Since the clubhead speed was about 1 mph slower with the shorter aldila shaft and the attack angle and spin rate was the same, i really needed to see a difference in accuracy and consistency with the shorter shaft to decide if it was worth trying a shorter shafted driver. A short driver shaft may help you hit a straight shot better and also hit the center of the face more than you usually do. Driver shaft length will be reduced by the biggest golf companies in the near future and they will market heavily the far increased accuracy of the shorter shaft. Shorter shaft hitting the sweet spot more consistantly thus keep or even gaining distance. Over the past twenty years, golf club manufacturers have been making clubs stronger meaning they have less loft on the face, and longer so that they can sell hopeful golfers the newest hot weapon that will knock the ball unimaginable distances. Best driver shafts for distance in 2020 having the right driver shaft can improve your all round driving on a golf course.
I have a tm 320 regular version with a prolite stiff. That will keep the swing weight high at shorter length. Now i am wondering if the mini driver and 5 wood shorter shafts are playing any part in this. This raises the immediate question, why is a relatively tall, obviously highly skilled player using a shorter than standard driver. This is a very important concept that simply means longer clubs should have lighter weight shafts than shorter clubs. We have a great selection in our product line at prices that are pocket friendly. The more shaft you cut off, the lighter, more stiff, and effectively flatter the club becomes. Most will find improved accuracy and improved distance with a shorter shaft. Shaft weight and torque make a bigger difference than shaft flex. Might have to go to a heavier shaft to get some of the feel back, from playing a shorter driver. For example, a golfer with an 7580 mph swing speed and a smooth tempo would play roughly a 50 gram shaft in his driver, 60 gram shaft. The weight of the shaft is going to help keep the players swing on plane.
Throughout this guide we will bring you the very best driver shafts for distance. The more often a golfer hits the center of the drivers face, the more consistency they will see in their driving accuracy and distance. Theres no consistent pattern, and that has a lot do with the shaft being a little too long for that particular. One of those was revealed recently when we realized that we had never tested the concept of shorter driver shafts being more accurate. Typically the rule of thumb is that a golfer with a slower swing speed will benefit from using a lighter shaft, and you would add weight as swing speed increases. Is it ok to cut down a 46 inch driver shaft to 43 inches. Find the right driver shaft length for your game golficity. If your driver has a fixed shaft, you could pick up another used club and change the length on that one. Feb 11, 2014 four years ago the average driver shaft length sold in retail shops was 45. Drivers generally come standard at 4546 inches in length, the longer the driver shaft the potential exists for more distance, theoretically your swing arc would be wider and therefore you could create more speed.
Do i have to use a long driver shaft to maximize distance. Driver shaft length is shorter better than standard length. In the march hotlinks, club expert tom wishon wrote that one key to real improvement with the driver comes from a shorter length. Moreover, a short shaft helps you gain better control. Remove the grip from the driver using a hook blade or a. It may seem surprising but the average driver length on the pga tour is slightly less, at 44. If you choked down so it plays like a 44 inch shaft, would it go further, the same, or shorter than if you had a shaft cut down to 44 inches and didnt choke down at all. The short answer is yes but not in the way you might think. Adding an extension is costly and in my opinion an inferior if a shorter club does not work for you.
Going shorter does not mean you need to go heavier, you can just add a little more weight to the club head which can produce longer drives. Stronger players with faster swings typically elect to use stiffer shafts, for example. Ok, i know, there have been plenty of threads on here touting the advantages of shortening the shaft on your driver. However, in the 21st century a standard driver is considered to be 45 inches.
Also, think about trying a different shaft in order to get increased accuracy while not giving up distance. From the beginning of the 20th century all the way through to the middle 1980s, the standard mens driver length stood at 43. Unfortuately, its not the cureall solution for all miss hit golf drives. A shorter driver, he said, encourages center contact on the clubface, which leads to longer, straighter drives. Nov 28, 2015 cant say that i have tried a shorter driver, but i tend to hit my 3 wood straighter than the driver and i think that its because of the shorter shaft. Im 56 tall and seem to really for well with those two clubs lengths, and considering trying a shorter shaft to see if it helps with clean hits on the driver head. Shorter drivers may be easier to hit and more consistent. That is the main reason you can hit a 8 iron better than a driver. The perfect driver lets you play golf the way it was intended to be playedfrom the fairway. Any amount of cutting will slightly stiffen the club. Or better yet, have a new driver customfit and custombuilt not only at a shorter length, but also for loft, face angle, shaft, total weight, swingweight, and grip size.
Marriott golf academy grande vista master club fitter randall doucette explains the importance of shaft length with your driver. For instance, if your club face is always open you could try setting the clubs offset to something dramatic like 0. The truth about golf shafts that every golfer should know. Can i shorten my driver shaft or should i just reshaft.
