Thank You. I have been lobbying D.J. for 2 or 3 years now to shorten his driver from the 45 inches he has been using to 44 inches, which he played in college. D.J. is 6 feet 3 inches tall and 45 inches is realistically not too long for him to swing, as he has the height and strength to swing a 45 incher. So, why do I want him drop down to 44 inches? For starters, I am 100 percent confident that despite being real high in the all around driving stats, presently tied for 19th, his driving stats will improve significantly.
When in college, swinging a 44 inch driver D.J. was extremely long and extremely straight and was considered one of the longest drivers. Since turning professional, his length has gotten shorter as he is concentrating more on hitting fairways that bombing it. I like that attitude, as my mantra to him before teeing off every round is, 'Fairways and Greens.' I also believe he can have the best of both worlds, long and straight, with the shorter 44 inch driver for a number of reasons.
First, he has a tendency of swinging well past ¾ and more consistently parallel with the 45 incher. The shorter 44 incher will be much easier to swing and stay at ¾ length. This will add more solid and straight to the equation, and will ultimately add up to his increasing lerngth by hitting more fairways where the ball rolls out much longer than driving into the rough that stops them. Also, swinging to ¾ with the driver keeps his swing tempo and timing in sync with the rest of his clubs, which are swung at ¾ backswing length.
Another point is that 1 inch shorter is a more vertical shaft angle, which makes the swing a little more vertical. More vertical is more up and down, with gravity helping more, and will increase club head speed a little. More club head speed is more distance, especially when hit more solid and straighter.
Lastly, once one starts hitting it more solid and straight, confidence builds and that leads to more and better swings, which lead to better shots. All of which leads to hitting more fairways and greens and better stats and lower scores.
I asked D.J why he finally changed and is now playing with the shorter 44 inch driver. He said he has been trying, for over two years, to have drivers built to 44 inches, but never has found one that feels as good or better than, as he calls it, his 'gamer,' which has been in his bag for over 3 years. He cracked the face on his 'old faithful gamer' a few months ago and has intensified his search for a shorter 44 incher. He told me that at the British Open he asked the fitters in the trailer to build him a 44 incher to match his 45 incher and, in his words, 'They nutted it on the first try.'
After we finished shooting some swing and instruction videos and interviews for the PPGS website, we went out and played 18 holes. I really liked the ball flight with the new 44 incher. His swing was tighter and more compact and controlled. I really liked the low trajectory or 'bullet shot,' as I call it, into the wind and cross winds. He was able to hit that well and kept the ball down and under control. His regular swing and trajectory was high, penetrating and relatively straight, and he was able to shape his drives really well. All of this more control, consistency and confidence will add up to better stats in fairways and greens hit and lower scores. The key point here is swinging with more control results in more controlled shots. Length is important, but hitting it solid and straight, and hitting more fairways and then greens, is more important. Finding the right length driver and loft that gives you the swing and shot control is the key. And, for most golfers, shorter than what you are now swinging is likely where you need to go to find more swing and shot control. Once you have the swing and shot control and are hitting it more solid and straight with your driver, longer is always a by product of those two aspects. Seek distance first and you will likely have only disaster. Remember my mantra, 'Straight is Great.'
I will predict D.J.'s driving stats will get even better with the 44 incher, as will the rest of his scoring stats, as better driving sets up the hole for hitting more greens. I am confident that the 44 incher will help keep his backswing much more under control and at the ¾ length at the top. The ¾ backswing will add to driving the ball more consistently in both accuracy and length and hitting more fairways, which leads to hitting more greens. Hitting more greens and making more putts leads to earning more green stuff. I like this whole scenario.
I will predict that if you want to improve your driving the golf ball and stats, try shortening your driver. Like D.J., I will bet you will see your stats move in the right direction going up and your scores going the other way'¦down.
The Surge!