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I'm 5'5" tall and I hit my driver off the rack just fine. I don't know the length. From the senior tees I can't reach the par 5's in 2 so I ordered a 3 wood and had it made an inch and a half longer so I could get some extra yards. For the most part now I can reach some par 5's in 2 but about half the time I hit the ground behind the ball causing a fat shot.i guess that's from the extra length. I might have to cut it down to size. What do you think?

That extra length could be causing the fat shots. I have always used stock drivers and always felt that I should hit it square a lot more than I did. A scratch golfer suggested that I shorten the length for better control. He also said the shorter distance might cause a distance loss, or maybe not because I would hit the sweet spot more often which seems to be the case. I don't know if you have seen the commercial on golf channe for the GX7 metal wood. They claim you will hit it further than your driver and it has a 42 inch shaft. I guess it is something you have to experiment with.

The minute I switched from a steel to a graphite shaft, my accuracy went all to heck. Since I don't play from the tips any longer, I am thinking of returning to a steel shaft.

I have no definite miss with my driver. Graphite shaft. I'm hoping the shorter shaft brings the dispersion a little closer. I like the feel of the shorter shaft so far. But time will tell.

About 2 years ago I cut down my driver by a full inch. When I did, I almost never missed a fairway. But I did lose significant distance. Something like 10 or more yards. On most holes it didn't matter because being in the fairway and still being able to reach the green with a mid iron was good enough. But on longer holes, not so good.
Since then, I was fitted for a new driver. Standard length. Got my distance back, and accuracy too. My take is that a proper fitting is better than fiddling with driver length. Now if I could only get back on the course and enjoy long straight drives again................

My problem was not enough solid hits. Toe, heel, sweet spot, then heel, toe, sweet spot. So I was always losing distance anyway. After 2 rounds with cut down shaft, I feel I'm hitting it a lot more in the middle of the head. Good luck with your health problems. I went thru heart problems for about a year and a half and finally found the problem, which lead to having a pace maker put in. Problem solved, so they tell me. Still don't have 100% confidence but almost there.

Preferably, you should have 80% of your clubs fit if you are a 15 or better. I still recommend choking down an inch (like Anthony Kim used to do) then cutting an inch off. Cutting any amount off of the shaft affects the effect of the shaft.

Contact is King. Find whatever head, grip, shaft length/flex/torque/kickpoint allows you to know/feel exactly where the head is at as you come through the ball square to the target line and hit the center of the club face. Physics takes care of the rest.


Oh yea, once you find it, don't get ticked off after a bad shot and break the darn thing.

The specs say that an inch or a max of an inch and half can be cut off the driver shaft. The specs do not recommend cutting them in half. (I think it causes back problems).

Vince, if your going to make it shorter, Make sure to leave enough shaft for the grip.

Got it.

I prefer a 46 1/2" driver. Go big or go home.

I am going to switch to a 35" driver. Hitting every fairway boys!

LL is the next Bryson Dechambeau!

That's about 8 inches shorter then normal. Won't you lose a lot of distance?