Average Driver Shaft Length on the PGA Tour

[Poser]

[quote name='srockafe' date='02 March 2010 - 01:45 AM' timestamp='1267512321' post='2287320']
Say I cut down a driver and want to bring the swingweight back up. Do you place the tape below the grip or down on the sole of the head?
[/quote]

You have to put tape on the head to get the swing weight back up. For example I cut a half inch off the tip of mine and double wrap my grips so my swing weight was around d0. I put three pieces of lead tape on the head to get the swing weight to around d3-d4 where I like it. Anytime you shorten the shaft the swing weight will drop unless you add weight to the head. I have another driver cut down to 44" and had to use alot of lead tape on the head to get the swing weight right.

[wfrogge1]

[quote name='shift' date='02 March 2010 - 01:41 AM' timestamp='1267512116' post='2287318']
saw a video of a club fitter who does DJ Trahan's clubs. He said that unless you're 6'2" you shouldn't be using a 45" driver.
[/quote]


Unless you are a ReMax long drive guy......

[DevilGolfer]

Jesus, this thread is making me want to cut down my stock 45.75" G10! I'm only 5'8". I always thought it was longer.

[ksavy17]

[quote name='Golf-Junkie' date='01 March 2010 - 08:11 PM' timestamp='1267495865' post='2286765']
Jer Jer - 44 makes sense. Im the same height but have been playing a 45 inch driver and my control is terrible. Just ordered an i15 with a 44.5 inch Kai'li (wrist-to-floor measurements suggest 1/2 under standard).

Anyone know what length of shaft Anthony Kim, Rickie Folwer, and (fill in the blanks - any other 5'8" golfer) Justin Leonard play?
[/quote]
Justin leonard has been using 46-47 inch shafts for years

[flynhawaiian]

It's all physics, the longer the shaft he more force that can be applied to the ball. Assuming the same swing speed. Force and accuracy are related, if you feel more comfortable swinging a shorter shaft your confidence is going to go up and your going to be more consistent. Losing 10 yards is nothing if you compare to being in the rough versus the fairway.

[optionstraderbc]

well said Hawaii...

[ALLEN LENTH]

[quote name='shift' timestamp='1267512116' post='2287318']
saw a video of a club fitter who does DJ Trahan's clubs. He said that unless you're 6'2" you shouldn't be using a 45" driver.
[/quote]

I own that collection of videos. DJ i scorrect if ou use their technique. But that's the problem. Their technique is about hitting it straight and not far. I used their program to learn how to play golf, but out grew it pretty quickly.

[TKing]

Does the "PGA" or USGA have a maximum shaft length, or a maximum club length? Would that shaft length be in a bore-through, or a regular hosel?

[RJRJRJ]

[quote name='srockafe' timestamp='1267512321' post='2287320']
Say I cut down a driver and want to bring the swingweight back up. Do you place the tape below the grip or down on the sole of the head?
[/quote]

Sole of the head. If you cut off too much, youll need too much lead tape though. If thats the case youll have to have the shaft removed and weight added to the tip or inside the head. I recently cut .75" off and the amount of tape I had to add was about as much as possible. Any more tape and id have to cover up logos or have too many layers.

[Lefthook]

Why don't abondon the driver all together and settle for a 3 wood? When Fred Couples won his Masters he used a 3 wood. And how many strokes does Tigers driver cost him during a tournament? But why stop at the 3 wood? It is easier to find fairways with a "stinger" 5 wood.

