Golf Driver Tip – Is What’s In Your Golf Bag Holding You Back?
Is the driver you have in your golf bag a big mistake? I made a tweak to a driver to see if I could find the answer to longer and straighter golf drives. I have always wanted to test this theory and the answers are in. Should all golfers make this change to their golf drives to start hitting the best golf drives of their life.
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00:00 Golf Driver Tweak – The Answer To Longer Straighter Golf Drives?
02:04 Test Results
05:08 Conclusion
24 Comments
Awesome!! Thank you so much!!!
But Coach, oob is scary 😂
Would love to see this done using a mid then high handicapper. This could produce different result. To your point Coach – everyone is different.
Can you just choke down on your standard size driver to achieve the same results?
*Chopping an inch of anything is generally not advised..
What about different balls for different club head speed?
Thanks Coach. No I could not spot the difference lol…What made you do the comparison? Are some people shortening their driver shafts as they think it is easier to hit?
I used to use the Callaway fusion driver in 2017. They had 2 length options 45 1/2 and 44 1/2. I hit the shorter one much straighter and surprisingly farther too by about 5 + yards ave. The biggest difference was the Left and right dispersion was no where near as good with the long driver. My current driver is 44 3/4 inches…I find that is the sweet spot for me and I get the same swing speed with that length compared to the 45 1/2 and longer drivers…no reason to use the longer one.
I add weight to the head to get the swing weight back to D2 in the shorter length which may add some ball speed as well.
well one is at +1 and one is at -1…
As an avid golfer and statistician working in research, i.e. a stats man, I have an idea for you: Ask your stats man to help you to design an online experiment along the lines of:
Ask your followers to hit 50 shots with their driver on whatever launch monitor they have access to and send you the data. Ask them for as much additional information as possible, e.g. age, gender, hcp, how long they are playing golf, how regularly they are playing, usual playing conditions, gender, type of driver, shaft length, flex, standard loft, lofted up/lofted down, how often they just practice on the driving range, how often do they take lessons, etc. This could provide an answer to what really matters (on average) to golfers of each hcp-class. Or, in the worst case show that one launch monitor, driver, or whatever, is better than all the others. My personal guess is that taking lessons and practice will matter the most for certain hcp-brackets, whereas equipment will matter for others. I would be even willing to help you with this.
A two inch difference test would be interesting given the Burner Mini Driver is 43.75” and popular among those pursuing the shorter shaft off the tee.
Really interesting video! 👍 I got a 44" driver at the start of this season as I just wasn't comfortable with the 45"+ drivers I'd been using for years. I haven't hit it any further but I've hit it a lot straighter and feel far more confident off the tee. But we're all different. Find what works for you and stick with it.
It was clear that your strike close to center was better with the short one, so it might provide a clue for training. Perhaps practice with a 47" driver or a smaller head (old school) and then play with the 45.75" large head to improve strike location control
If they are both swingweighted the same, you may accomplish what you want with the shorter shaft.
I'm with others on this, the experiment across more players would be far more revealing I would imagine.
As your strike consistency and from that, smash factor is high, the differences are likely small and due to the tiny bit of difference in feel from the shorter shaft.
If you were to run this across a greater number of people, especially mid-high handicappers and those mid-low who struggle off the tee, I would think that's where you will see statiscally relevant gains in distance and dispersion through efficiency of strike rising. Could be wrong, would love to find out though!
I appreciate this video. I have shortened my driver a bit just because the confidence it made me feel…and for the most part, still feel good about it. But the balance point makes it feel different enough in the hand.
I think I would really have to work if I wanted to go back to the full length…
at my age (71) and physical abilities i have shortened my driver to 44 inches. my best with that length versus a standard length of 45.75 is shorter. but my average is higher. i do find the center of the face more often with the shorter driver. its a trade off i am willing to make. btw i am a 5 handicap
my gamer is a Mavrik SZ 10.5 down to a 9.5 that used to have a standard length and i went from feeling like I needed to swing out of my shoes for 115+ swing speed hitting fades (occasionally massive slice) but recently switched to a neutral 10.5° head with a max length xtra stiff shaft where im now hitting draws that I feel like I swing easier to get the same distance and have greater control. Idk why though xD I only did so because I got my hands on a long driver and Frankensteined the shaft over but was pleasantly surprised.
I wish fittings I've had in the past provided greater shaft options with combinations of weight and loft settings – although it would be a lot I think we're finding that we all have different swings/different builds so it makes sense that different variables will impact us all very differently.
Interesting stuff though! Love this type of content!
My driver is one of the best clubs I use
I definitely think more golfers should be playing driver closer to 44 inches rather than 46. It’s definitely an easy thing to test by choking down and using lead tape on the head. 44 inches with a heavier shaft and lead tape to get some (not all) swingweight back has been great for me.
Thanks for that comparison! Two things for me (everybody is indeed different). I stand 5'8" tall, and the long long drivers just are too long, they feel super awkward. and secondly, really I have my current driver -1.5" from "standard", but honestly, that's just getting it back to the length of driver I've been hitting most of my life.. The driver shaft length keeps getting longer and longer by default.. so I don't see it as getting a shorter shaft, I see it as staying the same, and not increasing the length!
Smaller radius of the swing circle for the short one will have lower club head speed given identical swing speed. I suspect that more effort applied for the short shaft based on confidence compensated for the shorter radius.
I have struggled with hitting a driver for years , I finally got a proper driving lesson from a good coach and fitted it at that time. I have a good plan to hit up on the ball and we cut the shaft down and back weighted my TSR 2 . It has slowly got more and more reliable until I hit 12 fairways one day! Cutting the shaft down may not be a magic bullet but confidence on the course is very important and I personally would recomend it for some struggling off the Tee.
I saw a “scientist “ who said that there’s more to it. He said you should change the shaft to get a different kick point and change the loft/lie angle and bla bla …