Standard drivers for women are an 1 inch shorter than standard mens drivers. A shorter driver, he said, encourages center contact on the clubface, which leads to longer, straighter drives. What length golf clubs do you need hireko custom golf. To hit a stinger my hands are at the very bottom of the grip. A good example of this can be found when shopping for jeans. The perfect club driver is shorter than a conventional driver. Yet ive read on some websites like or the makers of the perfect club, that a shorter 42 or 43 inch shaft is best. Mar 02, 2012 as shown in the ball launch conditions section, brian carried the ball 11. Do you think cutting my 3wood down to 42 inches will do the trick. The average driver shaft length on tour is roughly 44. I have always been uncomfortable with standard length clubs.
The perfect driver lets you play golf the way it was. Cutting driver shaft the 19th hole mygolfspy forum. The best and worst cars for tall and short drivers based on consumer reports evaluation of seat comfort, driving position, access, and the view out. Golf digest may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as. Jan 06, 2017 i used to his my 3woodmini driver off the tee for years, never felt 100% confident with the driver2years ago, i had a shop cut 2 inches off my driver shaft jetspeed from 44. I will probably be able to swing the 47 incher faster and keep the same shot length.
We tried to look for the same project x shaft that was made in 44, but not. Since 2005, the average driver length on the pga tour has stood at 44. I can hit the 48 inch driver about 30 yards farther than. However, during my last round i decided to choke down on the driver about an inch and started to hit more fairways. The quest for a more accurate driver practical golf. Cut my backup driver callaway 454 with accra t60 from 45 to 44. Contrary to what some might think, there isnt a run on. After a comprehensive overview of my stats last year i came to the conclusion that if i want to get to the next level as a golfer, i am going to have to hit more greens, and that all starts with how i position myself off the tee with my driver.
There is an optimum driver shaft length with which golfers will. Find the right driver shaft length for your game golficity. The best length of driver for amateur golfers is 45. When i tested my old college driver a few weeks ago my interest was piqued by how close my swing speed with the 43. On wide open holes i play it at full length but on shorter par 4s i grip down about an inch and its a fairway finder. Here you have a collection of some of the best golfers on the planet, golfers with incredibly good swings, yet on average, they play with drivers which are 2 inches shorter in length than what is being sold to. Im looking at all of this as a short term fix until. The advantage of pounding a long drive on a par4 or par5 hole is obvious. Mar 28, 2016 everyone wants to find out how to have a more accurate driver including me. I have heard that altering the shaft length of your driver by an inch canshould alter the club speed by up to 4 mph.
This raises the immediate question, why is a relatively tall, obviously highly skilled player using a shorter than standard driver. This is a trend that we here at dallas golf support and have been discussing with customers during fitting sessions. Tiger woods at his longest used a relatively short 43. At 47 inches it will be about d6 which is what i play with a 45 inch driver my standard length driver. Dec 18, 2019 the average driver shaft length on tour is roughly 44. Thats because longer shafts increase a clubs swing weight, which is the amount of weight you feel at the end of the club. In other words, jimmy walker using a 42 inch driver is unheard of. Previously, the standard length for a womans driver was 43 inches.
This is interesting because it means jimmy played a whole season with a shorter driver before it really garnered any attention. A decade or two ago, if you swung a 45inch driver, it would probably feel like you were swinging a heavy weight at the end of a whippy shaft. If you choked down so it plays like a 44 inch shaft, would it go further, the same, or shorter than if you had a shaft cut down to 44 inches and didnt choke down at all. Driver length creep may be why you cant hit your driver. For this video, weve used the gc quad launch monitor to gather real world data comparing two identical clubs that only differ in shaft length. The folks at ping built me two identical g30 drivers one at their standard length of 4534 inches, the other two inches shorter. Drivers and other clubs clubs other than drivers gradually get shorter if a 44inch steel shaft driver is indicated by the chart, your 5iron will measure 38 inches and sand wedge 35. I think its pretty unanimous that stock driver shafts are too long for most golfers. However, in the 21st century a standard driver is considered to. Here you have a collection of some of the best golfers on the planet, golfers with incredibly good swings, yet on average, they play with drivers which are 2 inches shorter in length than what is being sold to regular golfers. Ive gone through a long series of cobra drivers, and cut them all down to 44.
