Considering X-stiff driver shaft

[Valleygolfer]

It is difficult for me to get to one of the demo/club fitting days so self analysis is the best I have. I get to the golf shops on the weekend once in a while and the stations are jammed with people getting fit or testing clubs so I usually miss out then too. I was reading the other thread about "too stiff of shaft" and everything that is being said about stiffer shafts is something I want.

I tend to have very high climbing drives and periodically get a lower trajectory boring drive with my driver. So far this year I have been driving decent and hitting fairways frequently. My longest measured drive this year so far has been about 295 and I average about 270-275. I used to use a old 300TI TM with a 85gr stiff shaft back in the day with great trajectory and often over 300 yard drives. That being said I am looking for a new driver, my current one is okay but I do not like the flight and I am feeling like I am leaving something on the table distance wise. My swing is still getting a tiny flip once in a while, possibly a steep descent and recently a straight pull that might be due to comfort of setup.  The times I have had the swing speed measured it was from 118 to 123 mph.

So I hear that often people use too stiff of shaft, and that they should decrease the stiffness. I am fairly sure a stiff shaft is not too stiff for me but I am looking to try a x-stiff, low torque and high bend point shaft with a 75 gram weight. Reason behind this is to lower trajectory and maintain control.

Has anyone else switched from stiff to x-stiff and lived to tell about it? Welcome any contrasting ideas.

[mosnas]

Personally if your old driver is being hit consistently I wouldn't change it but thats just me.  Anywho when you say swinging 120-125 is that swinging for the fences or a regular swing (I only ask because that seems fast as hell).

[Valleygolfer]

  mosnas said:

Originally Posted by mosnas

Personally if your old driver is being hit consistently I wouldn't change it but thats just me.  Anywho when you say swinging 120-125 is that swinging for the fences or a regular swing (I only ask because that seems fast as hell).

The time I was measured it was during normal attempts at driving the golf ball indoors at a golf shop. It was during the winter and the striking was not the greatest because I had not swung a club for about 4-5 months. I guess I would like to dial in the drive better and the "ballooning" is somewhat bothersome. I would like to see my self on the range hitting good drives and finding actual speeds during them.

[mosnas]

Ok well I don't mean to be a dick I'm just gonna leave this here http://www.pgatour.com/r/stats/info/?02401 as you can see some of the highest swing speeds these guys have recorded are just under 129 which and at your average speed being 121 you are the 5th fastest club head speed on tour. again not trying to be a dick or crush any toes just encouraging you to be remeasured.  If your swing speed is really 118+ (which it very well could be) then an X stiff shaft is definitely a must.

[glbrum]

If that is your actual swing speed then you need an x-stiff shaft. If you're just looking for a shaft change, I just put a Grafalloy ProLaunch Red 65 shaft into a new driver and it is a huge improvement for me. I had similar "ballooning" type shots with my driver and the ProLaunch gave me a more boaring shot and I've gained a fair amount of control with it also. They have an x-stiff option, for only $50 at golfsmith it's a great deal, and it has some good reviews, too. If you're looking for a whole new driver, then maybe something with less loft would be better...

[LuciusWooding]

  mosnas said:

Originally Posted by mosnas

Personally if your old driver is being hit consistently I wouldn't change it but thats just me.  Anywho when you say swinging 120-125 is that swinging for the fences or a regular swing (I only ask because that seems fast as hell).

Swinging 120 isn't necessarily superhuman; there are consistency moves and there are power moves in the golf swing, and if you have the flexibility and the coordination it's quite possible to build a swing in that range. Look at Bubba Watson and then Luke Donald swing a driver, and you'll see a clear difference. Bubba squats and makes a jumping move into the ball, makes a huge turn, and releases much more explosively. Luke winds up a measured amount and releases smoothly. You never see Luke fall on his ass after a shot, but Bubba has 15mph more clubhead speed. Naturally Luke swings more like his normal swing and favors consistency, while Bubba goes for power. There are others at the top of the distance game that have smoother looking swings, but make many of the same moves and generate power more quietly.

OP, depending on your numbers it's realistic to hit anywhere from 250 to 320 yards at that speed. There are also a lot of times where you can get even longer based on course conditions. If you have good launch conditions: high launch and low spin, you'll be at the higher end on good hits. The numbers depend on your swing type; if you hit down you might get more spin and lower launch, but also on the loft, shaft type, and head design (and your ball). I will say that most golfers flock to X flex by 110mph, and many don't make it over 100. I find it highly unlikely you'll be fitted for anything softer than an X, and a heavy weight, low torque, stiff tip X at that. But there's a possibility anything could work.

