I shortened my pxg driver to 43.5” and added extra weight to the head. No difference in distance and I gained accuracy. My confidence on the tee is higher as well.

I use a three wood shaft for my driver and it completely changed my game for the better. I lost a little bit of distance but gained a ton of accuracy.

I play a 43.75” driver shaft and actually gained club head speed, ball speed and yardage and accuracy. Game changing!

Gary...these fitting vids are some of my favorite KZfaq golf vids. Just awesome findings that I can apply to my game/gear!

Gary, being an excellent golfer, you are going to feel or know when a club is right or wrong for you more than the average duffer. Your friend detailing the info ref the swing weighting? Priceless. Every golfer can do their best when the swing weight works in their favor. I prefer a shorter driver because I am not long and lanky. I'm short. Shorter clubs fit me better. I also prefer 2 degrees flatter irons at the hosel. Getting fit to optimize equipment is very important.

I cut down my driver shaft by 1.5 inches. Its lowrred my swing weight by 9 points. So i added 9 grams of lead tape to the head. It brought it up 4.5 swing weights. I hit it 10 yrds further. And i find the fairways 25% more. So for me it worked. I only did this because i couldnt afford a new shaft. If you have the money , just get fitted. I am an 18 HCP.

Really enjoying all this content around fitting and swing weight , I can see the Blackops knocking the Stealth2 out of your bag the way you were hitting it right out of the gate!

Best stuff on KZfaq for the serious golfer at the minute Gaz, fantastic stuff mate!

Gary/Sam great video as usual!, This also shows the benefit PXG have over pretty much every other brand at the minute with their design! Its no wonder Sam is partnered with them they are a fitters dream with the weight system. This also shows how a PXG driver could be great for you, especially as you could use the PXG fitting on the adaptor to be 3* flat in whatever loft you prefer, with your thicker grip you will then be able to add the weight around the head like you did here for the 3 wood and gain ball speed while still keeping the same swing weight. I think thats where the weighted 3 wood gained its ball speed from the much lower swing speed. The 3 weight system really allows for a much more custom fit I cant believe clubs like the TD ai smoke only has the 1 front weight for eg, no option for heel/toe weighting......

Lots of people can learn from this video mate, I got fitted for a shorter length driver a shaft a few years ago by my fitter and I didn’t lose any distance

These videos with Sam are the best. Need videos of Sam fitting a mid handicapper.

Another great fitting video Gaz. My mate bought a second hand driver and has been snap hooking the life out off it, we noticed the shaft is about two inches shorter than my driver, (Mavrik an Epic) so should have been the same. Definitely gonna make him watch this video. Unreal difference in how you hit them.

Gaz these videos with Sam are all amazing content - a real eye opener -👍🏼 thanks

Hi Gary, just received my new PXG half an Inch shorter, and have never hit my driver better. Definitely works for me

Love these types of videos gary...you and sam i think help the average golfer RATHER than watching a new club review.

I am 5.10 but have long arms just had a fitting on the ping 430 at club champion i have a shorter shaft fitted for me more consistent straight shots compared to longer shaft 👍

I've shortened my driver shaft to 44.5 inches and lost no swing speed. I have another cut down to 43.75 and I did lose 2-3 mph but dispersion is wicked tight and its super easy to turn over. That's the same length as the taylormade mini driver. I feel like 44.5 is the sweet spot or maybe 44.25 (although I have yet to try that, but it's halfway between my shortest and longest setup). I really like the 44.5 anyway, it cuts out my propensity to leave the face open for a slice. I have PXG driver heads so I can re-weight in 2.5 increments in any of the 3 spots on the head, which is absolutely baller if you are going to do this experiment. You won't get "shafted" with an incorrect swing weight if you have the optional weight kit. I don't think I will play 45.5 anymore, it's not really worth the trade off for a mid handicapper. I get way more joy when I find more fairways, and more fist bumps from my mates! Great video guys, this sort of analysis is so needed for us recreational players. I'm a huge believer in 44.5 inches or less for the average golfer! I was shocked that I lost my no swing speed, but I boil that down to the fact that I felt more confident with the club in my hands and I could go after it harder as I wasn't held back mentally as much. That says a bit more about my own hangups with the driver, but I bet lots of golfers are in the same boat. Driver was worst club in my bag and now I enjoy smashing it at the shorter length. Also I would add that I can much more easily hit at least 3 degrees up on the ball with the shorter shaft, whereas with a full length shaft I find that to be much, much harder to accomplish consistently

I have a 2014 Ping Rapture 13 degree 3 wood Regular with heavy tungsten sole weight, which I bought 2nd hand (but £395 in 2014 so clubs not just expensive now) when my driver was out of control, the shaft length is 43.5 inches, I now have a Ping G425 Max 10.5 degree Regular shaft length 45.75 inches weighted similarly to Gary’s. It’s difficult to say what the dispersion differences are but total average distances are very similar & carry is 10 yards or so less due to lower height probably. Definitely a good back up club for links or windy conditions.

