Shafts and effects for you fitting gurus

[Lindsey Newman]

I recently read in a book by a well thought of instructor that a shaft that is too stiff causes low hooks, while too weak causes high slices.

I always thought too stiff= low right and too weak= high left.

What is the definitive answer

 

[footwedge]

I recently read in a book by a well thought of instructor that a shaft that is too stiff causes low hooks, while too weak causes high slices.

I always thought too stiff= low right and too weak= high left.

What is the definitive answer

Depends who's swinging it. I thought if it was too weak for the golfer it would droop and lead more, delofting the clubhead and causing the closing of the face more?

 

[mgranato]

There isn't one. You can get any of the above with either case. This is sort of old school thinking that is born from the thought that shafts are a homogenous stiffness across their length. Once you start factoring in the combination of stiffnesses of the butt, middle, and tip sections, you can get a variety of "misfit" misses within a given flex. Stiffness profile is the D-plane of shaft fitting.

 

[footwedge]

There isn't one. You can get any of the above with either case. This is sort of old school thinking that is born from the thought that shafts are a homogenous stiffness across their length. Once you start factoring in the combination of stiffnesses of the butt, middle, and tip sections, you can get a variety of "misfit" misses within a given flex. Stiffness profile is the D-plane of shaft fitting.

What's the purpose of the steps in the iron shafts does that affect stiffness in how close they are or how far apart they are as opposed to say a rifle shaft that has no steps.

 

[Lindsey Newman]

There isn't one. You can get any of the above with either case. This is sort of old school thinking that is born from the thought that shafts are a homogenous stiffness across their length. Once you start factoring in the combination of stiffnesses of the butt, middle, and tip sections, you can get a variety of "misfit" misses within a given flex. Stiffness profile is the D-plane of shaft fitting.

It's funny, I have always played x100 in irons and always been able to find the right shaft for the driver. I have never had any success getting the right fit with the 3 wood. Gonna hop Trackman tomorrow and try to figure out a good 3 wood set up and have been looking at some shafts to try. It's the one club I have never figured out as far as fitting.

 

[mgranato]

It's funny, I have always played x100 in irons and always been able to find the right shaft for the driver. I have never had any success getting the right fit with the 3 wood. Gonna hop Trackman tomorrow and try to figure out a good 3 wood set up and have been looking at some shafts to try. It's the one club I have never figured out as far as fitting.

That's usually the toughest, especially for the better player where feel has a higher priority. My experience is that when a good match is found, it's usually the club/shaft that garners the most loyalty in the bag.

 

[mgranato]

What's the purpose of the steps in the iron shafts does that affect stiffness in how close they are or how far apart they are as opposed to say a rifle shaft that has no steps.

They alter the profile a bit, especially down towards the tip section. The Rifle steps have just been ground off.

 

[natep]

Saw this on a video the other day, thought it was pretty cool looking:

 

[Matt Bryda]

It's funny, I have always played x100 in irons and always been able to find the right shaft for the driver. I have never had any success getting the right fit with the 3 wood. Gonna hop Trackman tomorrow and try to figure out a good 3 wood set up and have been looking at some shafts to try. It's the one club I have never figured out as far as fitting.

Try the Nun chuck

I got in my driver and love it, very stable and feels like your hitting an iron.
Old driver shaft was a speeder 757
this nun chuck is the closest thing to the speeder that I have found.

 

[spktho]

Saw this on a video the other day, thought it was pretty cool looking:

Check out some of the super slow motion vids on wood baseball bats too.

 

[Kevin Shields]

Id clone my 3 wood if you can

 

[Lindsey Newman]

Id clone my 3 wood if you can

It is the best 3 wood I've ever hit, but if hypothetical is the best you can do "tanks for nut'n Danny"

 

[Kevin Shields]

"You're crazy about my 3 wood, Noonan. Pick up that wrapper."

 

[Todd Dugan]

I recently read in a book by a well thought of instructor that a shaft that is too stiff causes low hooks, while too weak causes high slices.

I always thought too stiff= low right and too weak= high left.

What is the definitive answer

The shaft becomes bent, tip forward, by impact. This adds loft and closure to the clubface. Obviously, the more the shaft is bent forward at impact, the more loft and closure. But, the shaft can only bend forward far enough to allow the center of gravity of the clubhead to align with the butt section of the shaft. So, a stiffer shaft which is bent forward less at impact would produce a lower launch, but with less draw, not more.

I would love to see someone blow the roof off of the shaft myths prevalent today. The information passed by club-fitters today is pretty far from the the scientific reality of how shaft stifffness affects the collision. Tom Wishon's book, "Search For The Perfect Golf Club" has the best information on the subject.

 

[Richie3Jack]

You might want to try the Talamonti shafts for the 3-wood (and a driver). I've got them and really enjoy them. I think distance wise they are solid, but accuracy, consistency, and feel they are as good as it gets...and affordable. I would recommend getting your swing speed measured and sending a video of your swing to Phil Talamonti and have him fit you for a shaft. I'm also working on MOI matching for clubs. It makes a lot of sense. I'm probably goiing to MOI match my clubs in 2-3 weeks. From what I've been told, it is at its best with fairway woods, hybrids and long irons.

I think with shafts...in general...too stiff will cause the ball to have slice axis spin. What's the #'s on the change in the clubface for every cm of shaft deflection? I think it's 0.7* closed for very 1 cm of shaft deflection. If a shaft is too weak...the shaft will kick more and will be tough to prevent it from kicking to early...face gets closed more and now the likelihood of hooking one increases.









3JACK

 

[magicmarker]

I agree. When I hit clubs with shafts too stiff for my swing the miss is always a low cut.

 

[Lindsey Newman]

I know it's a much more complicated scenario than it appears. I gotta do the best with what I can afford and have access to. Trackman and some fresh prov 1's is about I the best I can do. Hopefully I can get in the ball park.

Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[Frans@France]

...the shaft can only bend forward far enough to allow the center of gravity of the clubhead to align with the butt section of the shaft...

this is presumed to be correct however data found using the TT shaftlab disagrees with it. A bit the same as the OP statement, old school and science disagreeing.

Personally I fully agree with MrGranato (post #3). So start measuring and stop guessing :->