James thank you so much for doing this video. I recently bought p790 irons and did not notice they are a half inch shorter than my M2 irons. I struggled with this for weeks and no one gave me a clear answer, this video helped me so much. Your now my favorite

I was fitted for +1/2 inch but I play standard. The dynamics of my swing, when I play "fitted" clubs, I hit TONS of fat shots. As you mentioned the weight, another reason I play standard is I like my irons around D3, +1/2 brought my swing weight up to D6. The problem I could see moving into longer clubs than fitted, would be control. If a 5i length 7i was key, guys on tour would do it, the main ingredient is control, the longest club you can control. Great Video James.

Your vid just highlights the need to get fitted by a Master Club Fitter. Earlier this year I got fitted for a new set of Orka Irons, the shafts ended up being 15grams heavier, they were + 1/2" long (I usually have +1") and the lie angle was 2deg flat (instead of 2deg upright). The difference has been startling, my new Iron, the shots are suddenly so much crisper & longer despite Orka having traditional lofts!

Ive just bought theP790s and i love them!! Looking to buy the 3&4 iron soon!! Theyre so good!

Great video.. I had a driver fitting (Callaway). I was fitted for standard length shaft 45.5. I just happed to have a fitting for a 3 wood and the fitter asked about my driver..after a little bit of work I now have a 44.5 inch shaft in my driver.. club speed is up dispersions better and no difference in distance

I am gaming the P790s (2017) with KBS Tour stiff shafts (1,5 inch longer)! Dropped in HCP from 18 to 11 in 1,5 yr! Best irons in the market!

I had my driver shaft shortened by 0.75" from 45.25" to 44.5" (note you need to add some weight head to compensate for loss of shaft length). Have not noticed loss of distance but definitely improved dispersion

I was fitted recently, and have always used standard length shafts but was fitted into 1 inch longer. I'm not overly tall at 5'11 so found it very interesting and was quite suprised. Very keen to see how they go....

I do love the studio, it’s gorgeous

good video, when i got fitted they measured me into standard shafts but i hit the +.5 further with less dispersion so i went with those.

I'm gaming the previous model P790 but they're still good I'm hitting them because of the review you've done on them on your channel

A lot of good comments down below so I’ll keep this simple... Great video! Would love to see you do a test with shorter shafts. Maybe even a mid handicap test with both longer and shorter shafts? I’ve found that I always hit the ball a little better when I grip down a touch... so I make that my standard setup for my 3/4 (finesse) swing. It’s my go to shot whenever I can use it. **My clubs are all standard length but 1* flat.

James, interesting to note your smash factor with the + half inch shaft it's much better than the standard and the inch longer shafts

I have Nike vr pro blades I’ve learned to golf with and currently still play. My 4 iron was accidentally reshafted +1 and it took a LONG time to be able to hit it. The gap between my 4 and 5 iron is equivalent to a gap between a 7 and a 9 iron. My 5 will fly 195-210 and the 4 now goes 225-235 (fade/draw) Never reshafted it properly so I just kind of use it as a driving/fairway finder iron

I was just messing about with my 11 year olds clubs in the garden and some practice balls and couldn't believe how well I was hitting, and I felt I was getting into some really great positions. Took them to the range to hit some proper balls and this carried on. I'm now serious about getting my clubs shortened my about one inch.

As you know James, I was fitted for the Ping G410 driver with a 3/4 inch shorter shaft. While the head speed may have fallen slightly the fact I hit more shots from the centre of the face meant they went further with a more consistent ball flight 👍

Love my P790’s (old version) + .5 and 2 up

Use Green dot Pings fitted in 2015 . When Fitted in 2019 for G400 Max the fitter said 45" and regular flex. I'd always played stiff and longer in the past. At age 62 and having had a significant layoff from competition i trusted his choice but it just went way too high on course. So i started fiddling about with shafts , off the net etc:. The fix was going from 45" stock Alta CB to 48" Stiff Smoke .. yes forty eight inches !! finally I can feel the where my driver is in the backswing and joy of joys its longer and Straight.