Now, you average 270. If you could get to 300+ by a simple change in shaft, would you consider the cost of a fitting and new shaft or club worth it? You'd spend under 100$, get to try out any shaft and know for sure. If it's a waste of time to switch you'll know, but you could gain a lot of yards. And the fitter would have more to go on than your vague description of your swing with no visuals or live testing of various shaft models that we do. I hate spending money as much as you do but once you're fitted once it really saves money for years over trial and error.

[mosnas]

  LuciusWooding said:

Originally Posted by LuciusWooding

Swinging 120 isn't necessarily superhuman; there are consistency moves and there are power moves in the golf swing, and if you have the flexibility and the coordination it's quite possible to build a swing in that range. Look at Bubba Watson and then Luke Donald swing a driver, and you'll see a clear difference. Bubba squats and makes a jumping move into the ball, makes a huge turn, and releases much more explosively. Luke winds up a measured amount and releases smoothly. You never see Luke fall on his ass after a shot, but Bubba has 15mph more clubhead speed. Naturally Luke swings more like his normal swing and favors consistency, while Bubba goes for power. There are others at the top of the distance game that have smoother looking swings, but make many of the same moves and generate power more quietly.

OP, depending on your numbers it's realistic to hit anywhere from 250 to 320 yards at that speed. There are also a lot of times where you can get even longer based on course conditions. If you have good launch conditions: high launch and low spin, you'll be at the higher end on good hits. The numbers depend on your swing type; if you hit down you might get more spin and lower launch, but also on the loft, shaft type, and head design (and your ball). I will say that most golfers flock to X flex by 110mph, and many don't make it over 100. I find it highly unlikely you'll be fitted for anything softer than an X, and a heavy weight, low torque, stiff tip X at that. But there's a possibility anything could work.

Now, you average 270. If you could get to 300+ by a simple change in shaft, would you consider the cost of a fitting and new shaft or club worth it? You'd spend under 100$, get to try out any shaft and know for sure. If it's a waste of time to switch you'll know, but you could gain a lot of yards. And the fitter would have more to go on than your vague description of your swing with no visuals or live testing of various shaft models that we do. I hate spending money as much as you do but once you're fitted once it really saves money for years over trial and error.

Ya I wasn't saying it was impossible I just don't want some people to make the mistake I made when I was younger going to a shaft that fit my "swing from the tips of my toes" swing speed.  As long as his normal swing speed is above the 110 range I agree with you that he should definately be hitting a X stiff or stiffer if its at 120 (if that even exists).

[Valleygolfer]

  glbrum said:

Originally Posted by glbrum

If that is your actual swing speed then you need an x-stiff shaft. If you're just looking for a shaft change, I just put a Grafalloy ProLaunch Red 65 shaft into a new driver and it is a huge improvement for me. I had similar "ballooning" type shots with my driver and the ProLaunch gave me a more boaring shot and I've gained a fair amount of control with it also. They have an x-stiff option, for only $50 at golfsmith it's a great deal, and it has some good reviews, too. If you're looking for a whole new driver, then maybe something with less loft would be better.

I do have that exact shaft in a 10.5 degree cobra 440cc head and still get climbing and high shots. My normal driver is a 9.5 loft. I will periodically get a decent shot from it but it is more rare than the R7 I normally use. I hit one good drive with it Sunday that was 283 but the rest were very high, although in the fairway. I did hope that shaft would help.

  LuciusWooding said:

Originally Posted by LuciusWooding

Swinging 120 isn't necessarily superhuman; there are consistency moves and there are power moves in the golf swing, and if you have the flexibility and the coordination it's quite possible to build a swing in that range. Look at Bubba Watson and then Luke Donald swing a driver, and you'll see a clear difference. Bubba squats and makes a jumping move into the ball, makes a huge turn, and releases much more explosively. Luke winds up a measured amount and releases smoothly. You never see Luke fall on his ass after a shot, but Bubba has 15mph more clubhead speed. Naturally Luke swings more like his normal swing and favors consistency, while Bubba goes for power. There are others at the top of the distance game that have smoother looking swings, but make many of the same moves and generate power more quietly.

OP, depending on your numbers it's realistic to hit anywhere from 250 to 320 yards at that speed. There are also a lot of times where you can get even longer based on course conditions. If you have good launch conditions: high launch and low spin, you'll be at the higher end on good hits. The numbers depend on your swing type; if you hit down you might get more spin and lower launch, but also on the loft, shaft type, and head design (and your ball). I will say that most golfers flock to X flex by 110mph, and many don't make it over 100. I find it highly unlikely you'll be fitted for anything softer than an X, and a heavy weight, low torque, stiff tip X at that. But there's a possibility anything could work.

