Stiff vs Reg shafts

[gfd66]

OK, per a buddies thoughts, I went out and picked up a used driver (Cleveland HiBore XLS) with a regular shaft and now remarkably I am able to keep the ball in my own field of play. Might be in the rough, but not OB, in the water or the next fairway over AND I am getting better distance than I was with my Callaway Diablo with a stock stiff shaft. Here's my dilemma. My irons are the '06 big bertha's with the stock stiff shafts and I hit them great. Now i wonder why? Should I switch everything to reg flex? What do you guys think?

[jpalermo]

it may not be the difference between the stiff or regular, each shaft has different characteristics. one stiff shaft will have a different bend point, torque, butt stiffness, tip stiffness than another. there is no standard for flex, it's pretty much whatever they want to call it. you could play a regular flex v2 in a higher shaft weight and it may feel and play the same as a mizayaki 59g x flex. it was probably just the wrong shaft for your swing. now, as far as the irons, you will always be more accurate with an iron than a driver. the stiff shaft will help you keep the ball straighter but you won't hit it as far.

[gfd66]

Interesting, I (not being that much into the science of it) had always thought that stiff was stiff, regular was regular, etc.

So I researched the shafts and here is where I was...

BB 460, 10.5*: Adila NVS 5.5 Stiff, 4.4 Torque, Mid Flex, 57g

BB Diablo 9*: Adila DVS Stiff, 3.3 Torque, Mid Flex, 63g

Now running with,

Cleveland HiBore XLS, 10.5*: Fujikura Gold Regular, 3.8 Torque,Mid/Low Flex, Active tip, 55g

Bought the Callaways prior to having my back fused and used to hit them well. Since then, both of the BB clubs have been either a banana slice or duck hook off the tee. Very seldom would I get something that actually looked like a drive. I have become very good at rescue shots with my Idea Black hybrid because of this. BUT, now my hybrid is running a Graffaloy stiff shaft and that I don't have any issues with.

I am beginning to think that I just need to take my bag to the shop and get a good fitting.......

[jpalermo]

probably the right idea. there are so many different factors.

[drglew]

I play a reg flex in my driver (used to play a stiff UST V2 until I realized a reg DVS gave me higher ball flight and 10-20 extra yards, without much difference in dispersion), but stiff shafts in my other clubs.  Combo works well for me, although my driver swing speed is 95-100-ish, which i've been told is "in between" most reg & stiff recommendations, so I could go either way.  With irons, to me it's more about control and predictability rather than an extra 5-10 yards.

[GaijinGolfer]

It really depends upon your swing.  Especially in irons, you have to be swinging pretty hard to need stiff shafts in irons and very, very few people really need stiff shafts.

Personally, my clubhead speed is about 97 mph and I prefer regular flex.  I tend to hit the ball a bit higher with regular flex, get more spin and I find that on days when my swing is a bit off reg shafts still work pretty well for me.

I have a brief time where I was all stiff flex and it was OK but I did have a lower ballflight and didnt have as much carry distance as I do now.

[colnago1331]

In theory softer flex gives you greater distance but less control.  The adage is you should get as soft a flex as you can control/handle.  But as others have said, there's no industry standard for flex so one manufacturer's stiff could be another's regular.

[gfd66]

To try them out, I got a really good deal on a set of Cleveland TA7's with True Temper R300 Gold shafts. I should be getting them towards the end of the week. It was a deal almost too good to be true. I'm still going to hold on to my Callaways, just in case......

[Mr. Desmond]

Use a regular aftermarket shaft in driver and woods, but stiff flex in irons.

Ya' never know.

[jpalermo]

prime example: my old irons we dci 762's. dg s300. played well with them but had low ball flight. 2* stronger lofts than my ap2's. ap2's kbs tour stiff. hit them higher, farther and with more spin. like I said, too many factors involved in shafts, weight is a big one. the dg s300 were a lot heavier than the kbs ball flight a lot lower with dgs300, but both were stiff flex. if your looking for the proper setup for your game, let the pros do it. go get fit.

[gfd66]

I'm still going to go and get fit, but I just couldn't pass up the deal. $100 + shipping for the set. At the worst I'll still get my $ back selling them off to someone here at the firehouse.

[HackerD]

Originally Posted by gfd66

Interesting, I (not being that much into the science of it) had always thought that stiff was stiff, regular was regular, etc.

So I researched the shafts and here is where I was...

BB 460, 10.5*: Adila NVS 5.5 Stiff, 4.4 Torque, Mid Flex, 57g

BB Diablo 9*: Adila DVS Stiff, 3.3 Torque, Mid Flex, 63g

Now running with,

Cleveland HiBore XLS, 10.5*: Fujikura Gold Regular, 3.8 Torque,Mid/Low Flex, Active tip, 55g

Bought the Callaways prior to having my back fused and used to hit them well. Since then, both of the BB clubs have been either a banana slice or duck hook off the tee. Very seldom would I get something that actually looked like a drive. I have become very good at rescue shots with my Idea Black hybrid because of this. BUT, now my hybrid is running a Graffaloy stiff shaft and that I don't have any issues with.

I am beginning to think that I just need to take my bag to the shop and get a good fitting.......

Just an FYI that NVS 55 stiff shaft in your BB 460 probably plays more like a regular flex.  NVS runs soft to nominal flex.  DVS is more true to flex.