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Genesis Scottish Open

The Renaissance Club



    Your Questions Answered

    Can a shorter driver shaft bring more fairways and more yards? You bet

    June 14, 2025
    2218129545

    Michael Reaves

    Question: I saw Rory McIlroy recently tried a shorter driver shaft to try to hit more fairways. Could that work for me and how much distance would I be sacrificing?

    Answer: Good for you for being willing to opt for accuracy over a couple of yards. Fact is, you might not give up anything at all. Let’s start here: Golfers are obsessed with distance, especially off the tee. Manufacturers continually feed off that obsession by producing drivers that go farther, with many employing stock shafts at 45.5 inches or even longer.

    Now, there are theoretical truths in equipment technology, and then there are practical ones. Theoretically, because a longer shaft creates a larger swing arc, there is the potential for more speed being delivered to the ball at impact for more downrange distance. Practically, according to most fitters, that is rarely what happens with a human golfer. 

    “We find very few golfers actually increase their clubhead speed with a longer shaft and quite a few see it go down,” says Chris Marchini, director of golf experience for Golf Galaxy and an expert fitter. “If someone has an upright swing, for example, a longer driver shaft can really limit the extension of their arms and force them to manipulate the club just to get it back to the ball, which slows their speed down.”

    Even when swing speed does increase, if a player is not making contact in the sweet spot, the benefits can get lost. This is where the concept of smash factor comes in. Smash factor, which is the ratio of ball speed to clubhead speed, shows how close you are to contacting the sweet spot. A player with a less efficient smash factor can swing faster yet generate less ball speed. For instance, a player with a 1.45 smash factor swinging 100 miles per hour generates two mph less ball speed than a player swinging 98 mph with a 1.5 smash factor. In layman’s terms, less speed but better contact can be more efficient and yield more distance.

    Although McIlroy had a rough go in his initial foray with a shorter driver, there have been some success stories on tour. In 2017, Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler both cut two inches off their driver shafts. (A word of warning: You shouldn't just cut down clubs without adjusting head weight. Have a qualified club builder do it.) Walker saw his fairways hit go up 17 percent, and Fowler’s accuracy improved by nine percent with no noticeable loss of distance. And that theme could be accentuated for amateurs.

    Since everyday players are not as skilled as tour pros, a shorter driver shaft could lead to more confidence and finding the center of the face more often. And since everyday players tend to hit the ball lower than tour pros, finding the fairway instead of the rough could yield additional yards of roll. More fairways and more yards? Might just be worth a try.