You might see some of the shorter and smaller ladies on the lpga tour using much longer 48 inch drivers that look like they are swinging a broom handle, but that doesnt mean its right or your game. A recent golf test i dont remember where, showed amateurs hitting the longer shafts 45. If you have the red 9 gram weight, you will want to purchase a black 14 gram weight or your other option is if you have a standard 5052 gram grip, you can keep the 9 gram red weight and regrip with a grip that weighs about 812 grams less so a 40 gram grip. Jul 30, 2019 and when we look at their drivers, we typically see one commonality, their driver shaft length. One question that is quite often asked is what length golf club a person should use. The same club head on a 43inch shaft will feel lighter on a 45inch shaft. Aug 20, 2015 when i tested my old college driver a few weeks ago my interest was piqued by how close my swing speed with the 43. Golf monthly technical editor joel tadman explores the impact different shaft lengths have.
This paper will describe why shaft length is critically important in fitting a driver. You might be thinking well wouldnt a driver with a longer shaft go farther. Each player hit seven drives with each of three driver shaft lengths. Those two reasons happen to be the same reasons why the 45. The same club head on a 43 inch shaft will feel lighter on a 45 inch shaft.
Shorter driver length means better and more consistent contact which leads to better and more consistent distance. Most pros dont hit anything longer than a 45inch driver. Assuming a 42 inch 3wood is right for me, is it better to use a 42 inch hybrid shaft with my 3wood head than to cut my 43 inch 3wood shaft down to 42 inches. Taking a look at the driver shaft length used by the tour leaders in strokes gained. However, in the 21st century a standard driver is considered to be 45 inches. Can a shorter driver shafts say from 44 to 42 help or aid in driving the ball more consistent as opposed to longer shafts. Does anyone here hit a driver that has been cut to 3 wood. Are the new longshafted drivers the best option for more distance. For this test, we brought together five golfers with a range of swing speeds and handicaps. You might be surprised that most pros have an average driver shaft length of 44. For the past few months, ive knowingly been flouting the 14club rule by carrying two drivers. Most male golfers are wielding drivers that measure 45 to 48 inches, the maximum allowed under the united states golf associations rules of golf.
Best and worst cars for tall and short drivers consumer reports. Has anyone ever tried this and im just curious if you hit more fairways. Most of the time its best to add weight back to the head if you go that route. As the driver length got shorter most of the golfers actually gained distance, with the. If you are 5 feet 4 inches tall with a 35inch wristtofloor measurement, the club should be onequarter inch longer. Sounds counterintuitive, and probably is, as i expect most people will experience some increase in accuracy by going down 12 to 1 inch. Inspired by rickie fowlers driver used on tour, the king f8 tour length driver features a shorter, 44. When i calculate my 36 inch wrist height with a 55 lie head i get 44 inches for the shaft, but have been recommended for 44. The maximum driver length allowed by the usga at least for now is 48 inches. One of those was revealed recently when we realized that we had never tested the concept of shorter driver shafts being more accurate. Thats because i have very short legs and long arms for somebody my height 63 tall with a 28. Clubs other than drivers gradually get shorter if a 44inch steel shaft driver is indicated by the chart, your 5iron will measure 38 inches and sand wedge 35. Is it ok to cut down a 46 inch driver shaft to 43 inches pros do not use 43 inch drivers.
Im hoping i can find more fairways with a shorter driver. My driver is 45 inches in length and i hit the golf ball all over the course. I know that a longer shaft provides more speed but hell, even tiger woods uses 43. Its essential that your driver shaft is of the right length.
Bill iseri, who fit me at pings phoenix headquarters, added a little loft to the shorter driver since physics dictated it would produce a. They can send the ball over a distance of 275 yards using this golf club. Aug 02, 2016 in this video i cut down a driver to 42. Jimmy walker on using a 42inch titleist driver at the sbs. The average driver length for all the other pros on the pga tour today is 44. Joe joe, i am pleased to hear you are having success with your 44 inch driver. At our request, wishon golf built four 949 mc drivers 43 12 inches the old standard, 45 inches the new standard, 46 12 inches and 48 inches the maximum length allowed by the rules of golf. My thought is that control must be enhanced when the shaft doesnt rise above your natural measurements with a square address.
That is a significant increase and worth the extra length assuming similar dispersion patterns. In fact, testing shows an inch of extra shaft length equals roughly 10 yards in distance. May 23, 2006 my driver is 45 inches in length and i hit the golf ball all over the course. I used to his my 3woodmini driver off the tee for years, never felt 100% confident with the driver 2years ago, i had a shop cut 2 inches off my driver shaft jetspeed from 44. Graphite clubs are slightly longer, with a standard driver at 45 inches, 5iron at 38. Also does a shorter shafts allow more consistent control. Dec 01, 2019 what is the optimum driver shaft length. Jan 15, 2014 will a shorter driver give you more distance. You will see some smaller players on the lpga tour using 48inch drivers that come up to their chin, but the average woman amateur wont be able to control such a club. I can hit the 48 inch driver about 30 yards farther than the 45 incher 270280 yards with the 48 incher. And he knows if he did use a longer driver, hed have even more trouble keeping it in play. The stock driver length of most manufacturers taylormade, callaway ping, cobra these days is 45. If you are playing a shorter driver, say 44 inches instead of the standard 45 inches, you should consider a.
