50 inch or 48 inch?

[marco]

hey guys, i've been hearing that some guys say 50 inch is the maximum length for a longdrive club yet others say 48 inches....what is the legal limit of length for a longdriving club and how do you measure it? ..is it by placing the underside of the club head on the ground with the shaft at an angle a similar angle as it would be at address and measuring from the point of contact to the ground to the tip of the grip butt? 

[Ratman]

place it flat against the wall and measure straight up from the ground. the maximum is 50 inches from the ground to the tip of the butt end of the grip.

hope this helps.

[Viper]

Ratman,

You look extremely dashing. Is that a Swiss outfit which you are wearing?

[marco]

ok guys got the harrison 50 inch longdrive 1x shaft today and took it to ian the pro along with the geek dct 9 deg head and measured with a steel rule with driver in an address position with the ruler behind the shaft first and then slid over to the side so that the ruler went through the middle of the shaft vertically and marked it to 49.75 inches to take into account the grip thickness so we hope this is correct!

[jfk]

hi marco

when you gonna hit youre new club?    bet you cant wait!

[jfk]

Ratman,

You look extremely dashing. Is that a Swiss outfit which you are wearing?

     
  ....or are you just pleased to see me!    lol

[marco]

well in actual fact john i'm not sure if i'm ready to hit a 50 inch driver!
i'm letting ian the pro tune it to his taste ie tipping the tip or butt as he can handle a xtra stiff driver shaft, once hes happy then i'll see if i can hit it if not then i'll wait till after the competition and then maybe cut it down to 49-48 inches but we shall see...compared to the flex i'm used to =reg flex the longdriver x stiff has  almost the same stiffness as a putter shaft!..none!
mind you i was at the range this morning and using the 46 inch aldila dvs reg flex shaft on the hibore xls 9.5 deg and was reaching about 260-280 yds but only occasionally... i tried a stiff flex 46 inch shaft taylormade burner and stiff shafted standard 45 inch hi bore xls both 9.5 deg and felt it was going further so i've ordered a 46 inch stiff flex aldila dvs shaft and we'll see where that takes us!

[jfk]

if you cut it down it will get even stiffer, a little bit anyway. 

[Ratman]

Ratman,

You look extremely dashing. Is that a Swiss outfit which you are wearing?

It is actually a German lederhosen purchased specifically for Washington DC's beer olympics. A good night of drinking earned us 2nd place.

[Viper]

Well done Ratman. Sorry about Little Cassius. He has a one track mind. We are not all like him in the U.K. I am arranging for my local priest to speak with his local priest so that he can hopefully be visited soon and, God willing, set on the right fairway. 

[marco]

ok guys had my first hit of a 50 inch shafted driver...wow!
i cant believe that i was actually able to hit the ball with this thing!
i cant believe that i'm using an x stiff shaft and still hit the ball!
i had a couple of top spin balls which sent them into the ground after 30 feet!
but when i hit the ball in the club face sweet spot i managed to hit the fence for the first time at 290 yds!
john you where right by saying that if i could hit the ball well with a 50 inch shaft then it would be really easy to hit a 46 inch...i think i could get used to this!
i just need to practise, practise and then practise some more!!
it was breathtaking to watch ian use the driver...he sent the ball way over the fence and the ball was still climbing in a boring trajectory!
they've measured some trees beyond the fence and hes hitting at least 350 yds! it would be good to go to a proper longdriving ground to test the distance properly, but all in all he seems to like the driver.
john how will i recognise you at palacerigg?

[jfk]

how will you recognise me?...    dead easy...  i'll be the senior in the lead!!   lol, ok i better post a better foto just in case i have an OB set...      YE RIGHT!!!!!   lol. only kiddin its a really tough grid and really tough competitors could be there,
hey marco i hope ian isnt a senior!! 
i,m 5 foot 8 and slim. what bout you?

[marco]

ian is about 30 ish i think (not great with ages) but as i said he is a teaching golf pro and i think he is biting off more than he can chew on the 17th as he is playing on a pro tour on the 17th but he is teeing off at 7 am!
so he wont be at palacerigg till about 11.30 ish.
what kind of yardages would be required to be competative so that i can warn ian?
i'm 6 feet and about 16 stones and as my name suggests i'm italian with dark n grey curly hair with glasses...i'll be the one who will be fighting hard to try and look inteligent and try and keep my jaw from falling as i watch those soaring drives!
as i say i like trying my best to play golf and keep low scores but i also love driving the ball at the driving range and often go only with a driver and cant believe how excited i get (and i'm 52!) watching the likes of kenny (extremeld) and ian hitting those boring trajectory drives over the boundary fence!! i just wish i would of started playing golf earlier in my life!
i'm a hairstylist and my wife and i own a salon and shes now got the bug and is playing  golf...but she like alot of my golfing clients dont understand the fasination i have for longdriving! they always say that its the short game that is most important not the drivng and ryhme off silly stuff like drive for show and putt for dow...i'm trying my best to explain to them that there are 2 seperate disciplines in the golfing world and should be kept seperate ie low score golfing and longdriving! but they say i'm just showing off but i'm not i simply love hitting the ball with the driver and trying to get as much straight and accurate distance...i mean  come on!!......

[jfk]

on an average day  in long drive comps the winning drive is generally around 375 yards,  in qualifying rounds in the morning someone may get close to 400, or even more, if its dry with no headwind of course.

[psg8802]

From what I remember from last year's competition, the changeable conditions made the distances quite variable. From memory, Adam Stacey hit the longest ball of the day at 352 m and I hit the second longest ball at 348 m. Generally speaking, at most events, 320 m will qualify for you the afternoon and may even get you something in the finals because the general trend is for competitors to under-achieve with the extra pressure. Adam and I won 't be there but 'The Power' will be!

[iEaTbIgBErThAs]

''underachive with the exta pressure''

lol, a nice way of saying ''cocking up and hittin 6 OB'' :

Paul, or anybody that knows, could you please let us know who has already qualified for the Euro champs.

[psg8802]

Qualifiers for the RE/MAX European Final have and are being posted under 'Current Competitions' on the LDE website (which I see is currently down). However, don't read too much into who has and who hasn't qualified as it's just an artifact of a less than satisfactory 2008 'tour' schedule (that's a nice way of saying something else, too!).

[jfk]

hey marco youre clients are just jealous cos you can hit the ball further than them!
ive heard people at the range say stuff like that really loud so i can hear them.

[RocketBall]

Generally shafts that measure around 48" before being installed work out at 50" installed depending on the head type i.e. deeper heads measure longer than shallow.
My Cobra Pro D's have a 47.5 shaft in and that works out at 49.5 LD approx

[marco]

yes rocket ball, i have found this to be true the harrison longdrive shaft came in at aprox 51-52 inches uncut