Toooooo stiff

[Gerald]

Maybe an old issue, been here a dozen times .....

I think most golfers are using tooooo stiff shafts .......

Let's hear it !

[Zeph]

I don't sit on the swing speed of anyone in here, so I can't really tell. Don't see why it matters. If people play with wrong flex, fine, but I would rather recommend they get fit for the clubs.

[CrazyXGolfer]

What is the point of this thread, you are not asking a question or anything?

When I brought my driver it was to soft acording to my golf coach so we went and fitted a new white board X flex and now im hitting a much better flight.

[flintlock62]

I tend to agree. I used to think I needed x-stiff shafts so I could hit it as hard as possible and wow everyone with amazingly long drives. Some times I did, but it was not always in the fairway. I finally realized that if I relaxed my swing, I could hit much more accurately and only lose a few yards at best and in some cases even gain yards. That and along with some lessons from a very good coach, my scores improved dramatically. Everyone should have his or her swing speed anaylized and choose the shaft that fits. I would also suggest the lessons before customizing shaft flex. In numerous cases, it is possible to hit straighter and farther with a more flexible shaft, but I opt for a straighter flight at any rate. No more "driving contests" for me, thank you. By the same token, one does not want too flexible a shaft either.

[motteler621]

question: do most people swing their driver harder/faster than the irons?

[flintlock62]

  motteler621 said:

question: do most people swing their driver harder/faster than the irons?

To answer that is most golfers swing all their clubs too hard. They think: "if John Daily could hit a 400+ yard drive, then so can I". "If Phil can hit a 220 yard 5 iron, so can I". It is not just how hard one swings, its HOW they swing. The proper swing should be more of a "brain swing" than a muscle swing. Before anyone else can say it, I am amazed I hit more than ten feet!

[DarkPrince]

I don't remember the exact wording, but I think I remember reading something somewhere saying that people are usually playing the wrong flexes if they haven't been fit, something along the lines of if you are questioning which flex or are borderline, you should go with the more flexible option, supposedly the misses are more controllable if you just go with the say regular than stiff flex?

[flintlock62]

  DarkPrince said:

I don't remember the exact wording, but I think I remember reading something somewhere saying that people are usually playing the wrong flexes if they haven't been fit, something along the lines of if you are questioning which flex or are borderline, you should go with the more flexible option, supposedly the misses are more controllable if you just go with the say regular than stiff flex?

That is correct. Remember though that there are degrees between stiff and regular. R400 is stiffer than R300, S200 is weaker than S300.

[DarkPrince]

I was thinking about it the other day, but does anyone know just how much of a difference there is between Project X 5.0 (what I have, flighted) and 5.5's (might need?)

[James_Black]

  flintlock62 said:

That is correct. Remember though that there are degrees between stiff and regular. R400 is stiffer than R300, S200 is weaker than S300.

I thought the the numbers were just the weight of the shaft?

[laxbballgolf]

The way I understand it, if your shaft is too stiff your ball flight will be lower, but it definitely won't be any "less controllable". It's actually the opposite. The reason pros use super stiff shafts and tip them to be stiffer and such is to keep the ball flight lower and more under control. When you get fit for a shaft, it is basically to optimize distance; to make sure that you are able to flex the shaft properly to get all the possible distance out of your shaft.

So, if you are between flexes, the rule of thumb is choose the stiffer flex if you want more control, or choose the more flexible shaft if you want maximum distance.

[delav]

  DarkPrince said:

I was thinking about it the other day, but does anyone know just how much of a difference there is between Project X 5.0 (what I have, flighted) and 5.5's (might need?)

When I saw a club fitter to check the PX shafts in my irons, he told me that the rule of thumb for these shafts is as follows:

(6i SS (mph) - 30)/10 For me, that means (93 - 30)/10 = 6.3 I am playing a 6.5 flighted, which feel wonderful most of the time, but can get a bit rough and overwhelming when I'm swinging like a turd. Ideally I'd like to buy a new set of 6.5 non-flighted and soft-step them 1 or 2 clubs to soften them and bring down the ball flight of my long irons, but it's not a $250 issue at this point. To the OP - I think shaft selection is a big component of distance, consistency and ball striking. Flex is only half of the battle.

[jpalermo]

  James_Black said:

I thought the the numbers were just the weight of the shaft?

u are correct, the s200 is the same flex as the s300 just lighter, s400 is heavier than the s300 so it FEELS stiffer. I really don't see the point of this thread either...... What do any of you care what flex my clubs are?

[jpalermo]

  delav said:

When I saw a club fitter to check the PX shafts in my irons, he told me that the rule of thumb for these shafts is as follows:

soft stepping will raise your ball flight, hard stepping will lower it

[delav]

  jpalermo said:

soft stepping will raise your ball flight, hard stepping will lower it

Soft stepping a 6.5 would help achieve the flex I am after. Moving from a flighted to non-flighted shaft would help compensate for the change in trajectory.

[jpalermo]

  delav said:

Soft stepping a 6.5 would help achieve the flex I am after. Moving from a flighted to non-flighted shaft would help compensate for the change in trajectory.

I missed the change from flighted to non flighted..... my bad.

[delav]

  jpalermo said:

I missed the change from flighted to non flighted..... my bad.

No worries. I am pretty green to shaft fitting as it is. Just read your review on the KBS tours and it sounds like a great shaft. Although the PXs give great ball flight and consistency, I a missing a big of feel in comparison to TT shafts used in the past. If the time comes for new irons in the next few years, I'll give the KBS shafts a look too.

[jpalermo]

I couldnt be happier with them. I love them. When you flush them, it feels like someone just handed you 30 crisp hundos...... Best single equipment upgrade I have ever made. I was a lowball hitter until TODAY. Shafts are great and the softstep makes a huge difference. Would never have done it unless it hadn't already been done.