Seniors Should Go with 48" Drivers??

[bsandefu]

I am 59 years old and have tried up to a 46 inch shaft. I never could control it. I am 6'2" tall however I have long arms. The best setup for me is a 44 1/2 inch driver with a D5 swingweight. I have hit more fairways than ever in my life with the new Cobra ZL driver. It came at 46 inches and the Voodoo shaft. I did not like that setup. Iput a Graphite Design stiff 65g shaft and put lead powder in the tip end and capped it. Now swings to my D5. I can feel the club so much better than the new light factory shafts that are coming standard now. Control and down the middle with a club that you can feel is much better than trying to swing a telephone pole precise enough to make consistant contact.

[mosesgolf]

IMO, best way to compensate for distance is to play from the appropriate tees that will give you shots 150yds or closer on every tee shot. To play from tees that require 2nd shots of 175 or longer for shorter hitters just is not right. IMO, they should move the ladies tees up closer and then put senior tees there.

[Sean2]

[quote name='mosesgolf' post='2115075' date='Dec 9 2009, 08:51 PM']IMO, best way to compensate for distance is to play from the appropriate tees that will give you shots 150yds or closer on every tee shot. To play from tees that require 2nd shots of 175 or longer for shorter hitters just is not right. IMO, they should move the ladies tees up closer and then put senior tees there.[/quote]
Excellent point and I couldn't agree more.

[8thehardway]

[quote name='mosesgolf' post='2115075' date='Dec 9 2009, 08:51 PM']IMO, best way to compensate for distance is to play from the appropriate tees that will give you shots 150yds or closer on every tee shot. To play from tees that require 2nd shots of 175 or longer for shorter hitters just is not right. IMO, they should move the ladies tees up closer and then put senior tees there.[/quote]

Scores matter much less than self esteem; if it were otherwise 85% of us would be playing from the Red tees.

Since you must physically separate yourself from the rest of your foursome to play from tees that heretofore were the sole province of guys 80+ with yardage to match, Senior tees remind us we're old in more obvious ways than our lack of distance with the driver, which can always be explained by the wind, audio/visual distractions, a miscalculation in our swing or a misalignment in our spine. 15 yards more off the tee won't make an appreciable difference in score but it allows us to turn back the clock a bit which is far more gratifying.

By the way, what makes you think women want their tees moved closer to the green?

[chip dr.]

[quote name='DefConOne' date='26 October 2009 - 05:56 PM' timestamp='1256597765' post='2027564']
I read an article, not sure where, that stated that seniors looking for distance should go with a very light shaft and grip, and the length should be around 48" for the driver.

What do you all think?
[/quote]

[wkuo3]

[quote name='DefConOne' date='26 October 2009 - 06:56 PM' timestamp='1256597765' post='2027564']
I read an article, not sure where, that stated that seniors looking for distance should go with a very light shaft and grip, and the length should be around 48" for the driver.

What do you all think?
[/quote]


I believe I had read the same article.

Did not take it seriously at first but since most of my golfing buds were improving on their games; the pressure of getting a few more yards had been generating a lot of thoughts.

I figured, to play a longer shaft as said in the article, need to find a shaft with lighter weight and as stiff a flex as you could handle, so I picked up a shaft at 280 cpm ( says so on the sticker at X flex ) inserted it untipped to a 9.5 degree 450 cc head.

The results from a driving range session is mixed. Took me a good half a bucket of balls to get a feel for it, but it did not feel as an X stiff shaft, it felt like my stiff flex shafts at 45".

Out of curiosity, I put this driver on the swing weight measurement, and a whopping E4 was shown. Perhaps because of the length of the shaft ( rated 65 gm. 280 cpm 46" raw length )the swing weight is not ideal. However, it felt good and I have no trouble swinging it after a warm up.

I'll have to give it a real life test on the golf course when the weather let up. The only problem is to fit it in my golf bag with the hood up.

[Sean2]

[quote name='wkuo3' date='11 January 2010 - 04:11 PM' timestamp='1263244298' post='2175136']
[quote name='DefConOne' date='26 October 2009 - 06:56 PM' timestamp='1256597765' post='2027564']
I read an article, not sure where, that stated that seniors looking for distance should go with a very light shaft and grip, and the length should be around 48" for the driver.

What do you all think?
[/quote]


I believe I had read the same article.

Did not take it seriously at first but since most of my golfing buds were improving on their games; the pressure of getting a few more yards had been generating a lot of thoughts.

I figured, to play a longer shaft as said in the article, need to find a shaft with lighter weight and as stiff a flex as you could handle, so I picked up a shaft at 280 cpm ( says so on the sticker at X flex ) inserted it untipped to a 9.5 degree 450 cc head.

The results from a driving range session is mixed. Took me a good half a bucket of balls to get a feel for it, but it did not feel as an X stiff shaft, it felt like my stiff flex shafts at 45".

Out of curiosity, I put this driver on the swing weight measurement, and a whopping E4 was shown. Perhaps because of the length of the shaft ( rated 65 gm. 280 cpm 46" raw length )the swing weight is not ideal. However, it felt good and I have no trouble swinging it after a warm up.

I'll have to give it a real life test on the golf course when the weather let up. The only problem is to fit it in my golf bag with the hood up.[/quote]
Please let us know how it works out.:-)

Someone was extremely kind and built a driver for me gratis and I just received it (please see signature). I haven't had a chance to hit it (weather), but it is 46.5" and is just about 300 grams.

[sanderslongdrive]

Unlike a Dodge Viper where potentially ANY driver may make it go very fast the same does not apply for a long club. Hitting a golfball a great distance is not about the club per se, it's more about the best marriage of golfer and club.

Yes, a longer club can potentially increase one's swing speed and thereby yardage but not in every case.

Please stop equating length of club with player height, or worse still with age, it is more about each player's swing type and ability.

The answer in every case is suck it and see.

[wkuo3]

Well, today we had a dry morning in the last 8 days.
Jump out to have a quick 18, temp. ranged from 42 F. to 46 F. fairways were wet but not muddy although collecting spots have water coming up 1/4 " when stepped on.

I must say, without hitting a warm up bucket, I have mis-hit about 30% of my tee shots, those were still carrying just over 200 yd. My best drive of the day was just under 270 ( with a pitch mark 4" in front of the golf ball, must had been "spit" back by the fairway ).

The carried distance was very good for my standard, however, whether I'll trim the length a bit in the future is still uncertain. I'll leave the 48" in this driver and work on it a bit more.

[dberry90210]

My dad uses a 48" driver and he's 56. He's probably about a 6 handicap and hits it further now than he did 20 years ago. It's way too long for me and I don't need any extra distance but it really is amazing how much of a difference a longer shaft makes for him.

[Sean2]

It's probably about having a controlled tempo and rhythm and "allowing the club to do the work".

I'm curious to see how the 46.5" driver works out...when I have a chance to hit it!

[wkuo3]

I'm taking the shaft down to 46" playing length.
Simply because higher fairway hit and I don't have to warm up totally before hitting a nice drive with a shorter shaft.
Plus, the extra length made the shaft felt more flexible, shorten it by a couple of inches really made it play as stated cpm. Swing weight is down to a D-3 from E-4.