Importance of the Shaft?

[abraxas]

ive always used the stock shafts that come with the clubs
but i always hear people talking about their preferences for different shafts

so i was wondering what difference do shafts really make on your game
ball flight? swing speed? anything else??
please fill me in...

[andef]

it doesn't affect swing speed too much unless you are using a very light/heavy shaft. it's usually ballflight, ballspeed (not sure) and distance that change. the biggest difference you will see is in trajectory and that could very well result in a change in distance (hopefully and increase). another advantage of a shaft that suits your swing is that the dispersion will be smaller.

[jpalermo]

Launch angle, spin, clubhead twisting (torque), ball flight...... findingthe right shaft for your swing is 10x's more important than he clubhead itself...... most stock shafts are marginal at best. I swing fairly hard with a lot of shaft load, so light shafts are out for me. I use a 76 gram driver shaft and swing it around 115mph. there are a lot of variables in the golf swing and most can be dealt with in the shaft. For me its heavier shaft, low torque, mid high kick point..... I was just a so so driver until I found the right shaft.

[surfnspy]

I am playing a TaylorMade '10 SuperFast Burner 10.5 degree loft with a regular flex shaft that came with the club and have a hard/fast swing with a tendency to slice to the right about half the time and carry the ball about 220 on average.

I was told by some better golfers that a stiffer flex was needed for the way I swing both with my driver and irons. They said my "high, right, weak" shots would be corrected.

Most information states using a stiffer shaft will actually accentuate a slice?

That same article will suggest a stiff shaft will allow me to have a squared up club face during the ball strike (something about my hand(s) placement during strike not lagging behind like a flexier shaft?).

It seems the more research I do the more I'm confused as these statements seem to cancel each other out.

Is this as easy as trading up to a stiff flex or, do I need take my club to a fitter and get a different shaft altogether based on their findings?

Thank you!

[Gioguy21]

i had a slice...went to a stiff from a regular and actually fixed it.

[jlund]

Shafts are very important. The only issue is that you have to have a consistent enough swing to be able to measure the quirks of your swing to get set up with a shaft that can help yhour game...

[youngskip40]

The shaft is paramount. Basically it can help you hit the ball further, straighter, and achieve more consistent results. Club brands want you to think it is the new, sexy clubhead that will get you the most results, but the reality is that the shaft is the engine that drives the club. It can, and does, also affect launch angle, spin rate, overall trajectory and shot dispersion. The best thing to do is get fit by a legitimate clubfitter who is knowledgeable and who won't just measure your swing speed and then recommend you get a stiff shaft. There's a lot more to it than that.

And to the first response, it most certainly can affect swing speed and ball speed.

To surfnspy... you should probably create your own thread instead of posing your own questions different from the original poster's. Better yet, look around the forum for a while, you'll find many of those questions answered several times. (Try the search function) Good luck!

[surfnspy]

To surfnspy... you should probably create your own thread instead of posing your own questions different from the original poster's. Better yet, look around the forum for a while, you'll find many of those questions answered several times. (Try the search function) Good luck!

Wow! You aren't kidding. I typed in stiff flex and basically saw my question posted by others. Thanks for the heads up. I'll try to not be such a noob

[youngskip40]

Wow! You aren't kidding. I typed in stiff flex and basically saw my question posted by others. Thanks for the heads up. I'll try to not be such a noob

haha, don't sweat it.

[sean_miller]

ive always used the stock shafts that come with the clubs

I've always gone with trial and error. All my irons have stiff steel shafts - definitely not tour stiff or X-stiff though (they're DGS300, Apex 4 - stuff like that) because thats what suits my "smooth" iron swing.

Drivers and woods are different though - I could be wrong, but I think anything shorter than a driver and you're more in control of the shot - you want/need more precision. These clubs should go a certain distance. Something similar to your irons shafts could work. With drivers, I'd say get fit. You want to be on the fairway, but have the option to swing out of your shoes without the ball going sideways.

[drglew]

Agree with all that different shafts can make a club perform & feel completely different. I've been playing a Nickent Evolver 4DX driver over the past 6 weeks or so and have collected a bunch of different interchangeable shafts (as they've been so cheap on Ebay etc since the company folded). I.e. the exact same clubhead performs quite differently for me (with the same swing) using a stiff Proforce V2 (worm-burning fade/slice of 230-240 yards) vs. a reg Aldila DVS (med-high and straight or even slight draw of 250-270). What shaft is right or wrong for any individual depends on your swing and preferences though; for me, even though i love the "feel" of stiff and stiffer-tipped shafts (my favorite was an old Aldila NV on a Titleist 983k i had), my results have been clearly superior with reg-flex and higher-launching shafts. I guess that makes sense as i'm only 5'7" and my driver clubhead speed is about 95-100 mph. Finally finding the right shaft (and driver loft) has me outdriving my playing partners most of the time now. Also agree that iron vs wood shaft preferences can be very different, as i'm finally straightened out my irons' pull-hook in part due to pretty stiff shafts (Project X flighted 6.0).