Does putter shaft get stiffer after shortening?

[JustPlainWill]

About a year or so ago, I had my 35" YES Callie putter shortened to 34". At the same time, I also installed a Tigershark larger handle putter grip. While I don't have any actual statistics, I KNOW that increased practice time on the putting green and these changes have helped my putting significantly. I suspect that I've lowered the number of strokes per 18 hole round by 3 or 4 in the past year due to the above changes. I am even thinking about having the putter cut down to 33". I've tried a couple of 33" putter in the PGA Superstore and they seem to offer even more control. Here's my question though: Is it likely that cutting the putter down anymore will cause the shaft to be stiffer ---i.e. slightly less flexible and therefore impart more force and speed to the ball with the same amount of effort as before? (i.e before the putter was cut down[again]). If so, is their a point of diminsihing returns in terms of gaining increased control by cutting putter shafts to shorter sizes?

[straightshooter]

Gripping down 1" on your own putter as a test should give you a reasonably good answer.

[JPsuff]

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From a physics point of view, the short answer is "Yes", the shaft will be stiffer. But to what degree and if it's even noticeable is the real issue. Some straight shafts with a .370 tip or larger may feel somewhat stiffer while some older putters (like the 70's and 80's vintage T.P.Mills putters) had extremely thin tip ends and I doubt that cutting even two-inches from one of those shafts would be all that noticeable.
Also, the style of a shaft - sometimes in conjunction with the style of the putterhead - plays a role in how it feels as well. A center-shafted blade like the old Bullseye's might feel stiffer with a shortened shaft while a heel-shafted putter with a gooseneck might feel the same even with an inch removed.

As straightshooter pointed out, grip down an inch on your putter and putt with it for a while and see if it feels any different and if that's better or worse. It's not an exact way of finding out, but it should give you a general idea.
How a putter feels and what feels good are very personal things. Some people like a putter to feel as stiff as a broom handle, while others like to feel a little lag in the shaft. It's like buying shoes, even if the size and the width are right some feel good and others don't.

With putters it's all about feel.


-JP

[Sinsation]

like JP said, physics wise, shortening the shaft would make it stiffer, but you never move the putter fast enough to feel it or for it to make a difference. i mean, go make a putting stroke with a reg driver, and then with a x-stiff driver, there is no difference. the swing weight would definitely be a change u can feel tho.

[OnePutt]

actually cutting the shaft down will not make it stiffer. It may feel stiffer due to you having less length to use to bend it, but it will not be stiffer. This is true for any shaft. unless the end you cut off is softer than the rest of the shaft. It will feel stiffer for sure, it's just not really stiffer. Think of a 2x4, that's 8 feet long. At 8 feet, it's pretty easy to bend it enough to notice it bending, and it will feel a little soft. Cut it down to 2 feet in length, and then try to bend it. It's going to feel a whole lot stiffer, but in fact it's not. It's the exact same 2x4 it was before, so how can it be stiffer? It can't be. But it will sure feel stiffer and it will be about impossible to bend it at that length. The same goes for a golf shaft.

[straightshooter]

Originally Posted by OnePutt

actually cutting the shaft down will not make it stiffer. It may feel stiffer due to you having less length to use to bend it, but it will not be stiffer. This is true for any shaft. unless the end you cut off is softer than the rest of the shaft. It will feel stiffer for sure, it's just not really stiffer. Think of a 2x4, that's 8 feet long. At 8 feet, it's pretty easy to bend it enough to notice it bending, and it will feel a little soft. Cut it down to 2 feet in length, and then try to bend it. It's going to feel a whole lot stiffer, but in fact it's not. It's the exact same 2x4 it was before, so how can it be stiffer? It can't be. But it will sure feel stiffer and it will be about impossible to bend it at that length. The same goes for a golf shaft.

Interesting point! I don't know all that much about golf-shafts, but it is not inconceivable to me that the fat end of the shaft is stiffer, so that shortening it at the grip end makes the shaft less stiff (even though it will feel more stiff). Oneputt, would you expect a golf-shaft to have more or less uniform stiffness (like a 2x4), or is the butt-end indeed stiffer, as I suspect, or the other way around?

[OnePutt]

Straight; It depends on the shaft. Some shafts have very soft tips to help with getting the ball airborne, like the ProLaunch Blue shafts. Others have a rather stiff tip. Same for the butt end of the shaft. If you look in a catalog of after market shafts, you will find a lot of data on shaft flex and how a shaft may have a soft or firm tip. Some of the Aldila shafts have firmer butt sections compared to other shafts in their line. I'm sure you would find the same thing with each of the other shaft makers.