Driver Length

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By NMP1785

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  1. NMP1785

    NMP1785
    St. Louis, Mo

    I am 5’3” and Currently Swinging a TSR2 10* with a LaGolf A series mid 50 that is 45”. I feel like I could go as short 43.5 but do not want to cut down any of my shafts until I am off the fence. A lot of people say that I will loose distance and mph on my swing. However, I feel I would actually add yardage due to consistency and comfort. What your thoughts?

  2. Craig D

    Craig D
    Canton, OH

    I had my driver shortened 1 inch from standard three models ago (915D3, 917D3, and am playing TSi3 currently) and my fairway percentage improved significantly.. When I do miss, it typically is not by a large distance. Overall scoring has benefited from this change and I did not see any appreciable reduction in distance. In each case, I did add weight to the driver so I would suggest if you are going to proceed, try no more than 1 inch initially and add the needed weight.
  3. Brock L

    Brock L
    Fort Myers, FL

    Go see a fitter. Most PGA Tour players use a driver that is 44.5" to 45" in length. Studies have shown that ball speed is nearly identical at nearly every length ranging from 44" to 46". While you MIGHT get an occasional fast one with a longer length, you are more likely to strike the center of the face with shorter length. You will also need to pay attention to swingweight when cutting down a club that much. Shortening length by 1/2" usually equates to 2 swing weight points.
  4. Chris92009

    Chris92009
    Ohio

    Brock L said:

    Go see a fitter. Most PGA Tour players use a driver that is 44.5" to 45" in length. Studies have shown that ball speed is nearly identical at nearly every length ranging from 44" to 46". While you MIGHT get an occasional fast one with a longer length, you are more likely to strike the center of the face with shorter length. You will also need to pay attention to swingweight when cutting down a club that much. Shortening length by 1/2" usually equates to 2 swing weight points.

    completely agree!
  5. Barry M

    Barry M
    Reno, NV

    Don't play for distance and mph. Your goal off the tee should always be where you want to take the next shot from. Find a good fitter or swing coach and give it a try. You may be pleasantly surprised.
  6. Don O

    Don O
    Madison, WI

    There is a trade off between length and accuracy. To date, I am longer at 45 than 45.75 due to being closer to the sweet spot. It will be interesting with the GT version to see if there is less distance loss with the 46 inch stock length. So far the reports are loss on off center hits are less punishing.

    Watching LPGA players choke down on almost all clubs, run an experiment doing that for you. If you cut too much off, adding extensions is the only option and won’t be the same as your exotic shaft Work with a pro after the experiment so you don’t take off too much initially.
  7. JPumphrey

    JPumphrey

    If you feel like shortening the driver length is the right play for you, then by all means, do it! I’m about 4 or 5 inches taller than you are, when I went to go get fitted, I also fit into a TSR2 and a half inch taken off length. I was finding the center of the face more often and carrying just as far as my precious driver (cobra rad speed) at stock length. My dispersion was also tightened up significantly. So I’m an advocate for shortening the shaft!
  8. Edward K

    Edward K
    Wesley Chapel, FL

    Military
    Depends on your swing/tempo. Many guys can handle the longer length with no issue. I choke down on my driver, thus playing a 45.5" at around 44. Yes, the club geeks would argue I should just get a stock shaft at the shorter length, it works for me. You're not talking about a significant yardage overall, maybe go to a club fitter, get on the monitor, see what the numbers say.
  9. Chris92009

    Chris92009
    Ohio

    Wow, that is a loaded question. I play a 44.5" driver and I am 6'-6" tall, however because I tend to hit the center of the face more easily and repeated .... I find I drive the ball farther than my original 45" or 45.5" drivers. Go figure!

    So it becomes personal preference but I do not think just because of your height you could use a longer driver and be ok...I have found that most tour pros that are shorter dont go much shorter than 44" on their drive and some use a 45" driver....

    Good Luck....you may wish to be fit by a professional Titleist fitter that could offer you some feedback based upon your ball strikes and spin...

