longer shaft?

[cjdrcc]

anybody play one?

OK, I'm probably getting a new driver and was mulling over the idea of getting a 46 inch shaft. As I can't hit the fairway to save my life anyway, I thought it might add a little distance. If anybody has an idea, please let me know.

[xjustice09x]

If you want to hit more fairways I would try going shorter instead of longer. I can hit pretty accurately at 44" or 44.5", but hit lots of fades and slices at 45" or longer. I also hit the sweetspot more often with a shorter driver which increases my average distance.

 

My friend uses a 46" R7 and he likes it. Try to demo a Ping driver I think those come stock at 45.75". Thats would give you a better idea if a longer driver will work for you.

[spk74]

I'd say try going the other way: the pga average is ~44.5". Try 44" or even 43". When I increase driver length just a little...my accuracy gets much worse and my distances only get slightly better. Alternatively, reducing length of the driver slightly leads to much better accuracy and only slightly shorter distances. Just remember to keep swingweight and shaft flex reasonable. My 0.02.

[MGB]

I agree. Just got my G5 tip trimmed to 45 from 45.5, spined and balanced to D2. It's a totally different club now. Was 2 over last Saturday and didn't miss a fairway. If you're really having accuracy problems, I'd recommend going down to 44.5. You'll get more distance if you hit the ball pure.

[Jetlv25]

I totally agree with everyone above. Longer drivers in general are not the answer. Most people including many pros cannot make the same consistenly solid contact. It is actually quite common for many people to actually gain distance by going shorter. They tend to hit more shots in the sweet spot and gain yardage. Increasing your swing speed with longer driver only adds yards if you can still hit it in the sweet spot. I guess that's why many people use "smash factor" to determine their efficiency.

[liltweegie808]

well a lot those previous replies make sense but it sounds like you are just trying to gain more distance because you said you cant hit a fairway anyway. well i play a 46" nike sasquatch tour. as you know big head, big sweet spot. after the change in length, it took a couple days for me to adjust but it pays off. i gained at least 15 yards sometimes up to 40 and being able to attack more flags with the shorter irons that are in my hand, not to forget being able to reach some par 5s that i couldnt reach before

[herkyjerk]

I play a standard length driver & have no desire to try a longer one. But I have to tell you, a week or so ago a guy paired up with us at Kingsmill. He had a 48" Speeder 757 on Ping G2 head. Don't know the loft or flex. This guy absolutely CRUSHED the ball. He put the easiest pass on this thing & it went a country f***ing mile. Of course we all had to swing it & all of us hit low cutters that were garbage. I won't ever play a long driver but this guy just blasted his. He was a good player, shot in the mid-seventies. It was fun to watch him hit that thing.