Driver length for somebody 5'6"

[Abs777]

What is the ideal length for a driver for someone who is 5'6"? My playing partner is gaming a superfast and I have told him he needs to get it cut down. The top of the grip comes up to his nipples. We were going to cut it down from the top and re-grip.

 

Thanks, Abs.

[Bayou Kato]

[size="3"]There's been frequent discussions of this topic on the Shop forum. Here was one I found, using "wrist to floor" as the search target.
[/size]
[url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/376407-shortening-driver-shaft-any-inpu/page__p__2496492__hl__%22wrist+to+floor%22__fromsearch__1#entry2496492"][size="1"][color="#0000ff"]http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/376407-shortening-driver-shaft-any-inpu/page__p__2496492__hl__%22wrist+to+floor%22__fromsearch__1#entry2496492[/color][/size][/url]

[size="2"]It seems to me that the more relevant measurements from these discussions are 'wrist-to-floor' rather than height; arm length being another variable with height. From that posting, I copied the following which you may find useful. But also from discussions, shortening the club as you describe (butt-trimming) will effect swingweight (if that's important to your friend -- which it may be given it plays into how the club feels). As well, if you take a lot off from the butt, you will likely change the characteristics of the shaft (i.e., it will become more stiff and change the relative location of 'kick point'). So be careful of those things ...

[/size][b][i][u]Copied text:
[/u][/i][/b]Tom Wishon, one of my "gurus" made this chart for driver lengths.
[size="3"][color="#ff0000"]Wrist[/color][/size] [size="3"][color="#ff0000"]to[/color][/size] [size="3"][color="#ff0000"]floor[/color][/size]: Driver length

27 - 29 = 42
29 - 32 = 42.5
32 - 34 = 43
34 - 36 = 43.5
36 - 37 = 44
37 - 38 = 44.25
38 - 39 = 44.5
39 - 40 = 44.75
40 - 41 = 45
41 - 42 = 45.5
over 42 = 46 and up
[b][i][u]end copied text
[/u][/i][/b]
I have been experimenting with this (on some 'playtime' drivers; going very slowly with my better gamers). I fall into the 43.5" range on this chart and I've got three drivers now in the 43.5"-44" range. I also have one at 44.5" (my expensive WRX Rapture v2 BB) and still have my main ride (Cobra) sitting at 45". What did I notice?

[b]Shorter shaft, so far, shorter distance.[/b] But a lot of that may be inconsistency of contact, lack of familiarity with the new length, etc. I did knock a 43.5" Cobra X-speed out into the vicinity of where I have put my 45" version on good hits. Maybe 5-10 yards shorter, but conditions also played a part (wind, dryness/hardness of surface, etc.). My jury is still out on whether the distance loss is permanent. I.e., if I get used to the length and feel and gain confidence that I'll make a good strike (see next point) I may swing faster and regain most if not all the lost distance.

[b]Shorter shaft, so far, more accurate.[/b] I may be not as far as I like, but I'm much more consistent with hitting the fairway. This is what I expected to be true. Now ... interestingly ... the fairway I'm using to judge this is wider and less troubled (i.e., bunkered) at the shorter distance than further down -- longer shots go into the tighter section of the fairway, thus decreasing my chances of staying in the fairway. Still, it is very much the case that my dispersion of shots is much tighter and more 'on line' with where I wanted them to go.

All in all ... I'm still positively inclined to believe a shorter shaft on my driver is a good thing. More testing to come (before I cut my main driver!).

[Cbass]

I'm5'8" but have T-Rex arms, so i use a 43.75" and couldn't be happier!

[eyeguy]

Driver length isn't as critical compared to irons since you aren't suppose to take a divot with a driver. Has he considered an adjustable driver that can be adjusted to 2 degrees flat? That's all that matters really if you are shorter (height wise) than average. Cutting down may or may not help the accuracy and distance. I've cut my drivers down in the past and seem to lose distance every time. If the motivation to cut down the shaft is for better consistency, that makes some sense. but if you look at all the gals in the LPGA who are almost all 5'6" or under, their drivers are standard to the OTR lengths.

The superfast is a 46.25" driver, knocking it down more than 1/2" is going to affect the swingweight and performance significantly. I think he will regret cutting the driver down. If he is not making good contact, some lessons will do more good than not.

