Driver Length Creep May Be Why You Can’t Hit Your Driver

It’s not your fault.  You heard me correctly; the odds are in favor of it not being your fault.

Then whose fault is it?  

It is your driver’s fault or at least the company that made it.  In the constant battle to constantly come up with another “our longest driver ever” the equipment companies have knowingly produced drivers that the average golfer can’t possibly hit well.

Have you ever wondered why you can hit your 3 wood so much better?  The answer is simple – it is shorter and therefore easier to control.  Longer and lighter works fine for a hitting machine that can be calibrated but not so well with ordinary humans.

Driver Length Creep

For years drivers were standard.  Persimmon drivers were 43.5 inches.  Today, in 2017, the average driver is 45.5.

Guess how long your 3 wood that you hit much better is?  Yep, it is 43.5 inches.  It is also around 13 degrees which is also easier to hit because loft equals forgiveness.

How About Long Drive Contest

Yes, I know that professional long drive winners use 50 inch drivers with 5.5 degrees of loft, but they are professional, gifted athletes and they don’t use them when they play golf and need to get more than one in three somewhere in the fairway.  In other words we are talking apples and oranges.

How About Tour Players

Bubba Watson, as talented as he is, uses a pink Ping G20 driver that is 44.5 inches.

During most of his career Tiger Woods played a 43.5 inch driver.  I think that says something about what the best players in the world think of a 45.5 inch driver.

Great Tom Wishon Quote

I pay attention to Tom Wishon because he knows as much or more than anyone about designing and building golf equipment and this is what he had to say:

“Do NOT assume that the “standard” length found on the clubs in the golf shop, especially the woods, will be right for you.  98% of the men’s drivers these days are built to a “standard” length of 45 or 45.5 inches; and I am here to tell you that a 45 inch driver will not fit 90% of all golfers and will never allow them to achieve their best combination of distance AND accuracy.

Let me put it another way.  Tiger Woods has swung a 43.5 inch driver most of his career on tour.  If he could hit the ball straight with a 45 inch club–he would.  He can’t; so he doesn’t.  And he knows if he did use a longer driver, he’d have even more trouble keeping it in play.  The average driver length for all the other pros on the PGA Tour today is 44.5 inches.  Now if Tiger and the rest of his pals know they can’t control a 45 inch long stick, what are the chances that you can?”

The Two Inch Challenge

Here is a simple challenge that is easy to do and doesn’t cost you anything.  The next time you go practice or play choke up on you driver about two inches and see what happens.  I’m betting it makes a huge difference for two reasons.  The first is because most people grip the club too far out on the end anyway.  This is why so many golfers wear out the palm or heel pad so quickly.

The second reason is they will have so much better control of the club.

When you see how much difference it makes just think about how much better it would be with the correct shaft length, flex, weight, balance point, etc. built into it.

Take the challenge and see for yourself!

Cover Photo via Flickr