I average 270300 meters off the tee with my driver. So what do you do when your distance is falling short. The length increment between fairway woods should not be less than 1 inch. He also explained that some golfers will never gain distance even with a longer club and center contact, particularly those who release the club early to midway on the. Before we get to the instruction, lets talk about clubs. Address the ball as you normally would with an iron. If the golfers handicap is more than 15, make the secondlongest wood 1. 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.
Can a shorter driver shafts say from 44 to 42 help or aid in driving the ball more consistent as opposed to. Shorter shaft hitting the sweet spot more consistantly thus keep or even gaining distance. The impact labels will quickly let you know if the shorter clublength improves your ballstriking i. With arms extended, turn as far as you comfortably can while maintaining your address posture and spine. Which can ultimately lead to better distance than they had previously. That said, a shorter backswing for most, helps golfers find the correct sequence and leverage required for a good golf swing. This week gear guy explores the theory that a longer driver shaft equals more distance, the importance of face inserts on putters and more. Take the new taylormade m5 and m6 irons, for example. Increase your driver distance and start playing better golf. Oct 29, 2018 in this video we compare the same driver built first with a 45 shaft and then with a 47 shaft to see the differences in speed, distance, consistency and accuracy. Perhaps more than anything else, added shaft length has increased driver distances. So i decided to not only experiment with a shorter driver, but also heavier and stiffer. This week gear guy explores the theory that a longer driver shaft equals more distance.
Most of the time, the distance lost maybe 2 yards is waaaayyy outweighed in. Only now i hit out the middle of the club which obviously gives me more distance and more fairways. Michael breed give tips for driver length and distance. Rickie fowler finds shorterlength driver to his liking. Any loss in distance has been minimal, as im making contact with the center of the club face more consistently and i get better roll out in the short grass. Since that is where the extra distance is coming from with these irons, if you are properly fitted and need them to be made 12. In the previous segment of this blog, we discussed hitting the ball on the sweet spot in order to optimize your smash factor or efficiency. Oct 01, 2018 we immediately set out to fix that and discover whether golfers are helped or harmed by longer driver shafts. You might be thinking well wouldnt a driver with a longer shaft go farther. A number of drives with the shorter driver were very long.
Especially if you are slicer, you have lots of potential to increase your distance with your 7iron and other irons as well. Many tour pros are opting for a shorter driver shaft these days. Wishon also told me that the average driver length on the pga tour is shorter than the standard lengths equipment companies sell us. I consider making changes to your golf clubs a refinement. This frees up your hips for greater rotation and transfers weight to your back foot. Now with a longer driver, you are able to hit longer golf shots thats because you have more potential club head speed. But as i noted drivers have also gotten lighter and longer than ever and for me, i cant swing these clubs consistently. Shots from the shorter driver were more accurate, and usually as long or almost as long as from the longer driver. So all things being equal a shorter backswing does not equal more distance.
Hitting the center of the club face is the key to extra distance, and a shorter club may be the answer. And because of that, i can almost guarantee this golfer struggles with distance. Offline drives with the shorter driver werent as far off. Intuitively, you have to agree that a shorter length driver has to be more accurate with all other variables the same. If we look at carry distance, less loft produced more distance only 4 times out of 12. Ill probably add a 12 to it but i hate to put too much more swing weight on.
There is no wrong golf club distance, there is only your distance. Now do i start cutting shafts down or just wait a little bit. This can be a symptom of body rotation or club head speed. Optimize driver loft for more distance true fit clubs. While i usually get pretty good distance from my driver and woods 230yards average for the driver and about 200 for my three wood, my iron distance is, proportionally, not as good, say 5140 for a 7 iron. 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 suggestion as ive always interpreted it is that a shorter driver will be more accurate, and because youre better able to control the club, and find the sweet spot, more often, average total distance could actually increase. The prospect of being 1015 yards shorter in fairway sounds a whole lot better than going deep into the. Shorter driver shaft i went from 45 to 43 12 a few years back and have gained more control over my driver. Over the past decade, there has been a shift to give longer shafts to consumers. Com equipment insider jonathan wall takes a look at rory mcilroys callaway apex mb irons, the rise of taylormades spider putter on tour, the. Should i grip down on my golf driver to improve accuracy.
