Stiffness of driver shaft after being cut down

[Cowan]

Hi,

Looking to re-shaft a driver for a friend. He needs a driver shaft around 42 inches long and he has about a 90mph clubhead speed. Looking to get him in a regular shaft but not sure if i get a regular shaft cut down will it become stiff? Should I look into getting a senior shaft cut down so that it becomes regular? Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks

[Chieflongtee]

Get him an A flex if you are not going to fool with the head weight. If you are going to reswingweight the amount of weight added will offset the added stiffness caused by the shorter shaft.

[1972Apex]

Be advised that shortening a driver by 3 inches with any standard weight head is going to reduce the swingweight by about 20 points. In general you need to add 8 grams of weight for each 1/2 inch of reduction in length. That means to shorten a driver by 3 inches you will need to add 48 grams of weight to the head. That amount of weight added anywhere is going to seriously affect the design characteristics of the clubhead. You can get some of that back if you use a steel or heavier weight graphite shaft, but IMHO that is just too short. I would look for a driver head which is designed for a short shaft if you really want to go that short.

[Chieflongtee]

You're right Reid. However some newer clubs on the market are made with longer lighter shafts and lighter heads to make it a standard D2. Not necessarily a winning combo. A 90 gram shaft with 10-15 gram added to the head might be better than the long ski poles they are selling these days

swingweight

The swingweight changes:
Shaft weight (20 grams lighter): -2 swingweights
Grip weight (no change): 0 swingweights
Club length (1" longer): +6 swingweights

[Cowan]

Thanks for the imput. I was also told that if i were to cut the end of the shaft it makes it whippier but if you cut the tip it makes it stiffer. I am trying to reshaft a Titliest 983K so it is a bore through model. So they told me to get a stiff shaft cut it down 2 inches and make him choke up an inch. Does this make sense? I had always thought of it as the opposite way. Cutting it makes it whippier?

[1972Apex]

If you cut either end of the shaft it will make it stiffer in most cases. However cutting the tip will make it much stiffer than cutting the butt.
In this case, if you do not add weight to the head to bring the swingweight back up, the shaft will be MUCH STIFFER no matter how you cut it due to the much lighter swingweight. If you add the weight to the head to bring the swingweight back to where it was (probably D1 or 2) the effect on flex will be nominal, particularly if you cut it at the butt.
The only real reason to pull the shaft and cut it at the tip would be if you WANTED to make is significantly stiffer.

[1972Apex]

BTW, I would not cut it to 42 or cut it to 43 and tell him to choke up. I'd just cut it to 43 or 43.5 and tell him to grip and swing normally. 2 inches off the shaft will make a big difference and provide much more accuracy and consistent contact.
Driver lengths are not normally made to height. When I signed for Mi Hyun Kim at the Canadian Open at the Hunt Club she was using a driver that was 47" long and she is well under 5' tall. It did not stop her from consistently whacking it out there about 270-280