Even if You Seek Distance it Might Be True
June 16, 2009
There is a good chance that your golf clubs are too long. Over the past twenty years, golf club manufacturers have been making clubs stronger (meaning they have less loft on the face), and longer so that they can sell hopeful golfers the newest “hot” weapon that will knock the ball unimaginable distances. But when golfers arrive at the driving range with long clubs, what I see is a lot of people with poor posture, inefficient shaft angles, awkward or mismatched swing planes, off-center contact with the ball, unhelpful trajectory, little accuracy, and none of the distance the long clubs were supposed to provide.
Having watched approximately 1 million swings in my fourteen years as a teaching professional, I have seen the many tendencies that cause golfers to struggle in their search for consistent ball striking. I have also seen hundreds of golfers benefit from the following: bending the spine forward more than they usually do, moving closer to the ball than they usually stand, creating slightly steeper planes during the swing, and learning to “trap” the ball with the center of the club-face (which generally produces more of a divot with the irons). But there is literally something standing between the average golfer and the changes that allow pure ball striking. It is his golf club. Even a “standard” length club can be too long for many golfers to achieve the things mentioned above.
It takes a shorter club for most people to create the desired spine and shaft angles, swing planes, and contact with the ball. As would be expected, the shorter club and improved planes create better accuracy with the golf shots. It surprises people, though, that they can actually hit the ball farther with these changes, mostly because of the solid contact.
A shorter club technically should improve control and accuracy. A longer club technically should increase distance. A club that is properly fitted in terms of the length of the shaft will maximize accuracy and distance. What I am saying is that the clubs most golfers are playing with, and even fitted for, are too long to maximize either; even when we call them “standard” in length.
Comparing tour players to average players gives some anecdotal evidence. Notice that tour players look “big” compared to their clubs. Even with a longer iron, say a 4-iron, they seem to be standing “on top” of the ball, meaning the ball is not too far from their feet. Their spines are generally bent forward a fair amount, and the shaft of the club points at the belt-line, and often higher.
The average player, on the other hand, looks like he is swinging a flag pole when he picks up a 4-iron. He stands almost vertical in his posture, the club reaching across two time zones to reach the distant ball, and the shaft points at his belt-line and sometimes lower (except for beginners, who tend to stand upright and reach their arms straight out, which raises the handle much higher at address).
The results from these two setups are very different too. The tour player creates planes with his setup that allow him to attack the ball with a fairly steep angle that produces solid contact, high trajectory, tons of distance, and even some of that backspin that so many amateurs worship. The average player, with his upright posture and flat shaft angle, has a shallower attack on the ball that leads to “picked” s
hots, inconsistent trajectory, blocks, and hooks; unless he tries to match the swing planes of better players (which does not work without the benefit of the posture and angles at address), in which case he will likely see fat shots, slices, and contact on the toe of the club.
There are some aspects of tour swings that I do not encourage average golfers to emulate (such as the length of the arm-swings), and some people cannot physically duplicate the posture and swings of elite players; but most weekend warriors would do well to copy the setup of the world’s best players, which might mean a club that makes them look “big”.
For years, and with many average golfers, I have seen how the setup and then the swing can be made less effective by long clubs. Sometimes a shorter player who struggles to get the ball airborne can see dramatic results just by choking down on the club, bending over from the hips more, and moving closer to the ball. Unfortunately their friends, instructors, club-fitters, and club manufacturers try to get longer clubs in their hands so that they can supposedly hit the ball farther. The result is that these struggling golfers can hardly make contact at all, and even when they do, they learn a tortured swing that produces inconsistency rather than distance.
Some more evidence that club length is overrated as a source of distance: In most sets of clubs, each iron is one-half inch shorter than the number below it. That is what creates the change in distance, right? Not really. Usually the clubs stop getting shorter above the 9-iron, meaning the various wedges are the same length as the 9-iron. And yet each wedge above the 9 hits the ball less far. Why? Because of the loft; the angle of the clubface has more to do with the change in distance from club to club than the length of the shaft.
I recently read about a driver test carried out by a club-fitting company. They used a hitting machine to test a driver at a swing speed of 90 miles per hour, and made variations in the length of the driver from 42 to 46 inches. The distance gain when they added four inches to the shaft was a miserable 1.3 yards. And in human hands the 46-inch version of the driver will likely induce off-center contact with the ball, which makes it possible that the 42-inch driver would provide significantly greater distance from the tee.
