15 replies to this topic

[gregwoon]

Hi Guys,

I've been choking down about 1 - 1 1/2 inches on my Driver for Tee-Offs for better consistency and have had great success in keeping it on the fairway.

Now that I'm in the market for a new driver, I'm contemplating having my new Driver Shaft length cut so that I don't have to keep doing that.

What are the implications of this?  If I cut a regular shaft by an inch and a half, will it get stiffer (I fall in between a regular and stiff anyway)?  What about swing weight (from a shorter shaft, and a lighter shaft since a shorter shaft means less weight)?

Thanks for the replies.

[scotte]

Hi Gregwoon,  I feel for you partner, I know where you are at.  I have been working on clubs for 11+ years and your quest is one I see a lot of.

To answer your question.

1) will the shaft get stiffer as it gets shorter?
A) if you are cutting down a shaft that is already installed, not that much.  You will be trimming from the butt end.  Yes it will get a little stiffer, and depending on the shaft, but I really doubt if you could tell it.  If you are ordering this club, you can have them cut a little off the tip.  The shaft manufacturer can tell you how much to cut to get the desired effect that you are looking for.

2)swingweight.
A) if you take a driver that is already put together and cut the shaft.  Yes you will loose swing weight.  several factors here, but generally 9 to 11 grams per inch.  If you are ordering this club from the factory, tell them what swingweight you want it, they will weight the head, or find you a head that will come out right.

[diablojoe]

I've butt-trimmed my drivers down to 43.5". I haven't been able to tell any differences in how the shaft behaves. All the action in a shaft is from the middle on down to the tip.

On the first few I trimmed, I added lead tape to bring the sw back up to D1 or so, because everybody told me to. But I put a new shaft in a Cobra F Speed head last week, cut it to 43.5" and left the weight alone. It's around C5 or something. I hit that thing better than any driver I've ever swung. Swingweights are a personal preference, and not everybody likes a light driver. I really, really like it. It seems to allow me to avoid having the clubhead creep outside the target line. I can stay on the inside arc out to the ball even when giving it a little extra oomph.

The force with which the club pulls on your hands is proportional to both the length of the club and its weight. Reducing both variables can allow some folks to swing faster and still control the path of the club (ie, keeping it on an inside path to the ball).

If you have liked the effect of choking down, then you have been swinging a "light" driver. I wouldn't then order a new one cut shorter from the custom shop, because they'll add around 22 grams to the head and you might not like it. Just pick out your new one and have the shop cut the butt end to suit your taste.

[slash77]

I have a Titleist 905R that I got off ebay that was 44 inches.  The seller never told me this so when I got it, I was fairly upset.  Siince it was the only driver I had at the time, I had to use it on the course when I played my next round.  I was actually amazed at the results.  I was much more consistent and I was hitting it just about as long as my previous 45 inch driver.  I've never felt more confident with a driver.  It does feel a little lighter, but I can definately still feel the clubhead during my swing.

[tncup]

Everybody's got an opinion on this...I've played short drivers for years, lost virtually no distance with any of them and gained tremendous control. Shortened my irons and actually gained distance and control with them. That change years ago is the main reason I was able to drop my hdcp to single digits. Like everything else in golf, you have to find what works for you. This whole game is trial and error to find what works for you...and then you practice what works.

[Sean2]

I'm 6'5" and have a 44" driver. I hit the ball farther and am much more consistent. The average tour player's driver is 44.5 inches. That should tell us all something.

Manufacturers sell 45, 45.5, and 45.75 inch drivers because they can tout distance, but the average golfer will hit the sweet spot a lot more on a shorter driver, thus gain more distance. Sure, a 45" driver will go farther, if you hit the sweet spot.

[diablojoe]

An update to my post above...

I know this forum is sometimes filled with hyperbole, but this tale is true. I was really hitting the ball hard at the range in the last two sessions with that short, light driver. I felt I could really cut loose with it.

I played a round with it for the first time today (13 holes, anyway). My normal average well-struck drive has been in the 225-235 range; an occasional downwind bomb would go 250.

I hit driver on 9 holes today. 2 of them hooked left pretty badly; I took a mulligan on another bad hook. 7 hit fairway or first cut. They were:

262
268
272
268
293 (upwind, but got a good bounce off hard turf)
269
282
(measured with SkyCaddie)

Conditions were breezy, and these were a combination of upwind, downwind, crosswind. Uphill and downhill. Enough variety that I know that this newfound distance is the real stinkin' deal. It's not so much the driver as the fact that I've figured out how to swing it hard without losing control of it.

So much for the idea that a 43.5" driver will cost distance!

Another thing I learned -- courses don't play properly from the white tees hitting the ball 260+.

