Regular or stiff shafts?

[jmp782]

Hey all, buying a new driver soon.......I have an old hand-me-down driver that never did the trick for me. Anyway, I have swung a lot of drivers and settled on getting a taylormade burner....great club. Question is..what shaft stiffness do I geet? My swing speed constantly 88-97 (averaging 93). shop pro said stiff flex is what I should get, but thoguht I'd get other opinions

[kpaulhus]

The shop pro is the shop pro for a reason....unless your shopping at a Dicks

[kilbyman]

stiff is probably fine i think. it should be easier to hit straight at 93 than a reg. shaft, IMHO.

[ronaldkuntoro]

Most golfers are better with Regular flex shaft anyway. It reduces hooks and slices that average golfers have. The guy who told me is a Clubmaker for 20 years!

The reason most Pros use X-Stiff is for more accuracy and shaping shots. And sometimes these pros hooks the ball so bad (it means the shaft is too stiff).

[CrazyXGolfer]

Most golfers are better with Regular flex shaft anyway. It reduces hooks and slices that average golfers have. The guy who told me is a Clubmaker for 20 years!

Sorry but you have it all wrong......

To soft of shaft makes the ball hook, to stong of shaft makes it Fade. Pro's have swing speeds avg'ing around 115 MPH thats why they use X flex. And to Answer your question, I would stick with the advice you got told in the shop, they are there for a reason. Your are right in between shaft flex's. In general, 93 is usually just moving into stiff flex.

[JWL1957]

Hey all, buying a new driver soon.......I have an old hand-me-down driver that never did the trick for me. Anyway, I have swung a lot of drivers and settled on getting a taylormade burner....great club. Question is..what shaft stiffness do I geet? My swing speed constantly 88-97 (averaging 93). shop pro said stiff flex is what I should get, but thoguht I'd get other opinions

CrazyXGolfer is right. Too soft a shaft can generate alot of wild shots at faster swing speeds.

Since you mentioned the Taylormade Burner......... the stiff flex with the re-ax shaft should be right for you. Its a firm flex with a mid kick point, and lightweight as well. Should be a good fit for your swing speed. (93 ave.)

[ronaldkuntoro]

Sorry but you have it all wrong......

Oh well that's the theory I've heard before... but in practice after using 10 shafts over 6 years... that's the reality mate. I'm Regular flex guy.

Once I had an A flex and I slices a lot with that driver. My shots are all over the place (means not accurate). During a demo day, I tried an X-Stiff UST Proforce V2 shaft, this shaft is very boardy, and my shots were all nasty duck hooks. I know one Pro Aussie golfer who swings around 106 Mph, he uses an X-Stiff anyway. Why? Because it's more accurate like I said (if you can really control your shots). It also creates a boring trajectory which most Pros prefer. Stiff flex generates lower launch angle if your swing speed is just average. You want more launch angle if you swing around 90s. Many shaft manufactures websites have a Recommended Swing Speed (RSSR) for each flex of their shafts models. A shaft can have RSSR 90-100 Mph for a Regular flex. Another model RSSR 80-90 Mph for a Regular flex. So it's different for each models. So you wanna check out the website if I were you.

[jamo]

Shaft torque has more of an effect on hook/slice than flex does. You can't compare 2 different shafts just based on flex, they all have very different characteristics.

[mattttt25]

But I wonder how many golfers swing too hard and then keep it up knowing they just bought a stiff shaft? I'm sure there are plenty out there that can generate good club head speed and need a stiff shaft. Personally, my regular shaft was the best thing I did this year. Swing easy, good mechanics, let the club and shaft do their job.

[cody west]

Shaft torque has more of an effect on hook/slice than flex does. You can't compare 2 different shafts just based on flex, they all have very different characteristics.

listen to this guy. id say get more than one opinion because if someone walked into where i work with your swing speed i would recommend regular flex but there could be more to it because some stiff shafts are more flexible than some regular flex shafts but they have a higher kick point which requires a higher swing speed to activate the actual extension of the shaft. for example my swing speed requires a x-stiff shaft but because i use a v2 shaft with a stiffer tip i can hit a plain stiff shaft and it works just fine. but if it was me i would go to a launch monitor because there is more to it than just your ss

[JWL1957]

That is a good point. The torque factor is just as important as flex factor....although the 2 are interralated when talking about graphite shafts. Steel shafts regardless of flex, remain around 1-3 degrees. Graphite can vary from 1-8 degrees.

