Is Lighter Longer? Is Longer Longer?

Great Masters this week, and Phil certainly deserved to win. Eagle, eagle, birdie…..amazing!

Watching these guys on TV, though, it is surprising how often they hit it into the trees. There has been a lot of discussion today on the AGCP forum that perhaps some of this is being caused by using shafts that are not the right weight for players.

Shaft weight has the biggest influence on the overall weight of a club. You all probably are seeing ads for how there are now REALLY light drivers being sold, because this is supposed to help players swing faster and hit it further. Maybe this is true for some, but also most likely not true for everyone.

In fact, I am in the process of building the lightest driver I have ever built for a client. It will probably come out to a total weight of about 275 grams, using an ultralight grip and very light shaft. This is more than 25 grams lighter than typical driver weights. For this player, I am sure that lighter is the way to go, and will lead to increased swing speed and added distance.

It gets different, though, when you are talking about folks who swing the driver at speeds of greater than 100 mph. For these players, light shafts may result in some increased swing speed, but most likely will also result on over the top swings and pull hooks. Yes, there will be some really long drives in there too…………..but a lot more second shots played from the trees.

If you are really a “boomer” then – unless you are a long driver contestant and do not care if you hit more than 1 out of say 6 fairways – then you should think about getting a heavier shaft in your driver rather than lighter. Playing second shots from pretty green fairways rather than pine straw is a LOT more fun!! And most likely any loss of distance will be minimal.

Tony