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  1. #1
    Albatross goliath is on a distinguished road goliath's Avatar
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    Trimming a driver shafts. Effect on swing weight?

    So pulled the trigger on a great deal on eBay for a g15 driver with an x stiff prolaunch red shaft which is just perfect for me without breaking the bank.
    Only problem is that the shaft is 46 inches and I play 45 or less so looking to get it trimmed at the same time as it gets regripped.

    Will this effect swing weight ? I like the heavy feeling head so don't wanna ruin that.

  2. #2
    Hall of Fame jvincent is on a distinguished road jvincent's Avatar
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    Yes, trimming an inch will lower the swingweight. If you want to add some weight back to the head lead tape is your friend.

    That being said, you may not even notice it so just cut the 1" off and try it out.
    Not fat anymore. Need to get better at golf now!

  3. #3
    3 Wood stone_bone is on a distinguished road stone_bone's Avatar
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    1" is about 6 swingweight points which is quite significant. Not sure if you have a grip in mind but a lighter grip will help to bring the swingweight back up if you don't wanna use lead tape.

    The Winn lites are about 1/2 the weight of a regular rubber grip which will add about 5 swingweight points.
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  4. #4
    Hall of Fame jvincent is on a distinguished road jvincent's Avatar
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    IMHO going to a light grip doesn't help that much. All it is doing is fooling the SW scale.
    Not fat anymore. Need to get better at golf now!

  5. #5
    Golf Padawan nokids is on a distinguished road nokids's Avatar
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    I asked this same question to the Callaway fitters and they called their service center and recommended I do not shave 1 inch off the grip part of my stiff shaft because it make the shaft xstiff or more. They suggested I send my driver back to Callaway and ask Callaway (make an order) to build me a driver with the length I desired (44" or 45"). They said Callaway would probably shave both sides of the shaft (half inch at the grip, and half inch at the hosel area) so that the physics of the club were balanced. It wouldn't cost me anything except I'd be without a driver for a week.
    You only get out of something what you put into it

  6. #6
    3 Wood stone_bone is on a distinguished road stone_bone's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nokids View Post
    I asked this same question to the Callaway fitters and they called their service center and recommended I do not shave 1 inch off the grip part of my stiff shaft because it make the shaft xstiff or more. They suggested I send my driver back to Callaway and ask Callaway (make an order) to build me a driver with the length I desired (44" or 45"). They said Callaway would probably shave both sides of the shaft (half inch at the grip, and half inch at the hosel area) so that the physics of the club were balanced. It wouldn't cost me anything except I'd be without a driver for a week.
    Yes shortening a club will stiffen it however when trimming from the butt (stiffest part of the shaft) you are not really affecting the overall characteristics of the shaft. Also a shorter club has to have a higher CPM to be of equivalent flex.

    What Callaway said about not taking off the butt (will end up xstiff) and taking off both ends (to maintain balance) are BS statements IMO. Trimming from the tip (softest part of the shaft) makes the club stiffer than trimming from the butt. I don't know exactly what they are doing (ie. staring with a softer shaft, heavier shaft, how much weight they are adding after, or starting with a heavier head weight etc.) but I don't trust OEM's as I have seen way too many times inconsistent sets and clubs not to spec.
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  7. #7
    Postaholic downhillslider is on a distinguished road
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    Quote Originally Posted by nokids;408499[B
    ]I asked this same question to the Callaway fitters and they called their service center[/B] and recommended I do not shave 1 inch off the grip part of my stiff shaft because it make the shaft xstiff or more. They suggested I send my driver back to Callaway and ask Callaway (make an order) to build me a driver with the length I desired (44" or 45"). They said Callaway would probably shave both sides of the shaft (half inch at the grip, and half inch at the hosel area) so that the physics of the club were balanced. It wouldn't cost me anything except I'd be without a driver for a week.
    Interesting comment by a " Certified Callaway Fitter ". They really know their stuff !!!!

  8. #8
    Hall of Fame jvincent is on a distinguished road jvincent's Avatar
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    stone_bone beat me to it. The Callaway claims about it becoming x-stiff are BS.

