Average Driver Shaft Length Pga Tour
Driver Shaft Length Problem. You want to gain more distance from your drives. Cure. You can increase clubhead speed and arc by using a longer shaft.
Tour Issue Cleveland 2012 588 Raw Tour Grind Wedge Lob LW 60 2 Dot Mid Bounce Dynamic Gold Sensicore S300 Steel Stiff Right Handed 35 in.
Fitting a Driver for Shaft Length
Distance and accuracy are optimized by an external weight that optimizes the center of gravity position to generate high launch and low spin. The G20 s large, variable-thickness face generates faster ball speeds and increases MOI for maximum forgiveness. The 460cc club head is made from Ti 8-1-1, a lighter, lower-density alloy. Ti 8-1-1 s high strength-to-weight ratio allows for additional weight to be strategically placed for increasing the MOI on both the vertical and horizontal axes. Weight savings from varying wall thicknesses in the crown and body are positioned to optimize performance and durability
Loft Length Offset Lie Head Weight Swing Weight
8.5 45.75 No 58.0 204g D3
9.5 45.75 No 58.0 204g D3
10.5 45.75 No 58.0 204g D3
12.0 45.75 No 58.0 204g D3
These are design specifications, and may vary due to manufacturing tolerances
The TFC 169D Graphite Tour shaft has a stiffer tip and less torque than the TFC 169D shaft. It is 6 to 9 grams heavier and launches the ball lower with less spin. It also provides a tighter feel for more stability and control.
12/16/20134.0
PING G20 Driver - Great Club
Long HolesOff The TeeReplacement
11/29/2013
AccurateGreat DistanceGreat FeelLarge HeadLarge Sweet Spot
Long HolesNarrow FairwaysOff The Tee
11/28/20134.0
Outstanding performance, no adj needed.
AccurateGreat FeelLarge Sweet Spot
10/25/2013
Long HolesNarrow FairwaysOff The TeeReplacementUpgrade
10/10/2013
AccurateGreat DistanceGreat Feel
10/9/20134.0
Straightest driver Ive ever hit
Narrow FairwaysOff The TeeVery Forgiving
Handicap:5Was this a gift.:No
how long has this driver been in production.
Asked on 9/15/2014 by James
Know the answer. Answer this question
1 answer The G20 family started in 2011. The G25 and G30 has been released since then. Please contact a Customer Service Representative at 888 200-7428 for any further questions. Thank you.
Answered on 9/18/2014 by Customer Care.
Manufacturer: Grafalloy; Model: BiMatrx Tour Prototype; SKU: 21GRABIMARX; Condition: NEW, FACTORY SEALED; Makeup/Loft: See DropDown; New to the golf.
PGA Tour Swing Data chart with information on smash factor, details of club speed, ball speed and carry distances for each club in the bag, 9 ball flight possibilities.
Miles of Golf feels one of the very important parts of fitting a customer for a driver is the length of the driver. That is why the Cluboratory, our fitting center, has drivers of varying length. This paper will describe why shaft length is critically important in fitting a driver.
We all know how important shaft length is for an iron. It determines impact position on the face, interaction with the turf, and posture at address. Drivers nowadays are being made longer and longer. Cobra is actually releasing a 48 driver called the Long Tom for 2012. The average length of a driver 5 years ago was approximately 45 long. In 2011, the average driver length of the brands that we stock is 45.73, and that number is only going to go up in 2012. In concept, going to a longer shaft is a great idea since in most cases the longer the shaft the faster the head will travel.
So if a longer driver will increase swing speed, why write about it. While fitting in the Miles of Golf Cluboratory, we see a different picture play out that goes much deeper than raw club head speed. The key for hitting the ball far is to translate the club head speed into ball speed. If swing speed is increased, but the ball speed remains unchanged, then the extra club head speed is useless. The true number to pay attention to is ball speed and its relationship with club head speed. This relationship is called Smash Factor, and we use this number to give us an efficiency rating. The maximum speed a ball can come off the face of a golf club is one and a half times greater than the speed of the club head. This is the limit that is set by the USGA.
I personally fit more customers into 43 drivers than 46 or longer drivers. The reason I fit for a 43 driver is simple: it performs better. One example is from a guy I fit not too long ago. The player was a strong guy, about a 15 handicap with some consistency issues. Anything longer than 43 resulted in erratic impact all over the face, with erratic ball flight to match. As soon as he had a 43 heavy, stiff driver in his hands, the contact on the face became much more consistent so did his ball flight. His launch conditions speed, launch angle, spin rate, spin axis, etc improved dramatically as well. His club head speed which is the reason that a person would go to a longer driver was exactly the same as a 45.5 driver. Despite losing 2.5 of length, the speed was identical. This is a common occurrence during fittings on the TrackMan machine.