    Cheers
  10. Tim S

    Tim S

    cut it....not only will you maintain distance but become more accurate....at 5'3", a 45" driver is way too long
  11. Aldrin S

    Aldrin S
    Valencia, California

    This may help - I'm 5' 3'' as well... yesterday I went to my first Titleist fitting for the GT driver.
    (I have never got my woods fitted, only Irons). I was fit -1 inch and saw a lot more center strikes.
    My stock shaft with my TSi I was always fighting the heel.
  12. Tyler_S

    Tyler_S
    Cypress, TX

    This is a good topic. It's personal preference to begin with but if someone were to ask you, would you rather hit the ball 260 in the middle of the fairway every time or hit it 290 but be playing out of the rough, most of us would hopefully select 260 in the middle of the fairway. I would. I understand the short clubs in argument you can make too....

    I have been giving a lot of thought about my next driver (GT) being around the 44.5 or 44.75 mark. I am currently at 45 and while I am ok, I would gladly give up a few yards to find more fairways.

    I agree with a few here the distance loss is not that much, and I can argue you would increase your distance because you are finding the center of the club more often and swinging with more confidence.

    The swing weight will change a bit but most of us amateurs would not notice. The shaft flex will change a half flex where a stiff might be a stiff plus but all that means is the dispersion will be tighter and the shaft won't provide as much kick help.

    If you have a 3w, you can always switch that out on your driver head. Yes, it will be considerably shorter than 44.5 but at least you would get an idea before cutting a shaft down.

  13. Barry M

    Barry M
    Reno, NV

    Tyler_S said:

    This is a good topic. It's personal preference to begin with but if someone were to ask you, would you rather hit the ball 260 in the middle of the fairway every time or hit it 290 but be playing out of the rough, most of us would hopefully select 260 in the middle of the fairway. I would. I understand the short clubs in argument you can make too....

    I have been giving a lot of thought about my next driver (GT) being around the 44.5 or 44.75 mark. I am currently at 45 and while I am ok, I would gladly give up a few yards to find more fairways.

    I agree with a few here the distance loss is not that much, and I can argue you would increase your distance because you are finding the center of the club more often and swinging with more confidence.

    The swing weight will change a bit but most of us amateurs would not notice. The shaft flex will change a half flex where a stiff might be a stiff plus but all that means is the dispersion will be tighter and the shaft won't provide as much kick help.

    If you have a 3w, you can always switch that out on your driver head. Yes, it will be considerably shorter than 44.5 but at least you would get an idea before cutting a shaft down.

    Titleist 3 wood adaptor is different than the driver adaptor. If you can't get or don't want a true fitting, and want to experiment yourself, buy a used shaft similar to yours with the driver adaptor on it and cut it from the grip end. It will set you back a few bucks but you won't ruin your original shaft if it doesn't work out. You'll need extra grips and head weights, and I would only do 1/2" at a time.
    Unless you like to tinker with your clubs and don't mind spending the money, I guarantee in the end you'll wish you had just gone to a good fitter.
  14. Lou G

    Lou G
    San Diego, CA

    For a long time I had been playing 44.5" with Burner HT draw (2011-2017) and 910D2 (2017-2019). To make the Burner properly swing weight, needed a Dri-Tac Lite Oversize grip. The 910 with Excel RF and Bassara would work fine with Winn Excel RF. The best thing I did in 2020 was go to 44" and an S60+ shaft. With the 913D2 (2019-2021) used 14g head weight. With the 915D2 (2021 until present) I switch between S60+ R and Diamana 62 x5ct S. 15g headweight. I've pretty much dead center on the driver since then. The Surefit is B3.
  15. Graham B

    Graham B

    Well I went from a 45.75" driver, to a 45" in a GT4 at my fitting and found ball speed/distance wins, as I was hitting the center of the face more often, which leads to a better strike/distance etc.

    My driver setup ( Cobra Darkspeed with MetaFlex 6.0 shaft at 45.25") vs my 3W setup
    (TM Mini Burner with 43.5" FreeFlx FW45 shaft) is literally identical.

    Facing off against each other on my Full Swing monitor, fastest speeds with either were 108.3 mph vs 108.1 mph clubhead speed. Ball speed within 2 mph, and carry numbers within 5 yards.

    DON'T be scared of losing distance with a shorter driver shaft. If tweaked properly some, your only changes will be an an increase in accuracy, with basically the same, or better, distance!

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