    If, and it's a big if, the normal Callaway procedure is to tip the shaft before they install it then they could build a shorter driver that has the same CPM by not tipping it (or tipping it less) and then building the driver an inch shorter.

    Otherwise all that will happen is the CPMs will increase slightly because the club is shorter.
    Not fat anymore. Need to get better at golf now!

  9. #9
    Golf Padawan nokids is on a distinguished road nokids's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jvincent View Post
    stone_bone beat me to it. The Callaway claims about it becoming x-stiff are BS.

    If, and it's a big if, the normal Callaway procedure is to tip the shaft before they install it then they could build a shorter driver that has the same CPM by not tipping it (or tipping it less) and then building the driver an inch shorter.

    Otherwise all that will happen is the CPMs will increase slightly because the club is shorter.
    English, please.

    So you're saying I can shave 1.5 inches from a 46" stiff shaft driver and it won't go xstiff on me?
    You only get out of something what you put into it

  10. #10
    Hall of Fame jvincent is on a distinguished road jvincent's Avatar
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    I'll try to use small words this time.

    If you take 1.5 inches off the butt end the club will get stiffer because it is shorter if you measure stiffness using a force guage or something that measures CPMs. The question is will it play to a different flex.

    When you are installing a new shaft the normal procedure is to change the amount of tip trim to change the flex. Then you trim from the butt end to get the playing length.

    The butt end of the shaft is stiffer than the tip. By taking more off of the butt end you are removing the stiffer part of the shaft so compared to a shaft of the same length that has had more taken off the tip the one which was butt trimmed will have a lower flex.
    Not fat anymore. Need to get better at golf now!

  11. #11
    3 Wood stone_bone is on a distinguished road stone_bone's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nokids View Post
    English, please.

    So you're saying I can shave 1.5 inches from a 46" stiff shaft driver and it won't go xstiff on me?
    Quote Originally Posted by nokids View Post
    English, please.

    So you're saying I can shave 1.5 inches from a 46" stiff shaft driver and it won't go xstiff on me?
    Yes essentially it will play to the same flex but if it was say D2 before it is now C3.
    However if you keep the swing weight constant than it will likely be about a whole flex weaker afterwards
    0.5" = 3 SW points
    2 grams = 1 CPM
    1 Flex = 10 CPM


    So keeping the SW the same and shortening 1.5" about 18 grams to the head would be required, significantly weakening the shaft.

    The best thing to do to when playing a shorter shaft is to go to a heavier weight this will keep the SW up and flex more constant at a shorter length.
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  12. #12
    3 Wood stone_bone is on a distinguished road stone_bone's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by downhillslider View Post
    Interesting comment by a " Certified Callaway Fitter ". They really know their stuff !!!!
    Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not.
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  13. #13
    Postaholic downhillslider is on a distinguished road
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    Quote Originally Posted by stone_bone View Post
    Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not.
    The tongue is firmly implanted in my cheek.

  14. #14
    Golf Padawan nokids is on a distinguished road nokids's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by stone_bone View Post
    The best thing to do to when playing a shorter shaft is to go to a heavier weight this will keep the SW up and flex more constant at a shorter length.
    how do I do that? by adding weights to the head?

    thanks for all the tips guys.
    You only get out of something what you put into it

  15. #15
    3 Wood stone_bone is on a distinguished road stone_bone's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nokids View Post
    how do I do that? by adding weights to the head?

    thanks for all the tips guys.
    I meant play a heavier weight shaft so something probably in the 70 gram range. This way when you cut it down it will still play true to flex and at a reasonable swing weight.

    So that would mean getting a new shaft.
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  16. #16
    Golf Padawan nokids is on a distinguished road nokids's Avatar
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    Well I had my club pro shorted the shaft so the driver is 44". Hit some balls on the range and I cannot hit this club at all. lol
    You only get out of something what you put into it

  17. #17
    3 Wood stone_bone is on a distinguished road stone_bone's Avatar
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    How long was it before? How did you go about fitting it for length?
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  18. #18
    Golf Padawan nokids is on a distinguished road nokids's Avatar
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    I've had this driver before at 44.5, but when it broke Callaway sent it back to me with a new shaft that was 46. So I told my pro to go back to 44.5 because that's what I am used to. The problem is that it feels shorter than 44.5, I'm going to have to measure it b/c I was hitting it terrible.