I like Michael Ellis' comment below big-time. I'd be interested in a video using shorter golf shafts on the driver and woods. First, I play the G400 in all my woods and hybrids. I was struggling with dispersion with the driver. Distance was ok for what I wanted, but inconsistency in dispersion was not what I wanted. Find fairway or just miss, score pretty well. Find the heavier rough or worse, scoring affected and too much pressure on recovery or wedge game. Since my driver dictates how I score more than any other club, I started experimenting with shaft lengths. Personally, I found dispersion was much better (control of the club) without a loss in distance (240-250 yards average drive). So then I tried the same with my 3 and 5 wood. Same again. Better contact, even a little more distance. So now I play a 42.5 inch 3-wood shaft in my driver, a 5-wood shaft in my 3-wood, and a 7-wood shaft in my 5-wood. It's helped me control the club much better, and allows me to swing more freely (confidence) believing I can control my dispersion and distance. Just my experience for what it's worth.

Great vlog James! I play the “old” P790 in standard length and I do enjoy them! I expected the longer shaft to go further with more ball speed. If the shaft is longer did you play it forward in your stance more to adjust?

Maybe you should do another test for those vertically challenged golfers. 1/2" shorter and 1" shorter. You may be surprised by the results.

Yes I play the P790S it is last year model love them but going back to get new shafts. I think Steal is better than Graf

I just took my clubs to Golf Galaxy to get them extended. I needed +.5" . I'm excited to try it out on Wednesday when I pick it up.

I use Mizuno Jpx 919 hot metals with a half inch extension (because of how tall I am) and it makes my shot a lot more natural feeling! Getting fit for your clubs is key

Great video again James and enjoyable, yep I am currently gaming the new P790 irons although I am going back to see my fitter tomorrow evening because I’m finding the heads too light whichever is going to put right for me

wow, very interesting, It puts to bed a lot of these arguments you hear at the range about having longer clubs to hit longer shots this doesn't necessarily equate as you've shown, what really makes longer shots is better ball striking. great video James.

The shaft of my driver was slightly lengthened when I last regripped it and a pal gave me a 1.5oz lead weight which fits in the grip end of the shaft. The club feels much better balanced (to me) now, and as all my clubs reg graphite shafted, next time I regrip I will add the little weights to all of them.

I am currently playing a set of 2018 P790 irons with KBS Tour C-Taper Lite x-flex shafts. 1/2" longer than standard and bent 2 degrees stronger than standard.

I bought the p790’s and absolutely love them Getting used to the distances however, these clubs hit long As far as shaft length, my ping’s were +1” and I have noticed I am striking more on the toe. Great vid!!!!

Hi James love the content, I'm looking to update my utility 2 iron. I'm thinking ping g410 crossover or the callaway x forged utility iron, both in a 2 iron. You've reviewed the ping if your able could you do a head to head for them both

all my clubs are 1 degree upright, and 1/4" shorter as fitted by my local pro, works a treat

I think I need to look at mine. The wife said my shaft needs to be an inch longer. 🤔

I know this post is 2 years old but i got fitted for the ping 425 and the half in longer ping standard shaft was an eye opener for me as i could see the ball better at strike, my chin was up higher and freed up my swing no end , will be getting shaft extenders for my iorns "ping blueprint blades " as ordering a new set is too expensive , hoping for the hole that occurs in my glove at the palm to stop as i go through gloves every 3 rounds

Yes James - need the driver as well !! Great vid as per - nice to see Liam guesting from #golfvlogsuk - you could use his cut down callaway

Bang on 6ft1 and play half inch longer with 2° flat. Made a big difference to me for finding the centre of the club more often and to my turf interaction. But I'm no where near the suggested length for my height with my driver. I play a 3wood shaft. Works for me though.

I went the other way with my driver. Took 2.5 inches off the shaft length which made it much more controllable and I havent lost too much distance.

Interesting vid I went for a fitting 2 years ago and until recently I was gaming Wilson irons that were half an inch longer, went for an updated fitting two months ago and got fitted for the new p790 standard length I haven’t lost any distance but my dispersion has got tighter across all clubs absolutely love them but still unsure how two fittings can give you two different lengths 🤔

I once asked our pro to lengthen an old 8 iron to 4 iron length. He warned me that this probably wouldn't work, and he was right. Totally uncontrollable.

