Re: pinky finger off the end of the club: if you notice, every club has a raised place at the end of the grip(the end closest to you when you hold it), I always try to not grip here as I believe it was designed to hold the edge of the hands and not be gripped.
To get distance, try rotating the hands at impact or gripping with a loose grip to allow the wrists to unhinge naturally. The reason having your pinky off the club allows more whip is your grip is looser and the club is whipping naturally without the death grip.
Just my opinion, hope this helps.