42" Driver

[CaddyShack3]

I have been reading a lot about cutting down drivers lately and have finally made the choice to cut down one of my old drivers to see how it goes. I have an older Titleist 983k, 8.5* that currently is 45.5". I am contemplating cutting it down to either 43" or 42". I am not tall, 5'7", so I am not too concerned about it being short. I have always felt slightly awkward hitting drivers that are 44"+. It always feels like a wider swing which is much different than my irons swing which is very upright. My plan was to cut it off the butt end and simply replace the grip. So question is, should I go 43" or 42"?

 

I am intrigued to see how length is affected and to see the accuracy vs. an iron. If I can locate the ball like I can my irons, I would easily give up 10-20 yards.

[TexMex36]

I know a lot of people who are going shorter (44-44.5) but 42" is the length of a 5 wood. If you are looking to hit the ball straighter I would use a driver with more loft. Maybe around 10-12 degrees of loft. I'd keep the length of the shaft no shorter then 44 inches as well. My 3 wood is at 43" and I hit a nice tight draw with it off the tee, but I feel that the 15 degrees of loft is the reason for this. I'm 5'7 as well. Loft is your friend, the more you have the straighter you will hit it.

[CaddyShack3]

I play a 10.5* for my gamer driver so maybe this is more of just an experiment. Would be interesting to see the distance on a 43" 3 wood vs. 43" driver.

[TexMex36]

I think a 13* driver head at 43" would be awesome! I've been wanting to try something like this. I hit my 3 wood around 230-240 yards and straight but I would love to find something I could move around 260+ off the tee and just as straight.

[matchavez]

Man, that's awesome. You'll be losing length, as you well know, but I love the experiment!

Clubs weren't always 45+". Is it better for distance? Yep. Distance sells. Accuracy drops strokes.

[CaddyShack3]

CelticFan, that's really what I would be going for I think. Having a driver that I can be confident is 260+ and can land right where I want would be great for me game. Of all the holes in a round that you hit driver on, 260+, right in the middle of the fairway would be good for me.

I have heard a lot about when you are confident in the placement of your driver, it allows you to really "swing for the fences", resulting in solid distance with good accuracy.

[EJ Mac]

I had one at 1 time and it made it through one round. It was a hooking machine. Could have been the Indian but the same driver with a different shaft at factory length was in the bag that day as well and I was not hooking it.

[sammhk]

i went with a 44.5" driver...was thinking about 44", but after talking with my pro, we decided on .5", and if that hadn't worked out, i could have always gone shorter. think that's probably the best bet, take .5" or 1" at a time, and play those lengths until you get to the length that's right for you. if you blow on the grips, than you won't have to worry about spending extra money. worked for me.

[pingpring]

The way I understand it, at some point you start to mess with the bend profile of the shaft when you go that low. Could anyone chime in whether it would be wise to drop a flex when you go down 3" in driver shaft length and where you would start to tip vs butt cut. You probably wouldn't lose as much length off the tee as you think because 1. you'd probably be finding the center of the face more frequently and 2. if you did drop to a lighter flex but tip it you'd get a better launch and penetrating trajectory.

[HackerD]

Could you use a 3-wood shaft with driver head to overcome bend profile issue? (Possibly with stiffer nominal flex to account for heavier head.) Someone had posted in a different thread on the same general subject, using a Razr Fit 3-wood shaft in their Razr Fit driver.

[johnstone610]

im 5'7 i play 43 3/4 and have gone down as low as 43.5. I think you should start around 43.5 and go down from there. 45.5-43.5 makes the driver feel super short and I love it. I lost no distance cutting my driver down.

[Lord Helmet]

Id start in the 43" range first as others have suggested. g luck OP.

I cut my 3w down .75 inches and the SW dropped a bit - so I had to lead tape the head to get it back up to D1 where I like it. If you cut that much off your driver, you will probably have to do something with the weighting. Again, start small, you can always cut more off - and as mentioned, blow the grips on to save money, or you will have to buy a few grips as you continue to experiment.

g luck!

[CaddyShack3]

Made my decision, going with 43.5" to start and then going from there. If Tiger can swing a 43" at his stature, I don't think I will have an issue going lower, but as many have said, you can't add shaft back.

[PixlPutterman]

[quote name='pingpring' timestamp='1371192262' post='7238152']
The way I understand it, at some point you start to mess with the bend profile of the shaft when you go that low. Could anyone chime in whether it would be wise to drop a flex when you go down 3" in driver shaft length and where you would start to tip vs butt cut. You probably wouldn't lose as much length off the tee as you think because 1. you'd probably be finding the center of the face more frequently and 2. if you did drop to a lighter flex but tip it you'd get a better launch and penetrating trajectory.
[/quote]

As long as you have a smooth transition I would definitely recommend it, I would also go up in weight.

As you can see from my sig I have steel in my driver, I play it a shade under 43 and lost zero distance, I'm in a much better posture/slot and can easily go after it with out losing control.

OP, I too have a 983k, with steel though, play it at 43 and its AWESOME

[matchavez]

[quote name='CaddyShack3' timestamp='1371225460' post='7240958']
Made my decision, going with 43.5" to start and then going from there. If Tiger can swing a 43" at his stature, I don't think I will have an issue going lower, but as many have said, you can't add shaft back.
[/quote]

Actually, you can add an insert...