How long should my golf clubs be?

When thinking of buying a new set of golf clubs, the length of your golf clubs is vital to know. Check the optimum length for you in our review.

Why is the length of golf clubs important?

One thing that will boost your golf performance is choosing a golf club that will be a perfect match for your height as well as the clubs’ technical specifications. So, after reading our review, you will have an explicit idea of ideal golf club lengths, knowing your handicap, right flex for your clubs and many more.

The Club Lengths

Different clubs need different lengths and even more crucially, different people need different lengths. So, for example; you might have already noticed that drivers are the longest ones while the putter is the smallest. However, they differ from brand to brand so that you will be able to choose. Some brands have standard and tall sizes in order to provide flexibility.

So, let’s take a look at it one by one. Drivers are the longest as we said and they are usually between 44 and 46 inches for men and 43-45 for women. There are many different fairway woods with various sizes. For instance, 7-wood usually measures about 42 inches for men and 40 inches for women.

On the other hand, irons are the most flexible ones in a golf set. It can vary enormously from 34 inches to 40 or 41. Pitching wedge, sand wedge, lob wedge or gap wedge usually are the shortest ones except for the putter. They usually measure between 34.5 and 36 inches in different brands.

Lastly, the putter has the shortest shaft that can start from 33 inches and grow to 35 inches.

What is the ideal length for you?

As the lengths vary greatly, choosing the right size is even more understandable now. There are some factors you need to consider when picking the right size. These factors are your gender, age, height, handicap, and lie angle. When it comes to gender, a male golfer ordinarily uses longer clubs than a female.

If you are a seasoned golfer, you need to use longer clubs than younger players. This is because mature people have a smaller lie angle than younger people so, you need to pick as long as possible. Apart from that, the height comes in place. Of course, height itself is important but maybe something more important is the distance between your wrist to the floor. To calculate your wrist-to-the-floor distance correctly, simply hang your arms loosely at sides. Then, measure with a ruler.

The angle between the sole and the shaft is called the lie angle. Short people need a level lie angle while straight-up lie angles are suitable for tall people.

Flex is the bending rate of your club’s shaft. There are some levels of it and denominations like “X, S, R” refer to the flex. To learn about your flex, you can use the electronic launch monitors in golf shops or just ask someone who plays really well (i.e. your instructor). To have a clearer mind, amateur male golfers shoot about 80 to 90 miles per hour. The faster your swings are, the stiffer shafts you should be picking.

Lastly, your handicap level. You can be a low, mid or high handicapper and the lower you go, the better player you are. For example, professionals go for long shafts when they are taking long shots. So, they use graphite shafts as they are lighter than steel shafts.

What length for what club?

There is a reason why drivers have the longest shafts among the clubs. The reason is simple. You use drivers at the tee box and you need higher swing speeds. The longer the driver is, the more distant you can shoot. Also, the weight of your driver is important that will affect your swing speed.

If you think irons-wise, it is much easier to choose. There are 9 iron clubs, starting from 1 to 9, and usually, the 4-iron is the minimum limit of the standard size. Of course, this could change depending on the producer. The shaft length alters what direction, how consistent and what distance you will shoot. For instance, if you are a tall person choose oversized ones to maximize your performance.

Conclusion

To sum things up, if you want to improve your golf skills, you need to carefully choose the lengths of your clubs. The best way to learn about the optimum golf club lengths is, of course, trying it out as many times as possible. Try to hit the ball with different sticks. However, knowing the technical specifications behind it is a great relief. The more you know about golf, the more confident you will be.