Driver Shaft Length

Putting to one side the idea of a real fitting session do the club makers and golf pros on here think that the majority of golfers would be better off if the standard length of a driver was 44" not 45"ish?

Idle browsing (Wishon and others) today suggests that for many the increased number of off-centre hits, and consequent loss of distance and accuracy, caused by not controlling the longer shaft outweighs the benefit of that extra inch [shouldn't there be a "see I said that with a straight face" smilie?] on the odd nailed shot.

Which would indicate surely that, whilst custom clubs would be the best solution, a shorter shaft would be least worst standard?

Regular readers will know that I struggle with the big stick; I went out today with a 4 wood and was hitting the ball pretty well. The 4 wood is I guess a couple of inches or so smaller than its big brother. Which begs the question what would happen if I got the workshop to chop off (an industry term ) an inch from the driver.

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I firmly believe that we should try to experience all that life affords, except, perhaps, bestiality and of course Morris Dancing.

Chances are:

You'd see an increase in ball striking consistency.
You wouldn't notice any distance loss at all.

Definitely:

The club would feel lighter.
You'd have to buy a new grip.


IMO, Tiger is a fine example in this instance. The young guns come up and start bombing it past him, he goes to a 45" driver to try and keep up. After spending a season spraying it all over (like a weekend hacker) he goes back to 44" and throttles back to keep his tee shot on the golf course.

Please keep in mind that the 4 wood has two things going for it over your driver: It's shorter and it has more loft. More loft is more backspin, more backspin is less sidespin, less sidespin is less bending.

So trimming the tree will help, but you still have to close the face. In my case, I have a mental thing about closing down 460cc heads, but don't seem to have any issue with a 400cc head. Needless to say, I play a 400cc head.

The other issue with more length is the size of the lever. Matt Mohi from Wishon Golf played a 46" driver for a while - until he got tendonitis in his elbow. The PT said it was from the extra work required to control the bigger lever. Lose the length and lose the strain on the elbow, too. The longer lever is tougher to control.

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PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter - www.pcsgep.com
True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

prior to my fitting i would think 44" would suit me best, gripping 1" further down the grip works quite well for me.

Cheers Ben, I might give it a whirl.

Yes, I bought the 4 wood precisely for those reasons which should equate to more safety off the tee plus a bit more distance than my "go to" rescue club.

I read somewhere something like :

You can gain about 8yds per shaft inch with a driver, but for every 1/4" off centre you can lose 7 yds, 3/4 inch looses 20 yards.

I think Tiger increased his driver shaft length once to increase distance and started spraying the ball, I think he uses a 44.5" shaft.

vague or what!

On a slightly related subject (well, second cousin twice removed related)

My driving seems to have returned! Played some stonking drives on the weekend. At the range tonight in pouring rain and cold I was driving the ball into the nets at the end of the range. Almost weeing myself with exitement.

The irony was that I was using my old Ping G2.

My name is Brian and I'm a driverholic ; truth or dare Brian, how many do you actually have?

sorry to hijack...

Good to see you here, Ben. Haven't heard from you in a while over at Chucks place. Hope you're well.

Dean

SK - that you?

I haven't had much to say over at OPGS - at the end of the season I was pretty happy with my full swing, and I've been working on my chipping over the winter. I obviously don't have the chops to do swing analysis (hence why I don't post it here anymore, either) and Dariusz and Jonag do a good job on the equipment side - I try not to post 'I agree' too much

As for Brian and Brian (is this the Thread of Brian?), I'm willing to wager that my personal driver stable is as big as both of yours... - not counting gear waiting for sale...

__________________
PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter - www.pcsgep.com
True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

Yes, Ben, it's me, SK. Just realised I'd joined here with my usual online name. No idea what craziness came over me when I signed up at OPGS with Swing_King! Muct have been a touch or irony there...

I thought you had an SK user account here, too.

i don't think so, mate. could be wrong though.

Four And I gave one away

Hi Ben,

I am seriously considering some Wishon gear, sounds like good stuff.

The thing about Wishon is that it's quality gear, and the brain behind it has been at the top of the equipment industry for a while now. (I read not too long ago that the major OEM he turned down for the position of head of R&D was Titleist).

His designs are fantastic - not only from a player's perspective, but also from a builders' perspective - they allow a ton of customization to tune clubs perfectly.

The 919THI is fantastic on off-center hits (some complain because they don't know where on the face they hit it. My answer is 'who cares, your ball is still as far down the fairway, even though you missed the middle by 3/4"!)

And his iron designs are as good as anyone elses. My personal favourite out of the lineup is the 560MC - a forged, low offset head with a milled cavity. So all the forgiveness of a cast head, with the feel of forged, and low offset. Niiiiice.

__________________
PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter - www.pcsgep.com
True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.