Shaft length question

[dre72]

Will shaft length have an effect on ball flight?  Meaning, if the iron shafts are too long will it cause pulls, pushes, or cuts or draws?

 

Thanks in advance

[MFBach]

I would think shaft length would affect ball striking as much as anything, so in a way, yes, it could in turn affect the variables you mentioned, but maybe not directly. A longer shaft should increase club head speed as well, which would also change launch conditions. Then you can consider lie angle and and turf interaction, which again affect launch conditions. 
 

How long are you talking about? 1/4”? Maybe not so much. 1”+? Almost definitely. A lot of it depends on the individual too. There are a ton of factors that contribute to launch conditions. Pulls, pushes, cuts, and draws are all a product of swing path and face angle at impact though. Shaft length can affect those conditions positively and negatively, but simply adding length to a shaft isn’t causation for anything, specifically. It can affect or change the the conditions that cause the things mentioned, but it wouldn’t be the sole determination. 

[phizzy30]

It could cause all those things you mentioned.  Like MFBach has mentioned, it will affect contact the most.  If you're a solid ball striker, it might be worth trying longer iron shafts but if you're a poor ball striker, it would be detrimental. 

[dre72]

Thanks for the replies guys.  

[NRJyzr]

On top of what others have said... if you take an iron or wedge with a lie angle that fits you and make it longer, you've now created a club too upright for you.  On its own, that will create draws and/or effectively pulled shots.

 

Used "effectively" above because it will appear you've pulled the shot even with a perfect swing path.  Not really a pull, just heading left (RH bias comment) because the too-upright club face is pointing that way.

 

[Nessism]

Shaft length in irons only comes into play at the extreme end of the iron grouping.  In other words, in the wedges and/or long irons.  It's not like someone hits their 7 iron well and can't hit the 8 because of some issue related to shaft length.  At the short end, if the shafts are too short, the player may have to bend over unnaturally thus affecting their shot performance.  On the other end if the long irons are too long that will make it more difficult to make solid contact.  The shaft length won't have any significant ball flight affect, rather just the quality of the strike.  And what a poor strike does to the ball depends on the person's swing doing the striking.

Edited May 10, 2021 by Nessism