extra stiff shafts

[PrairieParson]

Hitting my driver consistently has always been a challenge. I tend to not like the rough. I like to control where the ball is going. So since I have returned to golf I have just hit a 3 wood. I purchased one of the fancy new fangled drivers with the enormous head, but I confess: I don't like it. SOOO, I am considering just getting a good three wood.

Salesman in store recommended getting it customized with a x-stiff shaft. Anyone here have experience with x-stiff. good or bad??????????????

[cody west]

iv hit an x stiff for the past 2 years. and i love it. my ss is over 120 tho. only hit a ss if you really need it. you are probably going to lose distance because your shaft wont kick the ball as much.

what is your swing speed

[deronsizemore]

Everyone's swing is different, so someone else's experience with an x-stiff shaft may be different than yours. The recommended charts aren't good to go by either. My driver swing speed is 112 and I use stiff shafts in everything.

[PrairieParson]

Swing speed is 95-100. I am more interested in control that distance. I'll take the fairway over the rough any day.

[cody west]

its most likely not going to be accuracy. you will hit it very low and and probably with a slice. thats what happens when you get a shaft thats too stiff. you should get a V2 stiff shaft or a stiffer shaft but i wouldnt jump to x stiff. your best bet would be to go get fitted its amazing how much difference the right club does

[ControlJunkie]

My suggestion is to look for a heavier shaft, not necessarily a stiffer rating. You'll be amazed how much 10 or 20 grams will make. It made all the difference in the world for me. I feel like using a heavier shaft prevents me from getting a little wild on my backswing, and I have less control if the shaft is too light.

The basic rule is to go with the "flex-iest" shaft you possibly can. Also try out some that have a lower torque rating than what your current one does. Good luck!

[PrairieParson]

I've already been "fitted". The guy was more interested in selling a golf club than what really worked for me. The driver I purchased consistently fades and hits a low trajectory shot which does not carry well. This is pretty bad since the rest of my game is right to left. When I did the research, I found the shaft that is on the club is supposed to get a low trajectory. As I said, the "professional club fitter" was only interested in selling his close out inventory, not what I needed or wanted. I'll dispense with the "professional", and do what I usually do, which is to do a lot of research, and then make my own decisions.

[cody west]

so u hit the x stiff low with a fade?

[deronsizemore]

Swing speed is 95-100. I am more interested in control that distance. I'll take the fairway over the rough any day.

Like I said, there's no real rule of thumb that if your swing speed is 95-100 then you need a stiff, or x-stiff shaft. With that said, you probably shouldn't be looking at an x-stiff shaft with that swing speed. As a rule of thumb, when you get a shaft that too stiff for you, you'll have a more difficult time turning the ball over from right to left.

Just keep in mind that there is not a standard for shaft stiffness. One company's stiff shaft may have the same stiffness profile as another company's x-stiff shaft. You could also get an x-stiff shaft that's even stiffer than another companies x-stiff shaft. There's just no way of knowing without having the shaft tested to see. That's why it's so important to get fitted for the right shaft. I know that you are looking for control over distance, but the fact is that you still have to swing the club. Going with a shaft that is likely much stiffer than you need isn't going to be a magic fix all that will give you amazing control over your ball. It is very likely that going with a shaft that is too stiff will do exactly what it's doing to you now, you'll hit the ball lower, you won't hit it as far and you'll likely hit fades. If you don't have the resources to get fitted by a reputable fitter (sounds like you simply went to a salesman previously for your fitting), at least go with a regular flex shaft or a stiff flex shaft (regular will probably be best). I think that will fit you a lot better than an x-stiff. If you're looking for control, then simply slowing your swing down should give you the control you're looking for.

[cody west]

go to a callaway fitting center. i have a friend who is the callaway rep and he fit all my friends and were all hitting ft-9 tours or ft-iq tours. generally they will give you a decent discount if you go to the fitting center.
i would look into the callaway i-mix set ups for you because it seems like you are experimenting with many differnet shafts. if i were you i would pick a club head. then go to http://www.callawaygolfpreowned.com/...,sc.html?sz=47 . then buy 1 or 2 regular, 1 or 2 stiff then 1 extra stiff and hit a bucket with each one and keep the two you hit best.
callawaygolfpreowned.com has this thing where if you decided you dont like a product you can exchange it in the first 30 days for 90% refund, 60 days for 80% refund, and 30 days for 70% refund.
make sure when you buy the club head it says i-mix. plus if you dont like it jsut return it.
if you want a new 3 wood i love my r9, its so much fun to hit. i hit it off the deck about 250 carry and 270 off the tee.

[PrairieParson]

I appreciate all the advice. I discovered today that the used cleveland hybrid 2i I recently purchased has a stiff 79 gram shaft on it. I am going to investigate putting a similar shaft on a 3 wood head and try that. My hybrid is my favorite club to hit. Its easy to hit well,great trajectory and flys a mile.

[cfuller03]

Hitting my driver consistently has always been a challenge. I tend to not like the rough. I like to control where the ball is going. So since I have returned to golf I have just hit a 3 wood. I purchased one of the fancy new fangled drivers with the enormous head, but I confess: I don't like it. SOOO, I am considering just getting a good three wood.

I wouldn't go with an x-stiff with that swing speed. It could work, but I believe you're better off having someone watch your swing and tweak it if necessary.

In my old driver, I had an x-stiff put in b/c my woods swing speed was around 118-123 when tested. It actually didn't make much of a difference because I think I was swinging too hard, causing cruddy mechanics. I recently bought a new driver with a stiff stock shaft. I was going all over the place and thought I'd need a new shaft. These last couple of weeks, I started just slowing down my swing to just get the ball out there in the fairway and it has worked. I've lost 10-20 yards off the tee, but my controlled swing has been putting the ball in the fairway - which seems to be your biggest concern.