Will A 48 Inch Driver Shaft Increase Distance?
For anyone that does not know, a 48 inch driver shaft is around 3 inches longer than the average driver shaft length. Most driver shafts are about 45 inches long. This extra 3 inches will impact the amount of distance that you get from your swing.
A 48 inch driver shaft will actually increase the amount of distance that you get from your swing. Because it is a longer driver shaft, it has a longer arc, which means the shaft has more time to generate speed. This increase in speed allows you to hit the ball much farther than if you were using a shorter driver shaft. So, a 48 inch driver shaft will help you get more distance off of the tee.
Is It Easier To Hit The Center Of The Club Face With A 48 Inch Driver Shaft?
There are studies that show that longer driver shafts are harder to square at the point of contact. In other words, most people that use a driver shaft that is too long (like a 48 inch driver shaft), won’t be able to square the face in time when making contact with the ball. This means that most people will make contact with the ball while the face is very open or very closed.
Due to this increase in difficulty, it is much harder to hit the center of the club face with a 48 inch driver shaft. If you are someone who currently struggles to hit the center of the club face, then you may want to steer away from using a 48 inch driver shaft and try to go with something a bit shorter.
Will A 48 Inch Driver Shaft Help Your Slice?
As mentioned above, it is much harder to hit the center of the club face with a 48 inch shaft. So, a long shaft like this will likely increase your chances of hitting a slice. If you want a shaft that will help your slice, you may want to shorten the shaft that you have. Shorter shafts will help fix a lot of the open and closed face issues that you might be having.
Increasing the shaft length or just using a longer shaft like the 48 inch driver shaft is going to hurt your ability to hit a straight shot from the tee.
Is A 48 Inch Driver Shaft Stiff?
For the most part, shafts that are longer, like the 48 inch shaft tend to have much more flex. In other words, longer shafts are not as stiff as shorter shafts. Depending on what kind of flex you currently use, switching to a longer shaft may alter the flex. Longer shafts tend to bend more easily, therefore they have more flex. If you are used to very flexible shafts, then a 48 inch shaft shouldn’t be an issue, but if you are used to stiff shafts, then this shaft is likely going to take some getting used to.
Is a 48 Inch Driver Shaft Too Long?
In short, yes, a 48 inch driver shaft is too long. Unless you are about 7 feet tall, a 48 inch driver shaft is going to be too long for you. Most golfers do not exceed 45 or 46 inches for their driver shafts because they are suitable lengths for most golfers. If you ask almost anyone at the course if they think a 48 inch driver shaft is too long, they’ll tell you that it is.
Is A 48 Inch Driver Shaft Legal?
It is important to know whether or not a 48 inch driver shaft is legal before you use it. The USGA and R&A have very strict rules on what they consider to be legal. To see whether or not this length of shaft is legal, I checked the equipment rules.
According to the USGA, a 48 inch driver shaft is illegal to use for any casual, high-level amateur, and professional golf outings. A driver shaft can be a maximum of 46 inches, anything more than that is illegal to use. So, you should not be using this length for any golf tournaments as you will likely get disqualified.
The USGA and R&A are considered governing bodies in the golfing world. Any equipment that they deem as illegal should be considered illegal by all other golfing groups and organizations.
Do Pros Use 48 Inch Driver Shafts?
Currently, there does not seem to be any PGA or professional golfers that use a 48 inch driver shaft. The main reason for this is because it is not allowed in the professional golfing world. As established above, the 48 inch driver shaft is illegal, so there are no pros that would be able to use it without getting disqualified from whatever tournament they are competing in.