Which Driver Shaft Length?

testshaft

When I tested my old college driver a few weeks ago my interest was piqued by how close my swing speed with the 43.5 inch club was to my current 45 inch driver. I have heard that altering the shaft length of your driver by an inch can/should alter the club speed by up to 4 mph. This called for a test.....

Using TrackMan my idea was to test the same golfer, clubhead and golf ball, but change the shaft length. I took my current driver, which is the Titleist D3 8.5 degree (B1) with a 45" Motore F3 70 gram stiff shaft and tested it alongside the same head (B1) with a 43" Project X 82 gram stiff shaft. Essentially a driver shaft versus a 3 wood shaft. I had recently came across a 42.5" well kept old Wilson Staff JP persimmon driver with a steel shaft and decided to include that in the testing.

persimmon

I hit 11 shots with each club and eliminated the data for the poorest shot with each club. I was using fresh Titleist NXT Tour golf balls and it was a perfect 80 degree day with little wind. The results were astounding!

With all three clubs my tendency was to hit up on the ball with a slight in to out club path. My swing plane was very consistent from shot to shot (which surprised me a little actually) and the clubface was almost always slightly open at impact. This path and face relationship led to an average shot shape of a slight draw. Here are the numbers:

45" Driver Shaft

• Club Speed 101.3 mph
• Ball Speed 151.6 mph
• Spin Rate 2697 rpm
• Launch Angle 11.3 degrees
• Carry 245 yards
• Total 272.2 yards
• Height 76 feet

43" Three Wood Shaft

• Club Speed 101.1 mph
• Ball Speed 150.0 mph
• Spin Rate 2100 rpm
• Launch Angle 14.0 degrees
• Carry 249 yards
• Total 278.7 yards
• Height 84.3 feet

42.5" Persimmon Driver with Steel Shaft

• Club Speed 93.4 mph
• Ball Speed 141.2 mph
• Spin Rate 2115 rpm
• Launch Angle 10.3 degrees
• Carry 206.4 yards
• Total 246.4 yards
• Height 48 feet

shafttestavg

I couldn't believe it! I hit my driver with a 3 wood shaft further, higher, with less spin and above all else - straighter. Take a look at how much straighter: (yellow - driver shaft/purple - 3 wood shaft/ white - persimmon)

dispersion

I also totaled the distance (after roll) the ten shots with each club finished from the center line:

• Persimmon - 182 feet (average 18" off line)
• Three wood shaft - 234 feet (average 23" feet off line)
• Driver shaft - 315 feet (average 31" off line)

On my Andrew Rice Golf Facebook page I asked readers if they had any experience with shortening the shaft of their driver and here are a few of their responses:

"I just went to a 44" and am loving it! Longer then my 45.5" and straighter too!" GT

"Went to 44" and more consistent with no loss in distance" AvS

"44" Callaway...more fairways AND more distance!!!" CL

"Went to 44" and I hit it more solid further and straighter" PW

"44" this year. I agree it is far better. Middle of the face more often." SF

"I found it made me less steep through attack so I have lowered my spin rate and launched it about a degree higher" AB

By the way - most of the above quotes are from full-time professional golf instructors. So what can we learn from this research?

Having tested a few golfers with shorter shafts it seems to me that each golfer has a 'threshold' length - an ideal length that gives them the optimal combination of speed and accuracy. For some that threshold could be 46"  while for others they perform best with a 42" driver. The only way to find out is to get yourself with a teacher or fitter that has access to Trackman and various shafts.

Another point to note is that while the 3 wood shaft had a slightly slower club and ball speed the shots were longer...why? Notice how the launch angle was higher while the spin rate was lower. A perfect illustration of the term 'high launch low spin'. Launch the ball higher to get more out of your tee shots.

persimmon1

What can we learn from the 'persimmon' data? While that shaft was even shorter than the 3 wood shaft it was substantially heavier. I believe the 3 wood graphite shaft was almost 50 grams lighter than it's steel counterpart which would explain the almost 7 mph difference in club speed. The size, or lack there of, of the head was intimidating in the beginning, but as I went through the shots I became more comfortable. I believe that practicing with a smaller clubhead like this can only be beneficial in the long term for any serious golfer.

