When is a golf club too long?

When is a golf club too long?  What is the correct length of a set of clubs?  Why would you want longer clubs?  Good questions!

Club length provides two things, club head speed and control.  If we started out with a person swinging a very short club and continued adding length in ½ inch increments, the person swinging the club would generate more and more clubhead speed.  Clubhead speed is one of the primary components in generating distance.  So, as we add club length, more distance is developed.

The question which then must be asked is, “Why are we not all using clubs 10 feet long so we can hit the ball 400 yards?”  There comes a point where the length of the club is so long that when you add ½ inch the individual cannot swing it any faster than the prior length.  If a person charted the speeds of each club length, it would form a bell curve with speeds increasing with length, then the same, then decreasing with the additional length.

A person must be comfortable with the length of the club.  The individual should not be crouched over too far nor should they be too upright.  Usually the length where the highest speed is generated is also the length where the golfer is the most comfortable.

There is a down side to added length.  While clubhead speed increases with length, control decreases.  This means the individual can hit the ball further, but there is a loss in accuracy.  Shot dispersion increases.  Dispersion of the shots go up due to two factors directly attributable to the length.

First, with added length, the golfer cannot hit the ball in the middle of the club as often…creating shots which will be directed right or left of target.  Second, the golfer cannot bring the face of the club to the ball at the correct angle with the same consistency…thus directing the ball off the target line.

So, now we are back to this same question, “What is the correct length of club?”  The length of a club cannot be set by the simple fact the individual is a man or woman, or is 5’ 10” or 6’ 8”.  Club length should be determined by the needs of the individual.

Club length must be determined by the individual swinging different clubs of different lengths on a computer, which will measure speed and swing angles.  Then the speed and quality of the shot can be measured.  This will insure the individual is in the proper length clubs.