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Old February 27th, 2008, 05:45 PM
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Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

Does it matter which one?

Thanks!
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Old February 27th, 2008, 05:49 PM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

If you can comfortably and reliably grip the club 1" down, I would start with that. The grip thickness may not be to your liking 1" down, but it is worth a try. I never really seem to mind gripping down when I have to. Try it, and tell us how well it works for you!
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Old February 27th, 2008, 06:15 PM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

I've found that I'm a lot more accurate when I grip down an inch. I've thought about cutting an inch off my driver, but I"m not sure how that would effect the overall flex of the shaft.
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Old February 27th, 2008, 07:38 PM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

Quote:
Originally Posted by scottevans77 View Post
I've found that I'm a lot more accurate when I grip down an inch. I've thought about cutting an inch off my driver, but I"m not sure how that would effect the overall flex of the shaft.
1" off the butt end shouldn't really have an effect on flex at all. Now, if you were trimming an inch off the tip, that would be another story entirely.
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Old February 27th, 2008, 07:43 PM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

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Originally Posted by lowof83 View Post
1" off the butt end shouldn't really have an effect on flex at all. Now, if you were trimming an inch off the tip, that would be another story entirely.
I may try that then, I need to replace the grip anyway.
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Old February 27th, 2008, 07:55 PM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

If you ever get the chance Scott, order one of the single club builder packages from Golfsmith that includes the instructional video, and book. (I think they still have these offers) It's a great way to learn a little about club building, and a tiny bit about fitting. 15 or so years ago, I built my first club from one of these kits, and the video and booklet helped me understand a few things I'd never even thought of before. Besides, it's a good way to add that extra wedge, and learn a bit without spending a fortune. You actually get something of substance with those offers.
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Old February 28th, 2008, 02:10 AM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

Gripping down on the club will cause the shaft to change about a half flex (give or take but not truely noticable) depending on the stiffness of the shaft. It would actually be the same as if you were to butt cut the shaft an inch because you are taking the flex of the extra inch out of the shaft either way.

So choking down or trimming should not cause a change in terms of flex between the choices.
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Old February 28th, 2008, 11:03 AM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

It should not change much, however, I'd try to hit some golf balls without trimming the shaft first. There might be some swing weight difference between holding it shorter and actually trimming it shorter.
With the modern shaft, some are tip flex and some are also butt flex.
If your shaft is butt soft, trimming off one inch will make it feel much stiffer.
I had trimmed 3/4 inch off my driver just recently and it feels great, more control and not any noticible distance lost.
Ball flight is somewhat lower in trajectery than before the trim and feels just a bit stiffer.
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Old February 28th, 2008, 11:15 AM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

If you grip down an inch and don't like the width of the grip is is much easier to just have a thicker grip put on than it would be to butt-trim the club. I've gone to an XL grip because I have large hands and I find it far more comfortable to grip and a lot easier to control.

The big drawback with cutting an inch off is that you can never reverse the change in case you change your mind. With a larger grip you can always just readjust your grip if you feel like letting one howl on a wide open fairway.

In the end, you are left with more options and greater versatility if you simply re-grip the driver. It would make me insane if I found myself setting up in the tee box and thinking to myself that I wish I had never cut the shaft.
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Old February 28th, 2008, 02:40 PM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

Interesting opinions so far.
The trim of a tip makes the absolute most difference in flex. Even a 1/2" difference more or less in trimming can make a difference of 1/2 a flex designation, while butt trimming a shaft usually can't be felt.
In the event you butt trim the shaft, and decide you don't like the feel after, any decent fitter can put an extension in (you can even do it yourself because it's not difficult at all) to get that inch back. As for the feel of the grip size, there is likely to be no appreciable difference, but if you believe there will be, there are options. You can change the number of layers of tape used, or not use any tape at all (3M spray adhesive has worked well for me in the past), not to mention the various options in grip size that the various manufacturers offer.
The whole point of this post is that there's no reason to fear making a change because you think the change cannot be undone. With tip trimming, you can't undo it once you've cut it. With butt trimming, you can change it back, with no noticeable difference from the way it felt from the factory.
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Old February 28th, 2008, 02:49 PM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

Quote:
Originally Posted by lowof83 View Post
Interesting opinions so far.
The trim of a tip makes the absolute most difference in flex. Even a 1/2" difference more or less in trimming can make a difference of 1/2 a flex designation, while butt trimming a shaft usually can't be felt.
In the event you butt trim the shaft, and decide you don't like the feel after, any decent fitter can put an extension in (you can even do it yourself because it's not difficult at all) to get that inch back. As for the feel of the grip size, there is likely to be no appreciable difference, but if you believe there will be, there are options. You can change the number of layers of tape used, or not use any tape at all (3M spray adhesive has worked well for me in the past), not to mention the various options in grip size that the various manufacturers offer.
The whole point of this post is that there's no reason to fear making a change because you think the change cannot be undone. With tip trimming, you can't undo it once you've cut it. With butt trimming, you can change it back, with no noticeable difference from the way it felt from the factory.


On top of this, there were more than a dozen cases within the golf group ( we have a regular group of 90+ ), that had trimmed ( shorten ) their driver's shaft recently and all have great results.
Some were fitted by a reputable local club maker, some were just a home job.
Most of the cases had improved their driving distance.
IMHO, the std. OEM 45"-46" driver length will not be the ideal length for average golfers.
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Old February 29th, 2008, 06:06 AM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

For me choking down changes the whole feel...I took the plunge and hacked my first shaft up a few years ago...wound up overdoing it, (butt cut, tipped, a little more, put into a three wood, etc), but over time and a few shafts I have learned my prefrences...choking down will give you somewhat of a sneak preview of what a shorter shaft will give you...but there is no substitution for actually trimming the shaft down for the increase in control that you are most likely looking for by going with a shorter shaft...
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Old February 29th, 2008, 01:47 PM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

Thank you for all your replies...I appreciate it!
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Old February 29th, 2008, 07:36 PM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

I'm not sure why but I am alot more accurate with the Driver when I hold it right on the end.
It seems like it is not stable if I choke down. I have small hands so I am not why it works better on the end but I am going to keep doing it.
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Old March 3rd, 2008, 12:53 PM
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Re: Driver: grip down an inch or lope off an inch?

Most likely you are more comfortable with a higher swing weight driver, which is why you like to grip your drver at the far end of the butt. If you increased the Swing Weight of your driver, you might feel more comfortable holding it with a little bit of shaft sticking out of your left hand.
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