My feeling standing over the shorter club was better and almost every golfer I tested reported the same sense. The club feels easier to control and many golfers have reported a feel that they can 'get through' the shot better. I really felt like I could smash it without it going off line - a nice feeling!

Physics says that longer shaft + lighter shaft = faster club speed = more distance. On paper that might be true, but when the human element is involved everything changes. The next time I tee it up it will be with a substantially shorter shaft in my driver...but that's just me!

The Facts on Shaft Flex

In the last decade all club manufacturers have invested heavily in club fitting and customization.  Each company offers a fitting cart where  golfers can decide on the clubhead, shaft and specifications that work best for them - in a very short amount of time.   They have stressed the importance of having equipment that fits along with building fitting carts that make it easy to find the right match.   The real question is - "How serious are the club companies about getting you into equipment, and more specifically a shaft, that fits your game?"

At Atlantic Golf Club we do a tremendous amount of club fitting.  So much so, that we have our own DigiFlex machine, which allows us to test each shaft to find it's frequency.  For years we have known that you simply cannot trust what the shaft label indicates - if it says its an S (stiff) flex, it could be anything other than an X (extra stiff) flex.  In fact in all our testing over the years we have only found one shaft that was actually stronger than it showed - a TaylorMade fairway wood.  All the other non-matches have been weaker.  Each year we test the new demo clubs and shafts and label them accordingly.  This year I have decided to share our findings with you.

It is important to keep in mind that each company has their 'stock' shaft offerings and various 'upgraded' or non-stock options - our results include both.  Our results also include tests done on 'whole' clubs and the individual shafts that can be interchanged with certain heads.

The Club Manufacturers we tested:

• 34 Titleist golf clubs and shafts: 10 (29.4%) matched the stated flex and 5 out of the 10 matches were non-Titleist shafts
• 6 Cleveland golf clubs: 0 (0%) matched the stated flex
• 7 Ping golf clubs: 1 (14.3%)  matched the stated flex
• 6 Cobra golf clubs: 2 (33.3%) matched the stated flex
• 56 TaylorMade golf clubs and shafts: 10 (17.9%) matched the stated flex and 5 out of the 10 matches were non-TaylorMade shafts
• 32 Callaway golf clubs and shafts: 11 (34.4%) matched the stated flex and 5 out of the 10 matches were non-Callaway shafts
• 5 Adams golf clubs: 0 (0%) matched the stated flex

Steel vs Graphite:

• Steel shafts won this showdown easily, albeit only with a 40% match rate, while graphite shafts only matched a woeful 20% of the time.  It seemed that when a steel shaft did not match it was off by only a few cycles per minute (CPM), whereas the graphite shafts seemed to range from a stiff flex that was truly a regular, all the way to a stiff flex that matched a ladies flex.  A shaft that performed remarkably well was the Memphis 10 steel shaft from Callaway and made by True Temper - it had 6 out of 7 matches.  If you want to be certain of what you're getting (or at least in the ball park) go with steel.

Stock vs. Upgraded

• In both the steel and graphite categories the overwhelming winner here was the "upgraded" category.   An upgraded shaft almost always costs more and their match rate was above 50% - in fact most often when they did not match they were almost always a few CPM's from being where they had indicated on the shaft label.  When it comes to graphite try to stay away from shafts that include both the club manufacturer and shaft maker's company name - this is invariably a lower quality shaft and is thus substantially cheaper for the manufacturer to install.  Get the real deal and always upgrade.

The overall findings showed that only around 25% of the time are you actually getting what you think you're getting when it comes to the flex of your shaft.  Chances are that if you're looking for a regular flex, then you are more than likely going to receive a senior flex and so on.  So what can you do?  The first option is to visit a world-class fitting operation like Hot Stix or Cool Clubs and have them fit and build you a set - not necessarily

the easiest or most cost effective way to get the job done.  The second option involves talking to the better golfers in your area and asking who they would go and see locally regarding club-fitting.  They will most often send you to a trustworthy fitter in your area.  The third option (and while I'm not a fan of this you'll certainly improve your odds) involves purchasing clubs that indicate they are stiffer than what you really need - hey, they have a decent chance of matching your required flex.