So the big question is: why do we fit drivers of different lengths when all of the new drivers coming to market are approaching the 46 mark. Due to the volume of questions that we get on this topic, as well as personal curiosity, I decided to do a little testing and get actual numbers to help support a conclusion.
1. The Testing
We had 10 players from around the shop ranging in swing speed from 78.4 mph to 116.1 mph and handicaps ranging from scratch to 10 participate in this study. For the testing, everybody hit the Titleist 910 driver in the head D2 or D3 with the loft, face setting, and shaft of their choice. The Titleist driver was chosen for the testing because we have the ability to match swing weight by adjusting the weight in the back, and we have multiple shafts that are exactly the same but are available in different lengths example: Aldila RIP Alpha 60 stiff flex in 44.5 and 45.5. Every club in this test, swing weighted to a D4 or D5. Each individual hit 10 balls with each driver length in no particular order.
Driver performance is based on three main variables: 1 Distance, 2 Accuracy/ Dispersion from the intended target, and 3 Face Impact. The goal of a driver is to consistently hit the ball as far as possible and at the intended target. This is how we determined the effectiveness of the two different length drivers.
2. Distance
2.2 Club Head Speed
The data that we came up with was very interesting. On average, the entire test group s swing speed increased with the longer driver, increasing from 102.8mph to 103.8mph.
Club Head Speed
Total 44.5
Average of averages:
102.8
Total 45.5
103.8
Measured in Miles Per Hour
However, we did not see a consistent 1mph increase in speed with each individual tester. The highest swing speed improvement came from our owner Chris Mile, whose club head speed increased from 79.5mph to 81.4mph, for an increase of 1.9 mph.
Chris Mile
44.5 Average:
79.5
45.5 Average:
81.4
MPH
On the other end of the spectrum we had Ken Johns who actually recorded a decrease in club head speed with the longer driver, dropping from 106mph to 105.4mph for a. 6mph reduction.
Ken Johns
106.0
105.4
These two examples were the extremes of the test. Four other testers recorded an increase of less than a half-mile an hour . 4mph or less during our testing with the longer driver.
So why would someone swing a longer club slower than a shorter club. When I showed Ken the results and asked him why he thinks he swung the shorter club faster, he simply said that he had more confidence in the shorter club. He felt like he could be a little more aggressive while maintaining control of the club. Ken felt that the longer driver lengthened his swing and decreased his efficiency, also decreasing his confidence. The numbers of the test supported Ken s personal feelings.
2.3 Ball Speed
As stated in the introduction of this article, club head speed means nothing if it isn t translated into ball speed. One of the data points that we focus on closely is called Smash Factor. To go a little further into detail, this is an efficiency rating that divides ball speed by club head speed. The ball cannot leave the face faster than 1.5 times the speed that the club head is traveling. Therefore a perfect Smash Factor rating is 1.50. The closer this number is to 1.50, the more efficient the ball is rebounding off of the face. The Smash Factor helps us determine how closely the ball is hit to the sweet spot, and how efficient a player s swing is. For reference, the PGA tour averages between a 1.48 and 1.49 Smash Factor reading. So how did the longer driver with an average club head speed increase of 1mph translate to ball speed. For the entire group of testers, we only saw an increase of. 9mph ball speed.
Ball Speed
152.5
153.4
Assuming a perfect Smash Factor rating with the longer club, we should have seen in increase of 1.5mph ball speed with the 1mph increase in club head speed. Only seeing an increase of. 9mph indicates that the longer driver is slightly less efficient on average for the entire group. Even more so than the club head speed, we saw a couple of extremes in the ball speed category. The two testers who saw the greatest difference in club head speed, also saw the greatest difference in ball speed. Once again, Chris Mile, saw a substantial increase of 3.9mph of ball speed.
Ball Speed Smash Factor
116.1
1.46
120.0
1.47
The reason why Chris saw such an improvement in ball speed is for 2 reasons: his club head speed increased 1.9mph, and his Smash Factor increased from 1.46 to 1.47. So he was not only swinging faster, but also the ball was also coming off the face more efficiently. This gives us an indication that going to a longer driver increased Chris s potential for speed.
Like club head speed, Ken Johns was on the other extreme of the ball speed differential. Ken saw a decrease of 1.9mph going to the longer driver. The ball speed decrease can actually be explained by using the same data points that explained an increase in ball speed for Chris Mile.
