Regular vs Firm Shaft

[Fusion]

I went straight for the Firm shaft on the Callaway 454 ti driver I just purchased from GolfTown. I didn't bother trying the Regular shaft but if memory serves me, regular or whippier shafts make my slice that much worse. Although, my first experience with the new driver I couldn't do anything but slice. Since, it has tamed down to a fade, sometimes draw.

What is the Prerequisites for a Regular swing vs a Firm Swing?

My swing is fairly fast.

[CusePhil]

I am in the same situation. I'm looking at getting a driver and don't know whether to go with the regular or stiff. I've read that the difference isn't just swing speed, but also smoothness from backswing to downswing. Can anyone help us both out, or is a proper fitting absolutely necessary?

[muskegman]

Getting fitted by a competant club-fitter is the best way to determine your needs. I swing somewhere in the neighborhood of 105 with driver and improperly fitted for regular shafts (at a local golf store). I was hitting them all over the map. I moved to stiff in everything (minus the wedges of course) and became much more accurate and long.

I'd suggest getting to a competant club-fitter (not a golf retail store like I tried) and have them look at your swing.

Having said that, if you have an aggressive move toward the ball, a higher swing speed (100+ mph), and directional problems you should seriously consider stiff shafts over regular. If your swing speed isn't fast enough then you'll have trouble loading stiff shafts and they will feel very wooden or boardy. This lack of feel will create all kinds of problems. On the other hand, if you go too weak then your shafts will feel whippy and you're bound to have directional and distance problems.

Good luck.

[cmarkmyers]

It seems that everyone wants to play a stiff shaft, and it drives me crazy for some reason. Nearly every person that comes to the driving range uses a stiff and only once in a while do you ever see anyone re-check their ego and switch to a regular flex driver. So whatever you do don't use stiff because you feel more manly or because your friends use stiff or even because you 'think' you swing fast.

I would bet that 9/10 times people will swing better with a $100 driver fitted properly rather than a $400 driver off the rack. So if you can't afford to get fitted for a $400 driver then get something cheaper as the shaft is perhaps more important than the head.

Of course I am my own worse enemy as I got rid of my senior driver for a 10.5 degree regular flex and even though I gained a bit of distance (mainly from roll) I certainly didn't gain any accuracy. And even though I have an above average swing speed with my irons I still stick with regular flex because stiff just doesn't feel right to me.

[gas_can]

I went straight for the Firm shaft on the Callaway 454 ti driver I just purchased from GolfTown. I didn't bother trying the Regular shaft but if memory serves me, regular or whippier shafts make my slice that much worse. Although, my first experience with the new driver I couldn't do anything but slice. Since, it has tamed down to a fade, sometimes draw.

Fusion,

There are no industry standards among the different shaft companies for flex, torque, or "kickpoint." A Harrison Striper Tour 70 S flex might be equal to a Fujikura MW-54 X flex. Pick a shaft with the appropriate bend profile based on your swing characteristics and then pick a flex you feel you can consistently load without swinging out of your shoes every time. As mentioned before, people often times are clouded by their egos when choosing a flex of golf shaft.

[cdriver]

Fusion,

I am one of the few people I know who went from a stiff to regular flex driver. I played on old Titleist 975D driver with ProForce 75 stiff tip shaft. That was fine for me before. I swung hard enough to load it and was getting good yardage and decent accuracy. I had some health issues that made me question whether or not I really wanted to swing that hard anymore. I made the switch to a Taylormade R580 with the Taylormade regular flex shaft. It took me about a couple of weeks to learn the right swing speed to properly load the shaft, but once I did, I gained about 25 yards and narrowed my misses by half. It was a good move for me.

[warbirdlover]

I'm no shaft expert but I'm really trying to pick up on this. My Ping pro said that the swing speed is way overrated when choosing a shaft and it has more to do with how hard you "load" the shaft (example is an agressive downswing vs smooth). There is also no standardization between shaft makers so one regular might be another's stiff and vice versa. Add to all this whether the shaft was "tipped" or not (tipping or cutting some off the shaft end stiffens up the shaft) and it all get's quite confusing. Best thing is swing the club with some different shafts in it at some demo place and you'll save some time and probably money. I'm "zeroing" in on a good combo but it's costing alot of money. I use a reg flex ProLaunch but a stiff Comp NT. Just the way it's shaking out.

[greenail]

I use a whippy tempomaster for practice and the shaft is soo flexible that it droops about 12" from the weight of the head if you hold it out parallel from the ground. I can hit it about 250, and the guy who invented it consistantly hits 280 within around a 15 yard dispersion. I use a regular shaft for my driver, i've hit stiff drivers, and for the swing i'm trying to develop I do not think the shaft has much to do with anything if you are truely using your "core" body movement, vs arms and hands. Proper tempo which draws on centripital forces and a smooth acceleration curve for a consistant swing. I hit about 20 balls tonight with the whippy. Then I picked up my driver and was bombing it to the other end of the range and not feeling like I was loading up the club at all.

Shame i can't get my putter working or I'd drop my index below 20 quick.