So, while the club companies appear to be concerned with ensuring a proper fit, the results of our little study indicates they might not be as concerned as we would like them to be.  My advice is that when you are ready to purchase new clubs, find the best fitter you can, go with steel shafts for your irons (and they do make viable lighter weight options these days) and always upgrade on the graphite options for the bigger clubs.  This way you can be fairly comfortable that you are getting what you paid for.

I would like to thank Patrick Bindel, Joe Downey, Matt Foster, Patrick Carter and Robby Fenton for their help with this article.  Great stuff guys!

An Interview with Yours Truly

I was recently interviewed by social media guru, Ricky Lee Potts.  Ricky really did his research and asked some interesting and different questions. I thought you may want to give it a read:

He lives down in South Carolina, and teaches at the Berkeley Hall Golf Club. Oh, and he went to Harvard. (He didn’t go to Harvard… but we will get to that later.) Did I mention he drinks wine? Anyway, I met this guy on Twitter and we have stayed in touch ever since. I love working with the PGA teaching professionals because they all teach folks how to play golf… but they all have their own approach. Did I forget to mention he is from South Africa? There are some pretty big PGA TOUR players from South Africa including Ernie Els. He has actually played with Ernie… but we will get to that later. I am pretty excited to be sitting with Andrew Rice. He is all about impact… and in the game of golf, impact is pretty important!

Here is an excerpt....

A lot of guys are getting away from teaching, and bridging the gap to coaching. Is there a difference to you personally? If so, what do you think the difference is?

I too am trying to become more of a coach and less of a teacher/instructor. In my opinion, a coach is there for the long haul – they cover all the bases from swing to fitness to nutrition to equipment, the mental side and even scheduling. Coaching is so much more than golf instruction.

What’s in your golf bag?

I’m a Titleist guy and use all Titleist clubs except my 10 year old 36” Odyssey 2-ball putter. I love the Titleist D3 driver…

Do you ever do playing lessons with your students?

All the time! There is so much that golfers can learn in a playing lesson that saves strokes automatically. Course management (or lack of) is a big reason why many golfers have the handicap they do.

You went to Harvard. Tell me about that experience… that’s not an easy school.

(Laughs) You must have been on my personal Facebook page. I went to Central Florida, but with Facebook I can be a graduate of any school in the world in less than a minute! I have had some fun with my friends with that one…

What’s the best round you have ever shot?

I have shot 63 on numerous occasions, but the problem was that it was always in the pro-am before the real event!

Who is in your dream foursome?

I’ve thought about this many times – Seve Ballesteros (my favorite player), Bobby Jones (IMO the best of all time) and Arnold Palmer. I think my Dad would understand…

I am Tiger’s biggest fan. Honestly, do you think he will break Jack’s record?

I like to say this concerning Tiger, “The genie has left the lamp!” I think Tiger will win another major or two, but will ultimately fall short of Jack’s record. His greatest challenge is that he, and all the other players, realize he is fallible. When he dominated in the past, both parties thought he was indestructible.

There are a lot of young guys out there giving Tiger a run for his money. Who are some of your favorite players to watch?

You’ve got to love Rory and his wholesome vibe – just a good, talented, hardworking kid whose making the most of his opportunity.  I also like Charl Schwartzel. He performed the best in the majors last year and I look forward to seeing how he handles things at Augusta in a couple of weeks.

I read Golf Digest, Global Golf Post, Golf Magazine… they all promise to help “fix my slice” in 5 minutes or less! Do tips like that help or hurt an average player? Do you read any of those golf publications?

