In Between Shaft Flex....

[crperry]

Hey guys, I'm new to the site and pretty new to golf..

Im an ex-baseball player as many of you guys are so I swing pretty hard. Im anywhere between 105-115mph. I have a really high ball flight and I just got fitted to the new Callaway X-Hot 8.5* with a stiff factory shaft in the store, but after a few rounds it feels way to flimsy to me. In my old driver I was using an Aldila NV 60-Stiff and liked it much better and it also felt much more sturdy. Like I said I'm pretty new to the game so I dont know alot about shafts. But with the stock shaft I feel like if I square the face up the whip of the shaft causes me to hook, thus I've started leaving the club face slightly open on all of my shots causing me to push the ball a little. This may be a mental thing but all I know is that the stiffer the shaft the more control I feel I have over my club, thus, more confidence which is 80% of the game. My question to you guys is, what shaft would you look into, and would you consider an Extra-Stiff??

Thanks!

[WUTiger]

A couple of things to check:

• If your swing has become better grooved, you may need the X-flex shaft. But, could you hit X-flex on all days, or just when you are swinging well?
• Check your grip thickness. If it's too thin for your hand size, or you have above-average hand action, a thicker grip might help straighten out your drives.

[crperry]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

A couple of things to check:

If your swing has become better grooved, you may need the X-flex shaft. But, could you hit X-flex on all days, or just when you are swinging well?

Check your grip thickness. If it's too thin for your hand size, or you have above-average hand action, a thicker grip might help straighten out your drives.

What exactly do you mean by could I hit it? (not trying to act stupid just trying to learn more about the game)

And the grip could very well be a problem. Going from the grip of a bat to a club was a big adjustment. I use a fatso 5.0 and it has greatly helped my putting. I do feel like I overgrip sometimes, to the point where my fingers are sore the next day. Not sure if thats normal or not...

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by crperry

What exactly do you mean by could I hit it? (not trying to act stupid just trying to learn more about the game)

Here's what I meant to say: If you went to an X.flex shaft, could you hit the club reasonably well whenever you played?

Or, would the X.flex only work for you on days when you were swinging really well? (Say, one out of three rounds.) If this is the case, the X.flex shafted driver would deliver decent drives during a really good round, but hurt you on the other two rounds.

For example, I was getting good shots off the fairway with my old 3W, maybe one out of four rounds. So, I switched to a 4W to give myself a better margin of error.

You might try out a thicker grip before you buy a third driver. Let us know what happens.

[crperry]

Oh okay! Well, that's tough to answer because I feel like the current shaft is part of my problem. Like I said I feel like I can control the face of club better with a stiffer shaft. My problem doesn't lie with making good contact it's either leaving the club just a little open and push fading, or when I square I feel like the club whips around and causes a hook. I feel that the shaft isn't sturdy enough to be where I want it, but I could be wrong....

[Jeremie Boop]

Originally Posted by crperry

Oh okay!

Well, that's tough to answer because I feel like the current shaft is part of my problem. Like I said I feel like I can control the face of club better with a stiffer shaft. My problem doesn't lie with making good contact it's either leaving the club just a little open and push fading, or when I square I feel like the club whips around and causes a hook. I feel that the shaft isn't sturdy enough to be where I want it, but I could be wrong....

This sounds more like a timing issue with overly quick wrists/hands.

[crperry]

Any tips on how to solve that problem?

[Jeremie Boop]

I wish I did have one, I have the same problem sometimes. I can spot flaws but not really remedy them typically. Sorry.

[crperry]

No problem. Thanks for bringing it up. Maybe someone will have a remedy if I bring that up