The slowest clubhead speed had the highest ball speed. Very interesting that. Be good to try this with a higher handicap tester to see? Centred strike is always the key!

You should test shorter by half an inch and one inch too James

Great video !👌🏻

Hey James, i was really excited about the single length clubs until I found out the clubs were 7 iron length. I broke my back in 4 places, my leg, heel and ankle, so my flexibility is shot. I need my 3456 irons their traditional length or longer, but i can surely deal with the 7 through wedge being 7 iron length. Maybe i have to build my own or cobble together two sets.

I think maybe a small tee would make it equal. Was expecting more difference though, keep up the good work 👍

Makes a massive difference. I was using stock irons and am 6’4”. Now I’m fitted I’m +1” and 2up. Completely changed my game. Way more consistent and handicap came down from 9 to 5

I don't get the distance with a shorter shaft but I get so many more fairways and to me that's always a winner to me over distance

What is interesting is that the +1/2 your smash was elite. Looks like its the one for you my friend.

I use the 2017 version of the P790 2degree up and 1/2 inch longer.

i was fitted for +1" 10 years ago. Most recently I was fitted to a set of AP3's which also came out as +1"

I’ve just moved to 1/2 inch longer in my irons, after being fitted/measured, so this will be really interesting to watch! I’m expecting to hear that it changes strike and there is marginal gains regarding distance. But let’s hope it turns me into an iron striking legend!!! 😂⛳️🏌️‍♂️🤙

Same issue as new longer driver shafts, added swing speed does not necessarily mean longer distance because center strikes may become inconsistent. James, looks like you might want to consider adding .5" to your irons though.

You would have to change to lie angle of the head to be fair for your swing. But the results are pretty much what I would have expected. Fun stuff.

I've played standard length iron for about half a year en got a really annoying back pain after a round. Got fitted for two inch longer irons en never looked back since.

I use standard length and lies in my irons. I would expect the shots to be farther right with each of the 2 extra length shafts since you might not get the clubhead around as quickly to get it squared up. For my driver and 3 wood, the shafts are shorter. I think my driver is 44.25 and the 3 wood is 42.5 or 42.75. It's been a while since I got them.

My irons Ping i3 Oversize Irons - Maroon Dot +2 length. I am 6'3 with shorter arm length. Been using these for many years now, just started noticing I been hitting them better choking up a bit. Might be time for a new fitting and some new irons.

I’m 6’5 and mine are 1 & 1/4 longer. I don’t think they’re long enough if I’m brutally honest. I play off 11.3 and I shot a 78 (6 over) the other day with them. My wedges and 2 iron are 1 inch longer and driver and 3 wood are standard length. All my clubs except wedges (midsize) have jumbo grips and they help so much. My putter is a Scotty Cameron Pro Platinum and that is 36.5 inch. I extended them all myself. I will get fitted properly soon but everyone says I need at least an inch.

U have a video for every subject :))

James love the video, I play Mizuno JPX 919 Hot Metal at +1” and 2° upright. I would like to see this same video done with a taller golfer using shorter clubs.

I was fitted at Tour X for p790’s last year. Mine are half an inch longer.

I have found that for the driver, shaft length makes a big difference. Longer shafts should theoretically mean more distance because the 'lever' is longer thereby creating more club speed. But I have found that with a shorter driver my wrists get more active and I generate more speed that way. It must be because the angles are different. Suggestion to the readers: go to the range and hit drivers choking up on the grip an inch or two. You will see what I mean. It feels like you can torque the heck out of the ball, LOL! I am thinking this same thing happens with irons but it is not as noticeable. So, there is the optimum length to create speed both with the wrists and with the 'lever' length of the shaft. I would say, do what Mr. Robinson did. Test the irons and drivers with different length shafts. As he said, it is easy to do with today's technology.

