Adjusting Length of Driver

[sawtooth]

I am considering taking a little of the length of my driver shaft when I next re-grip the club. I have always thought the club is too long for me and I seem to get better results when I choke down on the shaft a little more than I would with my irons.

I am not a tall person 5ft 9-10", the driver is Taylormade Burner 2007. Is it common to alter the lengths of drivers? I am only thinking .5" (half an inch).

Has anybody had this done? Without custom fitting what check can I do to verify this is the right thing to do?

 

[USER1999]

The Burners are always fitted with a stupidly long shaft, so cutting it down 1/2" or so is probably a good idea.

 

[bobmac]

Sawtooth.You dont have to wait till your grip wears down.
Take it to your pro, he'll remove the grip, shorten your club and put the same grip back on.
Total charge, £3-£5

 

[SharkAttack]

Sawtooth

I am 6' 2" and I had both my Ping drivers shortened to 44.5", that is 1 1/4" shorter than they were when new. No manufacturer should be making drivers that long, I have not noticed any loss in distance and have noticed a lot more drives landing on the fairway.

Shark

 

[RGDave]

This is an old chestnut. You can have a little taken off at no cost. Sure, the swing weight will change, but you'd have to start chopping more than 1/2" to notice. It might work.
I had my Ping cut down to 45 (before I sold it) and it did improve things a little.
However, I actually tried a custom made 43.5" driver and posted a review (on here) that proved as interesting to folk as a fart in a space suit. Sure, I hit the middle more consistently, but it did nothing for my game.
I'm not convinced of the merits but certainly very long drivers are getting silly i.m.o. and returning them to the old standard 45" is not such a bad idea.
I have a 46" driver, and get on with it OK.....

 

[sawtooth]

Guys I would be making the adjustments myself and changing the grip myself also. I fancy giving it a go got all the gear and grips from fleabay.

When you measure the shaft where are taking the measurements from exactly? Tip of the butt end to the start of the hosel? Thats only 42" for my Burner. 43.5" if I include the hosel. A lot more if you take the head into account.

 

[sawtooth]

Found this on google..

"Measure by soling the club in playing position at the stated lie angle. Measure from the surface it is sitting on to the edge of the grip that forms the cap. "

My driver is 46" and I am just shy of 5ft 10"

Sharkattack, how did you measure your 44.5" ?

If you're 6'2" I could easily remove 1 1/4" also.

 

[sawtooth]

RGDave do you mind me asking how tall you are?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

My pro took a little of the length of his driver last weekend and he is really hitting well now. He just felt it was too long and he had no confidence. Funny how just a small adjustment can make sucha big difference.

 

[RGDave]

RGDave do you mind me asking how tall you are?

6.0'

I think height is important in the fact that I get away with using a 46" driver.....but I can't be sure.

 

[leewestrudd1]

i got custom fitted for a titleist 909d3,but found it no better than before,so i asked my pro to take 3/4" off and when i concentrate more and take my time it does work better,if i just try and smash it its as bad as the r9 i had.lost no distance and it does feel better at address.i'm 5'10" and do feel that standard length drivers are to long,callaway drivers tend to be a little shorter than the other brands,i think the average length on tour is 44 1/2"

 

[sawtooth]

You're right, I've been doing some reading up and found this....

"It is not so much your height - it is from your tips of your fingers to the ground

It is not so much your height - it is from your tips of your fingers to the ground

This is a good starting point - not the be all and end all. A 7 iron is only 35 inches and we all can hit that can't we...

44.5-45 inches is where most of the pro's are... Ernie is a monster and he is 44.5 according to the last Russell Report. "


If most pros use 44.5 to 45 why on earth do Taylormade make their driver 45.75" (and sometimes longer).
According to this I can safely remove .75" to take it down to 45" and hopefully get some better consistency.

 

[sawtooth]

FYI.

http://www.golflink.com/how_1483_measure-golf-shaft-length.html

I've learnt something today!

 

[richy]

According to a pro I know, pros can have a shorter shaft because they already produce superfast club head speed in their swing. The rest of us need the extra length to help get the speed up.

 

[john0]

Can you shorten graphite shafts in the same way you do steel shafts? ie with a pipe cutting tool? Or is another tool needed for graphite?

 

[bobmac]

Can you shorten graphite shafts in the same way you do steel shafts? ie with a pipe cutting tool? Or is another tool needed for graphite?

Wrap tape around the area to be cut, mark the tape and cut with a sharp hacksaw. The tape will prevent the graphite from splitting

 

[john0]

Can you shorten graphite shafts in the same way you do steel shafts? ie with a pipe cutting tool? Or is another tool needed for graphite?

Wrap tape around the area to be cut, mark the tape and cut with a sharp hacksaw. The tape will prevent the graphite from splitting

Thanks Bob - and if the graphite splinters can I then send you the bill for a new shaft?

 

[sawtooth]

I took .75" off the driver today to make the new length 45".

I fitted a new grip myself for the first time and found it to be harder than it looks! You dont have much time to slide the new grip on before the white spirits start to dry!!

Infact I'm not sure that I used the right size grip it was a very tight fit and with only one layer of tape as well. I just read that Taylormade are difficult due to the big butt size -doh! Might do well to get a TM grip if this hasnt worked well. I notice now a subtle ridge all along the grip length hopefully it will disappear when dry, otherwise its coming off again.

Will let you know if I hit the driver any better after the weekend.

 

[sawtooth]

I played 12 holes today with the shortened/re-gripped driver finished 2 over par.

Verdict, I hit the driver straight and never got into any trouble with it. The flight was lower than I have been hitting and seems easier to control. Its early days but so far so good.

 

[leewestrudd1]

after i had mine shortened i havent lost any distance as such but i have noticed a lower ball flight and its consistantly lower