44 inch driver.....WOW!

[Flyers99]

So, I have been playing drivers at about 45 inches forever. When they started making 45.5-46 drivers I was cutting them down to 45. I have never been a great driver of the ball in terms of distance and hitting the sweet spot so I wanted them no longer than 45.

 

On most days, I get about 5 yards more out of my driver than my 3 wood and many times actually less due to be able to hit the sweet spot of the 3 wood consistently.

 

I broke my driver shaft over a winter round and bout a replacement for it 2 months ago. So by dumb luck, I the seller said it played to 45.5 inches in their driver so I planned to trim down. However, when I got the shaft it was actually an inch shorter than the one I had in the SD making the driver play at 44 inches.

 

I decided to give it a try and have used it for about 6 weeks and I am hitting it great. Most drives are now 10-15 yards longer than my 3 wood and I am hitting the sweet spot more.

 

I realize, all things equal, a 45/46 inch driver will go further than a 44 inch but man I am hitting the sweet spot on a regular basis now. If I took my total yardage on my 10-14 drives a round my total yardage would be signifigantly more with the shorter shaft. Plus I now have the confidence of hitting the fairway with my driver which clears the first mental hurdle of eacj hole

 

I am excited now to pull the driver and cannot believe the dumb luck that I stumbled upon to try this setup.

[CassinoNorth]

I think most people, especially weekenders would benefit greatly from this advice. I've began choking up an inch this season regularly and am driving the ball fantastically so far.

[banz23]

I also play a 44" driver and don't think I'll ever go back to playing a 45". The manufactures keep making the shafts longer to get more distance since the COR is maxed out. With the shorter shaft I can consistently hit the sweet spot and can swing with more confidence. I remember reading last week that Sergio plays a 43" shaft. Anyone else know what the typical tour pro plays?

[feedlotdoc]

I recently purchased a VR Pro II head and put the shaft from my 3 wood in it. Bingo, finding the sweet spot on almost every swing. So I took my "good" driver to my pro and had him cut it down by 1", should be at 44.5" now, but I haven't measured it. I have only played one round and one short range session, but I feel that I am just as long, but straighter now and seem to be hitting the sweet spot more consistently. It is also longer than the Nike too. If it doesn't work out, I still have a back up shaft in my garage and I can go to the original length. Time will tell, but so far am liking this a lot!

[jsanatx]

had almost the exact thing happen to me, bought a Fubuki Alpha for my 910 and it played at 44". Took it out for a spin and immediately started hitting more fairways consistently. My distance also improved. Hit 77% of FWs last week, unfortunately i still need to work on my approach shots.

[DevilDog]

Tom WIshon should ring in on this. A longer driver doesn't always mean better if you struggle to square it up and hit the center of the face consistently. He has some great data on it.

[WT Door]

I went shorter early last year and found that my swing speed actually went up a couple of mph. This is counter to basic physics so it's fairly obvious that I simply swing the slightly shorter length more effectively than the longer ones.

To address the question above about PGA driver length, I read not long ago that the average driver length on tour is 44.5" but I can't recall the source to cite it.

[MMB1500]

I moved to a 44" driver and used it for over a year, but I'm actually going back to a 45" as it just worked better for me. Admittedly I am 6'4" tall, so that may be a factor, but I just found I was actually more accurate with a 45" and maybe a fraction longer. In general I agree that shorter is better and it's insane to see friends who are a good amount shorter than me (in terms of height) using 46" drivers - invariably with limited success. All I'll say is, shorter is not always better for everyone.

[bag302]

Been playing 45" but I'm afraid to cut my shaft down to try 44"

[slide13]

Yeah, I'm around 44.25" but I choke down a little typically so I play it more like a 43.5" probably. Love it, never want a longer driver. After that experience I trimmed down my 3-wood and hybrid as well...been incredibly helpful on both and I have seen no loss of distance overall.

Am thinking of upgrading my 909 to a new 913 driver and if I do I'll be ordering it at 44" for sure.

[ampeep]

I have a 44" HiBore XL 2 wood, a Diablo Edge shortended 1/2" to 45", and a Ft-iZ which came @ 45". It's impossible to find a stock driver that's less than 45 1/2" nowdays, which is unfortunate.

I wish manufacturers would make clubs at 44" or 44 1/2" & quit making them ever longer.

[ode1]

44.5" for me, no problems handling a 45" but much over that the results get worse and worse.

[JLo_73]

Same here at 44.25" and never hit the driver better. Just seems to help me control the ball better and keep me out of trouble.

Maybe I should do the same with my putter....

