Driver Length - what are you playing and why ? does anyone really know the tour average for length ...

[smithy23]

Hi All 

 

Something i guess over the years has always wondered.... 

 

I got fitted 5 years ago for driver shaft - Oban Iwasa Red 04 Flex tipped an inch to 44" End of Grip to adaptor. 

 

Purchased a new driver last year G410 SFT with the std tour silver 60g shaft at 45" EOG to adaptor. 

 

It may now be physclogical but i seem to struggle with a 45" shaft and newer drivers just seem to be getting longer and longer. 

I have the Oban now in the Ping and am happy and fairly consistent even if i do feel im leaving some yards out there and interestingly having just seen the latest TxG video on testing shaft length it got me wondering what is everyone playing in terms of driver length ....

 

Are you buying off the rack and rolling with it , if your getting fitted is it something fitters are saying we need to go shorter / longer etc just keen to know 

 

There has always to me seemed to be this myth that tour average is like 44 / 44.5" anyone know if thats true ?? 

 

For ref im 5'10" so think i pretty much fit into the bang average height category here

 

cheers all and stay safe 

[Fairway14]

4 minutes ago, smithy23 said:

 

 

There has always to me seemed to be this myth that tour average is like 44 / 44.5" anyone know if thats true ?? 

 

 

 

I guess Tour average driver finished length is 45.25".  Longer shafts produce longer driving distances. If a player wants more control he swings his 43" to 43.5" 3-wood from the tee box. Players who try a 44.5" driver shaft typically find the shot distance is close to their 3-wood shot distance.

[jvincent]

I've been building/tweaking my clubs for years and after countless experiments I have determined that I am most consistent with driver at 44.5" or 44.75". The added consistency let's me swing harder and hit it further.

 

Aside from length it's equally or more important to get the right weight.

 

With my current setup I am hitting it the furthest I ever have at age 55. On our 18th hole there is a fairway bunker that in the previous 10 seasons I have been in or past maybe twice. I have been past it probably 8 times this season so far.

[rsballer10]

24 minutes ago, smithy23 said:

Hi All 

 

Something i guess over the years has always wondered.... 

 

I got fitted 5 years ago for driver shaft - Oban Iwasa Red 04 Flex tipped an inch to 44" End of Grip to adaptor. 

 

Purchased a new driver last year G410 SFT with the std tour silver 60g shaft at 45" EOG to adaptor. 

 

It may now be physclogical but i seem to struggle with a 45" shaft and newer drivers just seem to be getting longer and longer. 

I have the Oban now in the Ping and am happy and fairly consistent even if i do feel im leaving some yards out there and interestingly having just seen the latest TxG video on testing shaft length it got me wondering what is everyone playing in terms of driver length ....

 

Are you buying off the rack and rolling with it , if your getting fitted is it something fitters are saying we need to go shorter / longer etc just keen to know 

 

There has always to me seemed to be this myth that tour average is like 44 / 44.5" anyone know if thats true ?? 

 

For ref im 5'10" so think i pretty much fit into the bang average height category here

 

cheers all and stay safe 

 

44.5" - 60g shaft, added 12g to the head, 30g counterweight in grip. Just had the best round driving the ball in over 3 years.

 

 

[achappy]

I used to always play a shorter driver.  Usually 44-44.5" as that seemed to give me the best accuracy without too much distance lost.  Anything longer I just didn't have the control.  I then built a Ping G30 at 45" with a Hzrdus Yellow and D5 and it was a phenomenal combo although spun a little too much at times but it was really accurate.  

 

However, after noticing that the tour average has seemingly increased the past several years (when I see WITB lots of guys seem to use 45+" drivers) and my slight loss in distance I decided to experiment with longer drivers. Tried a '17 M2 at 46" and it was really long but accuracy suffered a little.  Now I have a Rogue at 45.5"  and through 4 rounds with it my accuracy has been the same as the Ping but it's noticeably longer.  Hit 10/11 fairways this past weekend with it.  I think the key for me was trusting the longer/lighter shaft and just focusing on a rhythm for the swing. 

[benclab]

Mine is 45 inches long. I've been playing that length since the r7.

 

Tour average last I saw was 45.5. That was from 2 different tour reps.

[ChipNRun]

45 minutes ago, smithy23 said:

There has always to me seemed to be this myth that tour average is like 44 / 44.5" anyone know if thats true ?? 

 

I'm not sure what the tour average would tell us, other than that pros have shorter driver shafts than us mere mortals.