With the availability of mini drivers these days, marketing at being for people wanting more control, this is an important video. I'd think that the bigger head of a driver on a shorter shaft would be a better set up than a mini driver, which is like a 3W shaft with a slightly bigger head than a 3W. I'm not sure it's a good test to have Gaz test it though because he was crushing it with the full-length shaft. The test would be best if done by someone with a huge slice. That's the reason I have considered a shorter shaft, because I slice the driver, seeing Gaz hook them looks positive to me, as I'd love my ball-flight to go further left than it currently does (OB right). It seems like fitting to get weighting right is more important than shaft length!

That is insane. What an education for us!

Agreed that virtually no “fitter” talks swing weight at all. It is head and shaft and not even length at all.

Definitely the most valuable info I’ve seen on this topic so far. Definitely has me interested to try! Thank you for the great content

Love these videos as they really give a great insight into club fitting and weighting. It’s something now i could go to a fitter with this added knowledge.

Wow simple amazing video ..I would have never know swing would make that much difference .. over to the pro shop to double check check my swing weight for sure

Brilliant series of videos Gary, just wish I lived closer to have a fitting from Sam think it'd be an eye opener

Excellent yet again lads, looking forward to my trip to Sam’s in February. 👍🏻

I ordered my driver with a 44” shaft and didn’t lose a yard but I gained 75% for fairways hit.

Hi, you all singing love for shorter shafts on driver,great! Myself start play 43" inch driver in 1980! Since 20years now I play drivers on 47"inch, have short swing ,3/4 and find fairways all the time,clubspeed 85mph a slow swinger always been and now age 87! Will try shorter shaft this week and see what ut would bee!? Thanks for sharing Johnny d Bergh PGA retired😮

Wondering if gripping down on driver also changes swing weight? It does change lever arm. What does Sam think? And maybe a good vid on this. Having fun with this series.

Great video and timely advice Gary 👌 I cut my Driver shaft and last week that was before I saw this video. I did it as I was hitting my 3 wood as far as my Driver - so I cut my Driver shaft to 43.5 and added a mid size grip and 10 grams to the head weight. Maybe self fitting luck but it’s working as I feel I can go harder at it. I have not measured the swing weight yet but its going straighter and longer .. its a good result ❤ Wonder if I shortened my putter it would work better too 😂

If you are hitting a bit of a high fade would a counter balance weight in the butt help lower the SW and maybe aid to releasing the head a bit more ?

Great video Gaz… 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 PXG Black Ops Driver looks like a contender for you this season… 😎

Had my cut 4 weeks ago and swing weighted and I haven’t missed a fairway since.oh and no loss of distance either.

I've done it a couple of years back. Took a saw to the butt end and took off 1,5”. Couldn't hit it after that, didn't adjust the swing weight. Tried to with lead tape, but didn't have the right equipment. Very good video showing what I did wrong. :)

My wife got shafts made up by Sam after watching your videos fantastic professional job.👍

Content just getting better and better Gaz, top class…. This may sound like a stupid question, but is a good way to try out a shorter driver just to grip down an inch or 2 on a full length driver??? Does that keep swing weight the same yet would give an indication without any alterations as to whether it may work for a player or not??

I’ve got a ladies callaway erc with a ladies shaft - being only 5.5ft and a senior it suits me. If I use my callaway bb I grip down on the shaft! I am considering an ai10 but want it with a senior and a shorter shaft!

Dispersion with 45inch+ driver length can be expected due to mechanical properties of a shaft with tip diameter 0.335.(mechanical engineering) With tip diameter constant and total length increasing, there comes a point (@ 45 inch length) when no shaft of that length and tip diameter can react as consistently as it can below 45 inch length.

Wow! Thank you so much, Gary, for making this video. You may have saved me from making a huge mistake. I found out last year that if I gripped down on the shaft of my PXG driver (which I ordered online, and just told them a few of my measurements), I started to hit my driver much better, and more consistently. I currently have my driver by my tool bench, and I was going to cut an inch off of the top and install a new grip. Thank goodness, I am a procrastinator or it would already be done. I think I will just keep gripping down in three months when our season starts up again. I don't have the weights to mess around with that part. You seemed to be hitting that shorter shaft just fine after the head was re-weighted. Thanks again.

