I would say it would go the same distance, but you would gain control. Shortening the shaft gives you that greater feeling of controlling the shaft throughout the swing. Which actually in turn, might eventually let you gain a bit of distance in the long run because you are confident, less apt to "strangle" the club, so you end up swinging free & loose .... = more distance. JMO though.
I swing a 44.5" driver for that exact reason. 917 D3 with Project X HZRDUS Yellow shaft combination is deadly!

Golf Channel did a feature on Rickie Fowles this morning and how like Jimmy Walker, has also gone to a shorter shaft and had a discussion with the tour Rep responsible for building his clubs. On Monday they also talked about it in a simulator segment and how you should try choking down on your driver first to see if you like the feel of a shorter shaft before you get fitted for one.

When I pull the trigger on a new driver, that is something I'm going to factor in. I have plenty of distance, but driver accuracy is an issue for me. I'm also 5'7" so I'm not sure if a standard length driver shaft is right for me. I can kill my 3 wood, and at one point was even considering putting that shaft in my driver just to see what it was like.

If a shorter driver enables a golfer to achieve more consistency with striking the center of the face, the golfer will maximize distance with that length club. Once the length becomes 'too long', the golfer starts to hit around the clubface. Missing the center typically results in loss of distance as well as accuracy. I'd like to see how the new 917s perform when the golfer misses the sweetspot by say a half inch in different directions vs. pure hits!

In my instance, I remember a fitting session at the Manchester Lane facility. The Titleist fitting staff had me dialed into a shaft fairly quickly, and they showed me that I was in the center of the face consistently with a specific shaft and 44" length, with variance being only in a bit higher or lower (above/below) the sweetspot. So, I've decided to go back to that length now!

I went to a 13 degree three wood 917f adj down .75 I hit it 10-15 less than driver but I'm 75 yr old swing at 70 mph 210 everyday of the week but I agree shorter driver shafts will instill more confidence for sure

I agree.
I currently play my irons +0.5 inches longer. They were fittet for me. But, my driver plays 0.5 inch shorter. My ability to find the middle of the driver has improved a lot, and therefore I've seen gains in lenght and also accuracy

Since the grip tapers I find I tend to tighten my grip a little bit on the downswing from the smaller diameter, killing potential speed. Around 2009 I went to 44.5" length and noticed that I gained ball speed vs 45". I ordered my 915 at 44.5" with 14g black weight and it performed excellent.

I would recommend not going any shorter than 44.25" and use the heaviest black weight Titleist offers to maintain club head feel, depending on the shaft balance point this would put you around D3/D2 swing weight.

I believe the additional weight to the head = more mass, when swung at similar speed it will produce greater ball speed and more overall distance.

I had my driver shortened to 44". Reason is that it gives me a better setup with the head lying level to the ground at address -- as opposed to toe up. In my simple mind, when I have a level head at address, I am more likely to make better contact with the ball. Conversely, when the toe is up at address there is less of the face available to make good contact with the ball. Does that make sense?

If I decide to shorten my 915 D2 driver to 44" it was suggested I retain the red weight and simply install a 25gr grip for a D0-D1 swing weight.

I currently went back to 44-3/4, 913 D3, with a AJ Tech Z42, D4. I feel the head better, and can control distance & trajectory consistently.

I am using a 914 driver and shortened it to 43 1/2 inches. I can hit it further and longer. I am thinking about ordering a 917 driver, will Titleist put a shaft in that short?

I had my pro order the black 16g weights for my 917, said it's a backordered item & won't ship till mid april.

Have GD Tour AD TP 7 shaft waiting to play 44.5", tried it with the stock weights and didn't like the light feel of the club, possibly D1 area.

The feel is so subjective, player dependent. I know a guy at the club that grabs driver off rack, has pro cut down 1" and regrip, bombs it, says he loves it and no issue with the feel. The Assistant Pro cut his down 3/4" and added a back weight under his grip, he said he loves it??? I can't wait until weights come in!

HI Matt, That date is an outside date and the weights should ship within a week.

So I decided to undertake an experiment. What is you lopped 5 inches off of your driver? www.youtube.com/watch