 

48 minutes ago, smithy23 said:

It may now be psychological but i seem to struggle with a 45" shaft and newer drivers just seem to be getting longer and longer. 

 

No, it's more an issue of physics. Do a face decal test with your new 45" driver. Hit 10 shots and see where the impact points fall. If the impacts are scattered all over the face, your shaft is too long for you. Shaft length should maximize the combination of leverage and control. This is a basic diagnostic test from The GolfWorks Academy.

 

Yeaars ago, I snapped the steel shaft on my persimmon-headed driver. Just for fun, I had the clubsmith trim the replacement shaft at 46". That was long for when average length for driver was ~ 43.5". The good news: I hit some really long drivers. The bad news: about four times a round, I had to chip sideways back to fairway because the ball was deep in the trees. And once a round, the ball was so deep in the trees I couldn't find it. Had clubsmith trim it back to 43.5" during a regrip.

[Pepperturbo]

Though there are much longer drivers and shorter drivers, but I have been told by tour guys average is around 44.75".  I've tried lengths to 46" and as short as 43" but those lengths didn't feel natural to me.  Years back when I hit 44.75" playing length, it just felt right.  It's long enough so when I grip at the butt-end I get a tad more yardage and when I choke down 1.75" I have reliable control.

 

This https://golf.com/?p=14836131 confirms it.

 

[bryanwmilburn]

I typically play 44-44.5" with heavier head weight for swing weight purposes. After messing with a 45" driver the last year, I can say with 100% certainty that, for me, a shorter driver results in much more consistency, comfortability, and overall better play with minimal, if any, loss of distance. For my buddies who are newer to the game or who want to improve, that's one of my first recommendations and I've had multiple friends convert and say the same thing. I will never go back to 45"+ drivers. 

[StrokerAce]

amazed at what half an inch to an inch will do when you look at how little it is but 44 to 44.5 always help me find the center of the face consistently for some reason. tried 45/46 and just was all over the place.

[NoTalentLefty]

Played most of my drivers at 44.25 and below since the start of the 460 head drivers. Couldn’t hit anything else . But recently went to a Ping G425 Max with a 45.75 inch shaft and it works great. Had to change shaft though to a Project X Evenflow Blue 5.5 shaft for accuracy. 

[lefthack]

I was having a lot of issues with a slice last year so I got a heavier shaft and cut an ince off, then added 6g to the head. 

 

Now that I had a proper lesson, my drives are much better. I have thought about a driver fitting, but haven't yet until my swing is a bit more solid.

[boggyman]

43.75 only because TM wouldn’t go shorter when I got my SIM2 Max. Played 43.5 for years.

[GeauxGolfLSU]

Got fitted for my PING G425 Max at 44.75" and it's just so much more comfortable to me than longer drivers. Have a slightly heavier weight in it (29g) that gives me a D4 swingweight at that length. I struggle with consistency of strike with anything longer.

[MMB1500]

I play my irons and wedges at +1" but play a fairly "standard" length driver at 45". I find it gives me the best combination of accuracy and distance. Anything else also feels too long, which is counterintuitive, given the length of my other clubs. 

[cwilk]

Driver "playing length" is with head attached, not just shaft length (and it differs depending on brand - some add 1", some 1.5", etc.).  I looked over the data available not long ago and the average playing length on tour is around 45", with many over 45".  Ping has most of their tour staff info readily available and Chris Trott of Taylormade has most of their staff's build sheets on his Instagram.  

 

https://www.instagram.com/trottiegolf/?hl=en

 

https://ping.com/en-us/pros/pga-tour

 

I play mine at 45".  I played 44.5" for a long time as I got better off the tee.  This year I briefly experimented with 44.5" and 44.25" and my strike pattern was too spread out, so now I'm back to 45".  I'm 5'10 and some change with a 34" wrist to floor measurement (both measured with golf shoes on).  

[NRJyzr]

For the last several years, I've been playing my driver at 43.5", with an occasional round at 43.25".  Recently, I assembled a HZRDUS Black 62 shaft for my King LTD, cut it to play at 45" as an experiment.

 

So far it's worked well, but I've noticed I'm not actually hitting the ball farther than I had been.  That aligns with my driver fitting from a few years ago,where my max swingspeed was at 43.25" or so.

 

I'll keep going with my experiment this weekend...

 

[mogc60]

I used 44.5” for 20 years but just went to 44.75” this year with lighter shaft. I’ve been lightening up my shafts the past few years. 