    Is it a lot of trouble to lengthen a shaft? Gotta buy a new grip I imagine.
    You only get out of something what you put into it

  19. #19
    3 Wood stone_bone is on a distinguished road stone_bone's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nokids View Post
    Is it a lot of trouble to lengthen a shaft? Gotta buy a new grip I imagine.
    No its real easy to do.
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  20. #20
    Postmaster General The Saint is on a distinguished road The Saint's Avatar
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    Remove the grip add an extention and re-grip. I can do that for you in exchange for caddying services.
    Some people are like Slinkies... they're really good for nothing, ... but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs...

  21. #21
    Golf Padawan nokids is on a distinguished road nokids's Avatar
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    HA! I'll let you know Chris. What I really want to do now is sell the driver b/c 8.5 loft is too low, I need a 9.5.
    You only get out of something what you put into it

  22. #22
    Golf Nut sabzor is on a distinguished road
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    Has anyone actually done this without doing anything afterward to adjust the swingweight? I have an older driver that is 45.75" long and I was thinking of trimming it down to 44.5" from the butt end, but I'm not a fan of lead tape or anything so I would leave it as is?

    I guess my question is how much does this really matter?

  23. #23
    Gotta Post Break68 is on a distinguished road Break68's Avatar
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    Both my drivers are now at 44.5" and I have never hit such accurate drives, they feel great. I wouldn't worry about the swing weight too much. Shorten the driver then go hit it, you might like it and as jvincent said, you may not even notice the difference in swing weight.
    My 3 wood is now a 1/2 inch shorter than stock length and I am hitting that better then ever before.
    Obviously you're not a golfer.

  24. #24
    Gotta Post Break68 is on a distinguished road Break68's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=sabzor;415097]Has anyone actually done this without doing anything afterward to adjust the swingweight?

    Yes, see comment above. No tape added or anything at all. Feels great.
    Obviously you're not a golfer.

  25. #25
    Moderator Big Johnny69 is on a distinguished road Big Johnny69's Avatar
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    Like J says, give it a go first. The difference in SW might no even be noticeable. The beauty about the newer, longer drivers is the come in around D8 or so. Cutting them down brings them to around what was once the standard of D2 or so.
    "A life lived in fear of the new and the untried is not a life lived to its fullest." M.Pare 10/09/08

  26. #26
    Sir Post-a-lot bobblehead is on a distinguished road bobblehead's Avatar
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    You guys got me thinking now

    My current driver is 44.5" in R flex(it was not shorten). The new driver i am looking at is 45.5" in R flex. If i want to shorten the new driver to 44.5", will that make it too stiff for me. Or should i get the new driver in A flex(senior) and shorten it...so it might be more R flex afterwards. Does his make any sense?

  27. #27
    Moderator Big Johnny69 is on a distinguished road Big Johnny69's Avatar
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    Shortening it from the butt-end will have minimal effect on stiffness. Tip trimming would have more of an effect, but would actually contribute more to the ball flight.
    "A life lived in fear of the new and the untried is not a life lived to its fullest." M.Pare 10/09/08

  28. #28
    Golf Nut sabzor is on a distinguished road
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    I cut mine down an inch yesterday and honestly barely notice any major change in the club (maybe that's because I haven't been hitting it regularly so its like starting fresh).

    I can say however that I find the face a lot easier to square up and make good contact, and the shorter shaft seems to keep me in posture a whole lot better, maybe because I feel like I don't have to reach so much. Loss in distance is so minimal, if anything I'm making pure contact more often that it doesn't reflect at all. I'll take 290 on the short grass over 300 in the weeds all day long!

  29. #29
    Gap Wedge careyhrrs67 is on a distinguished road careyhrrs67's Avatar
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    I need someone on my bag when i go to Q-School saint!
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  30. #30
    Driver Muddler is on a distinguished road
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    So what do I use to cut down a shaft? Like, just a hacksaw or a Dremel? After removing the grip, do I need to do anything special to prepare the shaft before cutting it?

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