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Posted

When someone says they're in between flexes, for example, between regular and stiff flex for their driver, what does that really mean?

Does it mean that with either flex they will get the same ball flight?

Thanks


Posted
It means they are reading too much into it. I guess to answer your question you could arrive at the swing speed that is border line between a suggested swing speed range by the manufacturer of the club and shaft. I can understand different weights in driver shafts and there are certainly different shafts that flex differently but to assign one self that they are mid stiff or stiff regular is confusing and likely not accurate. A driver shaft that is stiff could be 70 grams, 65 grams or 55 grams, all are stiff and all will have different play and flex characterics. Club swing speed can be Increased or decreased depending on shaft weight and desired flex. One person maybe a stiff with 57 gram speeder shaft and another maybe stiff with a 65 gram adilla NV shaft, both players may have swing speeds that are 5-7 MPH different.

Posted

When someone says they're in between flexes, for example, between regular and stiff flex for their driver, what does that really mean?

Does it mean that with either flex they will get the same ball flight?

Thanks

No it means that their ideal shaft flex is stiffer than a regular, but softer than a stiff. However, keep in mind that "regular" and "stiff" are not exact industry standards, but more like ranges. Things like weight, length, and kick point will all affect how stiff a shaft plays.

Tyler Martin

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Posted

I have recently heard of installing shafts one club higher or lower to get a stiffer regular by putting a 4 iron shaft in a 5 iron or a slightly softer shaft the other way, like others here have said too much techno mumbo jumbo for me as well but that's something else to throw around the tee while waiting.

Rich C.

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Posted
I have recently heard of installing shafts one club higher or lower to get a stiffer regular by putting a 4 iron shaft in a 5 iron or a slightly softer shaft the other way, like others here have said too much techno mumbo jumbo for me as well but that's something else to throw around the tee while waiting.

Soft stepping & hard stepping.

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Posted

A really good ballstriker could find a skilled clubfitter could either softstep or hardstep the shaft; this would put the shaft "between flexes."

The average golfer should go with the flex that feels best. The average golfer has enough variance from swing to swing that he doesn't deliver that "ideal" swing speed very often (usually comes in above or below).

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Posted
A really good ballstriker could find a skilled clubfitter could either softstep or hardstep the shaft; this would put the shaft "between flexes." The average golfer should go with the flex that feels best. The average golfer has enough variance from swing to swing that he doesn't deliver that "ideal" swing speed very often (usually comes in above or below).

Actually most golfers have repeatable swings. Most of them are just repeatably bad. If you took ten videos of the same golfer, you wouldn't see difference in the swing. We are only talking a few degrees in swing path and club face. It isn't noticeable by the naked eye or video camera.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
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Posted
Dont mind @WUTiger -He keeps spouting the same old advice and stuff and hasnt seemed to read anything written on this site by Erik or Mike or other smart people.-Sometimes he is on point and sometimes he misses out on things that have gotten-Rightly-a LOT OF play on the site.[quote name="saevel25" url="/t/72071/what-does-in-between-flexes-mean#post_941021"] Actually most golfers have repeatable swings. Most of them are just repeatably bad. If you took ten videos of the same golfer, you wouldn't see difference in the swing. We are only talking a few degrees in swing path and club face. It isn't noticeable by the naked eye or video camera.[/quote]

"The expert golfer has maximum time to make minimal compensations. The poorer player has minimal time to make maximum compensations." - And no, I'm not Mac. Please do not PM me about it. I just think he is a crazy MFer and we could all use a little more crazy sometimes.

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Posted
I have recently heard of installing shafts one club higher or lower to get a stiffer regular by putting a 4 iron shaft in a 5 iron or a slightly softer shaft the other way, like others here have said too much techno mumbo jumbo for me as well but that's something else to throw around the tee while waiting.


I think it's just the opposite.  A 4 iron shaft is routinely tip-trimmed 1/2" less than a 5 iron, so putting a 4 iron shaft in a 5 iron would be soft-stepping, right?

Anyway, to the OP's original question, modifying any shaft by trimming will alter its characteristics. So the ball flight will be altered.


Note: This thread is 4359 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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    • Please see this topic for updated information:
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    • When you've been teaching golf as long as I have, you're going to find that you can teach some things better than you previously had, and you're probably going to find some things that you taught incorrectly. I don't see that as a bad thing — what would be worse is refusing to adapt and grow given new information. I've always said that my goal with my instruction isn't to be right, but it's to get things right. To that end, I'm about five years late in issuing a public proclamation on something… When I first got my GEARS system, I immediately looked at the golf swings of the dozens and dozens of Tour players for which I suddenly had full 3D data. I created a huge spreadsheet showing how their bodies moved, how the club moved, at various points in the swing. I mapped knee and elbow angles, hand speeds, shoulder turns and pelvis turns… etc. I re-considered what I thought I knew about the golf swing as performed by the best players. 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