157.1
1.48
155.2
Ken saw a decrease in ball speed for 2 reasons: he actually swung the longer club. 6mph slower than the shorter club, and was less efficient with a Smash Factor reading of 1.47 with the longer club vs. 1.48 with the shorter club. This data helps support the fact that Ken preferred the shorter club.
I personally was in the middle of the pack when it came to club head speed and ball speed increases. I saw a. 9mph club head speed increase from 114.5mph to 115.4mph, and a 1.1mph ball speed increase from 168.6mph to 169.7mph. I had an identical 1.47 Smash Factor with both clubs.
Club head Speed Ball Speed Smash Factor
Shawn Zawodni
114.5
168.6
115.4
169.7
Chris Mile saw a significant increase in speed by going to a longer driver, Ken Johns saw a significant decrease in speed with a longer driver, and I personally saw an increase that closely mirrors that of the group average. So what does this mean about the actual performance of the longer driver. Driver performance isn t just based solely off of speed. Driver performance is based off of total distance and left and right dispersion. This is where the data gets interesting.
2.4 Launch Angle Spin Rate
The other two primary variables of distance when it comes to ball launch conditions are launch angle and spin rate. Launch angle is the vertical angle relative to flat that the ball comes off of the face. Spin rate is how many rpm s of backspin the ball has coming off the face of the club. Backspin on a golf ball creates a low-pressure zone above and behind the ball as it s flying through the air, causing lift and drag. Depending on ball speed, there are optimal windows in which we would like to see the launch angle and spin rate. Ultimately our goal is to optimize launch angle and spin rate based on a player s ball speed. We want just enough spin for the ball to maintain its trajectory without altering it. Too much spin relative to speed will create lots of lift and drag, causing the ball to climb and lose its down-range momentum. This leads to a ball that will fall to the ground at a steeper than desired angle killing roll. A golf ball with too little spin will not have enough lift to maintain trajectory and will fall out of the air, significantly reducing carry distance.
Launch angle plays a primary role in how much spin we need on a golf ball. Across all swing speeds, the lower a ball is launched, a higher spin rate is needed to help keep the ball in the air. The higher a ball is launched, a lower spin rate is needed to maintain optimal trajectory. In a perfect world, we like to see a high launch angle with a spin rate that s just high enough to maintain that trajectory.
For example, if there is a player who has a ball speed of 150mph and launches the ball low with an 6.5 degree launch angle, then this player will have to spin the ball between 2,800rpm-3,300rpm to achieve optimal trajectory given their low launch angle. On the other hand, if you take the same player and he launches it at 15 degrees, then the optimal spin rate would be between 1,900rpm-2,300rpm to achieve optimal trajectory.
So how does this tie back in with our length data. There are many variables that will change how the ball will launch and spin off of the clubface. Club head delivery and face contact are without question the two most important determining factors of ball launch conditions. Changing the length of a club will change club head delivery as well as face contact.
On average the 45.5 driver had a 100rpm higher spin rate than the 44.5 driver, and launched. 1 degree higher.
Launch Angle Spin Rate
10.4
3086
10.5
3186
Measured in Degrees Measured in RPM
This is actually a very small change that that won t make much of a difference to the ball flight. Just like the speed test however, there were a couple of individuals that saw a significant difference in performance. Every player in the study launched the ball within 1 degree with both driver lengths, which has very little impact on our down range performance, so I ll focus more on the spin rate.
Once again, Chris saw the greatest increase in spin rate with the longer driver, and one of our custom fitters, Brian Carpenter, saw the greatest decrease in spin with the longer driver.
Ball Speed Launch Angle Spin Rate
15.3
2694
15.7
3159
Brian Carpenter
147.7
12.0
3483
150.8
11.9
3199
MPH Degrees RPM
Chris saw an increase of 465rpm of spin, and Brian saw a decrease of 284rpm. In both of these examples the spin rate change was an improvement with the longer driver. Based off of the ball speed and launch angle, the added spin with the longer driver for Chris helped keep the ball in the air longer allowing the ball to fly down range longer than the lower spinning ball. Combine that with Chris s increase in ball speed by 3.9mph and we see a ball that climbs to an apex 4.2 yds higher and stays in the air for a half-second longer. This leads to an increase in carry distance of 8.9 yds. That s almost a full club length.
