44 or 45 inch

[Jeany]

Tom Wishon and Frank Thomas are big fans of 44 inch drivers. What do you think?
do you think the extra inch is getting you extra additional yardage... test on humans (not robots) is showing 1-2 yards increase from 44 to 45 inches. Is it worth it?
i think people is forgetting accuracing...

[davevandyk]

I have just recently put my shaft in, playing 44.5" and absolutely love it! Not only am i hitting it more accurately, but i actually am finding that i hit it farther because i am getting more solid contact. I would strongly suggest a driver under 45" because you just have much more control over the club.

[covanant]

Andre just put a driver together for me at 44.
Much easier to control,more fairways hit.

[Chieflongtee]

Tom Wishon and Frank Thomas are big fans of 44 inch drivers. What do you think?
do you think the extra inch is getting you extra additional yardage... test on humans (not robots) is showing 1-2 yards increase from 44 to 45 inches. Is it worth it?
i think people is forgetting accuracing...

You only got part of the statement correct. Tom Wishon does not advocate 44 inch drivers for everyone.. He advocates wrist to floor measurement. In my case my ideal length for a driver is 43.5 inches because of my 34.5 wrist to floor measurement. For you it could be 44. The way you swing at the ball i.e upright ,flat or normal is another factor in the fitting process. Once you find the right length for your body then your chances of hitting the sweet spot are dramatically increased therefore better distance because of more consistant centre hits. We have all been suckered in by marketing i.e longer drivers=longer distance. Simply not true.

[jvincent]

I currently play a 43" steel shafted driver.

Don't underestimate the distance you get from hitting the ball in center of the clubface.

[Chieflongtee]

John. That's what I used this morning and although the conditions were crappy I drove the ball better than ever. My only other choice would be a heavier graphite shaft at 43.5

[Jeany]

so what kind of club lenght would i need?

[Chieflongtee]

We"ll measure tomorrow when you bring the club.

[Jeany]

ok see you tomorrow nice weather outside for golf???????????????????

[Chieflongtee]

ok see you tomorrow nice weather outside for golf???????????????????

Played yesterday. Not that cold today but pretty windy. Oh well I've played with the white stuff coming down. Depressing I know.

[jvincent]

Resurrecting this thread after a visit to Artisan golf to get on the launch monitor with the new sticks.

I just reshafted my woods with Project X's and intentionally made my drivers 44" long to see if I could handle that length with the X's. Well, the launch monitor doesn't lie.

While I made generally OK contact, I was very consistently outside-in with my swing path and open face at contact at 44". As soon as I choked down on the driver to get to ~43" long, both swing path and face angle were much better. I cut them down last night.

Chatting with Don about the results he commented on the number of people who come into the shop with 45" and 46" drivers who just can't control them at that length. He mentioned that he has a really hard time convincing people to go shorter because they are brainwashed into thinking longer is better.

So, if you're struggling with the driver, don't be afraid to lop an inch or so off the end.

[Big Johnny69]

At the Nation you were hitting the ball really well. Good distance, nice little draw, how do you end up with an outside in/open face angle of attack? That doesn't sound like draw material.

[Gropper]

Ok so could you please explain how the distance to the floor from your wrist affects how long the driver shaft should be...is there a ratio??

[jvincent]

At the Nation you were hitting the ball really well. Good distance, nice little draw, how do you end up with an outside in/open face angle of attack? That doesn't sound like draw material.

I chalked it up to two things.

1. I always fight the OTT move. I had one of my better driving days in recent history at Nation, but even then I did manage to hit a couple of wacky ones at Nation. Don't forget that guy diving for cover on #3.

2. Hitting indoors. One of my keys to hitting the draw is to use a target way out there to follow through towards which keeps me on the inside. It's hard to do that inside.

[jvincent]

Ok so could you please explain how the distance to the floor from your wrist affects how long the driver shaft should be...is there a ratio??

There's a chart. If I remember correctly, my chart length suggests 43.75".

However, the important thing about the chart is that it is a starting point. If the chart says 44" and you can't hit it, then go to 43.5 or 43. Hitting it on the center of the face will translate to a lot more distance than the extra inch or so.

As an example, I also hit my 42" 3W on the monitor. It's essentially perfect for me. Pretty much every shot was square and on path. My average 3W swing speed was 95 MPH compared to 100 MPH with the driver. But because I hit them all on center with the 3W, the average distance was only about 5 yards shorter and more importantly only 5 yards off the center line compared to 20 yards with the driver.

[Big Johnny69]

So before cutting shouldn't you have tried to get outside and hit some balls with a shorter demo driver first? This is why if I ever go for a fitting it will be at Haime's only because I can hit balls outside and with the aid of the launch monitor would be able to find my optimum set up.

[jvincent]

Since I've played shorter drivers before and the 44" was a conscious experiment I didn't really need to try it outside.

