Driver shafts and swing speeds

[Clubswinger21]

hi all, im new but i just wanted to ask some quick questions to those who might be more knowledgable than me. I picked the the game up 2 years ago and started playing more and more and i've seen dramatic improvements, this past summer all i did was work on my short game, and played ALOT and ive widdled my handicap down to a 5 already.

i bought an R7 online, 10.5 and they gave me a regular shaft instead of the stiff i wanted, i stand about 5'9.5,160 lbs., and for my size i hit the ball a long way with this driver, in the summer i was averaging about 270, 280 if i caught it.. (im a firm believer in the term grip and rip it) plus i have a background in baseball, and hockey.. at 1st i loved it, hitting it straight with a slight draw or fade sometimes, but recently i began going left and right alot, (we all know 2 way misses are a b*tch) so it was either get a new shaft installed for $150 plus or buy a new driver.. so i went to are local retailer and traded my R7 straight up for a macgregor Mactech.. 9.5, stiff.. because they recentely cut the price of them in half. Now i cant hit a draw to save my life but ive got a reliable fade, and i seem to hit the ball further because of the reduce spin characteristics and shaft change.. this driver takes getting used to but it is a killer.. the sound is awful, (like breaking glass) but it also has a light wieght shaft, that is said to increase club head speed by 4 mph and i feel it, of course im sure most of u new this already.. i was guessing my swing speed was around 110 mph, now is must be at 114 mph, the shaft makes a beautiful whistle b4 impact.. great driver but sometimes i can still feel quiet a bit of lag in the shaft and the ball comes out very low.. im wondering if i need an extra stiff shaft now because of this? any input would be appreciated.. appologies for the length, good luck with your indeavors i hope to be the next Larry Nelson in 10 years or so.. haha.. jk good luck with your game.

[iacas]

hi all, im new but i just wanted to ask some quick questions to those who might be more knowledgable than me. I picked the the game up 2 years ago and started playing more and more and i've seen dramatic improvements, this past summer all i did was work on my short game, and played ALOT and ive widdled my handicap down to a 5 already.

i bought an R7 online, 10.5 and they gave me a regular shaft instead of the stiff i wanted, i stand about 5'9.5,160 lbs., and for my size i hit the ball a long way with this driver, in the summer i was averaging about 270, 280 if i caught it.. (im a firm believer in the term grip and rip it) plus i have a background in baseball, and hockey.. at 1st i loved it, hitting it straight with a slight draw or fade sometimes, but recently i began going left and right alot, (we all know 2 way misses are a b*tch) so it was either get a new shaft installed for $150 plus or buy a new driver.. so i went to are local retailer and traded my R7 straight up for a macgregor Mactech.. 9.5, stiff.. because they recentely cut the price of them in half. Now i cant hit a draw to save my life but ive got a reliable fade, and i seem to hit the ball further because of the reduce spin characteristics and shaft change.. this driver takes getting used to but it is a killer.. the sound is awful, (like breaking glass) but it also has a light wieght shaft, that is said to increase club head speed by 4 mph and i feel it, of course im sure most of u new this already.. i was guessing my swing speed was around 110 mph, now is must be at 114 mph, the shaft makes a beautiful whistle b4 impact.. great driver but sometimes i can still feel quiet a bit of lag in the shaft and the ball comes out very low.. im wondering if i need an extra stiff shaft now because of this? any input would be appreciated.. appologies for the length, good luck with your indeavors i hope to be the next Larry Nelson in 10 years or so.. haha.. jk good luck with your game.

Why did you accept the regular shaft?

Driver fitting is a pretty complex blend of art and science. Read this for more.

[NM Golf]

That is a very interesting article to read about driver fitting, but unfortunately most of us mortal working stiffs do not have access to such sophisticated technology. Having a high swing speed myself I feel your pain trying to find a shaft to your liking. Your guess is that your swing speed is about 110 MPH, go have it checked. Swing speed is one of the things that is readily available to have checked, a lot of retailers have this type of equipment. If your swing speed is 110 then you are at the low end of X flex swing speeds. As you may know stiffer shafts = straighter and less stiff shafts = farther. If you cannot turn the ball over with the stiff shaft you have now that tells me that it is probably stiff enough for you. As far as the lag you feel you might want to try a heavier shaft. Without the aforementioned technology you will just have to try different things until you find one that works. As far as the $150 for a new shaft, try golfsmith online. They have lots of good shafts, buy one then have it put in, it will save you some $.

[iacas]

That is a very interesting article to read about driver fitting, but unfortunately most of us mortal working stiffs do not have access to such sophisticated technology.

Driver fittings are usually free from a qualified pro. You don't need to "have access" - most decent golf courses or pro shops have launch monitors.