From a teacher’s perspective, I think over-length drivers are one of the worst things that ever happened to the swings of average golfers. Thank goodness the long shafts are attached to melon-sized clubheads with tons of forgiveness, because the swing planes that result from these long clubs make it nearly impossible for most golfers to hit the sweet spot. And the club is so disproportionately long compared to the rest of the set that it almost requires its own swing—which sometimes leads a golfer to foul up his swing with the other clubs in search of the long tee ball.
Tour players, who play golf courses that are hundreds of yards longer than the courses we play, and play for millions of dollars, have drivers that average about 44 inches in length. If longer drivers helped them maximize their distance and accuracy, they would definitely use them. But they do not use them, and yet duffers with less ability insist on playing with the longer, more challenging clubs.
Some club-fitters have come to the same conclusions that I have as a teaching professional. Tom Wishon, one of the top club designers in the world, said in his book The Search for the Perfect Golf Club, “Ninety-eight percent of men’s drivers these days are built to a “standard” length of 45 or 45.5 inches, and I am here to tell you that a 45-inch driver will not fit 90 percent of all golfers and will never allow them to achieve their best combination of distance AND accuracy.” This agrees completely with what I have seen on the driving range.
Golf is an oxymoronic game. Swinging easy creates power. Hitting down makes the ball go up. And in many cases, shorter sticks lead to longer shots. As Wishon said in his book, “It appears that, in the hands of real people…the shorter club might very well hit the ball not just with more accuracy, but farther as well.”
Good advice John. I will check my fitted Driver. Thank you! Brian
John,
From your teaching on the range, I have come to realize that choking down on my longer clubs has produced more accuracy and distance. I wish I had started earlier with your instruction. Thank you for your help.
Jim Noel
John,
Excellent article, Great new web-site. I love my Wishon High and Long clubs. They have
shorter shafts than equivalent clubs. Anthony Kim does pretty well with his choking down!!
Thanks,
Ray
Ray, great point about Anthony Kim! And he really murders the ball. Thanks for your feedback, and I’d love to check out the clubs if you have a minute to “swing” by the driving range.
Thanks, Brian. Let me know if you need any help. And bring me a spicy robusto while you’re at it!
Great article John. After Sunday’s round and reading this article, I may try a driver shaft length of no greater than 6 inches!
Regardless of my game, it was a pleasure to play with you and your partner David – I enjoyed it. Keep up the good work!
All the best,
Mike.
Mike, thanks on all counts. It was fun playing with you Rhodes boys. The coach in me was feeling your pain with that tee ball, but you guys hung in there and still played a good round. Did you notice how short my driver was? It’s probably 43 inches, but I hit it 30 yards farther than I used to hit it with a long driver, and I went all three days without hitting it into trouble once. Gotta love it! Now if I could just reach that stupid 3rd green on the Miller Course.
Thanks again, and let me know if you ever want to mess with the driver on the range.
John
John,
I read a fair amount of golf instruction, but this is one of the best tips I have ever encountered. I started choking up on ALL my clubs after reading your article a week ago (I feel like Anthony Kim now, as he appears to choke up on all his clubs). Two practice sessions, and one round later, I am a believer in the concept that the clubs I am playing with, which are “standard” length, are too long for me.
The result of choking up on my grip has been many more solid shots hit on the sweet spot, and in many cases, much more distance and accuracy. For example I laced a drive yards yesterday on a very short 285 yard par 4, that ended up just 6 feet past the hole (yes I made the eagle putt)! My previous long drives have been in the 255-270 yard range, maybe 275-280 max. I also clobbered another drive, with the help of a slight downhill fairway, a whopping 310 yards!
Choking up about 1 inch on my clubs has produced much more solid shots, and choking up about 1-1/2 to 2 inches on my driver has allowed me to hit my tee shots more solidly and much farther. Thanks for a Great tip!
Jeb Ramsey
Potomac Falls, VA
Jeb,
It does my teaching-pro heart a lot of good to hear stories like this. I’m glad you found my article helpful and that you seem to be enjoying better (and longer!) golf shots. Eagles are always fun, aren’t they?
Keep up the good work, and come by Lakeview to say hello and play a few holes if you ever pass through the Valley! I’d be glad to meet you.
Best Wishes,
John
I do not prefer some of the methods used by Teaching Pro Don Trahan (Peak Performance), but here is an article about club lengths by a club-fitter who works with Trahan:
http://www.peakperformancegolfswing.com/is-long-really-longer
John, I read your article about club length and am curious about your interest in answering a question. I live in CA, golf once/mo, am a 12 handicap, and recently bought Titleist AP2 irons after hitting a number of forged irons since last July. I was eyeing Mizunos but the results of my hitting into the net were dead on that the AP2s were right.