My irons didnt lose anything close to 40% of their distances, while my driver hitting a tree or other object easily does. Pga professional eric hogge explains why adding even the tiniest amount of weight to your driver golf club can have a big impact on the distance you get off the tee. In this video we compare the same driver built first with a 45 shaft and then with a 47 shaft to see the differences in speed, distance, consistency and accuracy. Jan 07, 2015 if the golfers best driver length is shorter than 44 inches, the second longest wood should be 1 inch shorter than the driver.
Funny thing is i kind of like the shorter club, makes a 6 look like a. So if a longer shaft equals more distance, why doesnt everyone use a. Most three wood shafts are the old driver standard 43. Any slight miss hit will see a drop off in distance. I even let a fellow much taller than me try my driver and he was amazed with the distance over his driver that was half inch longer than standard. Overall, the change in distance was almost negligible, and it clearly showed that a longer driver shaft does not do much to increase your distance. He actually hit his drive farther with mine than his. The quest for a more accurate driver practical golf. This is the most important fact to take away from this article.
Irons are way more accurate and with them being shorter i feel each iron is more specific. Theres no doubt that new drivers are made to maximize distance. Make a normal backswing and hold the position at the top. Shorter drives lead to longer approach shots, longer approach shots lead to fewer greens hit, which leads to higher scores and a lot less fun. Tell me, which one of those irons is more accurate for you. Lighter, shorter, softer gives more driver distance true. You might be surprised that most pros have an average driver shaft length of 44. I recently bought a new set of irons which were made in the early 90s when clubs were a little shorter. This edition of golf tips relates to driver accuracy. If you like the results at the shorter length, i would butttrim 12 and put it in play. Ian woosnam stands all of 54, but the 1991 masters winner aka the wee welshman could positively pound. Learn from a 2star pga professional how to increase your distance and smash drives. Taylormades new speed bridge technology adds ball speed and forgiveness by helping the face flex more at impact for more energy transfer to the golf ball.
Oct 14, 2019 a shorter driver could lead to more centerface contact for more distance, but weve also talked to golfers who are using longerlength clubs with a lighter shaft for added lengthspeaking to the. Golfers want more distance and the manufacturers are happy to give it to them with longer shafts. But whats more curious is thats how a lot of people shop for golf clubs. Michael breed, host of the golf fix, teaches how to find the proper length of your driver shaft and gives a drill to maximize distance. All things being equal, a longer driver shaft will allow you to swing the club faster, which could add more distance. The lighter weight allows for a longer shaft, but the 3wood shaft is normally cut an inch shorter than the driver to offer more control. If you are striking out of the centre you will see a little reduction due to loft but more consistant control of distance is the goal.
Blades and forged irons are all about distance control and workability. Jul 30, 2019 you might be surprised that most pros have an average driver shaft length of 44. The folks at ping built me two identical g30 driversone at their standard length of 4534 inches, the other two inches shorter. May 10, 2019 this week gear guy explores the theory that a longer driver shaft equals more distance, the importance of face inserts on putters and more. Taylormade would love you to believe that longer shaft length is more distance because it is on a robot in a testing lab but in practice with humans it usually doesnt work out that way. Shop to find out if using a driver with a shorter shaft could. Golf power and distance are one of the primary limitations for senior golfers and golfers over 50. Nov 16, 2018 the lighter weight allows for a longer shaft, but the 3wood shaft is normally cut an inch shorter than the driver to offer more control. Irons master clubmaker ralph maltby says that adding 12 inch length can add about 5 to 7 yards in distance for irons. As the driver length got shorter most of the golfers actually gained distance, with the exception of. You most likely will not see any loss in distance because what you lose in terms of club head speed is made up for with more consistent contact on the true center of the club face the sweet spot.