Now, you average 270. If you could get to 300+ by a simple change in shaft, would you consider the cost of a fitting and new shaft or club worth it? You'd spend under 100$, get to try out any shaft and know for sure. If it's a waste of time to switch you'll know, but you could gain a lot of yards. And the fitter would have more to go on than your vague description of your swing with no visuals or live testing of various shaft models that we do. I hate spending money as much as you do but once you're fitted once it really saves money for years over trial and error.

I would not doubt that I may have been swinging harder to get longer drives and more speed in the launch monitor. I have had freak drives over 320-330, very rarely, like maybe 3-4. I have hit a 3 wood off the deck 284 yards, another freak occurrence. The more relaxed and easy I swing, the longer the drives for me. I can not imagine that I swing over 115 on the course with my regular drives but I do swing fairly fast. Again I would love to get into the monitor and see actual numbers and try different shafts. I am looking at buying a low loft driver head to start with, there are some 7.5 degree pings at too high of price on ebay that I like.

[Mr. Desmond]

Sounds like you need a lower spinning head as well as a shaft.

You might search for an Adams 9064 LS - they are going fairly inexpensive now.

[Valleygolfer]

  Mr. Desmond said:

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Sounds like you need a lower spinning head as well as a shaft.

You might search for an Adams 9064 LS - they are going fairly inexpensive now.

I wonder how they achieve lower spin with just the head. I thought the LS came from a different shaft.

[Mr. Desmond]

  Valleygolfer said:

Originally Posted by Valleygolfer

I wonder how they achieve lower spin with just the head. I thought the LS came from a different shaft.

Low Spin Head.

A bit deeper head and the location of the COG can lower spin and height

Anyway, guys with higher swing speeds seem to have liked it when it made its debut. Saw one for $99 today barely used, and it was gone by the afternoon.

[Precis1on]

I would say get fitted. Off the top of my head, you fit well into the x-stiff category, and need an 8.5-9.0 degree driver. Other than that, without seeing your swing and how you load the club, I can't say much more than that.

[rustyredcab]

  Valleygolfer said:

Originally Posted by Valleygolfer

It is difficult for me to get to one of the demo/club fitting days so self analysis is the best I have. ...

Got to find a way to get a good fitting. Your estimated numbers suggest that you could see huge differences between head and shaft combos. And the best fit might be very unexpected.

If you had a 100MPH swing speed, a best guess might not matter much from an actual fitting. At 120MPH, it matters.

Find the time. Make an appointment. Pay someone if you must.

[Mr3Wiggle]

120+ mph clubhead speed and your longest drive this season is 295?  Something must be seriously off.

[ty johnson]

X stiff is the way to go for you. I too have a fairly high swing speed measured between 108 my slowest and 112 my highest. I bought an R11 9.5 with a stiff shaft based on the assumption that it would be the same set up as my burner. I could not hit it as far as the burner so then I went to a really good club fitter. They swapped the driver for another R11TP 8 X stiff and tuned it. I began carrying the ball 275-295 with ball speed coming of the club between 165 to 172. I also had the rest of my clubs fitted. I have dropped over 8 strokes on my handicap over the last year.

[Valleygolfer]

  Mr3Wiggle said:

Originally Posted by Mr3Wiggle

120+ mph clubhead speed and your longest drive this season is 295?  Something must be seriously off.

I don't know if that is on course speed. I have only had the speed checked once and I would not be surprised if I was trying to swing out of my shoes. Like I said I think having a better fitted driver will add some yardage.

I live about and hour and a half away from the GC's that have the fitting's and the days off I have my daughter and she is top priority so I spend the time with her. The only way is to hopefully catch a Sunday, there is one next friday but I would have to leave work to do it.

[Valleygolfer]

  ty johnson said:

Originally Posted by ty johnson

X stiff is the way to go for you. I too have a fairly high swing speed measured between 108 my slowest and 112 my highest. I bought an R11 9.5 with a stiff shaft based on the assumption that it would be the same set up as my burner. I could not hit it as far as the burner so then I went to a really good club fitter. They swapped the driver for another R11TP 8 X stiff and tuned it. I began carrying the ball 275-295 with ball speed coming of the club between 165 to 172. I also had the rest of my clubs fitted. I have dropped over 8 strokes on my handicap over the last year.

I felt that way too but every time I talked about getting xstiff people would talk me out of it.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Given the info in this thread, don't spend your money to get the club reshafted unless you are going to get on a launch monitor.