What an amazing, informative video. These videos with Sam are dynamite 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Callaway offer 1" inch shorter driver shafts...use with my rogue st, just as long but far more accurate...I presume Callaway have adjusted for swing weight

I put a 3 wood length shaft in my driver, and went against my pro who said i needed a senior flex because of my swing speed, put the 3 wood shaft which was x stiff, nice and straight average 200+ happy days, so my results were listen to myself and try it out you will surprise yourself, not going to change it now very consistent and a fairway finder, i also switched from a cobra king SZ to a TaylorMade M2 and the m2 was the most consistent, so sold the cobra 😂

Love the standard comment. It’s the NEW Standard. I have build clubs since the 1980s and the Standard back then was 43.5.

Love this video,looking forward to my club MOT with sam

Shortened my driver shaft by 3/4 inch vs standard when I got fitted for the PXG Gen 5 driver and not only is it more accurate, but my club head speed went up 5 mph vs the standard length! Definitely worth the try!!

What would be the difference of keeping a standard length and just gripping down 3 inches?

I play with a 3 wood length shaft in my driver. I gained distance and dispersion was alot better. Distance isn't that big of deal to me as long as it's not in the woods

I've been playing a 44.75 shaft for years. At D3 swing weight.I am longer with a shorter shaft. Hit more fairways to.

I saw a video where Chris Trott mentioned that Rory's driver, with the Qi10 LS model, was shorter by an inch and needed to add weight to the head to keep swing weight. So, yea, swing weight is really important. Also, I just did a fitting and found that I'm a D8, while my current is D6. I will be giving that a shot with my current setup.

I did this with PXG 0211 driver, 1 inch shorter hoping to get accuracy. While some improvement not as much as I had hoped. Went to a ping 425 max everything set as draw bias, reg length shaft. Tip from the pro and currently you will have to prize the ping from my dead hands. Hitting 60% or more fairways currently, and no major slices OOB etc Not looked at swing weight for either club so would be interesting to have that measured for comparison

Notice my biggest difference was launch angle….maybe needed to add more loft…noticed increase in control and accuracy…distance not much change…maybe better since Better contact in center of face….i did buy weights for TSR to cover that issue

I did something similar. Also I've watched a bunch of videos on this topic, but no one addressed rebalancing the club... (swingweight, shaft weight, head weight, shaft stiffness) I had a spare stiff shaft (i use Reg), so I got it cut 1.5" at the tip as well as at the butt. In theory Driver went from.a D4 SW to B4. Not sure where i want to be so I'm starting at a SW of D0, which means 32 grams of the shaft head. With that much weight the shaft is more like and extra soft senior, hence why I also cut off the tip of the shaft. Now I should have a 42" driver, with a D0 SW and a Reg shaft. In theory lol... Can't wait to try it out. Also did something similar to my 5 Wood :)

Smashed it again guys. Unbelievable info taken from this video. Keep up the good work.

You can fix dispersion fastest by getting the right loft. Then choosing the best shaft. Try it that way and you will gind more fairways with getting the max yardage. If you want nothing but driver distance that's pretty easy to do

Great video + "that's what she said" = instant subscribe.

Fitted an 1inch shorter shaft in my rouge max driver same spec. Instantly didn't like it. Strange but the head felt far to close at address and just couldn't make a good swing. Visually it just didn't suite my eye at all.

Definitely did thi not re weighing it and boy was I hitting snap hooks like crazy. I couldn’t figure it out wow my mind is blown clearly I was on the right path I just know next time to add weight.

excellent and informative video Gaz keep up the good work

Watching the video the fitter changed head weights to get the desired effect. Could this method be used to compensate a different shaft being used?

Here's a question, if you buy a driver from a retailer (either online or in person) with the option of shorter length shaft, would that be swing weighted???

3 wood is still a long shaft. If you look at the Cobra one length 3 hybrid it's 19° loft and 7i shaft (so 37.5"). Most people are still going to get that over 200 yards and it's a completely different swing. It isn't an "up and down" swing but it feels it and in general you're just not going to slice it.

Randomly just put my 3 wood shaft at 43 into my standard shaft and added some lead tape. Actually gained 2 mph swing speed and consistently have ball speeds between 165 and 170. Main issue is that I can't quite get the launch up. I'm down at 10 to 11 vs 13 with my 45" driver. All together the 3 wood is better but the rockets from the 45 are still further even with less ball speed

Shortened my sim2 first from 45 3/4 inches to 44 3/4, felt much more in control of my swing (5’8” 32 inch wrist to floor) but I couldn’t really feel the club head through impact. Very weird feeling, so I then looked up my wrist to floor measurements regarding driver length and discovered that I should be playing a 43 inch driver😂 so I have just shortened it to 44, and I am adding 12 grams of weight to the head (for every 1/2 inch cut, 3 grams added so technically I should’ve added 10.5g) but I am a fan of a heavier club head. Am hoping for better accuracy off the tee, as I have no issues with distance. Weights on the way!