That is the main reason you can hit a 8 iron better than a driver. There are drills you can do to increase your body rotation and your club head speed. Hitting long, straight irons is one of the keys to a better golf game. Jan 12, 2012 the argument for playing a shorter driver has never been about distance. It could be that youve never had the type of impact on the ball to make the ball go as far as those your playing with. Ive played 2 rounds like this and i have actually gained 1 club in distance with irons and have hit my driver straighter and longer than before. As the driver length got shorter most of the golfers actually gained distance, with the exception of the last group of low singledigit handicaps. The argument for playing a shorter driver has never been about distance. If you want to hit longer drives and send you driver further down the.
I gave up no real distance and gained more consistency with the shorter shaft and higher loft. Nov 28, 2015 cant say that i have tried a shorter driver, but i tend to hit my 3 wood straighter than the driver and i think that its because of the shorter shaft. Aug, 2014 of our 12 sets each golfer produced 3 sets, 1 with each driver, we found that less loft produced more total distance only half the time, 6 out of 12. Callaway mavrik irons maverick distance in every face enter the cobra. This indicates that distance isnt the result of more loft or less loft, but of getting the right loft. In contrast the shorter model yielded a maxed out smash factor of. Besides coming very close to my usual driver distance, i also stayed in range of my playing partners who began proclaiming i had no need for a driver as long as i had the spoon. What do half inch long shafts do to your golf shot. Oct 17, 2017 hold your driver with your right hand on the hosel and your left hand on the grip above. New tech in irons not only helps golfers hit the ball higher and straighter, but get more distance out of each club, too. I believe there is great merit to the shorter driver trend. The effect of club length on swing speed and distance on january 11, 2016 by menno zacharias in clubs my last post identified a number of disadvantages of single length irons, primarily, hitting the wedges to 8 iron to long because the shafts are longer than conventional and hitting the 63 irons to short as the shafts are shorter than. Youll find it easier to hit the sweet spot with a shorter shaft, and you can go.
Michael breed give tips for driver length and distance golf. A shorter driver could lead to more centerface contact for more distance, but weve also talked to golfers who are using longerlength clubs with a. And when we look at their drivers, we typically see one commonality, their driver shaft length. Andre was playing a standard length tour ad tp7 s in his m5 driver and was not getting consistent drives. Feb, 2019 new tech in irons not only helps golfers hit the ball higher and straighter, but get more distance out of each club, too. Ford tests buzzing wristbands to keep sixfoot distance between workers. Thinking about cutting my driver shaft down an inch. We immediately set out to fix that and to discover whether golfers are helped or harmed by longer driver shafts. A couple hours with my pro and he did get me some more distance and i did get. The secrets to increasing distance of your 7iron golf tips. After warming up at the standard length, try choking up at the 12 mark and hitting some balls. Add weight to your driver golf club for more distance pga.
The last week or so it was possibly closer to 240 yards total distance because i was more consistent. Jan 31, 2017 you most likely will not see any loss in distance because what you lose in terms of club head speed is made up for with more consistent contact on the true center of the club face the sweet spot. In general, this will be a spot that is slightly towards the toe and just above the center of the clubface. Fowler noted his irons and fairway woods also are shorter in length, and bringing the driver down in length made for an easier progression from club to club, as all are now approximately the same. How to get more distance with irons the golftec scramble. And knowing your distances also known as knowing your yardages is much more important than knowing how far each club is supposed to go. If anything, im hitting it the same distance, sometimes longer. He shows you what happens when he takes a normal swing with his driver golf club as is, then demonstrates the effect of a little bit of lead tape in terms of centeredness of contact. My duck hook still went over 230 yards or more with the roll on the hard pan. Since on 78 par 4s i could hit into bunkers or hazards with the driver, and 24 par 5s had too much trouble around them to go for in 2. Should i grip down on my golf driver to improve accuracy video by peter finch should i grip down on my golf drive to improve accuracy. Learn the simple tips, tactics, and drills that you can use to increase your driver distance, hit more fairways, and start playing better golf.