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Heya I am 5'8 around and I had my shafts shortened 3/4th and my driver 1inch from standard...they feel alot more comfortable now(the toe isn't as high in the air at address).. is there anything I can expect when I go to range today?? They were gonna lower them 1/2 but we decided at 3/4th just to make sure(at golfsmith)..is it normal for someone around 5'8 to have their shafts shortened about 3/4 from standard for that height??

What should happen is a little less distance and a little more control. I know the driver shaft should feel stiffer as well.

Logically you should lose some distance due to a slightly smaller swing arc BUT on the other hand if you were not hitting the ball on the center in the first place and now you are flushing it center you could actually experience a little more distance due to now hitting it center and flush. I am 5'9 and my clubs were shortened by 3/8 of an inch 3 yrs ago and I was hitting it longer after the change. Now I have a few back problems from work and I am standing straighter upright more if you will and had them lengthened back to standard. I am hitting the same distance as before with a longer shaft but I am swinging easier today then 3 yrs ago. Keep it smooth and accelerating through the hitting zone and you will be fine. Have fun and dont worry.

Clubmakers will tell you fitting clublength has very little to do with a person's height. But, in general, shortening a club will increase the percentage of on center hits and the average distance may actually be longer than before they were cut down. Being comfortable over the ball is also very important. You mentioned 1" was cut off your driver. Did Golfsmith add any weight to the driver head? Unless your driver felt heavier or awkward, its important to keep the swingweight up near the same when shortening a driver. Most guys will not benefit from a driver being in the high C range.

no they didn't..

It was a complete 360 turn around when I went out to the range today.. I hit my shots so much better.. In fact I didn't top or chunk any balls on the driving range..

The tragectory was higher and I lost maybe a little distance... But when I hit them flush on it was pretty much the same distance as before.. I feel so much more comfortable standing up against the ball,, I was able to hit my 4 and 5 irons good without any problems and with the same confidence I do with my 8 and 9 irons.. even my 3 iron was well hit, which I barely use.. it was the first time that I could actually see the whole clubhead lie flatly on the ground instead of always the toe pointing a little up to the north.. that was so annoying to me..

They didn't say anything about a weight change on the driver.. When I hit the driver I was averaging around 225 -250..but I didn't have my slice anymore as I did when the shaft was longer.. In fact I was getting a nice draw on alot of them.. it seems the longer the shaft the worse my slice becomes with my driver..

I have some lead tape that I am gonna put on my driver maybe to experiment with and see though, also my irons too....Can anone give my advice as to where to put this tape on my clubs? (on the top, bottom, toe, heel, near the back of the head or the front, etc)

I seriously can't believe how more consistant I became with the shafts shortened.. It was quite a big surprise to me.. they felt like new clubs..Even if I do lose a little distance I'll take that for the higher percentage of center hits and consistancy..

Renton, I'm around the same height as you (5'9") and I recently cut my Driver and 3 wood down my 1/2" and I also found tons more control and I'm pretty sure my average drive distance has increased due to being more consistent. I'm wondering now why I didn't do this before!
When I added weight to my woods, I added lead tape to the hosel. Other places you can add the lead tape is on the shaft just above the hosel or on the clubhead itself (near the toe, heel or directly on the back of the clubhead)

I think if you shorten the club via the butt end, you shouldn't feel too much difference in terms of stiffness. However, if you tipped the club, then it would definitely feel stiffer.

well I had to buy new grips with my clubs when they were finished so I think they shortened it off the butt end..

Im gonna try some lead tape on the hosel like you said and see how it feels..i use a MacTec NVG2 so it has little weights in the head of the club that supossidly help it..

Yeah in my r7 425, I could have bumped the swingweight back up with the moveable weights, but I didn't want to have to use all 10-14gm weights, so I decided to add lead tape instead. Also, lead tape is cheap and easy to add and remove, so you'll definitely be able to fine-tune the club to feel the way you would want it to. I just brought a roll with me to the range and tinkered until the club felt good in my hands

It's amazing that cutting the shafts down 3/4" could result in that much more confidence. I better look into my set up a little more next time I get to hit the range or course.

Well I just got back from the range today (with the weather warm FINALLY) and I hit my 5 irons pretty much the same distance when they were longer... Maybe a loss of 5-10 yeads..But with one thing different, I was drawing the ball nearly everytime, barely anymore slices or chunked shots.. In fact I didnt chunk or top one ball today on the range.... I feel more over the ball.. and the lie of the club is absolutly square and all on the ground(no toe pointing a little up in the air anymore)

Since Im a little more upright with the shaft shortened I am able to let gravity let the club fall down on my downswing more.. I simple just plant my left heel back into the ground, shift my hips a little and let gravity let my arms and club fall into the ball.. I think nothing about my arms or hands, they just fall... I developed absolute wonderful accuracy with this..

I think personally too many players are playing shafts too long.. It sad so many golfer just buy clubs off the racks without having the shafts adjusted and the lie angles adjusted, even a 1 degrees change in lie angle can make your game totally different.. Did you know Ben Hogan was 5'8 and he played with a minus 2 flat lie angle for his clubs?? and the average height for a man is 5'8..so this should tell people something..Probably 90% of all the golfers out there are playing with clubs that aren't fitted correctly for them, either the lie angles are too upright or too flat.... with this change im actually able to play golf now and enjoy it alot more than ever..

I am going through the same problem at the moment. Just switched Drivers to a more forgiving 450 head and did all my testing at a driving range. Made the purchase but not satisfied with the results on course. Driving ranges can be so misleading. Club sets up well and feels great with connection. I am seeing the Pro/Club fitter in a few days and I think if he doesn't recommend a change in shaft I will investigate shortening the shaft and perhaps adding weight to the back of the head. Just goes to show you must check all avenues when purchasing clubs. Silly me I add!!

Go to a good store.. Stay away from Big store like Golf Galaxy. You need a real precision fitter, Golfsmith is better but its best to go to a precision place, PCS is the best and most precise The Professional Clubmakers' Society that Ive seen...Ive heard totallydriven is ok too