[gregwoon]

Wow!

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I never knew there'd be so many guys using shorter driver shafts and getting the same great results I've been getting.

I've been an advocate of the shorter shaft length ever since reading Wishon's book "In Search of the Perfect Driver".  You can't argue with Wishon the same way you can't argue with Physics.  So I took his advice and started choking down, and added lead tape to try and make up for the loss in swing weight.  But seeing that some of you have had good results with a lighter swingweight, I might try taking off the lead tape.

[jcjr34]

I just reshafted my driver w/ a new shaft cut down at the butt end to 44" and the results are much more consistent off the tee resulting in greater distance as well. I actually prefer the lead tape because it gives me more feel of the driver as I swing. But of course this is a personal thing. Try the driver at the range w/ the tape on first and then take the tape off and compare, that's the only way you'll know.

Edited by jcjr34, 05 June 2007 - 05:49 AM.

[drobert007]

I discovered the short shaft by accident.  I was hitting balls next to a young kid and he asked if he could hit my driver.  
I handed mine to him and he handed me his cut down 43.5 inch driver.  I giggled to myself about how small it felt and decided I would try it out.
Needless to say, I cut my driver down about an inch.  I'm hitting the sweet spot much more frequently.
Accuracy and distance have gone up.  Plus, I feel like I can swing more aggressively without loosing control.

[marcus2905]

After reading all of the replies to this post, I decided to try out swinging my driver by choking down on the grip by an inch or so, I noticed no loss of distance, in fact as most of you have said my strikes seemed better giving more distance if anythingand certainly a lot more consistent as I think gripping down the shaft helped me to shorten my swing a little (giving more control)

Having just upgraded to a hi-bore 3 wood with ys6 cut down to 42.inches, and seen the benefits of this I think I will be gettig my fitter to cut at least an inch from my driver shaft.

Thanks for the post which has helped me get my driver back on the fairway.

[rlheiman]

I play a 44 inch driver and love it.  

One reason to use the MWT of TM is that you can adjust your swingweight with the weights, without lead tape or any other weights.  Just something to think about.  You can  try all different swingweights and firgure out what your like without hotmelt or tip weights or something else.

So if there is a TM head that you like, this might be best to give it a try.

[Osito2199]

Just recently bought a TM Burner with the stock 46" shaft. For some reason I had been very inconsistent with the driver, which I suspected was due to the length. I decided to choke up on the shaft about 1.5-2", and what a difference that made. Im bombing the ball now. My average went up by almost 15yds. and I have even hit a few in the 290's yds. with my longest being one that fell a few yards shy of a 318yd par 4. Drive was roughly 310yd (measured with Bushnell Pinseeker). I feel I can swing so much more aggresively with the shorter shaft without worrying about hitting a bad shot.

JR

[theothertwo]

 chfd098, on 18 February 2008 - 03:23 PM, said:

I bought a Nike SQ last year on clearance.  I never checked the length on it until I took it in to have it reshafted.   The clubmaker at Golfsmith told me it was playing 44 1/2" and asked if that was what I wanted the new shaft to play.  I thought why not lets not mess with success.  

Last week I get the club back and take it to the range.  I can't hit the club at all, all my shots are high slices or fades.  Now I think I made a huge mistake.  I do notice that it seems longer than normal, so I lay it out next to my 3 wood which I know is 42 1/2" and my driver is way longer.  I decide to choke down an inch or more on the club.  Well I am killing it off the tee, so I take it home and put it on my club ruler and sure enough the club is 45 1/2" long.  I am going to cut it back down to 44 1/2" this week.  

I could not believe the differenced that the 1" of extra shaft length made.  The new UST V2 shaft is flat out awesome, and I don't really have to worry about swing weight since the club was already 44 1/2" and I upped the weight by 10grams on the new shaft.  I highly suggest trying shorter driver lengths to increase your control.

Can I use this to butt cut driver graphite shaft?

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[highergr0und]

Nice..... reviving a thread that's over 3 years old.

No.... don't use a pipe cutter on a graphite shaft.  When it compresses the shaft it can cause cracks and that's bad news.  The cheapest route is to tape the area you will be cutting with painter/masking tape and use a very fine toothed hack saw.  The tape is necessary to prevent splinters of graphite from tearing off.

[BostonGolfer13]

Just got my 44 inch superfast 2.0 back from the club fitter.  Installed my Aldila VS Proto shaft from my ping, tip trimmed 1/2 inch and butt cut the rest.  Added weight to get to D2 and I am in love with the thing.  I was getting a perfect launch angle on the launch monitors and could already feel the difference in control.  I can't wait to take on the course.  I've always played the stock length so I'm excited to use this.