Chopping down to 44"

pigglet222 · June 24, 2008

what must I be concerned about...

I'd like to cut my driver (Nike 5900) shaft from 45.75" down to 44" in hopes that I can find more fairways.

What must I know/do for swingweight and flex? Is it easier for me to just re-shaft?

Shaft - Proforce V2 - S flex - 66g - 3.0 torque - 267 butt stiffness - 7.0 mid stiffness - 28 tip stiffness - 4.0" parallel tip - .335" tip OD

chrisfx811 · June 24, 2008

1.75" is a lot to cut off, w/o changing anything else imho.

What's the sw of your club now as it sits? My guess is d2 +/- 1 sw point.

I'd imagine your head is light @ approx 198g, if so.

Cutting off 1.75" is going to drop your sw by approx 10 pts. You'll go from what I guess is d-2 to about c-2. For those that say you don't notice small changes, I'd guarantee you'll notice a 10 pt swing. The total setup will feel much lighter, will play a bit stiffer, and the feel for the head will be reduced for most people.

To counter this, you would have to add weight to the head, approx 10g to bring back the d-2 sw.

My opinion would be to reshaft with a slightly heavier shaft (70+g), and have add weight to the head, and have it assembled the way you want. Sometimes, you can go down a flex when going shorter and heavier, but ymmv.

thewitt · June 24, 2008

Cut it down and play it. Don't measure the resulting swingweight - just play it.

If the head feels too light, add lead tape to the bottom/back of the head until it no longer feels too light.

If you still can't hit it, then look at reshafting.

It's only golf.

-t

pigglet222 · June 25, 2008

that is perhaps the best advice I've ever gotten - seriously. sometimes i believe we over think things and convince ourselves of this or that...

I took your advice - just cut the dang thing and played it. Didn't notice much except that I scored my best round of my life - literally.

Right now I'd say that I'll ALWAYS play 44" in my driver.

OrangeBlood · June 25, 2008

Kinda related...I find it funny that the XTD A3 is 46", yet the pro version is 45.5". If longer is so great why don't the bug guys swing one?

I'm glad you cut it down...like you said we do overthink things to death. I play a 44" BUL and didn't notice a darn thing different. I even taped some quarters to the head to see if I could notice a SW change....I could not.

I starting to believe being 6'2" 210lbs. that I have little feel for 20 or so grams of weight. I have played my 44" 4 times with a total of 2 FW's missed and a consistent 240-250. My new XTD at 46" is a different story. I will try and learn to swing it before cutting this time....not sure how long that will last...LOL

JDorfler · June 25, 2008

Instead of cutting, can you just choke down a bit?

square · June 25, 2008

Exactly correct, gripping a bit down if the player wants a shorteer shaft,that is the way to play it.

Instead of cutting, can you just choke down a bit?

Pinehurst1999 · June 25, 2008

Exactly correct, gripping a bit down if the player wants a shorteer shaft,that is the way to play it.

Instead of cutting, can you just choke down a bit?

I did that for a year and it really is not a long-term solution. If you are choking down that much, like I was, without the intention of going back...then cut it off and play it. An earlier post on here said to just cut it and play it and I could not agree more! I have my drivers at 43.75" and I am 6'4" tall. I average about 60-65% of fairways, and I did not adjust the swing weight at all...but it will take a little while to get used to the lighter club. I am about a 102-104 SS and drive the ball about 265-275 right now.

Consider taking it a step further...I cut my 3-wood to 41.5" and have the same amazing results with about 240 off a tee and 230 off the deck. Do not choke down for too long, get it cut if that's what you like.

OrangeBlood · June 25, 2008

Choking down is not for me...1.5" hits my wrists so it is way to awkward.

It's so damn amazing that 4-5 years ago 43"-44" was standard, do you guys that balk at cutting them down really think there is good reason to have them at 45.75"-46" now? Heads are done as far as new technology IMO...only thing manuf. can do to get us golf ho's to pay up is to claim longer distance w/ longer shafts. I just don't see how that is so hard to undersatnd for some people....surely I am not saying anything new here.

Pinehurst1999 · June 25, 2008

Choking down is not for me...1.5" hits my wrists so it is way to awkward.

It's so damn amazing that 4-5 years ago 43"-44" was standard, do you guys that balk at cutting them down really think there is good reason to have them at 45.75"-46" now? Heads are done as far as new technology IMO...only thing manuf. can do to get us golf ho's to pay up is to claim longer distance w/ longer shafts. I just don't see how that is so hard to undersatnd for some people....surely I am not saying anything new here.

100% agree. Choking down that much effects the wrist action during the swing and actually hurts the swing when choking down that much, which is why I cut to 43.75". I do not understand or agree with the 46" driver right now...I wonder if most people buying a driver even know its length? I am sure that people on here do, but what about the other 99.9% of golfers. I would guess they just buy it and swing it.

JDorfler · June 25, 2008

I only choke down for my first few drives or if I'm not hitting it that straight. Especially if I feel I'm not properly warmed up. I should have asked, what type of effects does choking down on the club have? Is it stiffer? Different swing weight?

OrangeBlood · June 25, 2008

Choking down 1.5" also leaves a grip size issue. This can cause (at least for me) wild hooks. As far as SW/flex...yes and no, it really depends on who you ask. From a technical standpoint..yes SW and flex will be affected. Will it be noticeable? Not by the majority of us out there.

geeza_1 · June 26, 2008

I'd like to cut my driver (Nike 5900) shaft from 45.75" down to 44" in hopes that I can find more fairways.

What must I know/do for swingweight and flex? Is it easier for me to just re-shaft?

Shaft - Proforce V2 - S flex - 66g - 3.0 torque - 267 butt stiffness - 7.0 mid stiffness - 28 tip stiffness - 4.0" parallel tip - .335" tip OD

Just cut it down and add lead tape to the back of the clubhead so it is not visibale at address. These things from Golfsmith are a tidy solution too.

http://www.golfsmith.com/browse.php?lcode=...all&Ntk=All