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Newbie fitting


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Hello new friends!

I need a bit of advice for buying a new wood.

I've been playing a year, I'm terrible, but working hard on my game.  Handicap is 30

I have a set of old, outdated clubs.  Most of them work just fine (putter, pitching/sand wedge), but I'd like to start replacing the woods one by one with high quality ones I will keep long-term.

Where would you suggest I start?

I'm female, 5' tall, 115 lbs.  I'm sorta skinny and petite.

I'm more interested in a technically good game vs distance.

Sandy

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Go to a demo or your nearest golf store and just start trying out different clubs. I would suggest you make sure you're playing a driver with enough loft, maybe as much as 16 degrees.

Mike McLoughlin

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Thanks!  I have been to the driving range 2 days in a row now, practicing like a mad-woman.  I've finally gotten my swing MUCH more consistent, and able to make small adjustments and see a consistent change.

I don't like my driver.  That will probably be the first to be replaced.  And my friend took photos of my swing (she was doing it to send to my boyfriend, then later we realized we should have video'd instead...oops...next time).

What I noticed was my shaft is VERY flexible.  I was told that new golfers, and especially women (and I'm tiny on top of it) should opt for a flexible shaft...but GEEEEEEZ!  How much might that hinder me?  I can now consistently hit 100 yards and be right down the middle of the range.....prob 20' either side of the 100yd marker.   I haven't swung more than 125 yards  (well, once I used another friends driver...big guy, handicap is -1...so super fancy driver...I hit it 200 yards...but could not repeat it...LOL).

So, I'm very open minded and welcome any and all comments, tips, suggestions, etc.  I want to play a consistent game and I'm very keen on accuracy.  I want to play as technically correct as possible (I'm very Type-A/OCD).

thanks!

Sandy

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If you are hitting it the distances you said, a flexible shaft isn't going to hurt you.

Mike McLoughlin

Check out my friends on Evolvr!
Follow The Sand Trap on Twitter!  and on Facebook
Golf Terminology -  Analyzr  -  My FacebookTwitter and Instagram 

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Thanks!  I have been to the driving range 2 days in a row now, practicing like a mad-woman.  I've finally gotten my swing MUCH more consistent, and able to make small adjustments and see a consistent change.

I don't like my driver.  That will probably be the first to be replaced.  And my friend took photos of my swing (she was doing it to send to my boyfriend, then later we realized we should have video'd instead...oops...next time).

What I noticed was my shaft is VERY flexible.  I was told that new golfers, and especially women (and I'm tiny on top of it) should opt for a flexible shaft...but GEEEEEEZ!  How much might that hinder me?  I can now consistently hit 100 yards and be right down the middle of the range.....prob 20' either side of the 100yd marker.   I haven't swung more than 125 yards  (well, once I used another friends driver...big guy, handicap is -1...so super fancy driver...I hit it 200 yards...but could not repeat it...LOL).

So, I'm very open minded and welcome any and all comments, tips, suggestions, etc.  I want to play a consistent game and I'm very keen on accuracy.  I want to play as technically correct as possible (I'm very Type-A/OCD).

thanks!

Sandy

Sounds like you are going by the pictures showing a big flex in the shaft????

If that's the case, don't. Chances are that you are seeing a distortion due to shutter roll. It makes the shaft appear really bowed when it's not.

Like this.

If that's not the case disregard this comment. :-D

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I mostly agree (grin) with your reply.

I considered the distortion as well as took the club shaft and simply bent it....WOW!  CRAZY flexible!

So what IS the purpose of such flexibility?  How would that help a newbie at this stage? How will that hinder me in say, a year from now as my game improves?

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I mostly agree (grin) with your reply.

I considered the distortion as well as took the club shaft and simply bent it....WOW!  CRAZY flexible!

So what IS the purpose of such flexibility?  How would that help a newbie at this stage? How will that hinder me in say, a year from now as my game improves?


In general (and probably drastically overly simplified):

The faster the club head speed the stiffer the shaft needs to be. The slower the club head speed the more flexible the shaft needs to be.

Too stiff and it will feel harsh, probably block more balls to the right, and have too low a trajectory. Too flexible and it may feel too "whippy", loss of control, probably more chance of hooks, and too high a trajectory.

http://golf.about.com/od/faqs/f/fleximportance.htm

There is much more to getting the correct shaft than that and how the shaft is loaded can affect optimum kick points even among equal club head speeds. Even personal preference for feel can play a part.

Best thing to do is a fitting from a club fitter.

Next best is probably to go to a store and hit balls on their monitor with different clubs (be aware they are there to sell clubs).

Or just borrow some clubs of different flexes from friends on the range and try them.

Most people are not going to get enough increase in club head speed as they get better to spend much time worrying about that when choosing a club. It's not like somebody is likely to go from 70mph to 110mph just because they got better, and if they did it likely took so long that by then they needed a new driver by then anyway.

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I mostly agree (grin) with your reply.

I considered the distortion as well as took the club shaft and simply bent it....WOW!  CRAZY flexible!

So what IS the purpose of such flexibility?  How would that help a newbie at this stage? How will that hinder me in say, a year from now as my game improves?

That image is a distortion, a golf shaft will not flex that way. Also that is not an indication of how flexible a shaft is.

The faster the club head speed the stiffer the shaft needs to be. The slower the club head speed the more flexible the shaft needs to be.

Too stiff and it will feel harsh, probably block more balls to the right, and have too low a trajectory. Too flexible and it may feel too "whippy", loss of control, probably more chance of hooks, and too high a trajectory.

Generally yes, the faster the swing the stiffer the shaft. From there it all depends on the dynamics of the golf swing and how it loads as well. Most golfers can play good golf with just getting a shaft that is close enough. If you want you can always try out a lot of shafts and really look at the numbers. For me I know I can probably game any golf shaft that is low to medium launch, low spin, 70+ gram weight, and X-stiff flex. Now there will be some differences that I could tell. One might might be more accurate than the others. Still, it isn't that big of a deal.

Hello new friends!

I need a bit of advice for buying a new wood.

I've been playing a year, I'm terrible, but working hard on my game.  Handicap is 30

I have a set of old, outdated clubs.  Most of them work just fine (putter, pitching/sand wedge), but I'd like to start replacing the woods one by one with high quality ones I will keep long-term.

Where would you suggest I start?

I'm female, 5' tall, 115 lbs.  I'm sorta skinny and petite.

I'm more interested in a technically good game vs distance.

Sandy

Best advice, go get fitted for clubs. Best way is to just hit different options and see which ones work best. I recommend finding one with a good ball flight monitor that can show you numbers. This way you can visually see the values change. Basically what a good fitted shaft does is tightens the dispersion of your golf shots and the variance in your launch conditions. Basically it tightens up the shot due to the little differences you'll have at each impact.

For example, I tried out different shafts with the SLDR Driver. The best was the upgraded Fujikura Tour Spec shaft. First it took missing right out of play, and it also produced the least amount of variance in launch angle and spin rate. So I knew if I hit this driver it isn't going to do anything funky on me.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

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Note: This thread is 3580 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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