Shorten Driver Shaft Question

[iturn463]

I know there have been numerous threads about cutting down driver shafts. But I'm wondering how much it will affect the stiffness? I am currently playing the Nike VR Tour with the Project X 6.0 shaft. I have a swing speed between 115-120, and I'm starting to think this shaft is a tiny bit too weak for me.

I also choke up on the shaft pretty far. I was wondering how much stiffer the driver would play after cutting the shaft .25 or .5 inches from the butt end?

Also, what impact will the change in weight of the club play?

Thanks for the help.

[wrx_junki]

A junior golfer with a SS of a little over 110mph used to have that setup and recently put a UST Axivcore Red 69 in a X-Stiff and loves it. His ball flight is a boring trajectory. I think you'd be better off getting a new shaft instead of tip trimming the shaft. You could get the UST Axivcore Green for $70 off www.rockbottomgolf.com .

[golfro]

the Project X 6.0 driver shaft is a pretty damn nice shaft from what I've tried. Albeit, I did try the 6.5, not the 6.0.. I believe the 6.0 shaft is rated somewhere vaguely in the "stiff" but at your swing speed, you're probably looking for a X-stiff.

You can try hard stepping the shaft. Trim it down a bit and see how that feels.

[shades9323]

I also choke up on the shaft pretty far. I was wondering how much stiffer the driver would play after cutting the shaft .25 or .5 inches from the butt end?

It won't make it any stiffer.

[iturn463]

Thanks for the responses. I'll look into the UST axivcore green.

golfro, I see you're playing the whiteboard. Are you playing that in an x flex? How would you compare the PX 6.5 and the whiteboard? Do you think tipping the shaft will get the 6.0 anywhere close to the 6.5? Thanks

[golfro]

hmm...to compare the WB X-stiff to PX6.5... thats a tough one. I believe PX7.0 would be more a long the lines of X-stiff, so for one, the 6.5 is a slight bit weaker. I don't remember too much about the way it felt but I do remember thinking its a nice shaft.

I've personally never hardstepped a shaft before so I can't say exactly how much effect it will have on the stiffness. I just know its an option :)

Like others have suiggested though, it might be worth getting fitted and seeing which directions you should go with. You may find that you can replace the entire shaft for a cheap price.

[wrx_junki]

Thanks for the responses. I'll look into the UST axivcore green.

If you are seriously going to look into the Axivcore Green, they just went on sale for $83.99 + free shipping. You can get them to whatever weight and stiffness you want.

[msd3075]

I also choke up on the shaft pretty far. I was wondering how much stiffer the driver would play after cutting the shaft .25 or .5 inches from the butt end?

1) Trimming length from the butt end will have no noticable effect on shaft stiffness. If you were to trim length off the other end of the shaft (known as "tipping" or having your shaft "tipped"), you'll notice that the shaft will play much stiffer than original as well as have a lower ball flight. If memory serves me correctly (don't quote me on this) but tipping the shaft 0.5" will change a regular shaft to a stiff and a stiff to an X-stiff (move it one "level" stiffer).

2) With a shorter shaft, the swingweight will decrease but not by a huge margin. You'd have to ask a club builder how much it'll actually go down, but trimming 0.25-0.5" off a drive shaft shouldn't change it all that much at all in my mind.

[enis750]

1) Trimming length from the butt end will have no noticable effect on shaft stiffness. If you were to trim length off the other end of the shaft (known as "tipping" or having your shaft "tipped"), you'll notice that the shaft will play much stiffer than original as well as have a lower ball flight. If memory serves me correctly (don't quote me on this) but tipping the shaft 0.5" will change a regular shaft to a stiff and a stiff to an X-stiff (move it one "level" stiffer).

what he ^^ said....

the PJX shafts in the VR line tend to play quite a bit weaker than they r suppose to, BUT... here is a good rule of thumb for PJX shafts 5.5 = 255 cpm - inbetween a reg and stiff (little more on the stiff than reg) 6.0 = 260 cpm - stiff 6.5 = 265 cpm - between a stiff and X 7.0 = 270 cpm - x-stiff this is a tip that was given to me by my club builder (whether it holds tru or not, im not sure) if you want to stiffen up that shaft, try tipping it a 1/2" to 1" at most cutting the butt of the shaft wont affect the stiffness, nor will you notice a huge diff in swing weight if tipping the shaft makes it a little short, just compensate w a butt entension - once the grip is on, you wont be able to tell its there

[popcorn]

I agreed with anis750. Cut the butt of the shaft will not affect the stiffness. I had a fairway wood tip side broken about 1". I still installed that one back and take to golf store to check. The original shaft was stiff shaft. After the tip was broken about 1", it is about 25% stiff more than the original. I can still use it but just feel not great.

[iturn463]

Thank you everybody. I actually was thinking of cutting it down from the tip end - I just mis-typed. Glad to hear that will make it stiffer.

Thanks for the help.