I do and I believe the quality of information they provide to their readers has improved dramatically in the past few years. The world has changed and many people no longer have the time to spend 15 minutes reading an in depth article to help them improve. Quick tips like that, while not optimal, work for more people than not. We’re all looking for something to give us a little hope for this weekend’s upcoming round…

You use TrackMan?

Yes, and it is worth every penny!

When I play, I play by “winter rules”. If we played 18 together, would you let me roll the ball or would we stick to the USGA rules of golf?

We’re out there having fun, Ricky – whatever your pleasure! My father emigrated to the U.S. a few years ago and was taken back with the way many Americans played the game – they didn’t know the rules and seemed to not even try to follow them. It took him a while, but now he loves it. People are out there just having fun. That’s the way it should be, shouldn’t it?

Speaking of the rules, there have been some changes to the rules of golf lately. What are your thoughts with all the recent changes?

The powers that be are doing all they (legally) can to protect the game. I would like for the powers that be to consider changing the rule that eliminated Brian Davis from the playoff at HarbourTown in 2010.

What are you doing when you are not playing or teaching?

I have two fantastic young sons (11 and 13) who play baseball. I coach a team and most of my evenings are spent at a ball field somewhere in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Read more....

TrackMan Driver Fitting Day

On Wednesday February 29th I will be hosting a TrackMan Driver Fitting Day at Berkeley Hall. Each fitting will last fifteen minutes and the cost is only $20 for members and $25 for non-members. You will learn what your current club speed, ball speed, launch angle and spin rate are and most importantly - what you can gain from a driver that fits! I have a few remaining slots open in the morning.

Titleist has agreed to offer a 10% discount on all Titleist drivers purchased at Berkeley Hall.

Please call Andrew Rice at (843)247-4688 to schedule your appointment.

Comeback for Kyle!

Kyle Stanley did something very few golfers ever get to do - he turned the tables. And the amazing thing is he did it all in the span of eight days. After losing at Torrey Pines after having a seven shot lead, he righted all his wrongs on Sunday, by negating Spencer Levin's eight shot lead to win his first PGA Tour event.

Kyle is the touring professional for my home course, Berkeley Hall, where he is also a resident. He takes full advantage of our amazing practice facility and plays with the members whenever he is in town. We are all so proud of "our man"!

This is what was in the bag for the victory week:

• Driver: Titleist 910D3 8.5 degree with Mitsubishi Diamana Kai'li 70X
• 3-wood: Titleist 910Fd 13.5 degree with Mitsubishi Fubuki 83X
• Irons: Titleist 503i 2-iron; MB712 4-P with Project X 6.5
• Wedges: Vokey Design 52.08, 56.14, SM4 60.10 with TT Dynamic Gold S-400
• Putter: Scotty Cameron Timeless (GSS)
• Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

An interesting note is that during the off-season Kyle switched from a 9.5 degree D3 to a 7.5 degree model. He could not get comfortable with the 7.5 and after testing on our TrackMan we found that he was a lot more consistent, and felt better, with an 8.5 degree model. Good to see he stuck with the 8.5.

Another interesting note - and this will tell you a little about his work ethic - his three wedges are each stamped with a word - DO WORK SON. One word for each wedge. He really does do work....

Kyle tweeted this after his victory yesterday:

"To do list on my week off: 1. Relax. 2. Work on my lag putting from 15 feet!!"

And a very classy tweet from playing partner and runner-up Ben Crane:

"As a fan of sports you have to love what @kylestanleygolf did this week. CONGRATS, Kyle. You earned this. The whole golf world is proud of u"

My sentiments exactly!

Evolution of a Golf Ball

Four Generations of Titleist

I was recently handed a pristine collection of older model  golf balls. It included a dozen Tour Balata 100's, a dozen Professional 90's and a dozen early model Pro V1's.  There is no arguing that Titleist has held the upper hand in golf balls for almost 30 years and if you have played golf long enough you have no doubt had the pleasure of maneuvering one or all of these models around the course at some point.  After a second of thought, the golf geek in me wanted to take them out for a test drive - see how far they go and what they might feel like.  After all, it's been a long time since I had dented a Tour Balata.

