Shorter driver shaft?

[slicer79]

For those who have gone with a shorter driver shaft how have you found the experience? How short have you gone?

Reason I ask was I went to the range yesterday and messing around I gripped down driver maybe 2 inches or so. Started to hit the ball better than anything within the last year id say. Everything felt solid from middle of clubface, felt so much in control. Not sure if distance was better but dispersion looked tight.
It might have been a bit of a novelty but of course now it's got me thinking of experimenting with a shorter shaft.
For now I can just grip down but might look into a more permanent move.
For the record I think my own is measuring in at 45.75"

 

[jim8flog]

One thing to consider with gripping down that far is (if you have taper grips) - is a thinner grip better for you?

 

[RichA]

I use a 3-wood shaft in my driver.
For me it seems more reliable than just choking down or cutting a bit off the butt; I've tried both.
It's a TM so the adapter allows me to make the lie a bit more upright.

I'm the oldest in my group by some margin and the highest HI but I'm mostly hitting my drives as far as the other guys. Hitting the middle of the face appears to negate any losses caused by the shorter shaft.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

For those who have gone with a shorter driver shaft how have you found the experience? How short have you gone?

Reason I ask was I went to the range yesterday and messing around I gripped down driver maybe 2 inches or so. Started to hit the ball better than anything within the last year id say. Everything felt solid from middle of clubface, felt so much in control. Not sure if distance was better but dispersion looked tight.
It might have been a bit of a novelty but of course now it's got me thinking of experimenting with a shorter shaft.
For now I can just grip down but might look into a more permanent move.
For the record I think my own is measuring in at 45.75"

Tiger Woods played with a driver 43.5 inches long.
You wouldn't be the first to shorten their driver to get more accuracy. 44 inches was the norm I belive for many years until the "longest ever" became a thing for the amateur.

 

[slicer79]

I use a 3-wood shaft in my driver.
For me it seems more reliable than just choking down or cutting a bit off the butt; I've tried both.
It's a TM so the adapter allows me to make the lie a bit more upright.

I'm the oldest in my group by some margin and the highest HI but I'm mostly hitting my drives as far as the other guys. Hitting the middle of the face appears to negate any losses caused by the shorter shaft.

That's my thinking, if I can hit closer to the centre of club more often I won't really notice a loss of distance but hopefully will be in more fairways.
My driving hasn't exactly been bad, I'm not going OB on a regular basis or anything like that but I know from feel that I'm catching a lot of drives towards the edges of the clubface.
When getting out on course at the moment there's a huge difference between playing 2nd shot from fairway versus rough so increased accuracy would be very welcome.

 

[Klimski]

I find that I can swing faster with a shorter club negating the loss in distance that shortening the club shaft may cause.

 

[sjw]

When I was fitted I was put in a shaft that was something like 1/4 or 1/2 inch shorter. The fitter (PXG) said a lot of brands are putting in ever longer shafts as standard to give better ball speed figures in their advertising, and by going shorter you're really only getting back to what they used to be

 

[RichA]

I find that I can swing faster with a shorter club negating the loss in distance that shortening the club shaft may cause.

Yep. I also find it easier to swing the shorter club around my body naturally. For me, a full length driver shaft always gets a bit armsy and uncontrollable. The 3-wood shaft is just much more controlled.

 

[moogie]

I tend to play my drivers at 44" inch.
Anything over 44.5" then I just tend to struggle (even more) with

 

[Orikoru]

When I was fitted I was put in a shaft that was something like 1/4 or 1/2 inch shorter. The fitter (PXG) said a lot of brands are putting in ever longer shafts as standard to give better ball speed figures in their advertising, and by going shorter you're really only getting back to what they used to be

My Hzrdus RDX shaft is 45.25 inches whereas the standard Ping shaft is 45.75 inches. Not sure how much difference that half an inch is making. I try and grip it so my hands are not right at the butt end either, probably leave a good half an inch to an inch at the top above my lead hand.

 

[Rlburnside]

I’ve had a shorter shaft in my driver for years , I read a very interesting article from Tom Wishorn who said he thought that the majority of amateur golfers are playing with to long shafts in their drivers.

Its mostly a ploy from the manufacturers to lengthen the shafts to sell distance.

 

[sunshine]

A thread about men comparing the length of their shaft

 

[Imurg]

At least stiffness hasn't reared its ugly head yet........

 

[Voyager EMH]

Yep. I also find it easier to swing the shorter club around my body naturally. For me, a full length driver shaft always gets a bit armsy and uncontrollable. The 3-wood shaft is just much more controlled.

As a tall chap, your shoulder to clubhead distance is still going to be considerable. So gaining more control with a 3-wood length shaft is sensible.

 

[pendodave]

I've not fiddled around with my driver shaft length, so haven't any personal experience to impart, but I'm not sure that short shaft = better is necessarily a thing.
Here's a video (of a good golfer) hitting 3 different lengths :

So, maybe it's not that straightforward?
Some other thoughts :
- all other things being equal, longer is better with a driver, it correlates very closely to handicap.
- thoughts of 'control' in a swing can sometimes be counterproductive, mentally it might affect the smooth easy swinging that produces the best results.
- be aware of swingweight issues (although they may not be an issue - are you a princess&the pea type of golfer?)
- it should be really easy to pick up a 3 wood/shorter shaft in your adaptor type to fiddle about, so nothing much to lose.

 

[Dunesman]

I try and grip it so my hands are not right at the butt end

A thread about men comparing the length of their shaft

Some rephrasing might help !

 

[Dunesman]

My driver is 44.5, cut it down myself from the 45.75 it came as. Certainly more confident with it that way.
I am 5ft8 which is maybe why shorter feels better. Full length drivers feel like a fishing rod to me.

 

[Mandofred]

I tried a 3 wood type shaft in my Cobra driver about 2 years ago...so-so result. Put that same shaft in my newer Cobra driver today and will try that in the morning. I've been playing terrible lately, so I can't lose.

 

[RichA]

I tried a 3 wood type shaft in my Cobra driver about 2 years ago...so-so result. Put that same shaft in my newer Cobra driver today and will try that in the morning. I've been playing terrible lately, so I can't lose.

I didn't know this but learned it online after I started experimenting...
3-woods shafts are generally a few grams heavier than driver shafts from the same set and are stiffer tipped.
It will perform differently to just choking down on the grip of your driver or trimming an inch or so off the butt and regripping.
I interpret this as meaning you need to give it a bit more swing speed to get the trajectory and distance you'd normally expect. It suits me because my swing is a bit frenetic anyway. The shorter shaft makes it easier to turn a bit quicker and just means I'm more likely to find the centre of the face.
Works for me anyway. Good luck.

 

[Orikoru]

I didn't know this but learned it online after I started experimenting...
3-woods shafts are generally a few grams heavier than driver shafts from the same set and are stiffer tipped.
It will perform differently to just choking down on the grip of your driver or trimming an inch or so off the butt and regripping.
I interpret this as meaning you need to give it a bit more swing speed to get the trajectory and distance you'd normally expect. It suits me because my swing is a bit frenetic anyway. The shorter shaft makes it easier to turn a bit quicker and just means I'm more likely to find the centre of the face.
Works for me anyway. Good luck.

Also, a 3 wood shaft will only be about 43 inches, so that's quite a lot shorter than a typical driver shaft which would be 45-46. Even when they talk about pros going with a shorter shaft it's normally 44 ish?

Slightly annoying that when I did my fitting last year, a shorter shaft was never brought up at all as an option. But then I'm 6 foot so maybe it didn't occur to him - or because 99% of his customers just want more distance with driver.