Shorter shaft vs standard length for DRIVER

[sandylc524]

Considering shortening the length of my Driver shaft to 3 wood length.

Has anyone had experience doing this? And did it result to substantially shorter drives? Substantially better accuracy?

Thanks!

 

[Imurg]

I know many that have tried this and had good results.
All I found was that, although I was straighter, it didn't give me any more than my 3 wood does.
Maybe a couple of extra yards but it's a waste of a club for me.
And it felt wrong - a shortish shaft and massive 460cc head.

 

[tsped83]

I have an old FT Tour Driver, cut to 43.5” with a bit of lead tape on. It works! Feel more confident over the ball with shorter shaft and when I nut it, distance is no less for me. I won’t be going back to a “standard” length again.

 

[sandylc524]

Im thinking it will give me more confidence as well off the tee. And that might be a huge difference.

Will just try. Thanks!

 

[clubchamp98]

I took An inch of my driver at the tip end to stiffen it to firm flex.
it has worked its straighter no loss of length.

But you can't just cut the shaft at butt end as it will alter the swing weight drastically.

.

 

[jusme]

As long as your talking no more than an inch from butt end my experience is that you will not notice a great deal of difference regarding swing weights. A lot of experts will tell you that matters but the majority of golfers will notice little or no difference. Lead tape exists for those that does. I play a shorter shaft and no lead tape and it works better for me. No loss of distance as I middle it a lot more and overall distance is better as a result

 

[sandylc524]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I just think most since tour players play with standard shafts (even shorter according to what I've read) and these guys are 6 feet or more with exceptional hand/eye coordination - a 5'9" player (me) should probably be using a shorter shaft.

 

[sandylc524]

I took An inch of my driver at the tip end to stiffen it to firm flex.
it has worked its straighter no loss of length.

But you can't just cut the shaft at butt end as it will alter the swing weight drastically.

.

Oh OK thanks. Didn't even consider cutting from the tip end. Why will it matter if it's the tip and and not the butt end?

 

[sandylc524]

As long as your talking no more than an inch from butt end my experience is that you will not notice a great deal of difference regarding swing weights. A lot of experts will tell you that matters but the majority of golfers will notice little or no difference. Lead tape exists for those that does. I play a shorter shaft and no lead tape and it works better for me. No loss of distance as I middle it a lot more and overall distance is better as a result

will choking down on the handle work just the same?

 

[Imurg]

Oh OK thanks. Didn't even consider cutting from the tip end. Why will it matter if it's the tip and and not the butt end?

Cutting from the tip end can drastically stiffen the flex of the shaft
Cutting from the butt end has little effect on flex.

 

[clubchamp98]

Cutting from the tip end can drastically stiffen the flex of the shaft
Cutting from the butt end has little effect on flex.

yes this .
I took 1" off tip end to make a reg shaft into a firm flex as I am not stiff but found reg a bit to soft.

this had the effect of shortening the shaft and it's been great.

Not sure if it's the stiffer flex or shorter shaft or both but it's made a big difference.

 

[jusme]

I wouldn't be trimming the tip unless you want to stiffen the shaft further. If it's a shaft I like or expensive then you can of course choke down to get a feel for what it would be like after trimming the butt. It won't be exactly the same as but trimming and regripping but will give you some idea. Choking down an inch puts your hands on a thinner part of the grip so take that into account. If you don't like it you can of course go back to how it was with a shaft extender if you trim from the butt.

Worth the experiment all day long

 

[patricks148]

TBH i tried it and it was worse with the shorter shaft, i was just as wayward, but shorter..

far better to sort out the problem, which i've now done to some extent and driving the ball better than ever.

 

[PJ87]

Ive done it much better since

tour pros play with 44.5 inch shafts so why do they think thats best but us amateur are suppose to handle 45 inch plus shafts for a few extra yards

my pro rightly said to me that you its about how you deliver the face to the ball.. a shorter shaft makes it easier to deliver the face in the correct position .. no loss of distance

 

[MadAdey]

I always have my drive an inch shorter and it does make a difference to me. I find I get more consistency with it. When I got my driver I ordered it 1" shorter and there really wasn't any difference in distance when I took it on the GC2 compared to the standard length, I just hit more good ones.