• Thank you all very much for sharing your time with us in 2025. We hope you all have a safe and happy 2026!

Straighter or longer

jim8flog

Journeyman Pro
Joined
May 20, 2017
Messages
17,798
Location
Yeovil
Visit site
I have trialling various shafts for my new driver and now have a slight dilemma.

Straighter or longer.

One shaft I have found I can hit very straight most of the time and the other I can only hit left to right. The latter is about 10 yards longer.

What would you chose?
 
How much left to right?
Is it constant?
If it's a controllable fade then that 10 yards could help.
If it's more of a slice than a fade then go with the straight one.
 
Always go straight. In summer with a bit of extra roll on the fairway that 10 yards difference might be more like 5 yards or less. (Assuming the other one is creeping into the rough more often.)
 
Think about it another way, think about your second shot. From a shorter straighter on the fairway drive you get a clean second shot, which you should get good distance from, or 10yds longer from the rough, perhaps behind a tree, you chip out sideways, have to hack out from long grass and end up playing a 3rd shot from not much further forward.
 
Depends on the course, if 10yds longer is recoverable and takes out some hazards, then put that shaft in.
If it’s tight and you need accuracy, play the other shaft.
 
If the flight is a controlled flight, for me it would be the longer one.
 
I have trialling various shafts for my new driver and now have a slight dilemma.

Straighter or longer.

One shaft I have found I can hit very straight most of the time and the other I can only hit left to right. The latter is about 10 yards longer.

What would you chose?

I think there was a study that said for pros, being longer was always the better option, statistically they score better.

I realise we aren’t pro’s but as a single digit handicapper you’re obviously decent at golf, might be worth evaluating how you play out of the rough at yours course.

Long thick rough = straighter
Lots of semi rough = longer.
 
For ten yards then straighter would be the preference- my drives are normally about ten yards shorter than a good number of players but it’s in the fairway most of the time
 
For ten yards then straighter would be the preference- my drives are normally about ten yards shorter than a good number of players but it’s in the fairway most of the time

If you could have a controllable, constant, gentle fade and be 10 yards longer, would you want it..?
 
Depends on your course. On mine I would take straighter every day - even in first cut you can have some shots impeded by overhanging branches if you're at the wrong angle. At other more open courses I have played the 10 yards extra would be great as being straight may not matter as much
 
If you could have a controllable, constant, gentle fade and be 10 yards longer, would you want it..?

If it’s landing in the rough then no - if it’s landing in the fairway then for me that’s a straight shot ( as opposed to a straight ball flight ) . I regularly play with a gentle fade and the odd gentle draw depending on the hole but normally about 10 yards behind many
 
Top