Today i watched a video with luke williams from callaway introducing the new razr x driver for 2012 and in the video luke talks about the 46 inch shaft, yep 46 inches installed there to get you increased clubhead speed and thus more distance. I have always hit my driver better with a shorter length shaft driver. Driver shaft length are you shorting yourself using a 46. You might be thinking well wouldnt a driver with a longer shaft go farther. Now you can find drivers with shafts that are over 46. Feb 09, 2018 for this video, weve used the gc quad launch monitor to gather real world data comparing two identical clubs that only differ in shaft length. Shorter driver length means better and more consistent contact which leads to better and more consistent distance. Or, to give you another alternative, if you find that you can hit your driver better at a shorter than standard length such as 44 or 44 14 inches you may ultimately hit it even better by reshafting it with a heavier weight shaft like an 85 gram or 95 gram shaft. Extremely over active power fades, no distance, very humbling and aggravating to say the least.
Typically most players do pick up speed around 1 mph per inch with a longer driver shaft, and since every 1 mph of additional driver speed generally yields about two yards of extra carry. I took my current driver, which is the titleist d3 8. For better, more consitent golfers, you may not want to change your driver shaft length at all as it will alter your swing timing and create more inconsistcy. Taking a look at the driver shaft length used by the tour leaders in strokes gained.
The swing speed is the main consideration in selecting a driver shaft. The impact of the length of a driver shaft on your game. A shorter driver shaft increases the likelihood of a golfer making better contact off the center of the drivers face. Do not worry about entering your clubs exact details. I have a cobra zl driver stiff shaft 55grms that i swing at 108mph and a new ping g30ls stiff shart 65 grms which has a slightly shorter shaft and i swing it at 105mph the ping goes further and straighter. Sounds counterintuitive, and probably is, as i expect most people will experience some increase in accuracy by going down 12 to 1 inch. Shorter driver shaft can a shorter driver shafts say from 44 to 42 help or aid in driving the ball more consistent as opposed to longer shafts. My swing speeddistance off the tee increased when i shortened my titleist driver shaft by one inch. The general golfing public has been conditioned and educated that shaft flex is the endallbeall when it comes to shafts and that simply is not true. So there has to be a reason why these shorter drivers go farther, right. And when we look at their drivers, we typically see one commonality, their driver shaft length. If you choked down so it plays like a 44 inch shaft, would it go further, the same, or shorter than if you had a shaft cut down to 44 inches.
There is a good chance that your golf clubs are too long. In reality, the average length of a driver used on tour is 44. The stock driver length of most manufacturers taylormade, callaway ping, cobra these days is 45. My driver woes have returned with a vengeance here of late. Shorten shaft for better driving accuracy golf channel. Most of the time, the distance lost maybe 2 yards is waaaayyy outweighed in the accuracy gained. Best driver shafts for distance in 2020 golf rating. For this video, weve used the gc quad launch monitor to gather real world data comparing two identical clubs that only differ in shaft length. Jan 31, 2017 the stock driver length of most manufacturers taylormade, callaway ping, cobra these days is 45. Aug 20, 2015 using trackman my idea was to test the same golfer, clubhead and golf ball, but change the shaft length. The standard length of a driver for men used to be 43. The difference is not that great, as lyleg already has suggested, but i find that with the shorter shaft im getting more control and hitting the ball more on the sweet spot than before.
The longer shaft promises more speed but possibly less control while the shorter shaft promises more consi. Is there an optimum shaft length depending on driver swing characteristics. You can readjust the swingweight by adding lead tape to the head of the club. Jun 21, 2018 driver shaft length is longer or shorter better. Rickie fowler finds shorterlength driver to his liking. Each player chose a 6iron head and hit seven shots each with three different shaft flexes regular, stiff, and xstiff. You might be surprised that most pros have an average driver shaft length of 44. All things being equal, why would a longer shaft be longer than a short shafted driver if both have equal specs. When we realized that we had never tested the concept of shorter driver shafts being more accurate. Struggling with accuracy off the tee, rickie fowler shaved an inch off his driver length at the honda classic, using a 43. I know that a longer shaft provides more speed but hell, even tiger woods uses 43.
When shortening clubs the best method is to pull the shaft and trim both the butt end and the tip. If i shorten my driver shaft will it help with accuracy of. Reinstall a grip on the newly shortened shaft and, most importantly, wishon says, add weight to the clubhead in some manner to restore the swingweight feel of the club. They do this because a stiff shaft gives them more control over the clubhead throughout the swing. I know there are some that successfully play their shafts over 45 but they are certainly the minority. The perfect driver lets you play golf the way it was intended. So i decided to not only experiment with a shorter driver, but also heavier and stiffer. The quest for a more accurate driver practical golf. Shorter drivers may be easier to hit, more consistent. Take an old driver to a certified club builder, get it shortened and reweighted, and give it a try, suggested wishon. Using trackman my idea was to test the same golfer, clubhead and golf ball, but change the shaft length. Also does a shorter shafts allow more consistent control. They may still hit the occasional bomb with a longer shaft, but playing it at 44. But im almost 62, and always figured, im to tall for that to work for me.