Thankfully, wisdom prevailed and I decided to get some real numbers on the balls with the help of TrackMan.  I realized that, including the most recent model of the Pro V1, I had access to four generations of Titleist golf balls.  I had balls from the '80's, '90's, 2000's and today and  I wanted to experience first hand what the differences might be.

I needed a very consistent driver of the golf ball and the best man at hand was Zack Brady from Atlantic Golf Club.  Zack is an exceptional golf professional who can really play.  He also happens to be one of the better drivers I've seen.  I sacrificed six balls from each generation and had him hit them on a rotating basis going Balata, Professional, Pro V1 and new Pro V1.  I did this to negate the effect of any changes in swing or weather.  Zack hit twenty four shots on the Trackman and the average from the six shots with each model was calculated.  Here are the results with each set of balls:

titleist golf balls

Tour Balata 100

titleist tour balata

• Total Distance 261.6 yds
• Carry 224.7 yds
• Clubhead Speed 110.1 mph
• Ball Speed 160.7 mph
• Smash Factor 1.46
• Attack Angle -0.4 degrees
• Spin Loft 9.0 degrees
• Launch Angle 6.5 degrees
• Spin 2789 rpm

Professional 90

titleist professional 90

• Total Distance 262.1 yds
• Carry 231.9 yds
• Clubhead Speed 110.6 mph
• Ball Speed 161.4 mph
• Smash Factor 1.45
• Attack Angle -1.1 degrees
• Spin Loft 6.9 degrees
• Launch Angle 6.5 degrees
• Spin 2915 rpm

Pro V1 - 392

early titleist pro V1 392

• Total Distance 286.4 yds
• Carry 251.9 yds
• Clubhead Speed 110.1 mph
• Ball Speed 164.7 mph
• Smash Factor 1.50
• Attack Angle -3.0 degrees
• Spin Loft 10.8 degrees
• Launch Angle 6.5 degrees
• Spin 2739 rpm

Pro V1 New

titleist pro V1

• Total Distance 298.4 yds
• Carry 271.1 yds
• Clubhead Speed 110.8 mph
• Ball Speed 167.2 mph
• Smash Factor 1.51
• Attack Angle -3.1 degrees
• Spin Loft 11.7 degrees
• Launch Angle 7 degrees
• Spin 2850 rpm

Things you should be aware of:  The numbers listed above are an average of the six shots struck with each ball.  Each ball was only hit once.  The golf balls, while all pristine and "new" are very different age wise.  The balata balls have been waiting in their sleeve for more than twenty years for someone to play with.  The balls had all been stored in an air-conditioned space and were stored together.  The weather was a crisp 74 degrees with a slight left to right breeze blowing - lovely for August!  Zack used a Titleist D3 9.5 driver with a Diamana 'ahina X shaft by Titleist.

Points of Interest:

• Obviously the distance gaps were what interested me most and there were no real surprises there, other than the "upgrade" from the early Pro V1 to the newer model - almost a 5% increase!
• The huge leap in distance off the tee on the PGATour in 2000 is due to only one thing - the introduction of the Pro V1.  An increase in distance of almost 10% over the scuff resistant Professional.
• I thought the spin rate on the wound balls (Balata and Professional) would be through the roof.  Not so!  The balls sounded very soft off the face and seemed to struggle to get into the air - almost as if they were unhappy to be put into play this late in the game!  Zack said it felt like he was hitting ping pong balls.
• I was very interested in the fact that the smash factor was lower with the two softer balls.  It almost seemed as if it was more difficult to get the smash factor up due to the softness/compression of the ball.  BTW, smash factor (generally speaking) is the ball speed divided by the clubhead speed and it measures the efficiency/quality of the strike.
• The older/softer balls definitely curved more than the more modern models.  This was noticeable even to the untrained eye.
• Since the study I have gone back and weighed each model of golf ball measured.  I have long been under the impression that all golf balls weighed 46 grams.  The Tour Balata (43gr) and the Professional (42gr) were much lighter than the others (46gr).  Not sure if a ball can "lose weight" or were they made at that weight?

