Driver shaft question (S vs. X flex)

[nickel_aTm]

So a friend of mine has an unused driver (Cleveland Launcher DST) he could give/ship to me if I want it.  But I'm not sure I want him to go through the trouble if it's going to be pointless and I can't even hit the thing.

My swing speed with a driver when I go at it smooth is in the 95-98 range.  If I swing full-on, up around 103-105.  My current driver is 9.5* and the shaft (stiff flex Fujikura Blur) is 65 grams.  The potential new driver is 10.5* and the shaft (x-flex Miyazaki tour issue) is only 58 grams.  In theory, I expect to pick up some speed (not much) with a lighter shaft.

Is it worth messing with?  And if I get the driver and it's ultimately too stiff, what should I expect to see?  Lower ball flight that comes off a little right like block?

Thanks in advance.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by nickel_aTm

So a friend of mine has an unused driver (Cleveland Launcher DST) he could give/ship to me if I want it.  But I'm not sure I want him to go through the trouble if it's going to be pointless and I can't even hit the thing.

My swing speed with a driver when I go at it smooth is in the 95-98 range.  If I swing full-on, up around 103-105.  My current driver is 9.5* and the shaft (stiff flex Fujikura Blur) is 65 grams.  The potential new driver is 10.5* and the shaft (x-flex Miyazaki tour issue) is only 58 grams.  In theory, I expect to pick up some speed (not much) with a lighter shaft.

Is it worth messing with?  And if I get the driver and it's ultimately too stiff, what should I expect to see?  Lower ball flight that comes off a little right like block?

Thanks in advance.

For those swing speeds you mentioned I'd go with a stiff.  But I could be wrong.  If it doesn't work out I agree you'll see a lower ballflight and maybe the ball going shorter

[nickel_aTm]

Ultimately, I ended up receiving the driver I mentioned in the original post and went out to the range with it last night.  I worked up through my irons for 30-40 balls and then pulled out the drivers.  I hit 10-15 balls with my current driver (Cobra S3 9.5* with 65g stiff Fujikura Blur) and then 10-15 with the other driver (Cleveland DST 10.5* with 59g X-flex Miyazaki Tour Issue).  For whatever reason, I hit X flex Cleveland higher and longer than the S flex Cobra.  I was hitting at some trees that were out there 225 to 230-ish.  With the Cobra, I was mostly landing a little short and rolling out to the trees.  With the Cleveland, I was landing at the trees or up the trunks a few feet.  I’m guessing I picked up an extra 10-15 yards with the Cleveland.  For the he!! of it, I hit a few more with my driver and then a few more with the Cleveland.  Same result.

On paper, it doesn’t make sense that I’d hit a club with a X-flex shaft further than my driver with a stiff.  I assume it’s a result of the lighter shaft (59g vs. 65g).  I also noticed the dispersion.  With my current driver, the ball was going straight or turning over a little (with a couple that hooked 15-20 yards left of the target line at the trees).  The Cleveland, nearly every one had just a little cut on it – but they were generally consistent.  I don’t think I hit any nearly as far off the target line as with my driver.  Again, on paper it doesn’t make sense.

I guess my swing is just messed up enough that a shaft that shouldn’t work for me works better than what should be a better fit.

[Harmonious]

Shaft flexes can be quite different between manufacturers.  Likewise, the bend points can be different. Perhaps the Miyazaki has a lower bend point than the Fujikura, which could explain why you were hitting it higher. You could probably investigate that on their various websites.

Because shafts vary so much, I would use whatever driver gives you the best performance, regardless of what may be stamped on it.