New Member w/ Question on Club Length

Stumbled upon this forum after seeing people's responses to GR's "policy adjustments"
Don't know what the situation is but they can have their way if they like.....
ANYWAY...

I hit my my hybrids pretty well (3,4 & 6). The short shaft seems to work best for me.
I'm 56 & have Cleveland XLS woods & hybrids, all reg shafts. Love the look & feel.
My irons are Cobra S3's w/ senior shafts, just got them & really like the feel.

What if you put a driver head on a #5 Hybrid shaft?
I know you wouldn't have the distance of a full driver.
Would you be able to get much more distance than a #3 hybrid?
How would the control/straight factor be?

I have an Adams senior shaft (for a #5 hybrid) & a Cleveland 9 degree head so the cost factor is almost nothing. (Not sure of the diameter of the shaft for fit to the head)

Appreciate any help, Thanks Bob

Welcome, I guess.

That's going to cause so many problems, I wouldn't even bother. First you have to find a shaft with the right tip Diameter to fit into the driver head. The weighting is going to be all off and feel like you're swinging around a fishing rod that has a small bass on the end. Third, your distance will probably be that of a 3 iron or less. The big things that give you added distance with a driver are things like the shaft length and the size of the swing arc. Club head makes a difference, but probably not as much as you imagine. You're also going to be "swinging down" on the ball more, which driver heads aren't designed for. With a lack of grooves, you're going to be spinning the shit out of the ball, left and right.

Get a good 5W or 3W, and get use to it.

The difference between the head weights of the hybrid and the driver are substantial. The typical mid loft hybrid head goes around 235-240 grams which is a ballpark estimate since I am at work and don't have my clubmaking notes here and the average driver head weighs in around 200 grams. So by sticking the driver head on the 5 hybrid shaft which will have been cut to play in the 39 to 40" range, you'll have both a very light swingweight club and a shaft that will play substantially stiffer than the original hybrid played. Two things you can do to get the feel closer to normal is to install an ultra-light weight grip and add weight to the clubhead. I use Winn grips when I need really light weight at the butt end and my current favorite is the Dri-Tac Wraps that go around 23 grams. I would try it with the ultralight grip and see how you hit it. Most all driver heads have lie angles that are way upright so that the short length should not be a problem. Your swing will be more upright like an iron and you may have to spend time dialing in your stance and ball position with this club. If the hybrid shaft in question is a senior flex, it may end up playing like a firm regular with the driver head attached. One way to soften it up if that is the case is to stick a couple grams of lead tape to the back of the driver head. Keep sticking it on until it feels right.

Most of the newer Cleveland driver heads have .350" hosel bores. If the Adams hybrid shaft has a .370" tip, you will not be able to use it. If the Adams hybrid is a .335" tip, you can use it by shimming the tip in the bore. Personally, if I were trying this, I would use a more lofted driver head in the 11-13 degree range since your swing will be more upright. The lower the loft, the more likely it will produce nothing but the rights.

**Subsequent to the intial reply, I checked a website that indicates that the Adams hybrids likely have .370" inch tips unless they are the older Pro models. So that is a no-go into any smaller hosel diameter head. It would be a lot easier to start butt-trimming your Cleveland driver. Maybe start with an inch or so. If you find you've taken too much off, you can always install a shaft extension to bring it back to its former length. A real cheap mod.

Damn, I was hoping for "better answers".
Maybe the proper way to phrase it would be "answers I liked better."

I don't mean to say yours were not correct (they probably are), but I was hoping that I "had something here" that would get me more distance w/ more control.

I do realize the larger head size/weight and even the "lie angle" of the club would be off.

Wasn't sure if the weight factor would be so substantial that it would cause "an out of balance" adjustment to be made in my swing.

Oh well.....back to the drawing board.

Hey.......what if I put a putter head on a long shaft....I am a pretty good putter.
Instead of a driver head on a short shaft.
Nah....they'd probably outlaw that.

Thanks, Bob

Look at the GR threads on thrivers. These clubs which were high lofted driver heads on 3 wood (or shorter) length shafts seemed to work well for those who tried them. It seemed to make driver a much more reliable club for them.