Seriously, I don't think 200-250 yard hitters need to do the same as the PGA players who have narrow fairways to deal with and can hit the ball longer with a 3 iron than most players can hit the ball with a driver.

h*** Sapiens is designed to move on two feet with a fairly vertical spine, and turning on a flat plane is actually very easy to do when you get used to it. A couple of extra inches shaft length doesn't give a huge distance gain but it doesn't give a huge increase in dispersion either. I seriously doubt that a player who hits it 300 yards with a 46" driver will be less precise than a player who hits it 300 yards with a 43" driver - if a slight difference in swing speed is all that separates the two.
I have played a 46" driver for more than 10 years and it has served me well. The longer the shaft gets, the heavier the club gets, and if it gets to heavy it is to swing the club properly. But if you're comfortable with a 75 g shaft and 43.5 inch driver you will probably be cofortable with a 65g shaft and a 46 inch driver as well. You need to get used to swinging slightly flatter. That's all.

[mastapp]

I've seen 43.5 as the Tour average. I'm sure there is proably some optimal ratio of driver length to height, that would make the most sense. Or just go with what feels best to you, not what the hot player of the week is using.

[reg1900]

[quote name='Golf-Junkie' timestamp='1267506597' post='2287192']
Can't seem to find any data on shorter guys, but here's Robert Karrlson's equipment. His driver length is 45.00 inches.

[font="Calibri"][size="3"]
[size="3"][/size]Details on the Titleist equipment in Robert Karlsson’s bag:[/size][/font

[size="3"]================================================ [/size]

[size="3"]Ball: Pro V1x[/size]

[size="3"]Driver: 909D2 (9.5°, Aldila RIP 80X, 45″)[/size]

[size="3"]Fairway: 909F3 (13°, Grafalloy ProLaunch Red X, 43.25″ tipped to length)[/size]

[size="3"]Fairway: 909F3 (18°, Grafalloy ProLaunch Red X, 42.25″ tipped to length)[/size]

[size="3"]Irons: MB (3-P, 1° weak loft (5-P), True Temper Dynamic Gold SL X100, +1″ length, +2° lie)[/size]

[size="3"]Wedge: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C TVD 54 (at 53°, True Temper Dynamic Gold SL X100, 37″ length, 66° lie)[/size]

[size="3"]Wedge: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C TVD 58 (True Temper Dynamic Gold SL X100, 37″ length, 66° lie)[/size]

[size="3"]Putter: Scotty Cameron Tour Newport 2 GSS (4° loft, 37″ length, 71° lie)[/size]

[size="3"]Grips: Golf Pride New Decade Multi-Compound 60R (Red/Black, 2 extra wraps)[/size]

[/quote]

Karlsson is about 6ft 6. So him using a 45in is like a regular person using 44 or less

[Mikepaul]

If you've got talent you can play any length. I've played 44.5, 45 and 45.7 length drivers in X-Flex and there is no flex difference.

I'm serious dubious at a few inches making much different to flex, it might suit your posture.

I found 45" is just better for my height

[DaveLeeNC]

[quote name='Lefthook' timestamp='1302663971' post='3148698']
Why don't abondon the driver all together and settle for a 3 wood? When Fred Couples won his Masters he used a 3 wood. And how many strokes does Tigers driver cost him during a tournament? But why stop at the 3 wood? It is easier to find fairways with a "stinger" 5 wood.

Seriously, I don't think 200-250 yard hitters need to do the same as the PGA players who have narrow fairways to deal with and can hit the ball longer with a 3 iron than most players can hit the ball with a driver.

h*** Sapiens is designed to move on two feet with a fairly vertical spine, and turning on a flat plane is actually very easy to do when you get used to it. A couple of extra inches shaft length doesn't give a huge distance gain but it doesn't give a huge increase in dispersion either. I seriously doubt that a player who hits it 300 yards with a 46" driver will be less precise than a player who hits it 300 yards with a 43" driver - if a slight difference in swing speed is all that separates the two.
I have played a 46" driver for more than 10 years and it has served me well. The longer the shaft gets, the heavier the club gets, and if it gets to heavy it is to swing the club properly. But if you're comfortable with a 75 g shaft and 43.5 inch driver you will probably be cofortable with a 65g shaft and a 46 inch driver as well. You need to get used to swinging slightly flatter. That's all.
[/quote]


Along those lines I experimented once with a 46" driver (44.5 to 45" is my norm). It didn't seem to matter much from either a distance or accuracy perspective (for me). So I abandoned the idea of using a longer driver.

