swing speed in relation to shaft flex

[JoshKeller]

Hey guys, havent posted in a while. been busy. Ive dropped my handicap 5 strokes in the past year (down to around a 6 playing the tips). My question is at which swing speed do I need to start looking into an X flex vs a stiff flex? Right now my swing speed (as per launch moniter at the local sporting goods store) is between 114 and 116. My driver goes straight, sometimes has 15 yard left or right deviation, but still straight. Ball flight is SKY high, i get very little roll. Carry is average around 260. Total distance is around 275.

My launch angle was 12 - 13 degrees, with an average of 3100 rpm of spin. I plan on going to an actual golf shop to get fitted in the spring, but would like to go in with a bit of knowledge, versus going in blind.

[JasonFL]

Ill make a prediction.  No matter what your swing speed is when you get fitted, the fitter will try to put you in a stiff flex.  Or theyll try and put you in a tipped stiff.

That being said, Im curious what your ball flight looks like when you say SKY high?  My first thought is that the ball is starting on a good path and then rises up sharply in the middle then falling sharply at the end.  If so Id go X-stiff.  Our swing speeds are similar and the only thing that flattened out my ball flight was an x stiff.  Prior to switching flexes my ball was doing the same thing as yours.  A mile high and like two feet of roll.  I even had a drive that bounced 3 feet backward once.

PS:  Do your golfing buddies a favor and get rid of the Dymo.  With that swing speed everyone on the course can hear you tee off.  Worst sounding club ever.  I nearly needed ear plugs at the range with it.

[JasonFL]

One more thing.  Was the club you used at the sporting goods store the Dymo?  Because those numbers arent far off from being where you want to be.  The X stiff may pull your spin down into the high 2000s or even just going a degree lower on the loft will prob get you into the high 2ks.

[JoshKeller]

I actually brought my dymo into the store to compare to the others, and thats the club I was using as my base numbers.

As for ball flight, it looks like a 9 iron shot that goes way further Ive more than once left a divot in a soft fairway from my driver shots.

It is definitly loud as all hell though. Ive had people halfway across the course look in my direction after teeing off.  It definitly leaves the ears ringing with any significant range time.

[bunkerputt]

There is definitely something to be gained from getting a true fit.  By focusing the question on the particular shaft flex you need, you are trying to fit yourself, and with good reason.  You know it's important!  Congratulations on trying to get informed and not thinking about it in overly simplistic terms (flex R vs S, vs X is too simplistic).  There are a lot of factors that go into shaft selection like torque rating, kick point, and overall flex profile.  Feel is a huge thing too.

That being said, I've found that just changing shaft flex does more to affect shot dispersion than spin numbers and distance.  Club head speed is affected a little, but not as much as you would think.  If I want lower spin, I'll look at changing the driver head or my ball.  What you need in a shaft in terms of overall flex and torque also depends a lot on how you swing.  Generally, longer smoother swings require less stiffness than shorter more explosive swings, given the same swing speed.  So as we get older, our swing gets a little shorter and we can benefit a lot from stiffer shafts.

Your launch numbers are pretty good.  Spin is just a little high for your launch.  You could gain a little distance with less spin, but less backspin tends to exacerbate any offline motion of the ball.  That's something to consider.  The quickest way to hone in on a pretty good shaft is to do a binary search.  Select a shaft that is on the extreme end for your speed and distance in terms of torque (The one in my sig is pretty extreme.  Gary Woodland plays it, too.)  Then try the other end of extreme, then try halfway.  Within 5 tests or so, you'll have a shaft that is 95% close to your perfect shaft.  Then with all the time you save you can go work on your swing some more.

[saevel25]

Quote:

I've found that just changing shaft flex does more to affect shot dispersion than spin numbers and distance.

I have to  agree with this 100%. I had to go to a x-stiff shaft for my driver and it might have lowered my ball flight a tad, not much. But what it did do is tighten up my dispersion. I wasn't worrying about that golf head doing something i don't want to do in the golf swing.