I'm not the tallest person at 5ft9 ,and i find that when ever i grip down on my driver i flush it more often than not, this has got me thinking would i be better off taking 1"or so off of the shaft , when i grip down i just feel more in control of the club,i seem to remember a post about this a few months ago and there was talk about it affecting the swing weight etc ?
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 Why not get a complete re-shaft and ask for it be shortened by a inch.
I'm considering doing this later in the year.
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Its got a pro launch blue stiff shaft, which i like so no need for that really.
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Ok, just send it off to Shaun at Midas Golf. E-mail him first, explaining your concerns regarding swing weight etc.
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 I had a 975J that I chopped about 3 inches off the butt end.
Used it for several months and it worked fine.
The swingweight is affected but the club feels so light that you swing it faster which almost compensates for the loss of shaft length. Its also so much easier to control.
Still use it occassionally.
You'll also prolly find that its easier to turn over the ball if you are looking for a draw.
If you have the urge then give it a go.
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 Would not have thought it worth the trouble for the sake of 1".
Jack Nicklaus was always a big advocate of gripping slightly down the shaft for control.
Just remember if you do have one inch taken off it's then not possible to grip one inch further up the shaft for extra length.
The other factor that is worth noting is it that further down the shaft the grip is the correct thickness for your hands/swing
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If it doesn't work, surely you could just get a new shaft.
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 I cut the ProLaunch in my G2 down by an inch or so to about 44.5 and it was great, was easier to hit well than before.
Then got a bit greedy and took another half inch off and it wasn't quite so good.
Just a note Wato - if you find the swingweight too light, see if you can get hold of a Golf Pride Dual Durometer Lite grip, which is about 10g lighter than a standard grip, that can help bring the swingweight back up a little bit before experimenting with lead tape. The blue highlights on the grip also match the PL shaft nicely (if, like me, you like that sort of thing).
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 I shortened my driver last week by 1 inch. The reason I did this is much the same as yourself (I feel I have more control when gripping down). You won't need to send it off, just take it to your local pro who should do it there and then. The pro who did mine also put the same grip back on so I didn't have to buy a new grip.
I did this a few years back with a titleist 975d that I owned at the time and In addition to having more control I also gained distance as I was making better contact with the ball. An inch taken off shouldn't affect the swingweight too much and may make the club play a slightly stiffer.
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 I had my R7TP shortened by 1 inch a few weeks back. The club maker measured it's swing weight before & after. 5 swing weights difference. I am now hitting more fairways with no loss of distance.
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 I took an inch off my driver a month or so back...added some lead tape to the sole of the club to restore the swingweight (yes there was a noticeable difference after taking the inch off...I think I measured about 6 swingweight points) and have since been connecting with my drives far more sweetly than ever before.
Did the same with the 3-wood and also noticed an improvement.
And the putter. Again an improvment.
If you dont feel comfortable doing it yourself a local pro should eb able to manage it for a small fee.
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Shortening your driver is very simple, especially if an idiot like me can do it.
Here is how:-
- Remove the old grip. Easiest with a Stanley Knife with a hooked blade as you dont want to cut into the graphite of the shaft. Just slit the grip all the way up and pull it off.
- Remove the old tape. Pull off what you can and then clean the rest off with white spirits.
- Put a piece of masking tape over the area you want to cut. Measure the distance you want to shorten it from the end off the butt, mark the tape.
- Carefully saw through the shaft where you have marked it using a sharp hacksaw. Sand any rough edges. Be careful not to get any splinters of graphite in your fingers.
- Regrip the club as normal.
I've done it a number of times and it really is a doddle.
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 Choking the club is similar to shortening the shaft. I'll leave the shaft in its full length because quite often when the ball is below my feet, I need the longer shaft without having to bend over too much to reach the ball.
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