Any chance of similar with the driver but the opposite way round, shorter shaft? Use a 3 wood length shaft in my driver, lost a bit of distance on my best best strike but consistency of strike means I’d say I’m averaging further

James should you have changed the ( lie ) angle of the club head to fit the added length of each shaft, which then should have improved your strike. One of my cousins who is much taller had longer clubs bent more upright, there was no way I could hit them well without changing my swing to do so, and I wasn't doing that to hit anyone's clubs and messing with my swings timing and strike. Getting fit for club length very important, good video, thanks.

I’m 5’8 just bought a set of mizuno hot metal pros really considering having them shortened.

i'm 5' 5'' and i play with + 1.5'' . took a wile to get used to it but it stopped me topping the ball. in my group of friends they think the pro was drunk when i got fitted but it does work for me

Very interesting!

1/2” shorter would be interesting to include, suspect it will help dispersion

I have the original p790s, have helped me tremendously. Standard length and lie.

I am 6'4" and 14/16'" tall. So basically 6'5" tall. 14 years ago, I got fitted for a +3'4" length and +3 lie. They felt so much better than standard length and lie irons that I have always used. The +3 lie especially made my swing so much more natural. This setup has worked pretty good, but after using them for years, I still feel like they're too short. I recently got fitted again. I tried a 1", 1.25", and a 1.5" length, all on a +3 lie. The 1.5" length felt the best and most natural for my swing today. I'm thinking part of the reason why is because my arms are short for how tall I am. So I need that extra club length to feel comfortable in my swing. Just bought new clubs and awaiting for them to be built. Can't wait to use them!

I am 6ft 3" tall & I need the extra 1" in shaft length which is why I was custom fitted.

A bit of trig says 1" on a driver, is 1.5 degrees change in shaft angle, if nothing else alters. I like 1" longer, but then gripping down a fraction. That gives me options to go up or down to adjust for ground slope. And yes, a flatter angle means harder to control, IMHO. So there is a trade off against length vs confidence of hit. What it does to swing weight, not sure. Current clubs - standard woods (9 degree driver), Irons JPX 800 Pro, 2 degree upright , 1" long, graphite shaft, Steel weight heads

I’m 6’3 and been fitted years ago and feedback was 1 inch longer and 2 degrees upright. Couldn’t stop pulling it left and shanking!!!! Made my own mind up to trial standard length loft and lie. Never hit it straighter or flighted it better! Never looked back. Be careful with club fitting. I’m a low handicap golf and fortunately know my own swing. I coach myself after being coached by major winning gurus. Take control of your own shit! 👍

I wonder how much is related to how you're delivering the club to ball rather than just height. I'm 6'3" play 1/2" longer and 4°upright.

just bought some second hand titleist tmb irons without realising they were half inch longer,played a couple of rounds before even noticing but hit them the best i've hit irons for years,weird!

Any chance of same idea with a driver to see if a shorter shaft improves control/dispersion

Thankyou for this video. Being 6 ft 2 with long arms I have been wondering if longer clubs would make a difference. I guess the standout stat was height for me, I'm not too bothered about the distance as I can hit it fairly far, but the height I'd gain might do me some good. I think the stats would of been more decisive had you had someone the right height for the +1 inch club. It may be worth doing it going the opposite way and seeing what shorter clubs do. I have to ask, so how does the lie angle take effect ? , could you maybe do a video hitting different lie angles please ? That's if it's worth doing i wouldn't have a clue. Oh and congrats to the fella who won the 500 quid golf clubs 4 cash voucher :D

Interesting video, what's the effect on dispersion?

I bought my ping s57 irons 2nd hand and they are 1/4 inch shaft length difference between them. I don't know what this should do but it seems ok. What difference should this make? 👍 ☺

I bought a WILSON D100 lightweight driver 12degrees. It was so light I had no POWER to hitvthe ball. ( Think of a train hitting you, or a feather). So I was able to extend the shaft 1.5 inches and add a pair of 5g lead strips to rhe sole to get the shot shape I wanted. I gained 30 yards overnight on a £34.99 second hand driver.!! 😂😂😂😂 Loving it. ( From average 190 carry, to 220 average carry. FYI ).

I once hit a Heaven wood 250 yards. 43inch shaft. 90 mph swing speed.

Can you maybe try to take a 5 iron head and put it on a 7 iron shaft? I know they have one length clubs, but what about heads that are not made for one length clubs, like the P790.