[kklick]

hi all, im new but i just wanted to ask some quick questions to those who might be more knowledgable than me. I picked the the game up 2 years ago and started playing more and more and i've seen dramatic improvements, this past summer all i did was work on my short game, and played ALOT and ive widdled my handicap down to a 5 already.

i bought an R7 online, 10.5 and they gave me a regular shaft instead of the stiff i wanted, i stand about 5'9.5,160 lbs., and for my size i hit the ball a long way with this driver, in the summer i was averaging about 270, 280 if i caught it.. (im a firm believer in the term grip and rip it) plus i have a background in baseball, and hockey.. at 1st i loved it, hitting it straight with a slight draw or fade sometimes, but recently i began going left and right alot, (we all know 2 way misses are a b*tch) so it was either get a new shaft installed for $150 plus or buy a new driver.. so i went to are local retailer and traded my R7 straight up for a macgregor Mactech.. 9.5, stiff.. because they recentely cut the price of them in half. Now i cant hit a draw to save my life but ive got a reliable fade, and i seem to hit the ball further because of the reduce spin characteristics and shaft change.. this driver takes getting used to but it is a killer.. the sound is awful, (like breaking glass) but it also has a light wieght shaft, that is said to increase club head speed by 4 mph and i feel it, of course im sure most of u new this already.. i was guessing my swing speed was around 110 mph, now is must be at 114 mph, the shaft makes a beautiful whistle b4 impact.. great driver but sometimes i can still feel quiet a bit of lag in the shaft and the ball comes out very low.. im wondering if i need an extra stiff shaft now because of this? any input would be appreciated.. appologies for the length, good luck with your indeavors i hope to be the next Larry Nelson in 10 years or so.. haha.. jk good luck with your game.

Got to say I agree with iacas on this. If you want the best then you really need to get fitted for your driver and the rest of your clubs as far as that goes. Now unfortunately it looks like the titleist van may be a bit hard to come by. I don't think it should be all that difficult to locate someone in your area though.

Here are a few links that looked good that I found. Not sure how close they are to you but it may be worth a look.

Just scroll down a bit here. Its about the third item down. 45 bucks but its applied to a purchase so thats not bad.
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/park...ras_prices.htm

It appears this is a pretty large retailer in Canada. May want to check them out. http://www.golftown.com/storeLocator/ Looks like they offer a pretty good shaft fitting lab. May want to check it out if you're still wanting to reshaft. http://www.golftown.com/academyProSh...omFitting.aspx

Ok here is some info I found on golf.about.com. Pretty much in line with what NM golf said but a bit more detailed.

Some General Guidelines

The degree of flex in your club shafts is something you control. You can choose to buy stiffer shafts, or softer shafts, depending on your needs.

But how can you tell what you need? Here are some general guidelines:

• Take a look at the distance you hit your driver. This is a good, but very general, indicator. If you carry you driver 250 yards or more, go with Stiff; 230-250 yards, Regular; 200-230 yards, Senior; less than 200 yards, Ladies. Only the biggest of the big hitters is going to need Extra Stiff. For most of us, Extra Stiff isn't even in the picture.

• If you have a very smooth swing, you might benefit from a softer flex even if you swing very fast. A swing that gets jerky at the top - when transitioning into the downswing - will probably need a stiffer shaft.

• If your drives go left, you might benefit from a stiffer flex; if your drives go right, you might benefit from a softer flex.

If Your Flex Is Too Stiff
What effect does a too-stiff shaft have on your golf game?

1. The ball will probably fly lower and shorter for any given loft, compared to a properly fit shaft.

2. The ball may tend to go to the right, or fade side, for right-handed golfers because with a too-stiff shaft the clubface is harder to square (the clubface is more likely to be open at impact, in other words).

3. The shot may feel less solid, more like a mis-hit even if you make contact on the center of the clubface.

If Your Flex Isn't Stiff Enough
And what will happen if your flex isn't stiff enough?

1. The ball might fly higher for any given loft, compared to a properly fit shaft.

2. The ball may tend to go left, or to the draw side, for a right-handed golfer (because with a too-flexible shaft, the clubhead may tend to come into the ball closed).

3. Shots may tend to feel more solid, even when they aren't.

Hope something in there helps out.

[NM Golf]

Driver fittings are usually free from a qualified pro. You don't need to "have access" - most decent golf courses or pro shops have launch monitors.

Boy, am I out of the loop here in New Mexico. I play most of my golf at one of the busiest public gold courses in the nation and they don't have a launch monitor. Nor do any of the other courses I frequent. All we have is sun 300+ days a year. I'll take the ability to play year round over the availability of a launch monitor anyway. Although, it would be nice.