Shaft Length?

[ItsChris]

Hello all,

First time poster so be nice.

At the driving range today i noticed that while i was hitting my Irons, 3 woods and wedges perfectly straight I'm really struggling to to hit my driver without it slicing, If I try to hit the ball the way I do with my irons I slice wildly. It's gotten so bad that I feel i have to adapt my swing to hit the ball with my driver. It feels like i have to swing the club like a baseball bat to get it to get even a little bit straight and even then i still slice a little and lose a lot of distance.

After coming home i decided to google the problem and came across a few threads on shaft length, I'm about 6ft my driver currently measures 45inches, now iv been reading that a shorter club increases control but will lose distance, at this point I just want to hit the bloody thing straight.

So my point being is that does a short shaft help? As at this time my driver is my only bad club!

Any help is massively appreciated, Cheers.

 

[shewy]

45 inches is fine for a driver,at 6ft I would not start to shorten it as you will mess with swingweight,try gripping down a bit for added control.Driver is the hardest club to hit but it takes practice so maybe get a lesson to see where you are going wrong. What driver do you have? Some driver lengths have gone stupid long at 46 1/2"

 

[RGDave]

45 inches is fine for a driver,at 6ft I would not start to shorten it as you will mess with swingweight,try gripping down a bit for added control.Driver is the hardest club to hit but it takes practice so maybe get a lesson to see where you are going wrong. What driver do you have? Some driver lengths have gone stupid long at 46 1/2"

Got to agree.

45" is fine. No worries with that. I had my G5 shortened to 45", my Wilson Spine shortened to 45" and both were improved by losing an inch. As said, it does/might/will make them feel a little lighter, not that I ever noticed, I must say.

I'm 6 ft b.t.w.

 

[sawtooth]

Hello all,

First time poster so be nice.

At the driving range today i noticed that while i was hitting my Irons, 3 woods and wedges perfectly straight I'm really struggling to to hit my driver without it slicing, If I try to hit the ball the way I do with my irons I slice wildly. It's gotten so bad that I feel i have to adapt my swing to hit the ball with my driver. It feels like i have to swing the club like a baseball bat to get it to get even a little bit straight and even then i still slice a little and lose a lot of distance.

After coming home i decided to google the problem and came across a few threads on shaft length, I'm about 6ft my driver currently measures 45inches, now iv been reading that a shorter club increases control but will lose distance, at this point I just want to hit the bloody thing straight.

So my point being is that does a short shaft help? As at this time my driver is my only bad club!

Any help is massively appreciated, Cheers.

You will likely gain distance by having the shaft length adjusted to suit your build. As a for instance, Bubba Watson is 6ft 3in and his driver is 44.5 inches long and he doesnt suffer from any length issues. lol.

Its not an exact science but if he's 3 inches taller than you I would suggest theres a case for your driver to be trimmed. You may find that you are standing too far from the ball as a result.

I'm about 5ft 10 and my driver is trimmed to around 43.5 inches long, and I still have about 3/4 in showing at the butt when I take my grip.

 

[Evesdad]

Sure you're not trying to hit it too hard? Everytime I try and give mine a Sunday best it's in rightsville. Smooth and steady straight down the middle!

 

[williamalex1]

check the ball is not too far back in your stance. imo it should be inline with your left heel

 

[RGDave]

check the ball is not too far back in your stance. imo it should be inline with your left heel

Oh yes, and while we're here, I always found long drivers best teed up off the toe a bit. You could try it. 2 reasons for this, both I can't remember. Works for me though.