How much does a Ping G440 LST add for playing length?

BrendanKre · May 1

A buddy wants me to cut his shaft to be 45.5 playing length. What would the adapter to butt of shaft without grip be for that?

AzRoger · May 1

Not sure but the G440 LST comes stock at 46" so just chop 1/2" off the butt end.

Stuart_G · May 1

1 hour ago, BrendanKre said:

A buddy wants me to cut his shaft to be 45.5 playing length. What would the adapter to butt of shaft without grip be for that?

Sorry, not trying to sound like a smart a**, but why don't you just measure it out on a club ruler with the head on the shaft? The method for measuring length as well as the actual adapter setting used will have some small effect on the resulting measured length. Even the grip used can effect the resulting playing length (after the grip is reinstalled). It's generally not considered a good idea to take short cuts like that and only work off cut shaft length with an adapter installed. That's more useful when buying used shafts and you want to make sure what you buy will be long enough for the desired playing length.

If you don't own a club ruler:

Edited May 1 by Stuart_G

BrendanKre · May 1

9 hours ago, AzRoger said:

Not sure but the G440 LST comes stock at 46" so just chop 1/2" off the butt end.

Because I’m building the shaft. Not cutting a stock shaft.

BrendanKre · May 1

8 hours ago, Stuart_G said:

Sorry, not trying to sound like a smart a**, but why don't you just measure it out on a club ruler with the head on the shaft? The method for measuring length as well as the actual adapter setting used will have some small effect on the resulting measured length. Even the grip used can effect the resulting playing length (after the grip is reinstalled). It's generally not considered a good idea to take short cuts like that and only work off cut shaft length with an adapter installed. That's more useful when buying used shafts and you want to make sure what you buy will be long enough for the desired playing length.

If you don't own a club ruler:

He doesn’t have the head in yet.

Stuart_G · May 2

13 hours ago, BrendanKre said:

He doesn’t have the head in yet.

FWIW, If it were me, I'd wait until it comes in. You can get the tip glued on while you're waiting and it only takes a few minutes to butt cut and install a grip so you're not really delaying things going that way.

Also FWIW, while I fully support Am's cutting down the driver playing lengths from the ridiculously long stock lengths, even 45.5" is generally longer than most Am's can handle well. Go ahead and start with that length but If you think he might be open to the idea it might not hurt to suggest following this tutorial to figure out what the best playing length for him might be. All it takes is some foot powder spray, some lead tape, and a bucket of balls at the range.

Edited May 2 by Stuart_G

Cbfodalo · May 2

I would never cut a driver , fw or hybrid shaft till I had head on it. I just follow tip trimming guide from shaft manufacturer. Then cut the butt on finished clubs to desired length using my bench mounted club ruler.

I have purposefully played a short 4 hybrid at 26deg to get it to play a certain distance. But generally I am not length sensitive. In fact right now my lob wedge is 1/4 " longer then sand wedge because I made a mistake, I just left it that way because the z cord grips are a batch to remove without damaging them.

jblough99 · May 3

On 5/1/2025 at 9:21 AM, AzRoger said:

Not sure but the G440 LST comes stock at 46" so just chop 1/2" off the butt end.

The only 46” setup is with the Alta CB shaft, all other shaft options are built at 45.5”

jblough99 · May 3

On 5/1/2025 at 8:24 AM, BrendanKre said:

A buddy wants me to cut his shaft to be 45.5 playing length. What would the adapter to butt of shaft without grip be for that?

The Tour 2.0 Black that came in my 440 LST measure 44” from tip to end of shaft without a grip.

putt_for_dough · July 31

With a Tour Velvet Cord, the driver adds only an inch to the playing length. Shaft+adapter+grip is 43.75", and with the driver head it's 44.75" (what I ordered). D4 swingweight (good job Ping at getting the swingweight right on a shortened shaft!).

Pretty surprising to me the driver head only adds an inch to the shaft length. Is anybody else getting this? I was always told it was an inch and a half. I'm measuring to the end of the grip (and the driver head at 60 degrees, which should be the standard for USGA measurement ruler)

Based on this, if you want 45.5" playing length, you'd cut at something slightly shorter than 44 and 3/8" to account for the grip cap

Stuart_G · July 31

5 hours ago, putt_for_dough said:

Pretty surprising to me the driver head only adds an inch to the shaft length. Is anybody else getting this? I was always told it was an inch and a half.

That's because for BBGM measurements - the adapter is considered part of the head, not part of the shaft. But most don't know that so it causes a large point of potential confusion when these numbers are thrown around. Take the adapter off the shaft and you'll get that 1.5" measurement for how much longer the playing length is over the cut shaft length. Or in some cases it might be 1.75" or even 2.0" depending on the head make and model.

Edited July 31 by Stuart_G

putt_for_dough · July 31

Ahhh, that makes a lot more sense. Regardless, I think it always makes most sense to throw the shaft into the driver head, try it out, and then cut from there to your ideal playing length. It sounds like there are lots of variables if you're just trying to tell someone "cut my shaft to 44" before anything is added, as that could end up with different playing lengths depending on adapter, grip, driver head it's going into, etc.

Stuart_G · July 31

1 hour ago, putt_for_dough said:

Regardless, I think it always makes most sense to throw the shaft into the driver head, try it out, and then cut from there to your ideal playing length. It sounds like there are lots of variables if you're just trying to tell someone "cut my shaft to 44" before anything is added, as that could end up with different playing lengths depending on adapter, grip, driver head it's going into, etc.

1000% correct. Always butt cut using a club ruler with the head mounted (or dry fit). Ideally with the desired setting of the adapter if it has one.

Some people subtract a generic 1/8" for the grip. Some treat the playing length as the measured length w/o a grip. Some actually measure how much the specific grip cap of the grip they are using adds the length. In that respect, there is no wrong or right way - just different opinions.