[cody west]

That is a good point. The torque factor is just as important as flex factor....although the 2 are interralated when talking about graphite shafts. Steel shafts regardless of flex, remain around 1-3 degrees. Graphite can vary from 1-8 degrees.

ya i would always advise people to go to more than one person unless they go to a launch monitor which will basically have you hit a bunch of different shafts and club heads then tell you exactly what to buy because every shaft is different and one stiff might be just right and another could be worse than an x-still so you really should explore your options

[Hoselrockets]

Even If you get a person that uses a launch monitor sometimes it's best still to get a second opinion. I had to do that when I went to Golfsmith as I didn't get the warm and cozy feeling on what information was being told to me. So to be safe get a second opinion. Good luck.

[bigoak]

A stiff shaft with a lot of torque will be more inaccurate as a regular with little torque. My Monday league partner hits it and then goes find it, He is long. I glued up a tipped regular with 2.9 of torque and had him hit tee balls and compared to his stiff Sumo that had over 4 degrees of torque. He consistently hit the tipped shaft with less torque straighter and slightly further. His Sumo has a huge fade which he tried to reproduce when hitting the less torque. He wasn't happy that a clone would out hit his pro shop purchase. Actually it wasn't a pro shop. I think some college or high school kid sold him the driver at one of the sporting goods department stores with a "pro shop"

[Crey23]

Hey all, buying a new driver soon.......I have an old hand-me-down driver that never did the trick for me. Anyway, I have swung a lot of drivers and settled on getting a taylormade burner....great club. Question is..what shaft stiffness do I geet? My swing speed constantly 88-97 (averaging 93). shop pro said stiff flex is what I should get, but thoguht I'd get other opinions

Listen get more than one opinion.... West is right....a launch monitor is a good idea...what I have done is gone to GG and every shot I make I look at the launch monitor, and I ask the gur there to show me the numbers and explain, then I go to golf smith, and do the same....if the stories match the numbers then fine, if I get two different stories I hit this board for advice. Consider that at some of the biug chain stores, sales fols ae not necesarily pro's, so sometimes thier advice is not always fit for you, but more of their own approach to the game or basicaly a stock answer they give all shoppers. I tend to sit back and watch people on the bays, see their stats and listen to the advice to get a feel for what the sales person is saying.

Now based on your numbers a few factors are at play: 1. How young are you? if you are aging, and you are at the cusp of stiff....stay with a reg flex, you will get more mileage out of your driver that way. 2. how consistent were you hitting 97's? In other words, if most of you SS were in the low 90's, with few swings in the 96/97 region you may be better off with the reg flex. 3. TM drivers tend to be whippy, I know cuz they are all I have owned! If you feel that you still have room to grow, then a reg flex may not suit you in a feww months. Whn I bought my driver, I was set on a 9.5* Stiff, after many trials with 10.5* stiff, 10.5* Reg, 9.5* Stiff, and 9.5* Reg, the Reg sutied me better, and I got better results on the launcher with that combination than with any other. The Pro there (He is actually the teachen pro at GG) told me that I was on the cusp (94 Avg), but that my swing was not consistent enough to merit the Stiff shaft. That I would be very effective with it on the first 12 maybe 15 holes, but by the end, and I started to get tired, I would start slicing towards en end of the round. I tend to agree with him. It certainly a very personal decision that one on the boards can answer for you. Go out to a test bay and ask if you can hit for a little while, say 20/30 minutes, and see how your driving changes in that time. if you see constant results with the Stiff, then go for it. My $0.02, I hope it helps a bit!