[kloyd0306]

[quote name='DevilDog' timestamp='1366307420' post='6872351']
Tom WIshon should ring in on this. A longer driver doesn't always mean better if you struggle to square it up and hit the center of the face consistently. He has some great data on it.
[/quote]
Agreed. His research, using a robot set at 90mph and five different length shafts (42 to 46) found that the extra carry gained by the 46 inch vs the 42 inch shaft was a hefty 4 feet! The major OEMs are NOT helping the average handicap golfer with 46 inch shafts.

[OrangeCrush]

I have been playing my driver at 44.5 for 5+ years and I am 6'5. I generate enough distance that I chose accuracy over distance. The last 3rd of the season I revamped my grip/setup and I am hitting more accurate shots then I ever did. I am even willing to try a 44in driver.

I play with another WRX'r who is 5'10 and he plays a 43.5 driver that he SMOKES mid 300yds!

[KWig]

Do most guys who play shorter length drivers use heavier shafts in them as well? Just curious that if you use a shorter shaft, will the decrease in overall club weight cause problems?

Thanks!

KW

[Tellsch]

I think the only challenge with this would be swingweight. If you are starting with a driver that plays 46" long and you cut it 2" shorter, that is a huge change (12 SW points). You would need to add ~22-24 grams to the head to get it back to where it started. At that weight, you are making your shaft play roughly a full flex weaker. Depending how long your driver is to start with and where you like your swingweight, I think you would need to combo tip/butt trim in order to keep the club playing to a similar CPM.

If you are one that is not sensitive to swingweight, then maybe this is not an issue at all. Just something to think about.

[jsanatx]

My Fubuki Alpha plays at 63g and like i stated before, it is very accurate and i've actually gained a few yards.

[station2station]

All of this.

I'm playing a 44.25" driver going forward.

A couple years back I had a similar situation where I threw a VooDoo SVR7 pull into a OG Rapture head. It ended up being just over 44" and freaky light C8 - and it was a war hammer. Why I ever went back to to 45.75" I have no idea.

Swingweight is largely irrelevant. This club felt great. I've always felt like swing weight matters more in irons (at least for me). I've played drivers that weigh between C8 and D5. Non-issue.

[RichieHunt]

The problem with choking up is that it can throw the balance of the club off.

Last Fall I decided to make my driver a 44-3/8" long. My initial driver looked like this:

45-1/8" shaft
UST Mamiya VTS Silver 6x
321 grams static weight
2,825 kg/cm^2 MOI
D-3.8 swingweight

When I first trimmed it (from the butt section) I found to get the MOI and swingweight where I wanted it, I had to add a lot of weight to the head.

Instead of doing that, I decided to try the 44-3/8" long club, but with a heavier shaft that had virtually the same bend profile.

I found that UST Mamiya makes the VTS in different weights that have similar bend profiles. In the end I wound up with the following:

44-3/8" driver
UST Mamiya VTS [u]Red 7x[/u]
334 grams static weight
2,825 kg/cm*2 MOI
D-4.1 swingweight

I was curious as to how this would impact distance since I was using a 3/4" shorter club and the weight was 13 grams heavier.

In the end I found that I lost on average about 1 mph of clubhead speed. BUT, my launch angle improved and I could hit it further [i]on average[/i] than my longer driver shaft. And I was entirely more accurate and precise.







RH

[RichieHunt]

[quote name='Tellsch' timestamp='1366378955' post='6877395']
I think the only challenge with this would be swingweight. If you are starting with a driver that plays 46" long and you cut it 2" shorter, that is a huge change (12 SW points). You would need to add ~22-24 grams to the head to get it back to where it started. At that weight, you are making your shaft play roughly a full flex weaker. Depending how long your driver is to start with and where you like your swingweight, I think you would need to combo tip/butt trim in order to keep the club playing to a similar CPM.

If you are one that is not sensitive to swingweight, then maybe this is not an issue at all. Just something to think about.
[/quote]

If you can add some shaft weight it will help you with the swingweight issue without having to add a ton of weight to the head. The key is finding a similar shaft bend profile while having a heavier shaft.





RH

[SadTrombone]

I've got one of those drivers with the adjustable weight screws (TM R11 - "old school"). If I were to hack it down to 44-ish inches, could I make the swingweight up by putting heavier screws in the head or would I be, ahem, "screwed"?

[Tellsch]

[quote name='RichieHunt' timestamp='1366379590' post='6877471']
If you can add some shaft weight it will help you with the swingweight issue without having to add a ton of weight to the head. The key is finding a similar shaft bend profile while having a heavier shaft.