[sanderslongdrive]

Driver length is about what one can competently manage. I know a 5ft 1ins. female longdrive competitor who very well manages a 5 degree 48.50" USGA driver. As the driver gets longer it becomes more difficult to manage, but if (and I stress IF) one can handle the extra length than each extra inch can potentially increase SS by 3-4 mph which equates with 10 yards / extra inch. (These figures are for guidance only.)

Head lie never features in driver equasions as the head should NEVER touch the floor when hitting the ball.

[Clifford]

Im 5'8" and im very happy with 44"-44.5" for all my drivers. Just got figure out how much to tip my new PL red

[i_need_strokes]

[quote][color=#1C2837]Head lie never features in driver equasions as the head should NEVER touch the floor when hitting the ball. [/color][/quote]

Thanks, I wondered about this.

[federerfan23]

I TOTALLY disagree that driver length should be judged off height at all.
I am 5"7 and play my driver at 45.75. I hit it better and longer at that length than at 44.5.
I may be in the minority but I am a good ball striker and I just feel I get a lot more out of a longer driver.

[choppstixxx]

[quote name='federerfan23' date='09 July 2010 - 08:28 AM' timestamp='1278682131' post='2564528']
I TOTALLY disagree that driver length should be judged off height at all.
I am 5"7 and play my driver at 45.75. I hit it better and longer at that length than at 44.5.
I may be in the minority but I am a good ball striker and I just feel I get a lot more out of a longer driver.
[/quote]

+1
I am 5'6ish and have a 10.5* 07 TM Burner w/stock R-flex shaft which is quite lengthy. I too thought I needed a shorter shaft, but I hit the ball very accurately and long regardless of me being on the short side using a long shaft.

[Stoogy]

I cut my cobra max speed Driver down by one inch and lost about 10 yards in distance , however my accuracy is much better and I have lowered my handicap down my 3 I’m about 5.6 “ and athletic built but I’m hitting every fairway now 

[KensingtonPark]

I am 5'5" and play all of my at standard lengths (45.75") with flattened lies. So I agree with @federerfan23 @choppstixxx and others above.

[phizzy30]

5'7 here.  I've been playing at 45 inches for many years now.  Best length I've found for distance and accuracy for me. 

 

[Tax77]

5'7, Ive tried 43.5, 44, 44.5, 45.25, 45.75. dispersion is the same. So I hit the 45.75 for the distance. If I have a big miss, its gonna be a longer big miss.

[Jtgavigan]

On 7/9/2010 at 5:28 AM, federerfan23 said:

I TOTALLY disagree that driver length should be judged off height at all.
I am 5"7 and play my driver at 45.75. I hit it better and longer at that length than at 44.5.
I may be in the minority but I am a good ball striker and I just feel I get a lot more out of a longer driver.

 

I am 5'8". I have played 43.5 to 45 for many years. Switched to 45.75 a few months back. Dispersion is the same, and I am longer. This is such an individual decision and there is no one answer. Experiment and see what works for you.

[choppstixxx]

13 hours ago, KensingtonPark said:

I am 5'5" and play all of my at standard lengths (45.75") with flattened lies. So I agree with @federerfan23 @choppstixxx and others above.

I know my original post was from 11+ yrs ago, but I still agree that I have never played any of my drivers at shorter lengths than standard. I recently was fitted for a driver for the first time and while I was fitted for .5" shorter, they said that playing at standard wasn't any issue. I honestly prefer the "standard" length, anything to create a little more lag/distance.

[evoviiiyou]

5’7” here and it’s always 44.5-44.75” for me. Swing weight D5. Center face contact is consistently longest and in the short grass. When I have hit 45.5” or 45.75” just lots of heel strikes and lost distance with spinny pull fades. 44.5” I get lovely push draws all day and can turn the ball the other way slight power cuts. 

[GoGoErky]

48” like Brooke Henderson

[Howard_Jones]

6 minutes ago, GoGoErky said:

48” like Brooke Henderson

She is not playing it to 48" but lowers her hands on the grip quite a lot (many does that)
To me it looks like she playing it to 46" or about that area

[joostin]

5'6" playing at 45".  Tried down to 43.5".  It was fine, but felt like I was missing the extra gear.  I'd rather just choke up if I wanted to go shorter, though I never really choke more than 1/2".  At a driver fitting I was fully expecting to "need" go shorter due to height (before knowing about golfwrx or club building), but they didn't recommend as center contact was good even at 46".  To each his/her own.