One of the features that having the right driver shaft can improve is driving distance, which is something all golfers crave. After a comprehensive overview of my stats last year i came to the conclusion that if i want to get to the next level as a golfer, i am going to have to hit more greens, and that all starts with how i position myself off the tee. I have a decent swing speed 105 mph and dont have much of a problem hitting the shorter driver a good distance with good accuracy. Got it two weeks ago and it is in great shape near new and used it last time out. Jds clubs offers hot deals on aftermarket driver shafts, for sale. Most male golfers are wielding drivers that measure 45 to 48 inches, the maximum allowed under the united states golf associations rules of golf. A professional clubmaker can probably get a shorter, modern driver playing like it should. Looking at the two pictures to the right, the top image is from a driver with a 45. End result is a shorter club, but one that plays softer than before. I was curious about this, as i know a lot of manufacturers make stock driver shafts in the 45 to 46 range, but most touring professionals use a 44.
It starts with the driver and goes progressively heavier from there. Players with slower swings typically choose shafts with progressively more flex, which. With the new trend of shortened driver shafts on tour right now, a question came to my mind. I have pretty good results, but am not as accurate as i would like. D j trahan is 6 3 and, according to his father, plays a 44 12 inch driver and he wants him to cut it down to 44. Cutting driver shaft the 19th hole mygolfspy forum. For this test, we brought together six golfers, ranging in handicap from 10 to scratch. If you are going to shorten a golf club, there are a few things to keep in mind. A question that still begs to be asked is similar to one we asked about driver size. A good rule of thumb is play the lightest shaft that you can control. The tipping is mostly to offset the added weight to get swingweight back. The perfect club driver is shorter than a conventional driver. For every 12 inch you remove, you will lose approximately three swingweight points.
Yet ive read on some websites like or the makers of the perfect club, that a shorter 42 or 43 inch shaft is best. We also offer free shipping on orders over usd 100. You will make more consistent contact and have more control. Getting the correct weight of your shaft is an important factor to consider as well. Open the edit club window by clicking the e key on your keyboard. With steel shafts, use a tubing cutter to trim the shaft. Many japanese magazines recommend lighter weights for average golfers and slower swingers to help increase swing speeds and because of this typical average golfer models these days all fall below the 300g range many dropping even below 290 and even 280g. I have no idea why, as the research definitely shows that you should be a lot more accurate if you shorten your driver, but for me, it did exactly the opposite. Would a shorter driver help my distance and accuracy. If youve ever wondered why it often seems easier to hit a 3wood off the tee than a driver, which is the case for many recreational players, a big part of the reason is the shorter length shaft. I am interested to attend my lesson and swing with a shorter shaft to see if that helps too.
Anyone ever shorten their driver shaft for more control. The same thing happened on my previous driver several years ago. Driver shaft length custom fitting for the correct length to help improve your strike pattern and. If clubs are shortened and no weight is added back to the clubhead, the chances of the. If the shaft is interchangeable with an adjustable hosel setup, you could pick up an additional shaft tip, and try a shaft at a shorter length. A recent golf test i dont remember where, showed amateurs hitting the longer shafts 45. Importance of shaft weight in fitting dlance golfd. Trying a longer shaft is a popular suggestion these days, but most players should, if anything, try a shaft half an inch shorter than whats in their driver. Can a shorter driver shafts say from 44 to 42 help or aid in driving the ball more consistent as opposed to longer shafts.
My driver is a players driver, which means that at its 1. Nov 07, 20 it may seem surprising but the average driver length on the pga tour is slightly less, at 44. Driver shaft position at address swing surgeon don trahan. We immediately set out to fix that and discover whether golfers are helped or harmed by longer driver shafts. The very best players in the world, guys who hit the sweet spot on their driver as easily as most of us would hit water after falling from a cruise ship, guys who routinely drive the ball to distances that some reading this would need two swings to achieve are playing drivers upwards of 1. I had my driver shaft professionally shortened to either 44 or 43. For the past few months, ive knowingly been flouting the 14club rule by carrying two drivers. There is no question i have been an advocate for driver shaft length to be shorter than the current standard driver shaft lengths as offered by the various golf equipment companies. This may seem short to you but with their amazing club head speed and sweet spot accuracy the pros are still able to crush the ball a country mile, even with the shorter shaft. Mar 28, 2016 the quest for a more accurate driver everyone wants to find out how to have a more accurate driver including me.
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