Reuse Older Shaft on Newer Head?

[xrayvizhen]

I find myself in a bit of a conundrum. As you see from my equipment listing my driver is 11 years old. I bought it used 4 years ago at Golbalgolf.com for 30 bucks...a pretty good deal, I'd say. I had a Tour Burner 3W and killed it so I thought, wouldn't it be a good idea to get a matching driver? That turned out to be a really good idea. Through fate or kismet or whatever, it happened to come with a Mitsubishi Diamana Blueboard 63g shaft which, upon doing some internet research, I found to be fairly pricey. When I was getting fit for new irons two years ago the fitter tested my driver as well, hoping, I suppose, to get me to buy a new one but as it happened after a bit measuring and twanging with several different devices he said the length, swing weight,  frequency and whatever else fitters consider important matched my swing perfectly. He also told me that the shaft was "very high end." And so I've continued to play with this driver and and I do happen to hit it very well.

So now I think I might want to upgrade to a current technology driver. I've brought my current one into the hitting bays at a couple of different golf stores and and made a direct comparison with the latest and greatest from Callaway & Taylor Made and found I could pick up about 10 yards; that's with the stock shafts that come with each at the golf stores. So I'm wondering:

1. Would it make sense, indeed, would it even be possible to remove the shaft from my current driver and use it with whatever new driver head I decide on?
2. How would I be able to test my current shaft with any of the leading contenders of driver heads? (I'm thinking Callaway Epic Flash or TM M-6)
3. Should I just forget the whole idea and as long as I'm hitting the current 11 year-old driver well, continue to use it and be happy with the good results I'm currently experiencing?

I should probably mention...I'm 70 years old and realize that I'm not going to be getting any longer or better than I am now. Or should age not even be a consideration? Like anyone getting older, I've lost distance over the years and if technology can help me regain some of it, that would be a good thing.

Edited June 16, 2019 by xrayvizhen

[Patch]

I put an old shaft on a new club head, with good success, and better distance. I caved in the original club face. 

What I had to make sure of was the tip of the old shaft was still in good shape after removal, and before the install of the new club head. Needed to make sure there were no micro cracks, or other weak points. 

Also had to make sure the new club head install mirrored hlthe position of the old club head. 

It can be done. 

[Jackal1966]

After trying all the new shafts in the Taylormade M3, I ended up putting an older Red Tie 6q3 in my M3.

It's  the best shaft for me.

It also doesn't  cost a fortune.

A $25 shaft.

[Piz]

10 yards is 30 feet.  I wouldn't trade an old, reliable, friend for an extra 300 toenails; but that's just me.  It sounds like you want to make the move and, as @Patch said, it is doable.  Go for it...see how you like it.  It's not like you are going to lose your Tour card if things don't go according to plan.

I would, however, compare the weight of the new head to the weight of the old.  That and significant differences in the distance from the bottom of the bore to the "sole line" can affect the feel of the shaft.  Good luck in any case.

[Foot Wedge]

On 6/16/2019 at 5:02 PM, xrayvizhen said:

Would it make sense, indeed, would it even be possible to remove the shaft from my current driver and use it with whatever new driver head I decide on?

Sure, you'd just need to install the adapter for the new model.  

On 6/16/2019 at 5:02 PM, xrayvizhen said:

How would I be able to test my current shaft with any of the leading contenders of driver heads? (I'm thinking Callaway Epic Flash or TM M-6)

That's tougher since you can only use what fits on the adapter you install.  Someone with more experience should chime in on this.

On 6/16/2019 at 5:02 PM, xrayvizhen said:

I'm 70 years old and realize that I'm not going to be getting any longer or better than I am now. Or should age not even be a consideration?

This weekend I got paired up with a 73 year old who was doing quite well with his G400.  Do as your heart desires.

[xrayvizhen]

Thanks all. I decided to do nothing. Things are going pretty well right now with my game and I'm in the thick of things with my league so I'll just stay the course and will reconsider over the winter. The issue over the possible difference between driver head weights is something I hadn't considered either. So as they say, "If the wheel ain't broke...."

 

[Patch]

11 hours ago, xrayvizhen said:

Thanks all. I decided to do nothing. Things are going pretty well right now with my game and I'm in the thick of things with my league so I'll just stay the course and will reconsider over the winter. The issue over the possible difference between driver head weights is something I hadn't considered either. So as they say, "If the wheel ain't broke...."

 

When you get ready to (maybe) make the change, take a look see at the square, low profile driver heads. 

I have two 460, 10.5 drivers. My gamer is of the square, low profile type. The other is of the normal, rounded type. Both have identical shafts, and lengths. I tend to hit the square headed driver a few yards further than the rounded one. 

Just a thought.