Hi first. I have a question. I bought a Ping G425 Hybrid 5 last winter because I didn't consistently hit my 5 iron the season before last. Well, last season I trained a lot and did very well with my 5 iron. Total width are both at 170m. The only difference currently is that the hybrid carry has 8m more. This now makes the hybrid superfluous. Since I can adjust the loft and lie of the Hybrid, I thought of lengthening the shaft to get a few more meters. Can this work? Best regards from Germany.

I would like your professional opinion on an idea that has been in my mind for quite some time. Do you think it would be a good idea to have a split set but in terms of length? Meaning Pitching wedge thru 7 iron are standard lengths but then shorten 6i, 5i, and 4i to make the longer irons easier to play.

I don't know about the numbers but an extra inch on my irons definitely helps my back

You should do this test with driver or even a fairway wood.

Make a video where you compare a shortened iron (0.5") with a standard length iron. 7 iron at 36.5" vs 37".

As I am still watching the video and not read comments so its likely this has been mentioned either in the video or comments. SWING WEIGHT!! An Inch can make a big difference in swing weight. How about using a shorter than standard shaft? How about the consistencies and numbers with that setup?

I play Ping i210’s and Stealth wedges, 1” longer than standard!

I was fitted for +1 inch. I'm 6'3" tall. But I changed my driver and wood to standard and gained a ton of control. Irons are still +1 inch.

Some strange numbers James you would of thought the standard too be the shortest and slowest ball speed etc etc but the numbers were mixed up! Yes I know it’s strike dependent but with 10 shots each you would expect the averages too even themselves out. If that makes sense!!! I know what I mean lol anyway just goes too show longest sometimes is not the best😜😜😜

As someone who is 6ft 4 do I need longer shafts or does it not make a difference?

I have standard length jpx923’s and can hit my 7 iron around a consistent smooth 180m. BUT my shot are so inconsistent in direction/aim. I have some older clubs around an inch short and my accuracy and control was far greater but lost some distance. Distance isn’t my problem. Is it worth cutting new clubs down if this seems to be the case?? Once I cut them down I can’t don’t want to regret it as I’m running kbs 130 xs. And don’t want to pay for 8 new shafts

My shafts are 1/4” longer..my 6’7” son has shafts that are 2.5” longer than standard.

James, I know this is an old video but just realized that you sport that Adidas hat most of the time and just needed to point out that Adidas makes the most comfortable golf hat ever made. The best

I use 1/5 inch longer to give better distance and also have a fairly up right stance. Now don’t really feel there is much difference is I use a standard length.

I use +1" longer @ 1 degree upright. I want to go for a driver fitting - Cobra F9 comes in Tour Length - 44.25" - and I'm intrigued. I've had better luck with more consistent ball strikes with a shorter shaft. The standard F9 comes with 14 and 2 g weights. The Tour Length has 18 and 6 g weights. Both are D3. I'm curious about putting the 2 g weight in the front of the Tour Length to see what happens with ball flight. Will it make the ball go straighter? It'll lower the SW to probably C9, but that's what I play now.

Also... look at the specs for the p-790. They are 1/4 inch shorter than standard length. Similar to mizuno shaft lengths. I found this weird when testing them with the fitter at my club. They ultimately hit shots that were too hot, having no real distance control and terrible gapping at the low end of the set into the wedges. Not a players iron by any stretch of the imagination and more suited to a mid to high handicapper, or senior golfer with low ball speed. We arrived at the Callaway X Forged irons, which suited me much better and have excellent distance control. No hot flyers, no bouncy feeling on chips and with the x forged I can hit the ball low, which was very difficult with the p-790, which no matter how hard I tried refused to play a punch cut. Just my opinion, but they are truly terrible irons lol.

can you do a 40 inch and 44-inch driver test?......thanks

And second observation - "same length shaft" is a far bigger change.... But driver is far more about "too long to control"

What about weight. For instance 85g reg vs a 75g stiff vs a 65g xstiff

I just went from +1 which I played forever, to +2, way easier to swing and keep my head still

For me when I had my fitting with Taylormade it mad a big difference, I was fitted for half inch shorter.