Driver length

[KENNYJ100]

hi all
just bought a second hand ping driver , seems a bit long in my opinion and i get the best results down the grip an inch or so , im guessing its been built for a tall player , my question is where do you measure from to get the club length ? is it head flat on the ground and then measure down the shaft to the floor to the butt ? im looking to fit a new grip and take an inch off but dont want to butcher it ,

 

[nemicu]

yes it is - but don't forget that cutting an inch off the but will reduce the swing weight by around 6 points, making it feel much lighter which may or may not be ideal for you. Restoring the swing weight means adding weight to the head, which is easy if you have interchangeable weights (not really on most Pings) but more difficult if you need to hot melt the head. Lead tape is another solution, but it takes quite a bit of tape to restore 6 points - around 12 grams.

 

[KENNYJ100]

i was thinking that being ping the length was determined by the fitting to the player , and an inch longer would be quite normal , are the ping heads made in different weights ? this is not the all dancing , singing changeable type head ,

 

[nemicu]

Depending on the model, it could well have been fitted to the original owner or it could be an off the shelf club with a 45 inch or longer shaft - the latest drivers are 45.75" as standard. Pings don't normally have variable weight heads, so any custom fit swing weighting is performed by hot melting glue into the head during assembly, but this is only really for clubs shorter than standard - longer clubs would have no swing weight adjustment at all. The only way to know for sure is to get your club swing weight checked.
Which model do you have?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

hi all
just bought a second hand ping driver , seems a bit long in my opinion and i get the best results down the grip an inch or so , im guessing its been built for a tall player , my question is where do you measure from to get the club length ? is it head flat on the ground and then measure down the shaft to the floor to the butt ? im looking to fit a new grip and take an inch off but dont want to butcher it ,

First of all welcome to the forum. Where do you play? Which model do you have? If you are looking to change it, I'd recommend going to a local pro who does Ping gear as he can give you the static Ping fit and see if the length suits or not and then decide the best way to adjust the club you have to suit you

 

[KENNYJ100]

its an old g2 model , i know a bit ancient but i had 1 years ago and ive gone back to another with the pro launch blue shaft , feels great and loads better than a couple of the composite drivers ive tried , with the grip off its measuring about 45 and a half inches about 2 inches longer than my old cobra

 

[nemicu]

I think the G2 was fitted with the Prolaunch Blue as standard and the length seems to be the same. There is some merit in using shorter driver shafts, but modern OEM's like distance over everything else - hence shaft lengths are all over 45" these days. Maybe just grip down on it and play it as it is for now? If you don't like how it plays, cutting it down certainly won't make it any easier to sell.

 

[KENNYJ100]

i was a five handicap for over 25 years and last year started playing again after a lay off of 6 years at the age of 59, after some serious practiceing over the last year and a change of equipment im somewhere near where i was when i stopped playing :smirk: still beating the pants off the yougsters at work , have yet to rejoin a club , but finishing work next year so was going to join then , just paying and playing at the mo

 

[KENNYJ100]

its so much more in control when im gripping down an inch or even a bit more , i hear what your saying about just gripping down all the time but its 1 more thing to think about at address and the less the better , and at only 40 quid im willing to take the chance

 

[Fish]

During my fitting at the TaylorMade Centre at the Belfry a couple of weeks back, I stated I felt I was constantly reaching and wasn't sure the length of the driver shaft/s suited me which is why I preferred to drive with a strong 13* 3w for so long. After a load of changes and stats from the trackman, I ended up with the 12* SLDR with a Matrix 7M3 stiff shaft cut down to 43.5 inches and its great, so much longer and more under control :thup:

I think a visit to a pro who has trackman might help and confirm whether the shaft length is that critical to you or not, you must have a steady 'carved out' swing being a previous or current Cat1.

 

[KENNYJ100]

Having only been back into golf for just over a year after a 6 year layoff in my opinion some of the latest drivers with all the adjustments and composite materials dont seem to have bettered some of the older models , but i did purchase a used set of x hot pro irons with the project x shafts and i think there amazing , high flight but longer than my old set , but they were 15 years old :d