Impact of shortening driver shaft?

[Elrik]

Hi folks. Sorry for the newbie question, but I was wondering what would be the impact of shortening the shaft of my driver.

I have a 9.5-loft Taylormade 580 with a regular flex shaft that I swing fairly well. However, having somewhat of an upright swing (with the occasional slice if I try to go for too much) I would feel more comfortable if it could be shortened from its 45 inch length to 43 or 44 inches (I hit my irons a whole lot better than my woods for that reason!)

Now I know that the cynics will say that I should change my swing and not my club , but I was wondering what impact doing so will have on flight, distance, trajectory, etc. Will shortening the shaft of a driver basically make it equivalent to a 3-wood, or would there still be advantages to hitting such a driver over a 3-wood?

Thx

Elrik

[Big Johnny69]

Two things Elrik:

1) By shortening the driver you will most likely give yourself more control, thus better contact.

2) By shortening the driver you will lose clubhead speed because of the shorter shaft.

But here's the good news. Because you will probably be making better contact (centre face contact) the ball will travel pretty much as far as some of your drives now. The loss in distance should be marginal, but would you rather not be straighter and a little shorter than longer and all over the place?

I'd say it would be a great idea, go for it. But don't cut it all the way down to 43" just yet. See if you can go to GT and get the proshop guy to cut it down just a bit to start and see how you hit. And keep trying with small increments until you find your most consistent length.

Hope this helps.

[Weirfan]

shortening a driver will and can have a number of effects.

first , you will reduce the staic weight marginally, but depending on how much you cut off it could be a factor.

You reduce the swingweight ( how head heavy a club feels) by 6 sw points for every inch you cut......most TM drivers are swing weighted D2...so one inche will take you to C6 and 2 inches to C0.......while some will argue that swingweight is just a number these amounts are significant and ill advised IMO.....how much really depends on your swing...of course head weight can be added in a number of ways.

Also , you will make the shaft marginally stiffer..again whether of not this effects you and how depends.

Most people will do better with a shorter driver that is adjusted properly for the above factors...not all though. Some people do better with longer shafted drivers than shorter.....I am one that is better ( longer and typicall straighter) with a 46 inch driver than a 44 inch driver and I am only 5 foot 5????

what I would do is get some impact labels or tape and choke down the driver and hit it and see what you get for center contact pattern on the face and direction....take it from there.

with an upright swing you will likely do better with shorter than someone with a flat swing

[Elrik]

Thanks Geoff for the advice. Certainly seems worth it. Distance isn't all that it is cracked up to be. I used to joke to people that, with my new driver at the time, I had never hit it so far... into the woods!

Elrik

[Golfbum]

I play a 44" driver and have no problems with distance. Do I hit it 300 + all day? Uhhhhhhh no. But I am comfortable at that length of driver and it works for me. What you might want to try before cutting the shaft is just playing a few rounds and making yourself grip down an inch to see what happens. Might give you an indication of the control you will gain by shortening the shaft.
Just a thought

[danscustom]

Do you know what your WTF measurement is?
I personally enjoy the 'shorter driver scenerio', but still find I actually can gain distance due to more on center hits.

[larry]

Frank Thomas on the Golf Channel site agrees that most golfers would benifit by going to a 44 or 43 inch driver. He suggests that rather than cutting the shaft down, you choke down an inch or two. If that seems to work better, then go ahead and shorten it. I started choking down on my driver last summer and found I was hitting more fairways. But I decided not to cut the shaft so that when I come to a wide open fairway or need an extra 5 or 10 yards, I can move my hands up and go for it.

[downhillslider]

Two things Elrik:

1) By shortening the driver you will most likely give yourself more control, thus better contact.

2) By shortening the driver you will lose clubhead speed because of the shorter shaft.

But here's the good news. Because you will probably be making better contact (centre face contact) the ball will travel pretty much as far as some of your drives now. The loss in distance should be marginal, but would you rather not be straighter and a little shorter than longer and all over the place?