[smithy23]

38 minutes ago, cwilk said:

Driver "playing length" is with head attached, not just shaft length (and it differs depending on brand - some add 1", some 1.5", etc.).  I looked over the data available not long ago and the average playing length on tour is around 45", with many over 45".  Ping has most of their tour staff info readily available and Chris Trott of Taylormade has most of their staff's build sheets on his Instagram.  

 

https://www.instagram.com/trottiegolf/?hl=en

 

https://ping.com/en-us/pros/pga-tour

 

I play mine at 45".  I played 44.5" for a long time as I got better off the tee.  This year I briefly experimented with 44.5" and 44.25" and my strike pattern was too spread out, so now I'm back to 45".  I'm 5'10 and some change with a 34" wrist to floor measurement (both measured with golf shoes on).  

I get the driver playing length is going to differ somewhat due to how each manufacturer designs the head and hosel length , it would appear ping is around 3/4” longer in playing length so with my Oban shaft I’m 44.75 playing length compared to 45.75 with the standard ping shaft 

 

I guess for me I feel I’m giving up some yards potentially but wondered do others when being fitted ever get spec’d for length or is it swing as long a driver as you can control or do some not even give it a moments thought 

[Dannyboy44]

45.75 Now. Ive tried to go shorter and it just doesnt work for me. Im 6 foot 3 so that tends to work pretty well. I recently switched to x flex from stiff and im hitting my driver best i ever have. Shame i was so afraid of x flex for last 15 years wish i would of switched a long time ago. 

[RobS]

45.75" but experimenting with 47".  45.25"-45.5" appears to be most common on tour these days.

[ian-500]

TM M5 9* + Diamana R50x @ 47 3/4". Bomber........

[Gtyler14]

I play 45 now. I use to play 44 since I lost accuracy at 45 but I slowly added length over the years to 44.25,44.5,44.75 and then finally at 45. Shorter always worked for me and sort of was quick fix to getting quick with my swing but I took the time and solved my timing issues and now 45 is comfortable for me. 45 is my max and I won’t go any longer.

[Superfast2.0]

I've had a 3W shaft in my driver for years, think it plays at 44". Maybe I'm giving up some distance with the shorter shaft, but I probably hit it in the center more often & more accurate than if it was around 45.5" like most modern drivers are now.

[nitram]

44.25-44.75 for the past 30 years or so. The difference in the lengths is finding center-face-contact with different head shapes. Currently 44.5.

[MikeW2]

43.75 because as soon as I go longer than that I have lots of 50 yard hooks or 30 yard blocks. Got really back into golf last year and was struggling keeping the ball in play with driver. Put a shorter shaft into my driver head and presto, straight without any loss of distance.

 

if you do go the shorter route pay attention to the weight of the head. Last year as I started using the shortie the weight made no difference. However, the more I’ve played and practiced my swing speed has gone from 90-92 to 98-100. This has led to some real “feel” issues for me this season that I only just figured out/fixed.

[TJ83]

I had an 9* epic subzero with a kuro kage dual core 70tx @44.5 that was pretty good. Then went to a SIM Max 9* with a Tensei Av raw orange 75tx @44 and didn't hit that so well. Added lead tape to the head and it was better but I felt the short length changed my delivery and to be fair I've been changing my swing this year via online lessons. 

 

For the last 3 months I went 1st gen SIM 9* with a Ventus Black 6x and have never hit the driver this consistent. Zero rights (im a lefty) and feel of the length and ventus is so confidence inspiring. 

 

45" with a mid 60 gram seems to be the best for me. I'm 5'11" so pretty standard height. 

[2Down]

Trimmed (butt trim) an inch off the standard length off my SIm Max and added a few grams to get the swing weight right.   
 

distance is about the same and errors have dropped.  

[uglande]

There's two key factors to consider.

 

With perfect swings, perfect strike, a longer shaft will obviously produce more distance if swung at the same rate. But we all have a point of diminishing returns where adding shaft length no longer increases swing speed. For me, that's around 45 inches. Any longer than that and I actually LOSE swing speed (on average).

 

Then you have the other diminishing returns calculation -- identifying the point at which the distance gained from a longer shaft is outweighed by the inconsistency of strike. When considering this, and the previous factor, my ideal driver length is about 44.50. 

[phizzy30]

45 inches.  Perfect blend of length and accuracy for the tee for me.  I've played a 46 inch driver once.  When I mashed it one it was 20 yards longer BUT, I couldn't find the sweet spot consistently.  It also produced a lot more curve on mishits as well.  Ended up cutting it back down to 45 inches.  I tried a 44.5 inch driver once and I was just as accurate as the 45 but 10 yards shorter on average.