In searching to improve my golf game, I looked at every option, from new balls to techniques and everything in between, to try and get some more distance. Some of it helped, but not enough. Much like my ball, they all tended to fall short.
That’s when I took a step back. To understand how to fix the problem, I first needed to understand what I was doing wrong, so I turned my attention to what was giving me the most trouble.
My drivers.
I was struggling to land myself into a good spot on the fairway, let alone stay out of the rough or, god forbid, the bunker.
That’s when I began asking myself; Should I shorten my driver shaft? Does a shorter driver shaft help? How really do drivers work?
Keep reading if you have the same questions as myself.
How Drivers Work
To make a long story short, a driver is your leading club. It’ll be what you use to make those long shots as you get close to the hole.
The average length of a driver is 44 inches for men and 43 for women. This makes sense because golfers have increasingly been seeking more distance. A longer club means a wider swing arc, allowing more acceleration.
These qualities were especially good for me when I was teeing off and needed to get the most distance possible.
Logically, longer driver shafts would give the most distance; however, the answer is a bit more complicated.
How Drivers Actually Work
The heading is a little hyperbolic, but there is some truth to it. While driver length is important when deciding how well a driver works. It was one piece of the puzzle that decided how far swings could take me.
The head, the solid bit at the end, is another integral part of your driver. It helps determine the accuracy of your shots and even your Moment of Inertia (MOI), which measures how much a club will shift when hitting the ball.
The MOI is important because it helps determine how large the sweet spot, where you get good range and intended direction, is on your club.
It makes sense people are using longer clubs because they would keep a better balance when fitted with a larger head. Large heads are more common to find nowadays with most golf clubs. The average driver head size is between 440c and 460c, which is the largest a driver head can be by USGA regulations.
Large heads with long shafts are easy to find even if you’re not specifically shopping for them. The ease of accessibility is part of the reason why I used them too.
How Long Shafts and Large Heads Work Together
The idea goes like this. Longer shafts give you a wider range when swung, giving you more time for acceleration and, therefore, further distance. It stands to reason that combining a long shaft with a large head, which has the largest sweet spot, should make your ball soar.
Large heads will generally have a greater MOI, meaning the sweet spot where you can hit the ball without the club flexing in a way that throws off your shot is larger. The high MOI makes them suitable for teeing off since it’s easier to drive long distances.
Logical thinking dictates that using a long shaft with a large head should produce the best results, but those two things, when put together, may defeat the purpose of having either.
How They Get in Each Other’s Way
A longer shaft is supposed to increase speed; add the more prominent sweet spot into the equation, and you should send your ball soaring. While nothing in that equation is wrong, there’s one huge caveat.
You get the most distance when hitting the sweet spot, and longer shafts may have reduced accuracy when compared to short shafts.
Another reason long shafts don’t work for you is that you’re simply too short. The standard 44-inch length best fits those who are 6-feet tall and hinder others.
Wind resistance, which is increased with the larger heads, means you have to put more effort into getting the desired speed. Just how tall you are could also get in the way of optimum play.
What’s the point of the larger sweet spot if you struggle to hit it?
Small Heads And Shorter Shafts
There’s no exact definition of what makes a clubhead small, so what makes a small clubhead is relative to what you’re already using.
The advantage to using a small head for your driver is found in the reduced weight, which leads to less wind resistance and, therefore, greater accuracy. The lessened wind resistance can overcome the shorter swing arc and keep distance while ensuring you actually hit the sweet spot.
This comes with an increased spin rate when you hit the ball in the sweet spot. This should give you more control when deciding where the ball will land when golfing. It could end up making your drives far more effective.
Granted, that is still presuming you hit the sweet spot. Because the head is smaller, so is the sweet spot, so you might be in the bunker rather than the fairway.
The obvious solution to this would be to use a short driver shaft and a large head when you golf, yet those two things can put your entire club off balance and make your swing worse as well.
In Conclusion
Like everything else in life, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions.
If your current driver is too big, it might be time to invest in a shorter driver shaft if you want more accuracy, but your total distance might drop off.
On the other hand, if your shaft is too long, it could get in the way, making you swing slower, so your ball won’t go as far as it should.
I can’t recommend shorter golf clubs with a smaller head because the balance will be off, and your accuracy will suffer.
Perhaps the best solution to fix your accuracy is to keep playing. It’s the best way to understand your clubs and where to hit that sweet spot if you want to play your best game.