I ended up buying last year’s model, which includes the Project X 5.5 shaft. The guy who fit me in the store suggested I add 1/4″ length to the irons. When compared with my 16 year old Great Big Berthas they are closer to 1/2″ longer. I found myself hitting bizarre banana slices at the range and shooting in the high 90′s when I was used to shooting 83-86. I golfed last weekend with my old sticks and shot 85.
Today I went to a local pro who told me I’m not shifting my weight to the left side but said my swing plane and swing in general were very strong. When he looked at my AP2s, he thought they were way too long. I have been hitting the Titleist 7-iron about 165-170 yards, compared to 155 with my Callaways. Problem is, I’m pulling them 20 yards left of target.
Would length be the issue here, or am I not just skilled enought to hit the Titleist? Can the extenders be removed? I know they are epoxied, but hopefully I can get them shortened to standard length. BTW, I am 5’10″ and my WTF measurement is 37″, and lie is standard (although 1st time I tested he thought 2-deg up). If I get them back to standard, what lie adjustment should I consider?
Thanks for your thoughts.
Tom A.
California
Tom,
Thanks for reading my article and taking the time to write to me.
It will be tough to properly answer some of your questions without seeing you at address, and throughout your swing, but I will do my best:
1) If your AP2s were made longer through extenders (rather than ordered new at the longer length) it should not be difficult to remove the extenders (the end of the shaft will have to be heated until the epoxy melts/burns off). I would definitely encourage you to do this, because it would not be tough to add the extenders once again if you felt the need.
2) As for your skill level in regards to hitting the AP2s: I generally encourage my clients to take forgiveness over the sleek appearance and moderately improved playability of most forged/blade style clubs. I would not dare to say “You can’t handle this club” or some such thing, but even a fair number of tour players use “player improvement” style clubs. I am a Titleist fan, but generally I recommend them for single-digit handicappers. Having said that, you should play a club that you like looking at, and that helps you perform the way you want.
3) At least the way things are now, the choice seems clear in terms of scoring. What good is an extra 10-15 yards of distance if you are missing the target line by 20 yards and adding 10-15 shots per round? I would play with the old sticks, and practice with the new sticks to see if I can figure things out (especially after taking out the extenders).
4) A swing possibility: is it possible some of the bizarre slices were off of the hosel? And are the hard pulls also a little chunky? If so, you might have a balance issue during the swing. If you have a chance, have someone put a little pressure on your forehead while you take a few swings. If it feels like they are pushing you back (toward your rear), then you have a common imbalance toward the ball, which leads to shanks and pulls; and this could be made more troublesome if longer clubs are added to the mix.
5) I am roughly your build, though I measure a bit shorter on WTF. My clubs are now 1″ under-length (a full 2″ shorter than I used to play!), and I choke them down more! My distances are greater and my accuracy and ball-striking are much better too than it was with the over-length clubs. I’m not necessarily saying you should go a lot shorter because your swing planes would need to adjust as well, but I am saying that most people pay dearly when they go into over-length clubs….
6) A shorter club will generally swing in a slightly steeper plane, which would fit well with a slightly more upright lie angle (notice this is opposite of how manufacturers generally sell clubs), but I’d be careful about going more upright while you are fighting a pull.
Tom, I hope some of this is helpful. Thanks again for reading my article. Best wishes!
John
I got the extenders removed and am very pleased with the way I’m hitting my irons. Had a buddies’ golf weekend away this weekend and played 3 days in a row for the first time ever. Mid-high 80′s each round but with way way way too many putts. My irons were the strength of my game all weekend. Your advice paid off, so thanks.
Tom
Tom,
Glad to hear you are making sense of those AP2s! Best wishes for continued success and low scores!
John
John, I had Mizuno Irons custom made for my heightlast year as I am six feet three inches tall. We thought that longer clubs would match my height and reduce stress on my back. I have had back surgery and found that I was having trouble getting my hands and hips synchronized at contact which resulted in sprayed shots that lost lots of distance. I have been choking down on all clubs after reading your article and have been bending over the ball more and notice a more confident and secure feeling all the way through my swing. Yes there are some subtle distance changes, but accuracy and trajectory are returning to my game. I am also shortening my backswing and slowing my take-away and transition to downswing. The choke down adjustment is allowing me to stabilize my swing plane which had been a drastic outside in/cut swing. Thanks for the advice, the choke-down and posture change increase my power at contact-a great tip.