For every halfinch of mishit on the clubface, youll lose five per cent. Jimmy walker is using a 42inch titleist driver at the sbs. Michael breed, host of the golf fix, answers a viewers email question on driver shaft length. Bill iseri, who fit me at pings phoenix headquarters, added a little loft to the shorter driver since physics dictated it would produce a slightly lower launch angle, spin rate, and clubhead speed.
Thats the idea behind the 48 inch driver, which is the longest club permitted under the rules of golf. Miles of golf feels one of the very important parts of fitting a customer for a driver is the length of the driver. Had this not worked out, i was ready to go see a wishon fitter as i understand his latest driver can be made to as short as a 42. All of these variables are miniscule, however when combined they equal a driver that carries 1. Unless you are very tall you could probably do with a 43 44 inch driver as opposed to the usual 45. I am way more comfortable and more consistent accurate. I currently have a demo which is 45 inch and set on b1, working well but swing weight feels different when choking down. Mens drivers the standard length of a driver for men used to be 43. I firmly believe that shortening the length of your driver to 44. I may be in the minority but i am a good ball striker and i just feel i get a lot more out of a longer driver. For every 12 you cut off the driver length, you will reduce the swingweight by 23 swingweights. As shown in the ball launch conditions section, brian carried the ball 11. In the march hotlinks, club expert tom wishon wrote that one key to real improvement with the driver comes from a shorter length. Measuring your child for junior golf clubs howtheyplay.
Youll hear about how the 2 will effect swing weight, etc. D j trahan is 6 3 and, according to his father, plays a 44 12 inch driver and he wants him to cut it down to 44. Start by going down to 45, then if thats still too long go to 44. With the new trend of shortened driver shafts on tour right now, a question came to my mind. Driver shaft length is shorter better than standard. As the length of the shaft increases, you tend to lose control over the golf club, and will find it difficult to hit the golf ball squarely. So would the average 18handicap golfer benefit from having a shorter driver shaft fitted. Joe, currently choke down on my 45 inch driver about 1. I whacked the 430cc indio driver from smt golf at 44 inches. I totally disagree that driver length should be judged off height at all. The perfect driver lets you play golf the way it was intended to be playedfrom the fairway. Nov 08, 2016 tom olsavsky, cobras vice president of research and development, said the company has done extensive research in the area of driver length. Nov 07, 20 the standard length of a mens driver is roughly 43.
When does a longer shaft produce diminishing returns. I have a 9 d2, im thinking about shortening my driver an inch to 44. I hit it better and longer at that length than at 44. Check out breeds tip on how to determine whether your driver shaft length is too long or too short. Whats the average driver shaft length on the pga tour. That is why the cluboratory, our fitting center, has drivers of varying length. A decade or two ago, if you swung a 45 inch driver, it would probably feel like you were swinging a heavy weight at the end of a whippy shaft. Apr 25, 2012 for instance, i used the wristtofloor methodology and came up with a 43. Length of shafts according to height in golf sportsrec. Driver shaft length too long for most players clubs.
Driver shaft length are you shorting yourself using a 46. I think jack nicklaus used a driver under 43 inches long and he was one of the longest drivers on tour in his prime. The standard length of a driver for men used to be 43. The purpose of golf myths unplugged is to challenge the accepted wisdom of golf, but even we have blind spots. I now have a 47 inch driver, 45 inch 3wood, 44 inch 5wood and 1. The standard length of a mens driver is roughly 43. The farther you hit your tee shot, the shorter your next shot will be, giving you the opportunity to use a morelofted club. They hit fairways, off the tee and straighter shots more consistently with a 44. A 43 12inch driver yields 262 yards and a 44inch driver 270 yards. Driver shaft length is shorter better than standard length. Nowadays, with seemingly never ending race to claim longer drives, driver manufacturers have even been selling standard shafts as long as 45 inches.
I got my old toney penna driver out and it was 44 inches. If he could hit the ball straight with a 45 inch clubhe would. Is it ok to cut down a 46 inch driver shaft to 43 inches. Before 2012, the standard length for a womans driver was 43 inches and since then its moved up to 44 inches. Wed jan 15, 2014 by dave phillips drivers generally come standard at 4546 inches in length, the longer the driver shaft the potential exists for more distance, theoretically your swing arc would be wider and therefore you could create more speed. I do grip down a couple inches with it for a standard swing though. Similarly, womens drivers are an inch shorter than the corresponding mens drivers. This is very difficult to address as it is not always a black or white answer.