I think a few years ago Callaway did an inch short option on one of their drivers with the weight of it adjusted but clearly it didn’t catch on

@Sam whats the dimensions of your sim room please? Im looking to build similar.

Before buying a new shaft, can you just grip down and see similar results?

I would really like you both to do a video, 110 gram shaft at i.e. d4 then test another shaft at 130 gram but also at d4??? AI want to know overall weight vs swing weight please…. So you could even do (as hes pxg) a 120g shaft then test at d0, d4 & d8, just idea pal, and I’d love them

Fantastic series Gaz. I just ordered a BRNR mini driver because it's shorter shaft/smaller head, in hopes of getting better feel of the clubhead.

Would just gripping down the driver grip 2 inches require it to be reswingweighted?

Modern driver shafts are to long 44.5 " is average on tour , much more accurate & just as long.

Would like to have seen some swings before reweighting with the 3 wood shaft with more fade bias.

I’m going to try a hybrid shaft in my driver. 42 inch, stiff, 100g

I am curious if a fitter could achieve a similar result by tipping the shaft to stiffen it a bit?

I noticed that the head had three weights, would this have the same effect with a one or two weight head?

Gaz, I'm an orangutan, 5'11" tall with a 6'6" wingspan. I play all my clubs a touch shorter than standard to help me keep them on plane. Maybe it's psychological, I don't know, but it works for me.

Loving this stuff Gaz keep it up cocker

Really curious. Does gripping down gets the same result?

Can you go to a shorter lighter shaft to offset the drop in swing weight? Say from a 70g stock shaft to 55g shorter shaft.

Tiger back when he was using Nike driver played 43 inch driver !!!!

Gaz, are you spending all your Chrimbo money in Sams shop? 😂 The more you go there, the more you want. 😂😂

Probably won't see as much difference in someone with a good swing that hits the sweet spot more often than one whose swing is not as good and is hitting the ball all over the face. Shorter club for a person with a so so swing is probably good for them. Hit the sweet spot more often = more distance, even with a shorter club. This is why many I have seen hit a 3 or 5 wood instead of driver because they hit them better and the main reason is being shorter.

So the question is for someone who slices the ball would sam do something like that to get them to turn the ball over

To keep the actual ratio as close as possible we would need 22.5 big weight and 5 gram smaller weights. The original 2.5/12.5 is 0.2 ratio. The 5/22.5 is 0.222. If I'm understanding properly you ended up with 17.5 and two 7.5s for a ratio of 0.43. I don't think it mattered for this test as the results speak for themselves here honestly but with proper ratio I'm wondering if he would have had a higher ball flight resulting in more or less yardage? I have last year's BRNR mini and was wondering if I could chop a proper driver head down and do the same magic you've done here then play the 13.5 BRNR instead of 11.5 as a 3 wood replacement. Got me really thinking. EDIT: heavy weight in back would increase launch, duh, so maybe wpuld have gotten back to original launch conditions and maybe even longer if the ball speed stays the same?!?!

I want to take my PING G400 SFT head and put it on the PING G400 3 wood shaft. How much weight would I need to put on the back of the head to get it up to specs ? I don’t have a machine. Any help ?

Hi Gary thinking of clean up my clubs for the new season went online and saw roll of carbon sticky back and thinking of putting that on then not sure if this will affect the club can you please help thank you

So Gary, if someone has a ping g430 max driver with the movable weight at the back, is this not necessarily the correct weight for the user, and could someone like Sam alter it so you could get a better performance from it.

What would have happened if you up the loft on the head to 10 and just turn it down a degree?

This guys accent makes me chuckle. If its not baaarnce its daaarn😂

That PXGs No good you keep hitting it left... Didnt do that with your FITTED stealth

Well done gaz I have tried shorter shaft it wasn't for me 😊lol

Got one on mine 20 yards further 💥

I may have missed it in the video but how long is the shorter driver again?

Have you tried choking down on the club versus cutting it down? Interested to see if there is a difference.

Shortening might be great for someone who hits a big slice! 🍕

If I'm not mistaken can't you just choke up an inch or so...why replace shaft, unless it's the wrong flex

As someone who is coming back to golf after 10+ years, I'd love to try this. I jave 0 confidence in driver but hit a 3 and 5 wood I'm More consistent.

I think they recommend mo more then half inch off of standard in driver 👍

In my opinion, going from optimizing to fixing something with equipment is a slippery slope.

But that in the bag

Stay shorter because your hitting the center of a the face better. Less toey dippers.