3 Key Specifications of Driver Fitting
What golfer doesn’t dream of finding a “magic driver” which enables them to hit the ball consistently solid, long and in play? Tip number one; the very best driver for every golfer is never selected by its brand or model name or model number. It is created by its custom clubfitting specifications and how those individual factors are matched to the golfer’s size, strength, athletic ability and most of all, to their swing characteristics. Below, are 3 key specifications for proper Driver fitting, and a couple more for good measure.
Driver Length
It’s time to be blunt. The standard driver length of 45.5 to 46.5 inches offered by the majority of golf club companies is too long for the majority of golfers and will prevent at least 80% of all golfers from achieving their maximum potential for distance and accuracy. For men with an average to fast tempo who have an outside/in swing path, 44” should be the absolute maximum length; for women, 42.5” to 43” should be the limit. There’s a very good reason the average driver length on the US PGA Tour since 2005 has been 44.5” and not 45.5” to 46.5”.
Driver Loft
Driver loft must be matched in combination to the golfer’s swing speed and their angle of attack into the ball. The slower the swing speed and the more downward the angle of attack, the higher the loft of the driver has to be for maximum distance – and vice versa. While each golfer has to be individually analyzed to know which loft brings the most distance, here is a basic chart to use as a guideline.
|
Driver |
Best Loft |
Best Loft |
|
Clubhead |
for Carry |
for Roll Out |
|
Speed |
(wet turf) |
(dry turf) |
|
50mph |
21° |
20° |
|
60 |
18 |
17 |
|
70 |
16 |
15 |
|
80 |
14 |
13 |
|
90 |
12 |
11 |
|
100 |
11 |
10 |
|
110 |
9.5 |
8.5 |
|
Based on Level Angle of Attack |
||
Driver Face Angle
Very few drivers sold in retail stores offer options in the face angle to reduce the golfer’s tendency to slice or hook the ball. There is no better way to reduce a slice than to fit the golfer with a more closed face angle in the driver/fairway woods. For more severe slices, the golfer can be fit with a driver head with both a closed face and an offset hosel design.
The rule of thumb for face angle change? At a carry distance of 200 yards, each one degree more closed the face angle is than the golfer’s current face angle represents a reduction in the slice of about 4 to 5 yards.
And a Couple More for Covering Your Driver Fitting Needs . . .
Total Weight and Swingweight
The stronger the golfer physically and the more aggressively they swing, the heavier the total weight and swingweight will need to be to help maintain consistency in swing tempo, timing and rhythm. The opposite is true for the weaker and much less aggressive swinging player. Matching the “weights” of the driver to the golfer’s swing strength and aggressiveness is critical for achieving the highest incidence of on-center impacts.
Shaft
Here’s the facts about the shaft. While the weight, the overall flex and the stiffness bend profile of the shaft has to be fit properly to all golfers, the shaft flex and bend profile are more important for golfers with a late release of the wrist-cock angle in the downswing than for golfers with an earlier release.
Addressing these three very important elements of driver fitting through proper custom clubfitting can only be done by an experienced custom clubmaker, so FIND A CLUBFITTER near you and you will see dramatic improvements in your driver this year!
Tom
With a in to out swing why 44in max for a driver, what’s the correlation between the two.
I mean out to in swing
This is actually an informative article for golfers.
What a wonderfully concise and accurate summary of the driver’s specification challenges. I see so few golfers with a proper length driver, even those who thought they bought a “fitted” driver. If yours is an OEM’s standard length then you probably were not fitted for this most critical specification at all. See an independent professional club fitter and get properly fitted.
tom, love your stuff……. what do you do with swing weight if you cut down a longer driver?
thx steve
STEVE The initial rule of thumb with swingweight when cutting down the length of a club is to being back half of the swingweight points lost in the length reduction, start hitting shots and go from there with experimenting on the effect of bringing it up anymore than that. Example – Let’s say you cut a 46″/D1 driver down to 44″. That 2″ drop will move the swingweight from D1 to around B9 for a loss of 12 points. Bring the club up to C5 and start hitting shots on the range, taking the time to note how much you… Read more »
I must be the exception to the rule. I am 77 years old, still on single figures. I have an old R7 driver which I have an UST MP5 stiff flex shaft fitted. I have the length of 46.5 fitted. I build my own clubs and have done so for years. I have tried all types of shaft length and flex combinations but this suits me best. I have always hit the ball straight and the local professional told me that the stiff flex shaft suits me because I have a smooth swing. All my playing partners comment about how… Read more »
Alan At 77 and a single digit player, you ARE most certainly the exception to the rule of golfers ! Good for you and congratulations for that because I am sure you amaze everyone you play with ! As a single digit player who also can build clubs, there is no question this has given you the opportunity to really find out what works best for you and your swing. That’s the great thing about learning to build clubs for your own enjoyment. You really can learn a ton to help you in the game that way. For every golfer… Read more »
I have five of your drivers (two 959 10/2 degree) (1 919 10 1/2)
two 11 degree. after reading your article on shafts length .I will have mine cut two 43 1/2 THANK YOU DON
Tom,
I am currently in Asia and very far away from my fitter in Hawaii, Gary Asano. 2 yrs ago, he put me into the following (high-launch) Blue wood shafts, which has since cracked:
sw spd: 90-100
wgt: 56g
trn: 1-2
tem: 1-2
rls: 2-3
strgth: 1-2
I think I’ve outgrown this shaft due to factors incl technique and fitness; would like a little more piercing, mid-high trajectory.