Just by gripping down I was able to get better results on the monitor so I was comfortable doing it. You guys would have been in real trouble if I had been playing the short driver on Sunday. At least two fewer X's on the card.

[Gropper]

Does any one have a link to a chart that shows this i have 2 drivers one with i think 44.5 that i hit ok and one with 46 that i am all over the place and i know it needs to be cut down but i would like to see what it says.....i guess these means i have to get my wife to measure me up!

[jvincent]

Here you go.

http://www.pga.com/improve/tips/equi...shon080304.cfm

[bobblehead]

My driver has a 45" shaft and it should be 43". I usually choke down a couple of inches when playing. By shortening the shaft by 2", I'm afraid this will change the "feel" of the club. Should I be concerned?

[jvincent]

If you're already choking down you shouldn't feel any difference but a few things will change that you should be aware of.

1. The total weight will be slightly lower.
2. The swingweight will be lower, but you won't notice this because choking up is the same as changing the swingweight.
3. The grip is actually a little smaller when you choke down vs. holding it at the end. This may or may not matter to you.

[bobblehead]

If you're already choking down you shouldn't feel any difference but a few things will change that you should be aware of.

1. The total weight will be slightly lower.
2. The swingweight will be lower, but you won't notice this because choking up is the same as changing the swingweight.
3. The grip is actually a little smaller when you choke down vs. holding it at the end. This may or may not matter to you.

Thanks for the response. So I guess a lighter club would mean increase swing speed
Another quick question...if you shorten your driver by 2" to 43", should you shorten your 3 wood by 2" too. So if your 3 wood is 43", would you want it to be 41"?

[jvincent]

Thanks for the response. So I guess a lighter club would mean increase swing speed
Another quick question...if you shorten your driver by 2" to 43", should you shorten your 3 wood by 2" too. So if your 3 wood is 43", would you want it to be 41"?

It's not so much that it's lighter as it is that the moment of inertia of the club has gone down that often results in higher swing speeds with shorter drivers.

As to the 3W, it depends. I don't believe that they are playing the long club game with the 3W as much, so it may not be 43" to start with. 42" is probably a better length for 3W if you're playing a 43-43.5" driver.

[Chieflongtee]

At 90 miles per hour swing speed there is only a 1.9 yard gap between a 45 and 42 inch driver. Better yet the odds of hitting the 42 inch driver further are better since the odds of hitting the centre of the club face are much higher. I did not say sweet spot because the true sweet spot is about the size of a needle end. Moreover if you have an upright swing a shorter driver will be easier to hit dead on.

[lms]

I just read - The Search for the Perfect Golf Club - $20.58 at Chapters. This is a very good book as you will then understand a lot more about what clubs are good for you and why. If you then do a launch monitor session, you will be a much better educated consumer and be able to make a much more intelligent choice when buying clubs.

But I have a question. Although the distance difference between a 45" and 42" long driver shaft is small if the club head speed is constant, won't a golfer be able to generate more club head speed with a longer shaft, and thus the length difference will go up?

This link will let you enter your measurements and suggest club length, grip size, etc.

http://www.golfsmith.com/ps/oem_ocf.php

[Chieflongtee]

Read page 151.Ball speed at 42 inches is 133. Ball speed at 46 is 133.8.
Carry distance at 42 is 209.7
Carry distance at 46 is 211
shotdispersion at 46 is a lot worse though.

[jvincent]

But I have a question. Although the distance difference between a 45" and 42" long driver shaft is small if the club head speed is constant, won't a golfer be able to generate more club head speed with a longer shaft, and thus the length difference will go up?

If a golfer were a like a mechanical robot and could swing his HANDS at a constant angular speed for any driver length, then yes, a longer club would result in a faster clubhead speed and result in more difference.

However, humans are not robots and many people have found that they can swing shorter clubs faster. Again, this is because we "sense" the weight, flex, and MOI of the club and our body adjusts to it.

Sometimes with counter intuitive results.

[TourIQ]

I just read - The Search for the Perfect Golf Club - $20.58 at Chapters.

Hi Ims

Is that a US or Canadian based Chapters. I looked at that book Friday night and they wanted a lot more for it in the store I was at. Are they still on sale?

[TourIQ]

Read page 151.Ball speed at 42 inches is 133. Ball speed at 46 is 133.8.
Carry distance at 42 is 209.7
Carry distance at 46 is 211
shotdispersion at 46 is a lot worse though.

Hi Chieflongtee

You probably know Bernie from NF2 forum. He claimed 10 yards for each inch.
What would you guess mph swingspeed to generate 300 yards average with roll?

[Big Johnny69]

Hi Chieflongtee

You probably know Bernie from NF2 forum. He claimed 10 yards for each inch.
What would you guess mph swingspeed to generate 300 yards average with roll?

I know a lot has to do with solid contact but tour pros are swinging high 120 mph and low 130 mph and they are averaging over 300 yrds. So it would have to around there somewhere.