I wanted to buy a new driver the taylormade 2008 burner. I`m a senior and need a low kick point. All the drivers are mid kick and I got different opinions on kick points. What do the kick point do??. I bought a senior shaft because the sales person said it reads mid kick but senior club are low kick. I bought the club (10.5) and cant hit it the ball curves right every time. Now I`m very accurite with a driver and always hit it down the middle of the fairway 200 yrds.(only good thing about my swing). I guess my question is do I need to change my shaft or am I wrong about kick points?
kick points
- Thread starter joep
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softconsult
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What you need to do is go get fitted for a Driver. Try before you buy.
Based on what you stated, you most likely, would hit it farther with more loft on the Driver, 13 degrees or higher.
Based on what you stated, you most likely, would hit it farther with more loft on the Driver, 13 degrees or higher.
Unfortunately, you can not trust what it says on the shaft. The quality control of the stock shafts off the rack is poor with, really, all manufacturers. As for flex you can have a local golf shop check is frequency, which still does not tell you the whole story, but at least its something better than what the shaft says. As for kickpoint, I believe you would have to get your shaft "profiled", which is not very common amongst golf shops or clubfitters. The simpleist thing to do is just take a variety of clubs/shafts and work on a legit launch monitor (trackman) to look for ball speed, launch, and consistency.
PS. be careful of the longer shafts as well.
PS. be careful of the longer shafts as well.
EdStraker
New
The kick point of the shaft is where the shaft bends the most during the swing. A low kick point flexes more towards the tip end of the shaft (where the clubhead is attached). The difference between a shaft with a high kick point vs a shaft with a low kick point is generally about 2 inches.
A low kick point shaft generally will launch the ball with a higher trajectory.
A low kick point shaft generally will launch the ball with a higher trajectory.
Softconsult gave some good advice there. I'd suggest taking your old driver and the new one to a fitter. What you might like to try first though, is checking to see if the new driver has a longer shaft. If it is longer, you could try playing the ball further forward in your stance.
10.5 degrees ain't what it use to be either. With your swing speed the new high launch low spin drivers may not give you enough spin to hit a good drive. Clubs can be off by a couple of degrees too. A good club fitter should be able to come up with a solution easily.
10.5 degrees ain't what it use to be either. With your swing speed the new high launch low spin drivers may not give you enough spin to hit a good drive. Clubs can be off by a couple of degrees too. A good club fitter should be able to come up with a solution easily.
mgranato
New
A shaft basically has 6 sections along its length that are measured for flex to determine a bend profile. The bend profile is usually referred to in three sections - butt, mid, and tip. The shaft bends along its entire length during the swing. A kick point does not exist for a couple reasons, but mainly because there is no one point of bend.
The bend profile has an enormous effect on the feel of the shaft regardless of flex. An X flex shaft can have the feel of rebar or of a noodle depending on the composition of the bend profile. Matching the bend profile to the golfer is the magic bullet in shaft fitting. The slower the swing speed and the earlier the release, the less flex and profile matter. However, the more accomplished golfer with a late release, the more difficult it is to find the shaft profile and feel.
As far as the OP is concerned, the #1 fitting parameter he has to get right is his launch angle. At slower swing speeds, it's an absolute must to get in the right launch window - the benefits way out perform any tweaks with shaft changes.
Frans@France
New
Bend point - The point of maximum bending on a shaft as measured by compressing both ends inward.
Kick Point - The point of maximum bending on a shaft as measured by deflecting the tip end of the shaft only.
mgranato
New
I'm okay with those definitions in a general sense, but they are fairly useless as they relate to the golf swing and fitting a shaft to a swing. A bend profile accurately describes/categorizes/compares shafts. You don't find the bend profile by any of the methods in those definitions. Freq readings along the beam length of the shaft (at specific intervals) will provide an accurate profile of the shafts 3 main sections as well as it's overall relative flex. Using "bend point" or "kick point" is definitely more common, but so are the "old" ball flight laws. 
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