Appropriate Shaft Flex

[Archie Swivel]

I was wandering how TGM would catalog the effect of different shaft flexes on impact. The goal is to strike the inside aft quadrant of the ball with a stressed shaft, right? So can't one achieve maximum compression with maximum shaft bending? Even in my throwaway days, my ball speed was clocked at 152-155 mph with a driver. Unfortunately at that time, my spin rate was 3500-4000 rpm. (I have not been tested with a launch monitor in two years though). But assuming that's still the case, what flex shaft should I use?

Arch

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

lol...that's like saying,

hi, my name is jim. I'm 5'10" and weigh 200lbs. What size pants and shirts should i wear?



Shaft fitting is as much an art as it is a science, SOOOOOOOOO many things have to be taken into account:

swing speed
tempo
release
what hinge you use
hitter/swinger

allllllll kinds of things, so there is no "easy" answer to this.

 

[bantamben1]

ive always noticed that shaft flex had more to do with trajectory than accuracy for me at least. if i hit the same driver with two identicle shafts and heads except one is an stiff and one is an extra stiff i will always hit the x flex a little lower with less spin same with irons as well thats just from my real world testing

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

quote:Originally posted by bantamben1

ive always noticed that shaft flex had more to do with trajectory than accuracy for me at least. if i hit the same driver with two identicle shafts and heads except one is an stiff and one is an extra stiff i will always hit the x flex a little lower with less spin same with irons as well thats just from my real world testing

You simply compensated for the stiffer flex to make it go straight. If you didn't, it more than likely would've went right on you.

 

[bantamben1]

quote:Originally posted by jim_0068

quote:Originally posted by bantamben1

ive always noticed that shaft flex had more to do with trajectory than accuracy for me at least. if i hit the same driver with two identicle shafts and heads except one is an stiff and one is an extra stiff i will always hit the x flex a little lower with less spin same with irons as well thats just from my real world testing

You simply compensated for the stiffer flex to make it go straight. If you didn't, it more than likely would've went right on you.

what leads you to believe that it would go right on me.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

I'd say 90% of people (not all but a huge chunk of people) who play a shaft that is too stiff and/or too heavy tend to the hit the ball lower than usual and to the right because they aren't loading the shaft enough to square the face and it hangs open.

Also those that hook or pull/hook too stiff a shaft usually do it because, again, they aren't loading it properly and are trying to load the hell out of it and tend to come OTT and/or flip at it to close the face

 

[bantamben1]

quote:Originally posted by jim_0068

I'd say 90% of people (not all but a huge chunk of people) who play a shaft that is too stiff and/or too heavy tend to the hit the ball lower than usual and to the right because they aren't loading the shaft enough to square the face and it hangs open.

Also those that hook or pull/hook too stiff a shaft usually do it because, again, they aren't loading it properly and are trying to load the hell out of it and tend to come OTT and/or flip at it to close the face

ive always thought that that was kinda a wives tale because if i have a too flexible shaft i can just as easily loose it left or right. i think that people just make weird swings because there not used to the feel of the shaft and then release early or late. i wonder if you set up two drivers with a square face at address with iron byron one with a reg. flex. one with a x if the x would leak right or if they would both go straight with different trajectories. also what about that rope shaft the trick shot guys use are they compensateing it open to hit a square shot with that shaft i tink they are making no compensations just swing it and letting the laws of hisics take over

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

bantam...it isn't an exact science.

SOOOOOOOOOOOO much goes into equiptment fitting (if it is done right) that the answer honestly is "it depends."

If you're release/tempo/etc is one way....you'll tend to lose it right
If you're release/tempo/ect is another way....you'll tend to lose it left.

It all plays into it

 

[Archie Swivel]

You probably wear 40" x 31" slacks. Your shirt is probably 17" x 34".

Let me rephrase. In tennis everyone knows that you will get more pace with your racquet strung at 65lbs than 75lbs, but will get more control with 75lb stringing. So in golf, will you get more distance with a more flexible shaft, but at the expense of control?

P.S. Probably need to do something about that weight at only 5'10".

Arch

quote:Originally posted by jim_0068

lol...that's like saying,

hi, my name is jim. I'm 5'10" and weigh 200lbs. What size pants and shirts should i wear?



Shaft fitting is as much an art as it is a science, SOOOOOOOOO many things have to be taken into account:

swing speed
tempo
release
what hinge you use
hitter/swinger

allllllll kinds of things, so there is no "easy" answer to this.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Arch...

My pant sizes are 36x32 and my shirt is 16.5 x 34/35

I'm a little overweight but i'm a lot of muscle

------

If you do a search i made quite a post on fitting swinger vs hitters go read that.

HOWEVER

Lighter weaker shafts TEND to give more distance at the expense of control and heavier stiffer shafts do the opposite.

 

[BerntR]

I think it would be more correct to compare the racket strings with the trampoline effect (COR) of the clubhead. And the shaft with the shaft and frame of the racket.

The golf shaft will bend and unbend during the golf swing. And different players /different swings load the shaft at different spots of the swing.

A whippy shaft will enable greater clubhead lag during the downswing so that more angular rotation may occur later in the swing. On the other hand, if there's a tendency towards drive loading through impact, a too weak shaft might just bend instead of transporting the drive loading to the clubhead. I have this tendency and get very inconsistent distances when I use too weak shafts. When I use to stiff shafts, I consistently get a slight loss of distance. Others may differ, depending on shaft loading pattern.

For max swing speed at impact, the shaft should ideally have bounced back from a stressed to a straight position at impact. Whether a prestressed shaft or a straight shaft produces max speed at separation I don't know.

 

[Archie Swivel]

mycket bra! tack so mycket. Jag musta talar med Brian po det.

Arch

quote:Originally posted by BerntR

I think it would be more correct to compare the racket strings with the trampoline effect (COR) of the clubhead. And the shaft with the shaft and frame of the racket.

The golf shaft will bend and unbend during the golf swing. And different players /different swings load the shaft at different spots of the swing.

A whippy shaft will enable greater clubhead lag during the downswing so that more angular rotation may occur later in the swing. On the other hand, if there's a tendency towards drive loading through impact, a too weak shaft might just bend instead of transporting the drive loading to the clubhead. I have this tendency and get very inconsistent distances when I use too weak shafts. When I use to stiff shafts, I consistently get a slight loss of distance. Others may differ, depending on shaft loading pattern.

For max swing speed at impact, the shaft should ideally have bounced back from a stressed to a straight position at impact. Whether a prestressed shaft or a straight shaft produces max speed at separation I don't know.

 

[birdie_man]

quote:Originally posted by Archie Swivel
So in golf, will you get more distance with a more flexible shaft, but at the expense of control?

Unless the whippy shaft baloons on you.