I'd say it would be a great idea, go for it. But don't cut it all the way down to 43" just yet. See if you can go to GT and get the proshop guy to cut it down just a bit to start and see how you hit. And keep trying with small increments until you find your most consistent length.

Hope this helps.

Sorry Geoff, but you are more than likley to INCREASE your CHS. I understand where you are comming from but it does not work that way. use the example of a 47"dr. compared to a 44"dr. It will physically take more time for the head to arrive at the ball for the longer clud based on the fact that there is a longer distance to cover and also that the shorter shaft will be easyer to control overall.

Sush is not the case with every one but surely for the majority.

I've got a new toy, so you and I should Play with it this coming season. You will be quite impressed !

[jonf]

Sorry Geoff, but you are more than likley to INCREASE your CHS. I understand where you are comming from but it does not work that way. use the example of a 47"dr. compared to a 44"dr. It will physically take more time for the head to arrive at the ball for the longer clud based on the fact that there is a longer distance to cover and also that the shorter shaft will be easyer to control overall.

Sush is not the case with every one but surely for the majority.

I've got a new toy, so you and I should Play with it this coming season. You will be quite impressed !

Assuming the motion of the swing is the same with a 44 vs a 47 (which is the only way to make a useful comparison), the clubhead speed will be greater on the 47. It is, as you said, covering a greater distance, but it should be doing so in the exact same amount of time.

[BC MIST]

Assuming the motion of the swing is the same with a 44 vs a 47 (which is the only way to make a useful comparison), the clubhead speed will be greater on the 47. It is, as you said, covering a greater distance, but it should be doing so in the exact same amount of time.

If the motion of the club head is deemed to be circular then the head a golf club with a radius of 47" will be moving faster then one of 44" in radius. The circumference of the 47" radius circle (295") is larger than the circumference of a 44" circle, (276") and if the time to impact is the same for both, CHS will have to be higher by about 7% with the longer club.

However, one other factor to consider is the golfer's ability to swing to impact, in the same time, regardless of what length club is being used. For the club to travel a longer distance, in the same time, the golfer must swing with more effort(work). Young and strong guys can do it, but we older farts would not likely be able to do this and so swinging a longer club for us would not result in higher CHS, and may actually diminish it.

Regardless, if golfers choose the longest club with which they can hit the sweet spot most of the time, their distance will be maximized. For most it will be a shorter than expected length. Truism: While the longest drive may be achieved with the longest club, your longest average drive will be achieved with a shorter club.

[Big Johnny69]

Sorry Geoff, but you are more than likley to INCREASE your CHS. I understand where you are comming from but it does not work that way. use the example of a 47"dr. compared to a 44"dr. It will physically take more time for the head to arrive at the ball for the longer clud based on the fact that there is a longer distance to cover and also that the shorter shaft will be easyer to control overall.

Sush is not the case with every one but surely for the majority.

I've got a new toy, so you and I should Play with it this coming season. You will be quite impressed !

I understand what you are saying as well Les. BC sums it up best in the above reply.

Like you said, its for the majority. For the average golfer you are correct, they'll probably gain CHS due to more control. My mistake not taking into account the "average" golfer. Here I am thinking about low cappers and tours. Those that have repeatable and sound swings. For them, with a shorter shaft, they will lose CHS. But for the "average" golfer, they could possibly gain CHS.

And as for the new toy, I'm interested. LMK and we'll meet up.

[Chieflongtee]

Have you given any thought to the following?

(I hit my irons a whole lot better than my woods for that reason!)

Most do. Length plays a big part in it but you do better because of higher loft angles.

Will shortening the shaft of a driver basically make it equivalent to a 3-wood, or would there still be advantages to hitting such a driver over a 3-wood?

