGolf]

I cut a driver down a couple of years ago to 43.5" and found no loss of distance. Much better dispersion and found the center of the face far more often.

[theglide]

I was fooling around playing a driver @42.5 with good results.  Swing weight'd comfortably.  My problem was just swinging it too hard to try to feel any loading.   I was hurting myself.  Went to more appropriate length and have much better feedback.  

I enjoyed my 'short driver' experience but likely won't revisit it

[Pepperturbo]

The long and short of driver length is which is best for you depends on which ends up in the fairway most of the time, as opposed to in the junk.  Hit it big, but miss the fairway, it's going to cost most people because they don't have the next shot.   

 

I tried all lengths, at 1/2" increments, starting at 43" out to 46" and ended up realizing 44.75" is my answer.  I very seldom miss the fairway and averaging carry 245-250 range, thanks to the new shaft.  When fairways are fast, I really like the results.

[Callaway96]

Shorter driver shafts are often associated with more control = more fairways = birdies

[pup142]

When I cut my driver down it took the balloon effect out of it. The shorter driver had a lower launch and would run out more. The only problem I had I was pulling everything left. Did not really work for me.

Edited February 16, 2021 by pup142

[SugarPenguin]

Moving down to a 45.25 playing length.

 

Looking forward to seeing the results. Any shorter i just feel the drop off for distance would be too much. 

I dont see the point unless you are uncomfortable with a 3 wood / driving iron / hybrid

[scott406]

Was curious how much distance and average person would lose by shorting the shaft?

 

I understand that everyone is different, but I am toying with going to a tour length Cobra in an effort to find more fairways.  I hit the ball about 245-250 when I catch it good and my current length is 45.5. The New RadSpeed is 46inch and when I hit it good it went about 8 yds farther than my current driver but I would rather be in the fairway more often

 

 

[MaxForestHill]

I tried a 44" driver to get more control and workability for my shots but it ended up being too easily controlled which led to overhooking the ball etc.. Now back to 45.5" and hitting it straighter(and longer) than ever

[garyt]

On 10/22/2020 at 9:24 AM, Fairway14 said:

 

If your driver shots leave you too little yardage to the green, play 3-wood from the tee box.

If you are not comfortable swinging 3-wood then use it more often (leave driver at home) and chances are good you will soon like the shots the 3-wood produces.

Shortening a driver shaft to below 44" causes creates challenges including swing weight, the balance of the club, the amount of shaft tipping needed etc...and in the end a 43.5" shafted driver will likely be less accurate and produce no more distance than a 43" or 43.5" shafted 3-wood.

I don't see why that is when most of us spent the majority of our golfing lives playing 43" drivers.  Easy to adjust SW with all the weights now

Edited May 30, 2021 by garyt

[Fairway14]

2 minutes ago, garyt said:

I don't see why that is when most of us spent the majority of our golfing lives playing 43" drivers.  

 

Modern 3-woods have larger size heads than the 43" drivers of the 60's, 70's, 80's etc... 43" shaft length is good for a 180CC to 260CC size head.

[garyt]

I lose about 15 yards with the shorter driver (43").  

[garyt]

2 minutes ago, Fairway14 said:

 

Modern 3-woods have larger size heads than the 43" drivers of the 60's, 70's, 80's etc... 43" shaft length is good for a 180CC to 260CC size head.

Sounds more like your own personal preference 

[analyticandrew]

My buddy picked up one of these Titleist PT drivers at 2nd swing and it BOMBS still to this day. Measured it against my current driver and it’s only 1/2” shorter. 

 

[Fenrir]

I was just playing today and had a few drives in the 290-300 range with a ping anser 9.5° playing at 44” yes I did have to change the weight port from stock (2-3g) to a after market one that’s 8g and I have a bit of yarn to bring down the noise but I’m sure it’s still “lighter” in swingweight then it was stock but for me keeping them in play in worth more then 5-10 more yards 

[HackDaddy360]

On 11/5/2020 at 12:35 PM, Buzzkill said:

Chopped my driver down to 43, no loss, no issues!

I think this is right. 
 

I cut my 5 wood down to 2 iron length and picked up 10 yards.  
 

I’m a simpleton but as I see it whether you’re at 42/43/47 inches or whatever else it’s all about what you generate the most power with - and a lot of factors beyond length influence power generation.  

[davidsloftin]

Usually cutting the shaft will increase accuracy, however, it does change the swingweight, which changes the characteristics of the shaft i.e. kick point which affects the distance. 

[JAMH03]

Quote

if I should cut down an old shaft for my PING G400 to about 42.5" or even 43" to get me into the 250 yard range and be more consistent with my misses? 

That's one solution. The thing is that spin from added loft will help you hit the ball straighter so 3 wood or 4 wood for your SS would probably better fit the bill.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Billfitz]

On 8/11/2021 at 8:13 AM, JAMH03 said:

That's one solution. The thing is that spin from added loft will help you hit the ball straighter so 3 wood or 4 wood for your SS would probably better fit the bill.
 

My question of the OP would be what's his next club down from driver, but it doesn't appear that he's been back here since his initial post.

[Barfolomew]

On 11/5/2020 at 12:35 PM, Buzzkill said:

Chopped my driver down to 43, no loss, no issues!

Totally agree!

 

I just chopped a driver down Aldila silver 125 msi 70 tx with G410 LST..... it came out shorter then I thought at hybrid length.... my 3 wood is way longer at least an inch.  I played yesterday first time and I dropped some bombs way over 300 like 320-330.... but I was wholly focused on catching the ball above the center for the ultimate low spin and it worked cause club is so short you got good control to hit high on face

 

Only reason I'm in this section is to learn and find an LD shaft that is very stiff to see if I can get ultimate control and still get at least 300 with a 43" lol

Edited September 16, 2021 by Barfolomew

[zyphir77]

I grabbed a driving iron for tighter courses because I didn't trust my accuracy off the tee for a long time. I found the Cobra King Forged Black Utility 3 iron could yield me 230-250 off the tee depending on what loft setting I used. Maybe I'm just weird but I found it much easier to hit than a wood and I hit it straighter and more consistent, even on misses. Maybe that could be a viable option if you dont like 3w rather than cutting down a driver. I'd also consider grabbing a 5 wood and lowering the loft to one of the lower settings. I get 240+ out of my 5 wood at whatever it's stock loft is (18.5 i think)