Apex yds Flight Time Carry Distance
22.5
5.3
174.4
26.7
5.8
183.3
Seconds Yards
Brian saw a decrease in spin by 284rpm with the longer driver, which was also a positive result, based on his ball speed. Because Brian s ball speed was around the 150mph range, and he launched the ball around 12 degrees, the lower spin with the longer club created less drag and allowed the ball to get down range faster. Due to the reduced drag, and the ball getting down range more efficiently, Brian s carry distance increased by 11.4 yds.
Spin Rate Carry Distance
44.5 Average
246.3
45.5 Average
257.7
RPM Yards
2.5 Distance Summary
As an average the numbers are pretty easy to decipher. The 45.5 driver carried 1.1 yds longer, and the 44.5 driver went. 6 yds longer total.
Carry Distance Total Distance
242.9
265.1
244.0
264.5
Yards
The longer driver carried 1.1 yds longer for three reasons: 1 ball speed with the 45.5 driver was. 9mph faster, 2 the spin rate with the 45.5 driver was 100rpm s higher creating more lift, and 3 the 45.5 driver launched. 1 degree higher. All of these variables are miniscule, however when combined they equal a driver that carries 1.1 yds longer than a shorter driver.
The 44.5 driver, although slightly slower, still had a longer total distance than the 45.5 driver because of two reasons. Those two reasons happen to be the same reasons why the 45.5 driver carried longer. The lower launch and lower spin rate from the 44.5 driver created a more penetrating flatter ball flight. The angle of decent with the 44.5 driver, which is the angle the ball approaches the ground, was 1.3 degrees flatter than the 45.5 driver which means the ball will roll out more once it hits the ground. During driver fittings we try to maximize carry distance while reducing decent angle. If we can achieve maximum carry distance combined with the flattest decent angle, then we know we maximized total distance potential.
Decent angle
38.8
40.1
Degrees
Of course, just like every other topic we have covered, there were outliers who saw both positive and negative results with distance by going to a longer driver. Brian Carpenter, who also had the greatest improvement in the Ball Launch Conditions, also saw the greatest increase in distance.
265.4
280.9
Yards
As shown in the Ball Launch Conditions section, Brian carried the ball 11.4 yds longer with the 45.5 driver than the 44.5 driver. Total distance increase was 15.5 yds. That is a significant increase and worth the extra length assuming similar dispersion patterns. There s an interesting twist to the long driver performing so well for Brian. When asked what length driver Brian currently plays, he stated that he prefers a short driver under 45 because he feels that it gives him more control. I ll discuss this in more detail in the Accuracy portion of this article.
Throughout the entire test group however we saw a different story from Brian s. Only 4 of the 10 testers saw any total distance increase at all, and Brian was the only individual who saw a total distance gain of more than 5yds. The shorter driver had very similar results to the long driver. 6 testers saw a distance gain, only 1 of the 6 saw a distance gain of more than 5 yards. Just like the Ball Speed category, the person who saw the greatest distance increase with a shorter driver was Ken Johns. Ken saw an increase of 16yds with the 44.5 driver vs. the 45.5 driver. The reason Ken saw such an increase in total distance is because of two reasons: 1 Speed. As covered earlier, Ken s ball speed was 1.9mph faster with the 44.5 driver over the 45.5 driver, and 2 Spin rate. The shorter driver spun 492rpm less than the longer driver creating a more penetrating trajectory. Combine the faster speed with the flatter trajectory and Ken saw a significant total distance gain with the 44.5 driver.
Ball Speed Spin Rate Total Distance
3064
278.7
3556
262.7
MPH RPM Yards
So far we have 2 testers who saw a significant difference in total distance between the 44.5 driver and the 45.5 driver in opposite directions, and the rest of the field who saw a minimal distance gain with either length. Distance only does so much as long as you can find the ball after you hit it. 15 more yards doesn t help if it s 15 more yards out of bounds. So lets look at dispersion.
3. Accuracy Dispersion
We didn t see a significant difference in distance on average between the 44.5 driver and the 45.5 driver so let s focus on accuracy and dispersion. How did the length of the golf club impact the accuracy as well as the grouping of the drives.
We measured accuracy by the distance from the intended target. For example if a player hits one shot 10 yards right, then the next one 10 yards left, then their average distance from our intended target is 10 yards. Dispersion is the distance between the most left shot and the most right shot. Sticking with the above example, then the dispersion between the two shots is 20 yards.