On a side note: I also had Zack hit six older model Pro V1X - 332 balls. I kept this data out of the study as I wanted to key in on four separate generations of Titleist balls and this model was a relative of the early model Pro V1 we studied.  Interestingly enough this was the ball that traveled the furthest - a whopping 307.3 yds!  (All the additional clubhead numbers were similar to the other models). I took from this that it is important to play a golf ball that fits your clubhead speed/game. With a driver speed in the vicinity of PGATour average (112mph), Zack currently plays the new Pro V1X and this study confirmed that the X is the right ball for him.

The moral of the story is that when it comes to golf balls, new technology fitted to the appropriate golfer makes a real difference. Take the time to chat with a teacher or professional you respect and get some sound advice as to which ball might make a difference for you.  Oh, and that pristine logo-ed dozen you've been saving for that special course, remember the one your buddy bought back from Augusta for you in '78 - eh...not so good.

Practicing Politics

The Spring issue of Golf Digest/Index magazine just came out and ranked the top 75 practice facilities in the USA. When I first started teaching at Berkeley Hall in April 2001 I contacted Golf Digest asking them to do a piece on on the premier practice grounds in the country. They rank everything else in golf, from courses, to instructors, to golf balls, why not an integral part of any golf operation - the practice area!

At the time Berkeley Hall was without a doubt the premier place in the country, if not the world, to work on your game. My request was in vain, yet I am glad to see they have finally caught on and ranked some of the top facilities.

There is good news and bad news - I'll start with the good! Berkeley Hall has over 31 acres of practice area, 6 acres of which are dedicated to the  short game. We have a $1 million learning center that includes 4 indoor hitting bays, 3 V1 Swing Analysis stations, a TOMI software indoor putting room, a video room for indoor analysis, a lounge with fireplace and 500 year-old Black Cypress wood bar, two private lesson tees, four oversized practice tees (two on each end), a wedge only tee with six 14ft diameter sand target greens and a lazer to determine distances to each flag, a Cover Shots unit under which 6-7 golfers can escape the elements (rain and sun) and hit off grass, four putting greens, two of which are bent and two of which are tif-eagle bermuda and eight bunkers from which to hit greenside shots from, a few from which you can also hit fairway bunker shots.

Did I also mention that each hitting station on the practice tee is equipped new Titleist NXT Tour balls, a bag stand with distances that are lazered to each target flag daily, bug spray, tees and a towel. There are also Schaefer fans located at each station to cool in the summer, or drive off a pesky bug or two in the spring and fall.

The short game area has three tif-eagle target greens that are maintained in the same fashion as the greens on the course. There are lazers located at strategic locations to help determine how far you might be hitting that new L-wedge. Designed by Fazio, the area allows for pitches over water or sand, uphill or down and from fairway or rough. You can even hit shots from 180 yards out to a raised green!

Now for the bad news! Berkeley Hall, with all the above amenities, is ranked 16th! The ranking, compiled by the Golf Digest Course Rating panelists, reeks of politics.  I am not exactly sure why I'm surprised or upset at that.

Pine Valley gets top billing, and while I have never been there, I have taught many members from there and spoken to many people who have visited. Pine Valley has a good practice ground, but it is not world class! It has a driving range and 10 additional holes designd by Tom Fazio. In my opinion a par three course or a short course is not part of a golf courses' practice facility. A practice hole or two, yes, but a par three  or executive course - no!

Courses ranked ahead of Berkeley hall include, World Woods (big and round), Muirfield Village (big and round), Caves Valley (nice, but no Berkeley Hall), Desert Mountain (four ranges -how many can you use at once?), PGA West (huh?), and Kinloch G. C. (where they have a 120 yard wedge area and stones marking 10 yard increments!?)

Having been fortunate enough to see many of the facilites on the list I can safely say there cannot possibly be  more than 4-5 facilities in the US better than what we have here at Berkeley Hall. FACT!

I wonder how those course rating panelists enjoyed their day at Pine Valley?