Drive It Longer – Play It Shorter!

Often shorter drivers result in more center contact, more distance, lower scores, and more fun!

Most often the "standard" driver lengths I see for female golf clubs is about 44 to 44-1/2 inches long.  Certainly shorter than the standard off-the-rack lengths for men, but still pretty long.  

As for men, it is likely for many females that these lengths are too long to produce the best results.  It was fun this past week to work with two female golfers who definitely showed this to be the case:

1.  The first was playing a driver length of about 43-1/2 inches long.  We tested a number of different flex shafts, and even different grip weights, at that length.  Almost all of these produced the same results – smash factors (ball speed divided by swing speed) of from 1.30 to 1.35, and not much difference in distance results compared to the driver she had in her bag.

Then she hit some shots where she gripped down her driver by about 2 inches.  Immediate improvement!  Smash factors often in the range of 1.40, and jumps in carry distance and total distance of about 10 yards.  Great stuff – with simple changes.  

2.  The second lady was playing a driver that was about 44 inches long.  Well, not really "playing" that driver, she simply could not hit it and had been using her 3 wood from the tee.  She had absolutely no confidence with her driver.  Well, same thing – she gripped down her present driver and immediate improvement in center contact and ability to hit her drives.  

In both cases, I believe the longer drivers put the golfers into a poor posture, and so they were not able to create athletic swings and make good contact with the ball.

How about for you, what can you do to determine if you are playing with a driver that is too long for you?  Well, the most simple thing to do is to go to the range and hit some drives where you grip your driver down 1 inch and then as much as 2 inches and see how your ball striking changes.  You might get some pleasant surprises if you do so – there is nothing wrong with getting more consistent, center contact – and perhaps even more yards!

The Fit Is IT!!

Tony