3.1 Accuracy
On average our testers hit the 44.5 driver 13.9 yds offline and the 45.5 driver 15.7 yds offline. 8 out of our 10 testers hit the ball straighter with the shorter driver. Similar to the distance test, only 3 testers saw a difference of more than 4 yards between the two lengths. Two testers saw an improvement of 6.2 yds and 7.9 yds with the shorter driver, and one tester hit it 8.7yds straighter with the longer driver. The other tester who hit the longer driver straighter saw an improvement of only. 7 yds.
Distance from Target
13.9
Despite the group average, the straightest individual group came from the 45.5 driver at 7.1 yds offline compared to 8.4 yds offline with the 44.5 driver. The farthest individual group from our centerline did come from the 45.5 driver at 24 yds offline compared to 20.5 yds offline with the 44.5 driver.
44.5 Best individual average
8.4
45.5 Best individual average
7.1
44.5 Worst individual average
20.5
45.5 Worst individual average
24
On average the 44.5 driver was only 1.8 yds straighter in relationship to the target line compared to the 45.5 driver, and 8 out of 10 of our testers did hit it more accurately, even if most of them only hit it slightly straighter.
3.2 Dispersion
Dispersion tells us how tight the groupings are. If a player hits the ball on average 15 yds left of the target line, but does it consistently and repeatedly, then that player will have a smaller dispersion pattern. The smaller the dispersion pattern, the easier it is to play and correct for tendencies. So the player who misses the target line 15yds to the left consistently can compensate by aiming 15 yds to the right and still be a very good driver of the golf ball. We also wanted to see what kind of impact length had on the dispersion pattern.
7 out of 10 of our testers saw a tighter dispersion pattern with the 44.5 driver over the 45.5 driver. On average the left to right deviation was 7.6 yds tighter with the shorter driver than the longer driver.
Left to Right Dispersion
Average of averages
40.0
47.6
Difference
7.6
However, like every other test we have done today, there were extremes. One of our testers hit the 45.5 driver 30.3 yds tighter than the 44.5 driver, while the other two testers that hit the longer driver tighter did so by 4.4 yds and 9 yds. There were 3 testers that put up a tighter dispersion pattern of 25 yds or more with the shorter driver. As a group the shorter driver did hit the ball tighter than the longer driver.
We only saw a 1.8 yard difference between the two lengths when it came to accuracy, but we did see a 7.6 yard difference in dispersion. As with every test we have done so far there have been extremes both positive and negative for both lengths.
4. Face Impact
Almost as important as to how the club head is delivered to the ball, is where the ball impacts the face. Impact position is going to determine spin axis tilt left or right commonly referred to as side spin, ball speed, launch angle, spin rate, horizontal launch direction, etc If the club head is delivered perfectly neutral to the ball but impact position is low and on the heel, then we will see reduced ball speed, a lower launch angle, and an increased spin rate, and typically a right spin axis creating a drive that will be shorter and less accurate.
Each tester hit a series of shots with face tape on the club so we could see exact impact location on the face. I measured the widest part of each tester s impact group and added it with the tallest part of the impact group. The sum of the two numbers will give us a good face dispersion number to compare to the other impact position groupings. For example, if the dispersion heel to toe is 2 across and the dispersion crown to sole is 1.5, then that player has a face impact position number of 3.5. The lower the number, the tighter the impact group on the face and the more consistent the ball will tend to fly assuming consistent delivery of the club head.
The average face dispersion number with the 44.5 driver was 3.294 and 3.248 with the 45.5 driver. That s a difference of only. 046 between the two different lengths. Surprisingly enough, the longer driver was the one that had the slightly tighter face dispersion.
Face Dispersion
Average 44.5
3.294
Average 45.5
3.248
Difference:
.046
5. Summary
In conclusion we saw both drivers perform well for some of our testers, and poorly for others. The shorter driver did perform more consistent overall, however there were a few of the testers that did see a positive result with the longer driver over the shorter driver. There are articles out there stating that there is no consistency difference between a longer driver and a shorter driver so you might as well play the longest driver you can to get maximum speed. There are others stating that anything longer than 44 creates wild inconsistencies and everybody needs to play shorter drivers.
My conclusion after fitting on a TrackMan machine for over 5 years in our Cluboratory, as well as completing this study, is that everybody is unique and needs to be properly fit for a driver. I personally play a 44 driver and I m in the process of building a 43 driver. I had a guy come in not to long ago wanting to go to a 44 driver for control, and we ended up putting him in a 45.5 driver because he hit it more consistently on the face that resulted in more accuracy. There is no magic length that everybody should play, however everybody does need to be properly fit.
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Miles of Golf feels one of the very important parts of fitting a customer for a driver is the length of the driver. That is why the Cluboratory, our fitting center.
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