What Is the Legal Length of the Longest Driver?

The U.S. Golf Association states a club shaft can be no longer than 48 inches for any club except a putter. The average off the rack driver has a 45-inch shaft.

Despite an excepted standard of 45 inches, most touring professionals use shorter shafts or choke down on their driver. Many pros use longer shafts but even big hitters use a 44 1/2-inch shaft.

If driving accuracy is a strong point of your game, maybe you can afford the trade-off of losing 5 to 15 yards off the tee. Most golfers would gladly sacrifice a few yards for more balls on the fairway.

Take an honest look at your game and decide the right length for you. During your next round keep track of fairways hit, then try choking down on your driver to see if your accuracy improves.

Once you establish the perfect shaft length, take your driver to a PGA professional and have him cut down the length and possibly refit you with a new shaft.