RH
[/quote]

I agree, but if you go by the general rule of thumb, it take ~9 grams of shaft weight to equal 1 SW point. I know this will vary on shaft balance points, but all things equal, this should apply.

Really my main point was that there is more to this than just cutting an inch or two from the butt. I would ease into it as you can always cut off more and I personally like to avoid extenders if possible. That is the beauty of blowing on/off grips...but that is another topic.

[Tellsch]

[quote name='minitour' timestamp='1366379840' post='6877499']
I've got one of those drivers with the adjustable weight screws (TM R11 - "old school"). If I were to hack it down to 44-ish inches, could I make the swingweight up by putting heavier screws in the head or would I be, ahem, "screwed"?
[/quote]

Absolutely! Read here for some guidelines on swingweight: [url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/44071-swing-weight-factors-in-relation-to-parts/"]http://www.golfwrx.c...ation-to-parts/[/url]

Need to keep in mind the impact on shaft flex though, the more weight you add to the head, the softer the shaft becomes (assuming butt trimming only).

[TomWishon]

[quote name='Flyersby99' timestamp='1366303694' post='6871977']
I decided to give it a try and have used it for about 6 weeks and I am hitting it great. Most drives are now 10-15 yards longer than my 3 wood and I am hitting the sweet spot more.

I realize, all things equal, a 45/46 inch driver will go further than a 44 inch but man I am hitting the sweet spot on a regular basis now. If I took my total yardage on my 10-14 drives a round my total yardage would be signifigantly more with the shorter shaft. Plus I now have the confidence of hitting the fairway with my driver which clears the first mental hurdle of eacj hole

I am excited now to pull the driver and cannot believe the dumb luck that I stumbled upon to try this setup.
[/quote]

Good for you and glad you "took the plunge" to go shorter. What you are seeing is precisely what the vast majority of players see when they go shorter from the current industry "standards" of 45-46+".

We teach clubmakers in our writings from our fitting research that the ONLY golfers who can possibly do well with a driver of 45" or longer are those with each of the following swing characteristics - 1) inside out to square swing path; 2) gradual transition force with smoother tempo; 3) later to very late release; 4) good over all golf athletic ability with a consistent swing rhythm.

If the golfer doesn't have all of those going for him, then he is going to be much better off overall with a 44" or shorter length driver.

TOM

[station2station]

[quote name='TomWishon' timestamp='1366381019' post='6877613']
1) inside out to square swing path; 2) gradual transition force with smoother tempo; 3) later to very late release; 4) good over all golf athletic ability with a consistent swing rhythm.

TOM
[/quote]

All the more reason for me to go 44'ish. I fit none of the above criteria…

[Lord Helmet]

I dealt with a GD Top100 fitter for driver fitting. My optimal driver length was spot on 44". Had my driver cut down to 44" and bam! What a difference (was originally 45"). I lost my way, started ho'ing again, and forgot about that. My driving got less and less consistant until I remembered the magic 44" number. Forgot I had that Cally driver, and found it under my desk (dont ask), and have been bombing it on the range this year (when I say bombing, thats about 260 for me - Im a short knocker I know)!

Now if I could stop sucking at my irons my game would be complete!

[jsanatx]

[quote name='Lord Helmet' timestamp='1366382497' post='6877731']
I dealt with a GD Top100 fitter for driver fitting. My optimal driver length was spot on 44". Had my driver cut down to 44" and bam! What a difference (was originally 45").

Now if I could stop sucking at my irons my game would be complete!
[/quote]

and after you cut it down, what was the swing weight or cpm or did your launch angle change, etc?

[Lord Helmet]

[quote name='jsanatx' timestamp='1366382708' post='6877761']
[quote name='Lord Helmet' timestamp='1366382497' post='6877731']
I dealt with a GD Top100 fitter for driver fitting. My optimal driver length was spot on 44". Had my driver cut down to 44" and bam! What a difference (was originally 45").

Now if I could stop sucking at my irons my game would be complete!
[/quote]

and after you cut it down, what was the swing weight or cpm or did your launch angle change, etc?
[/quote]

Prior to cut it was a D3. After it was a D0 or something like that. This was a Diablo Edge Tour w/ Aldila Habanero S flex. I really didnt notice a difference in the weight to be honest. I did find the sweet spot on the face more and honestly, got a few yards out of it from hitting center face. I was also more consistant. Launch conditions I dont recall. This is a trip down memory lane for me, and Im glad I re-discovered it. The DET is back in the bag. My SS after cutting down was right at 100.

[station2station]

a reduction of 6 points per inch of shaft length trimming. (3 point reduction per .5")