Interestingly I also tried a 43.5" driver for a while (I build my own clubs so I could dork around with swingweight, flex, etc). I hated that club no matter how I built it. I never did understand that. OTOH, 3w has always been my worst club (I play 3w at 42.5 to 43 inches). But my (slightly shorter, obviously) 5w and 7w clubs are fine for me.

dave

ps. I am a long way from being a 300 yard hitter with any length driver.

[RMS29]

[quote name='offapex' timestamp='1267512116' post='2287318']
saw a video of a club fitter who does DJ Trahan's clubs. He said that unless you're 6'2" you shouldn't be using a 45" driver.
[/quote]

I have found that height of a golfer matters very little (unless someone is extremely tall). Tall people typically have very long arms. The wrist to ground measurement is most important.

[Twoironblade]

If you go to Ping's website, you can see detailed club specs on their staff pros (PGA, European, Senior, LPGA). You can see the length, model, loft, shaft, and even grip for each player. From what I recall, there weren't too many drivers under 44 inches.

[TightenUpROOKIE]

Can't hit a 45" driver as it feels long to me & I'm definitely not as accurate with a longer driver. The days when I was using a 90/100gram graphite driver shaft I was playing the driver at 43.75" but when I went to a lighter 80gram driver shaft I started playing it at 44" & that's what I'm comfortable with as I won't play anything longer. I also still use the steel shaft standard length of 42.25" for my 3wood, I went back to a steel shaft in the 3wood recently but played it the same length as graphite. I haven't lost any distance from what I can see from playing shorter woods, just straighter shots & better smash factor. Luke Donald is a guy who also plays short woods, his driver is 43.5" & his 3wood is 42", was in last years GD What's In The Bag.

[johnnythunders]

[quote name='KingOAces' timestamp='1150939538' post='221183']
Anyone see the test done in GolfTips Mag where they tested a 47 or sumin inch driver a 45" (new Standard) and a 43.5(old standard) and the 47 was tested to be longer[u][i] [b]AND[/b][/i] [/u]more accurate. This is completely against what i have been hearing and from my experience with longer and shorter clubs. Anyone hear of this?

KinG
[/quote]

yeah I remember reading that. Compltely has not been true for me. Shorter is better control, longer is farther.

[swanry30]

[quote name='HoMStYLz' timestamp='1358751186' post='6268995']
Can't hit a 45" driver as it feels long to me & I'm definitely not as accurate with a longer driver. The days when I was using a 90/100gram graphite driver shaft I was playing the driver at 43.75" but when I went to a lighter 80gram driver shaft I started playing it at 44" & that's what I'm comfortable with as I won't play anything longer. I also still use the steel shaft standard length of 42.25" for my 3wood, I went back to a steel shaft in the 3wood recently but played it the same length as graphite. I haven't lost any distance from what I can see from playing shorter woods, just straighter shots & better smash factor. Luke Donald is a guy who also plays short woods, his driver is 43.5" & his 3wood is 42", was in last years GD What's In The Bag.
[/quote]

i forgot what cally driver setup you ended up with this year... how are you achieving SW? i like the same playing length - but with certain drivers its tough getting it to play right without melt.

[Ri_Redneck]

[quote name='Leftygolfin' timestamp='1150818880' post='220086']
I would just think that if the pros on tour are using under 45 inch drivers that most of us golfers would be better off with a shorter driver. I am a very long hitter with a 45" driver but the control is pretty bad. I have just started experimenting with a shorter driver as I have always used the 45 inch driver. Cut one down to 44 inches and it feels pretty good to me and the distance isn't a lot different. Im 6 ft tall and it does feel a little more controlable and Im quite a bit better with ball striking. Any other comments??
[/quote]

I'm 5'11" with 72" reach and back in the old days, I gamed a 43.5" persimmon driver with 55* lie. Now, all my drivers seem to have 59-60* lie and I'm still at 43.5. Sure makes fading the ball an issue sometimes being that much more upright. I tend to use heavier shafts in the 80gm range and add weight to the heads to make up for the shorter length. No distance problems though.