The answer is no because you have different lofts in both clubs. 5.5 degrees of lot makes a huge difference in ball flight and backspin

Thx

Elrik

[Marcos]

How about just gripping down on the shaft.You could keep your club intact (think resale value)and it would not affect the stiffness of the shaft(club makers have told me not to cut graphite shafts)And last if this does not work you have not ruined your driver and save yourself a few bucks.

[BC MIST]

How about just gripping down on the shaft.You could keep your club intact (think resale value)and it would not affect the stiffness of the shaft(club makers have told me not to cut graphite shafts)And last if this does not work you have not ruined your driver and save yourself a few bucks.

The shaft will PLAY stiffer when you are swinging it, choked down.

[downhillslider]

I understand what you are saying as well Les. BC sums it up best in the above reply.

Like you said, its for the majority. For the average golfer you are correct, they'll probably gain CHS due to more control. My mistake not taking into account the "average" golfer. Here I am thinking about low cappers and tours. Those that have repeatable and sound swings. For them, with a shorter shaft, they will lose CHS. But for the "average" golfer, they could possibly gain CHS.

And as for the new toy, I'm interested. LMK and we'll meet up.

My words or my typing skills do not flow as elquently as the BC'ers do but, yes, he does put what I was trying convey in perspective. You will notice in his reply the minor increase in actual swingspeed. For the sake of the few extra yards you would gain as opposed to the control you would experience wich would result in a staighter drive more often, I think the trade-off is well worth it.Hell, in most cases it's not even a trade off.

[downhillslider]

How about just gripping down on the shaft.You could keep your club intact (think resale value)and it would not affect the stiffness of the shaft(club makers have told me not to cut graphite shafts)And last if this does not work you have not ruined your driver and save yourself a few bucks.

Interesting comments. I would like to know the reasons for not cutting a graphite shaft and, how does this ruin your driver ?

[Kona Golf]

It does not RUIN your Driver, depending on how much you trim, but it does change it in Swingweight, Stiffness and most importantly Feel!

[downhillslider]

Sorry Kona, I should have specified that I was wanted Marcos's reply.

[Hivee]

First comment of a newbe.

If you shorten driver length by 1 inch, thus reducing swing weight by 6 points, is it acceptable to add tungsten powder (or such like) to raise swing weight to pre cut Driver length values?

[Chieflongtee]

First comment of a newbe.

If you shorten driver length by 1 inch, thus reducing swing weight by 6 points, is it acceptable to add tungsten powder (or such like) to raise swing weight to pre cut Driver length values?

My opinion. Try it first without adding weight. If that does not work out then add weight progressively until you find the sw that is right for you.

[Weirfan]

First comment of a newbe.

If you shorten driver length by 1 inch, thus reducing swing weight by 6 points, is it acceptable to add tungsten powder (or such like) to raise swing weight to pre cut Driver length values?

6 swing weight points is a noticeable change, what that change does and means is relative to the individual......it could make things better, worse or do nothing................

swing weight is just a number . It is not a primary fitting paramete at all and is a result of the assembly process only, so dont be too concerned about it. Total weight is a more important variable.


all that sais there are a few ways to increase the swing weight of a club if you need to and tungston is one of them, but I advice against adding it down a graphite shaft, any material above the hosel top increases the risk of shaft failure

[leftylucas]

Or just trade in your 580 for an R5 TP (same size head) or R7425 and adjust your head weight to match up to your precut SW. I am pretty sure that you can use the smaller weights because head weight is measured differently from shaft weight on the SW scale. I am not sure and someone will pipe in with the correct ratio but I recall 2g of head weight = 1 SW whereas 6g of shaft weight = 1 SW.

[downhillslider]

Or just trade in your 580 for an R5 TP (same size head) or R7425 and adjust your head weight to match up to your precut SW. I am pretty sure that you can use the smaller weights because head weight is measured differently from shaft weight on the SW scale. I am not sure and someone will pipe in with the correct ratio but I recall 2g of head weight = 1 SW whereas 6g of shaft weight = 1 SW.

.

It all depends on the total weight and weight distribution of said shaft.