[jmp782]

Listen get more than one opinion.... West is right....a launch monitor is a good idea...what I have done is gone to GG and every shot I make I look at the launch monitor, and I ask the gur there to show me the numbers and explain, then I go to golf smith, and do the same....if the stories match the numbers then fine, if I get two different stories I hit this board for advice. Consider that at some of the biug chain stores, sales fols ae not necesarily pro's, so sometimes thier advice is not always fit for you, but more of their own approach to the game or basicaly a stock answer they give all shoppers. I tend to sit back and watch people on the bays, see their stats and listen to the advice to get a feel for what the sales person is saying.

great advice. I did swing with a launch moniter and yes, the bulk of my swings were 92-97. the guy who helped me pretty much just looked at swing speed, so I was unsure...plus he kept leaving to help other people too, lol. As for my age, I will be 28 in july, so I still have some room to grow. But yea, right now I am hitting my irons very well, but my driver not too well....my tendancy is to slice. I have had my swing looked at by a few pros and they all come to the same conslusion: Overall, the swing looks good(As long as I take a second to focus on do it right, lol) and there isn't anything they can see in the swing that merits the slicing.....so they all recommend I try some other drivers (I have an old a$$ hand me down!)

[Crey23]

great advice. I did swing with a launch moniter and yes, the bulk of my swings were 92-97. the guy who helped me pretty much just looked at swing speed, so I was unsure...plus he kept leaving to help other people too, lol. As for my age, I will be 28 in july, so I still have some room to grow. But yea, right now I am hitting my irons very well, but my driver not too well....my tendancy is to slice. I have had my swing looked at by a few pros and they all come to the same conslusion: Overall, the swing looks good(As long as I take a second to focus on do it right, lol) and there isn't anything they can see in the swing that merits the slicing.....so they all recommend I try some other drivers (I have an old a$$ hand me down!)

Well there is something else that was not mentioned....some drivers are open faced, netural, or closed faced. Usually in the + or - 2* range...and this can make a huge difference. Maybe you should look at some drivers that are 1* closed, but not in " draw" mode. I got my r7 Limited, and it fit perfectly. In my opinion the best driver

for me !!!!! As for the metrics, if you are on a good launch monitor and the guy reading it is compentent, you can see metrics on your swing that indicate your sideways spin rate. I read a book that I cannot stop recommending to everyone....it's called " Finally: The Golf Swing Simple Secrete" I read it, and without practicing the drills, took it to the course, and had my best outing ever. All the subsequent outing I've had much more success that ever before. Here is the link to Amazon . I was driving an average of 240's, now I am in the averaging 257, with my longest drive a 283!!!, iron play have improved on average 2 club lengths...my 6i used to be a solid 160/165, I am now a solid 178!!! Repetable and measured with GPS (so give +/- 3 yards, but were measured with the same device). my 9i used to be 130 max, now it's closer to 140, and my short game has improved tremendously too, now I feel comfortable insdie 100, when before i just wanted to kill the ball as close to the green as possible with my driver and 3h to avoid using iron...My 3h, is off the hook!!!! before I was 180 off the deck and 205 max off the tees....now I am a solid 200/205 off the deck(and shaping shots), and 215/220 off the tees....really a very good read. I bought that book and Hank Haney's, and I have not touched Haney's book cuz I don't want to mess with what I've got going!!! Enough of my rant, but look at several drivers with different shaft configurations.....I found that the shaft is just as important as the head...depending on what you want to do, shaft may be more relevant if you want to control launch angle vs loft. Your slicing could be a fucntion of a low torque shaft, look for that on your next purchase. I hope all this ranting has helped....good luck!!!!

[cody west]

most of what crey is saying is true. most standard models actually come 1* closed and almost all tour models come 1* open because most low hcp players have taught themselves to miss with a hook if their going to miss. taylormade is a great company but they use the same club heads for the TP and regualr models just so you know. the only difference is in the shaft and the TP shafts aren't all that different considering you can buy non-tp shafts that are almost the exact same for $100 less. the part about torque is that low torque is going to be stiffer. right now i had about 2.5* of torque on a stiff shaft but i used to hit 3.0* of torque on a x-stiff shaft. both work almost the same but they are different flexes so i would just say take a serious look on your own at your shaft and how high you hit it vs how high you hit your prospected shaft. think about the ball flight you want and make it happen because you can get the ball as high or low as you want just depending on the shaft.