Dave, I really appreciate your feedback. I find with tall golfers like yourself that lowering the center of gravity by bending over (shorter clubs) and getting a decent knee flex really helps stabalize the body and can lead to better ball striking. I wonder how your back is holding up, though?
I hope you continue to improve and get more enjoyment from the game!
I just read your article on how clubs sold today can be too long for most golfers. I have a question for you that I hope you can answer. My current driver is 45″ long and my 3 wood is 43.5″ and my 5 wood is 42.5″. I measure my swing speed most every time I go to the driving range. My driver swing speed is 105-108MPH. What I’ve been finding lately is that my 3 wood and 5 wood swing speeds are very close to what I’m seeing with my driver, and in some cases HIGHER than my driver speeds. A few weeks ago I hit 112 with my 5 wood, highest speed of the day in fact. I’d be interested in reading your thoughts on this and see if this is something that you have seen in your own testing. Thanks in advance for your reply.
Don
Don, I don’t know if I can completely explain the phenomenon of shorter clubs generating higher speeds, but it doesn’t surprise me much. I regularly see people hit longer shots with shorter clubs, but a lot of this is due to the fact that they can generally find the center of the face and compress the ball better with shorter clubs.
A few thoughts: first, isn’t it interesting that your 3-wood is the length that drivers were made before titanium, etc? Do you have similar shafts in your fairway woods and driver? Could it be that you have lighter shafts in the shorter clubs and can get them moving a little better? Another thought: do those same results occur even if you don’t hit a ball?
The reason I ask this last question is because the over-length drivers we use these days do not allow us to swing very aggressively because we would never get the club “back in front” or the face squared up if we went all-out at the ball. Personally, I think that’s part of why good female players with long drivers look so fluid–they can’t afford to go fast through the ball. You can be pretty aggressive with the 5-wood and still get it squared by impact, but maybe not the driver. Can you measure your speeds without worrying about the resulting golf shot?
It also seems possible to me that the long drivers make our mechanics sloppy and inefficient to the point that our instinctive swing fixes by impact might introduce tension or other undesirable elements which slow the action.
I really appreciate your comments and sharing this interesting phenomena about your swing speeds. Are you considering going with a short driver? (Sounds like you might max-out at about 43 inches!). Please let me know if you figure anything else out, and good luck!
Thank you for your reply. I have measured my swing speed with drivers with shafts weighing from 47 to 78 grams, and I get the SAME 105-108 MPH with all shaft weights. As for my shaft weights when I measured my swing. my current driver has a 75 gram shaft, and my 3 wood and 5 wood have the 87 gram S flex EPIC shafts. So it is NOT a case of a lighter shaft in my woods, just the opposite in fact.
Can’t really tell you what my speed is when I don’t hit a ball. What I can tell you is that my speed is lower with all my clubs when I take a practice swing. I can also tell you that I NEVER try to make an aggressive swing at the ball. Instead I try to make a nice EASY and RELAXED swing, as I get more clubhead speed this way. Any time I try to swing harder, my swing speed goes DOWN, not up, so I use a relaxed easy swing that gets me more speed. The more I swing easy, the more I can start my downswing with a hip turn back to the ball, and the more my swing is in the proper sequence. hips first pulling the upper body around which in turn pulls my arms and hands back to the ball. I try to swing like Fred Couples, totally relaxed with no sign of any effort envolved. I hope that makes sense to you.
YES, I am thinking of going to a shorter driver. I cut down one driver to 44.5″ and didn’t see any lose of speed when I mesaured it, so I’m thinking of choking down another 1/2 inch and see if I see a change. If not I’ll try another 1/2″ again and maybe keep going until I do see a lose in speed. At which point I can pull the grip and cut the shaft to the last length before I saw a lose in speed. With any luck, the shorter shaft will give me improved ball contact at the same clubhead speed and end up gaining me distance. I might need to add some weight to the head to get the swing weight back up, but that’s not a problem. Thank you again for your reply.
Don, it sounds like you are on the right track. I’ll be curious what length your driver ends up. I’m not sure most guys wouldn’t do as well or better with a driver about the length of a 5-wood.
Good luck!
The weather is not helping any at the moment, but I’ll let you know what I end up with for the length of my drivers when it warms up a bit and I can do some good testing. I have a TM CBT driver with 3 screw weights that I can use for the testing as it will allow me to change the swing weight as I try shorter shaft lengths just by changing out the screws with different ones. I’ll be in touch.