Stiff flex shaft for slow swing speed?

[ToddziLLa]

I currently have a TaylorMade Burner driver with a regular shaft as I have a slower swing speed. I use my friend's TaylorMade Burner 3-wood with a stiff shaft, have demoed the R9 with a stiff shaft, and every once in awhile hit a few drives with the Callaway FT-9 with a stiff shaft that my boss owns, and hit all of them fairly well with good feel.

I have gotten much better from last year, and have played a LOT more golf this year, and I know my swing speed has increased, but still nowhere near the "fast" swing speed that I have always thought constituted a stiff shaft.

What I'm getting at is I hit my regular flex stuff good, and from what I have hit so far of the clubs with stiff shafts, hit those well too.

What are your thoughts on stiff vs. regular for someone with a slower swing speed? I'm guessing I should go get fitted to actually see what my swing speed is.

[JawjaDawg]

Getting fitted is the way to go.

Someone at a local golf shop once told me that Ping says if you hit a five iron farther than 150 yards you should use a stiff shaft...take that as you will, and still go get fitted.

[mc0388]

I currently have a TaylorMade Burner driver with a regular shaft as I have a slower swing speed. I use my friend's TaylorMade Burner 3-wood with a stiff shaft, have demoed the R9 with a stiff shaft, and every once in awhile hit a few drives with the Callaway FT-9 with a stiff shaft that my boss owns, and hit all of them fairly well with good feel.

If you have a smooth controlled swing and are improving, you could hit a stiff shaft. A stiff shaft will help with dispersion with lower torque. You might lose some distance, but you'll probably get it back with time. BUT you still have to be careful, if your swing is still developing and your swing is NOT consistent, maybe you should stick with the Reg.

[MSchumacher]

I tried to game a stiff but 70% of shots I couldn't get it very high. I had to put a perfect swing on it to get my desired shot. I'd say go with the regular.

[mc0388]

I tried to game a stiff but 70% of shots I couldn't get it very high. I had to put a perfect swing on it to get my desired shot. I'd say go with the regular.

The shaft stiffness is a factor in ball flight, BUT there are 1000's of stiff shafts that produce different launch angles, torques, and every stiff shaft is different. It could have been many factors that produced a low ball flight.

[Kailam19]

get fitted, see what works for you with ss launch etc

[finoky]

Getting fitted is the first thing you should do. Wondering though why you would want to move to stiff shafts if you hit regular shaft clubs good. My swing speed averages 87-89 with a nice smooth tempo and I hit all regular shafted clubs. Works well for my game and I don't give it a second thought about switching to stiff shafts. I have several rounds under par this year so you don't have to have stiff shafts to play well.

[-BAMA-]

Getting fitted is the way to go.

are you serious?? ive never heard this. i hit my 8 iron 150 does that mean i need extra stiff shafts??

i think not. i play reg. flex shafts in all my clubs except the fairway woods. and i probably need to reshaft it anyway.... i try to swing smooth... and look cool while i do it...

[Shindig]

Someone at a local golf shop once told me that Ping says if you hit a five iron farther than 150 yards you should use a stiff shaft...take that as you will, and still go get fitted.

I've heard 7-iron at 150 as a general rule; sometimes, I've heard this as 160. I've never heard 5-iron at 150: 3 years ago, I could hit my 5-iron 145, and I know stiff flex would have been wrong for me then!

Then again, I've got a slow swing speed (I think: 5-iron ~ 160), use R-flex, and my misses tend to be to the left with just about every club.

[rudygu]

I believe flex depends more on tempo than swing speed. If you have a shorter backswing with a quick transition to the downswing, you may need a stiffer shaft than someone who has a longer, more smooth swing that is faster.

[WUTiger]

[ QUOTE=ToddziLLa;360473]

What are your thoughts on stiff vs. regular for someone with a slower swing speed? I'm guessing I should go get fitted to actually see what my swing speed is.[/ QUOTE]

TZ,

Back in the 1970s, this was conventional wisdom for shaft flex this: If you're on the line between regular and stiff, have regular in woods for distance, and stiff in irons for control.

Jack Nicklaus wrote about the flex plan of Bob Kepler, his Ohio State golf coach. Kepler had whippy shafts in woods and long irons, regular in medium irons, and stiff in short irons and wedges.

Lately I have been hearing curious things about shaft flex. The golf pro where I play thinks the opposite of Jack's coach. This pro is about 60 years, but slender and very fit. He's about 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds. He has regular shafts on all his clubs, except for stiff shafts on driver, 3-wood, and 3 iron.

He has a smooth swing with lots of acceleration at impact, and says he can bend stiff shafts fine on the longer clubs - and, it helps him with accuracy.

His idea would mesh with the recent arrival of Wedge Flex. These shafts are between R and S for your wedges, especially if you mainly use them for partial shots close in.

Final advice - Like you and others have said, go get fitted. Try out Driver A, B and C in both regular and stiff shafts. A computerized fitting will give you a printout comparing the clubs on clubhead speed, ball speed, launch angle, overall effectiveness and a couple of other statistics I have no idea what they mean.

Besides helping you select a driver, it's a good seminar on how golf clubs actually work - when we swing them properly.

[diducmyball]

Like the guy above me said and pretty much what is always the answer to these types of questions. Go get fitted and demo everything, from X to A flex so you can actually see the difference in raw data (spin launch etc) . Don't waste your time asking something that none of us can give you an educated answer to.

[CG031]

Someone at a local golf shop once told me that Ping says if you hit a five iron farther than 150 yards you should use a stiff shaft...take that as you will, and still go get fitted.

No, there's no way that can be right. I hit my 7 iron 150 yds and I use regular flexed shafts in all my clubs.

[is2linda]

Generally all shafts have different flexes, not all stiff are all stiff.

but generally what would happen if you are regular shaft user switching to stiff shaft, is change in launch angle and carry. It might also alter your directions too depending on how you hit the ball. you better get fitted at your local golf shop.

[Blades4me]

I currently have a TaylorMade Burner driver with a regular shaft as I have a slower swing speed. I use my friend's TaylorMade Burner 3-wood with a stiff shaft, have demoed the R9 with a stiff shaft, and every once in awhile hit a few drives with the Callaway FT-9 with a stiff shaft that my boss owns, and hit all of them fairly well with good feel.

The best thing to do, IMO is go get on a launch monitor with a knowledgable tech and see what numbers you come up with. That will direct you toward a good driver loft and shaft (reg vs stiff and which "kick" will work best for you).

A couple of things tho. 1 companies stiff is another companies reg flex. There is no consistancy between companies. Also if its a OEM that put in the shaft, say for instance a Ping driver that has a V2 shaft, the OEM shaft will be a little more flexable than then the same after market shaft. The reason for this is b/c it will work for a wider amount of ppl compared to the after market shaft. A couple of things about the launch monitor. 1st you will get more accurate information if you have a consistent swing. And not all sales ppl know what they are doing on the launch monitor, thats why I said "a knowledgable tech". When done correctly it will give you some very good information. Pay attention to club head speed, launch angle and ball rpm's. Don't pay attention to caluclated ball flight or distance, do that on the range.