 

Btw nice 11 year bump!

[GoGoErky]

16 hours ago, Howard_Jones said:

She is not playing it to 48" but lowers her hands on the grip quite a lot (many does that)
To me it looks like she playing it to 46" or about that area

She’s been playing 48” since 2016

 

https://www.golfchannel.com/article/golf-central-blog/henderson-adds-power-extra-long-driver-shaft

 

https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2021/10/12/lpga-plans-limits-driver-length-brooke-henderson/

[Howard_Jones]

5 minutes ago, GoGoErky said:

She’s been playing 48” since 2016

 

https://www.golfchannel.com/article/golf-central-blog/henderson-adds-power-extra-long-driver-shaft

 

https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2021/10/12/lpga-plans-limits-driver-length-brooke-henderson/

I cant find a Video or photo of her without lowering her hands about 2 inches, and that goes for IRONs too, so she is not really playing a 48" long driver, but a driver of about 46" with 2 inches sticking out of her upper hand.
 

 

[GoGoErky]

1 minute ago, Howard_Jones said:

I cant find a Video or photo of her without lowering her hands about 2 inches, and that goes for IRONs too, so she is not really playing a 48" long driver, but a driver of about 46" with 2 inches sticking out of her upper hand.
 

 

She’s always choked down on every club since she was a kid. She played 45/46” driver until 2016 when she shifted to 48”  and continued to choke down on that. Playing length is 48” 

[Howard_Jones]

2 minutes ago, GoGoErky said:

She’s always choked down on every club since she was a kid. She played 45/46” driver until 2016 when she shifted to 48”  and continued to choke down on that. Playing length is 48” 

Misuse of terms...
Measured length is 48"
Play length is about 46"

[GoGoErky]

45 minutes ago, Howard_Jones said:

Misuse of terms...
Measured length is 48"
Play length is about 46"

Call it whatever you want. She uses a 48” driver 

[Stuart_G]

1 hour ago, GoGoErky said:

Call it whatever you want. She uses a 48” driver 

 

What's the point of making that distinction?   It might measure out to 48" when it's not in her hands, but she doesn't use all of those 48".   What she actually uses is the only thing that matters during the swing.  That applies to everyone.  Choking up or cutting down - there is no difference.

 

Edited October 15, 2021 by Stuart_G

[Howard_Jones]

4 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

 

What's the point of making that distinction?   It might measure out to 48" when it's not in her hands, but she doesn't use all of those 48".   What she actually uses is the only thing that matters during the swing.  That applies to everyone.  Choking up or cutting down - there is no difference.

 

Agree, and just saying she uses a 48" long driver when she plays it as if it was 46" is a big difference and a information that always should follow, since 48" alone with that extra info becomes misleading information. 

[Buzzkill]

Guess I’m the minority here, I’ve cut drivers down 2 to 3” shorter with no distance loss.  Driver distance ~270 yards @ age 62.

[GoGoErky]

3 hours ago, Stuart_G said:

 

What's the point of making that distinction?   It might measure out to 48" when it's not in her hands, but she doesn't use all of those 48".   What she actually uses is the only thing that matters during the swing.  That applies to everyone.  Choking up or cutting down - there is no difference.

 

People can play whatever semantics they want with playing length or measured length or anything in between. She increased the length of her driver and gained significant yardage while choking down.

 

She plays a 48” driver choked down or not. My driver is 46” if I choke down for any reason it’s still 46” and still plays 46” even if at that point my hands are at 44.5.

 

 

[woodriff]

For the original OP many years ago. I’m 5’7 and play my driver at 43. But there’s nothing wrong with playing it at 45 inches and choking up. I also play my 3 and 5 woods at 43 inches.

[Fenrir]

I’m 6’ tall and I played 44” with old driver and 46” with new driver, I’m gripping down as much as I can as I find it helps my keep it in the fairway or at least in play, only reason I haven’t cut down shaft yet is I’m trying to figure out headweight and if I need to buy a kit (PXG), or if I just should switch out shaft.

I think 45” would probably be best at my height/arm length.