A poke in the eye for the distance obsessed.

http://www.mygolfspy.com/mgs-labs-is-longer-really-longer/

Great article on shorter shafts V longer ones and the negligable effect on distance but significant effect on accuracy.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has been fitted for a noticeably shorter shaft and what the results were.

Excellent article S_R. Good find. Whether anyone will take it on board though I don't know. Here's hoping....or maybe not if I'm playing someone with a 46" driver!

It's interesting, but the last line tells you everything that you need to know.

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Though not true of our lowest handicap golfer, 2 of our single (or near single) digit handicappers actually lost upwards of 5 yards with the shorter shaft. We also observed that golfers with a flatter swing plane also showed less benefit from the shorter shaft.
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So, to interpret that - better golfers, who have a swing that repeats reasonably well, will benefit from longer shafts by at least 5 yards.

For older men, and higher handicappers, it would seem they can improve their driving by getting a shorter shaft. Sadly these are the people who tend to be aware they would benefit from more distance, and so the least likely to believe shorter shafts help.

George1507 wrote:...So, to interpret that - better golfers, who have a swing that repeats reasonably well, will benefit from longer shafts by at least 5 yards...

Maybe so George but I'm not sure you can get away from the Tour average length of ~44". They're good, earn their money from the game and they don't go with longer shafts?

I'd sacrifice a few yards distance for an increase of over 25% in accuracy. Who wouldn't?

Well maybe - but then again maybe not.

16 yards on average off the centre line with the shorter shaft, against 12 yards with the shorter shaft.

Surely the issue here is whether those numbers are better or worse than their performance with their regular driver? I should think my average accuracy over a few rounds is less than 12 yards offline. If I went for a shorter shaft then maybe I could reduce that to 8 or 9 yards offline. That three yards isn't enough to make much difference really. I'd rather have the extra 5+ yards distance and take my chances with slightly decreased accuracy.

One stat that I know about myself that is my accuracy (ie hitting the green when it's in range) reduces 10% with each longer iron I hit. So to put that another way, I'm 10% more likely to put it on the green if I can hit one less club. So I'm not likely to want to give up anything off my drives for a minimal increase in accuracy. I appreciate that golfers who are hitting it 300 yards or more can give up 10 yards for better accuracy, but my drives are 260 or so and I'm not often way offline.

excellent article SR. You know my thoughts on this debate echo yours entirely.

The further a ball goes offline, the further into trouble it will go. Accuracy is much better to have over distance (I have neither).

So, in summary, length of shaft doesn't matter - it's how you use it.

I've always been very happy with an extra long shaft, and I'm not changing it for anyone. No problem with partners having to search for balls either, they are easy to find. I'm not short of partners for the mixed foursomes, all the girlies seem to like long straight shots.

I shouldn't but.....it's not the length of the shaft entirely. Stiffness is also a critical factor .

Weight, colour and circumference also vital factors.

Nobody seems to like green shafts.

How many times have you walked off a course thinking your scoring would have improved "if only I hit it further" rather than "if only I hit is straighter"?

Accuracy trumps distance for the vast majority of us.

George1507 wrote:Weight, colour and circumference also vital factors.

Nobody seems to like green shafts.

Black shafts are quite popular with the ladies, just ask Tiger!