Can you speculate performance of Claymore MX 48 F4
as possible replacement? Suggestions?
Thank you,
i’m 5’10” and bought the SLDR driver last year from Taylor Made. i left everything stock. my wrist to floor length is around 36. i have always hit a low draw, almost hook. my swing speed stays around 90. i think my draw comes from years of baseball, which has influenced my swing. with my new driver (not exactly sure of shaft length, but it hasn’t been touched), i have found myself hitting the ground behind the ball on most of my swings. with the specs i have given, what would be your recommendation on shaft length. i actually have… Read more »
TONY You can be very sure that the driver needs to be substantially shorter in length for you to gain control with the club and be able to play with it more successfully than you do now. You have a decision to make – whether to sell this driver as it is to get the most you can for it and then go get properly fit from scratch for a true custom fit/custom built driver or to cut this driver down shorter, have it re weighted for the shorter length, and go on using it. Your choice. If you have… Read more »
Im a beginner to intermediate player been playing for 1 year. My height is 5’6. Im pretty athletic and my swing speed with my driver is around 100 mph. I have a significant sliced and I know why. My swingpath is outside to in. I have been working on that. I bought the xhot driver with a regular flex and a 9.5 loft. The 10.5 loft driver seemed to baloon it a little much. I have a full size shaft. I feel its a little long. The pro shop guy says I will get use to it. Please help me
Kelly I am very sorry to be so blunt, but when you said the “pro shop guy said you would get used to the length”, that really makes me mad. From this statement, it is evident that this pro shop guy is a complete idiot who knows nothing about proper clubfitting and how it can help golfers like yourself. There is NO POSSIBLE WAY that you should be playing with that 45″+ length of this XHot because for one, you are 5″6″ and for the other which is more important, you are a beginner to intermediate player with an outside… Read more »
i am 6’5 about 290 (down from 310). my driver is 45.5 in long. my average drive is right about 245. i have hit 285 yd shots a handful of times but im more consistently around the 245-250 range. Lot’s of my questions were answered here. im probably going to head to the the tee to green fitters in gulfport, ms this weekend for a fitting. i bought a set of ping g20 irons (3&4H) with project x rifle shafts on the irons and regular projectx shafts on the hybrids, my current driver is a 9.5 stiff flex taylormade rocketballz… Read more »
DANNY When you say you are going to work with Tee to Green fitters in Gulfport, I assume you will be working with Steve Scharnhorst there on your fitting requirements. If so, TRUST HIM COMPLETELY to do the analysis of your swing and to use his depth of experience to guide you in terms of precisely what you need in your fitting requirements for your equipment. Steve is good, he is very experienced and if you work with him you will be in very good hands. Proper fitting is best done face to face, one on one, so that the… Read more »
Hi Tom, I’ve had your fitting and bought your irons and wedges but held off the driver, being nervous about your suggested loft and shaft length. So, for the last 6 mths I’ve left the driver in the garage and teed off with with a No3 fairway wood. Ok, I’ve lost 20yds in driving distance but I’ve spent less time in the rough, my fairway wood play has got better and overall I’d guess my tee to green scores have come down. I’ve had to work harder to lower the flight in high winds but overall the experiment has shown… Read more »
Bill: Without question, when we write about length fitting WE DO VERY MUCH STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF SWING TEMPO AND THE TRANSITION FORCE TO START THE DOWNSWING as important elements in determining the golfer’s best final length. We’ve taught for years that golfers who are much more aggressive, more forceful and faster overall in general tempo never do well with longer driver lengths and seriously need to go shorter, much shorter than what the big golf companies ordain as the std length for their drivers. Other factors we also teach as length considerations are the swing path AND the point… Read more »
Hi Tom, Thanks so much for your site. I’ve learned a lot from reading your comments. You seem to really know what you are talking about. I’d be grateful if you could help me with a driver fitting. Last year I bought the titleist D3 with the stock diamana ‘ahina 72 low-mid stiff shaft. I’m a tech geek and measure my stats often and so can be accurate in saying average ball speed off the driver runs from 162 to 167 mph. I notice on video that in the middle of the downswing when the club is parallel to the… Read more »
Hi Seth- Tom gave me a heads up about your question as he’s off the grid for a week and we wanted to get to you in a timely manner. It’s hard for me to say if this driver fits you or not, because there just isn’t much data for me to analyze and there are a lot of variables that contribute to performance. Could you get more distance? Possibly. It really depends how efficiently your head speed is being converted to ball speed and what you are producing for launch angle and spin rate and how those affect what… Read more »
I know this comment 2 year old, but thought I would add in case someone else is reading this. Most likely what you’re seeing is an effect of the camera called a “rolling shutter”. It has to do with the fact that the horizontal lines at the bottom of the image are rendered later in the image than the lines above it. This is especially true if video is taken with a smartphone (esp 2 years ago). Just google “rolling shutter effect” and you’ll see examples.
Hi Tom, All very good information there, what are your plans for a more closed driver in the future?
Can you also give us a guide to the directional differences in you current drivers and fairway woods?
Keep up the good work
Richard
RICHARD: Our model 919THI Draw Bias Plus driver head is produced with standard specs of 10.5 loft with 3 hook face angle. So it is the most closed of all our driver models. Through our Hand Select program, we can sort and measure heads to find one as closed as 4 hook when desired for a golfer. So that is more closed than what you can find with most other companies out there. In terms of “directional differences” in any driver head design, that is really a product of chiefly the face angle designed into the head and secondarily the… Read more »