BT

[preshotroutine]

[attachment=1502047:Screen shot 2013-01-23 at 3.01.18 PM.png]


This chart is a starting point!

[Moonlightgrm]

The PGA Tour was recently in my city. I started talking with the guys in the Ping Tour van and one thing led to another and they gave me a quick tour of the van. I learned that the average driver length of the Tour players using Ping's is 44.5". Lee Westwood uses a driver with 11 degrees of loft. Adjustments are made to the weights within the heads, otherwise the Tour guys are using the same Ping heads that the consumer uses. Within the van they have drawer after drawer of club heads, shafts, grips, etc... You name it, they've got it. They can build a club in no time right to any player's specifications. With the quick setting epoxies, the club is ready to go in 10 minutes!

[prhiam]

If you look at Pings site it states that there are only a few players playing shorter than their average of 45.25 inches. I believe that the tour average these days is much closer to 45 inches. There is no one on the Ping site (the only one that lists specs of clubs) playing shorter than 44.5. In the end I don't care much. I got fit for a shaft to play to a total weight and a swing weight, it came out to 45.5. I'm hitting it longer and straighter than anything before it.

For hopefully the last time, since there is a video on it, Sergio Garcia is hitting his at 44.25. Not sub 43 like some have posted and not sub 44. Wade Liles also says the tour average in the TMAG van is 45.5.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jUY3MwzS48"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jUY3MwzS48[/url]

[BlazeOC]

All I know is I got an inch taken off my driver shaft and it has never felt better (man that sounds terrible). I feel like I have more control over it and I have for certain been hitting the ball straighter on a more consistent basis.

To be honest I wouldn't mind going another quarter to half inch. I believe I am down to a 44 inch.

I am 6'1

[Moonlightgrm]

[b] [color=#353535]Well [url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/user/133093-prhiam/"]prhiam[/url], I'll assume the guys in the Ping Van had nothing to gain by fibbing to me, so I'll disregard what may or may not be posted on a website that is attempting to sell product to [b]the general public. I've been to enough Tour events to witness that most Tour players have drivers that appear to be shorter than what is being sold to the recreational golfer. [/b][/color][/b]

[Cwebb]

Stuart Appleby also uses a 44.25" driver, like Sergio does. He says the length in this Callaway what's in the bag clip...

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-jsjITFcGU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-jsjITFcGU[/url]

[gvogel]

I read somewhere that shafts on the Senior Tour were around 46".

I may be an anomaly, but I am straighter with a 46" driver. I need the heavier feel of the longer club to stay smoother. With a shorter driver, I tend to get quick at the top, or do other stupid moves.

I might hit it on the heel once in awhile, but a heel shot is better than lunging at it and leaving the face wide open.

[BlazeOC]

[quote name='gvogel' timestamp='1375492255' post='7594556']
I read somewhere that shafts on the Senior Tour were around 46".

I may be an anomaly, but I am straighter with a 46" driver. I need the heavier feel of the longer club to stay smoother. With a shorter driver, I tend to get quick at the top, or do other stupid moves.

I might hit it on the heel once in awhile, but a heel shot is better than lunging at it and leaving the face wide open.
[/quote]

Yeah I am probably the exact opposite. Kinda neat how that works. I like the lighter feel, the feel that is more like a 1 iron. I have hit the ball more solid since getting it shorter, just feel more consistent ball striking.

[Peter_b]

I can't play longer than 44.5 as the lie gets bad and my face gets closed. Drivers are too upright nowadays.