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Swing speed vs shaft

ShackShaker said:
All i had to realize was use forward shaft length on my short game. got a practice net and 24 practice balls. do 24 balls from about 5 different distances(24 each 5) a day. learned where i get the best shot on my foot placement and an open stance.
Got a little putting green too. Sunk my first 40 foot put for an eagle the other day. I play the courses here 3 times a week. I played baseball and hockey, so this whole stick and ball thing is pretty simple. Just club selection my man.

goto the range hit around 10 balls on each club. write down the rough estimate distance of each shot and club. Bring with you. and do this everytime at the range. Took strokes off my game in a month. and switched to forged from cavity and that helped my short to a huge degree. cavity irons arent very dependable...
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your last two lines really confused me,or are you confused,switched to forged from cavity?
 
I took video today at the range using my Burner 2.0 with a stiff shaft. In slow-mo that shaft bends the head almost to my elbow...haha
That can't be good? How much bend should I have?
 
BulldogsGolf said:
I think that the shaft weight matters, but not the flex. I use myself as an example. I have a SS of about 95, and my driver has a stiff shaft. I still hit it out there 250-280 w/ roll.
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I think in your case you are probably a stiff shaft, but might need to focus on shaft weight like Bulldogs said. The right weight will help keep you tempo and help produce a more consistent swing.
 
I was on a launch monitor today and tried a few different shafts. I ended up averaging 100mph SS with the 7 irons they had me swing. I hit a Ping i15 with a regular flex graphite shaft, the 2.0 with a regular graphite shaft, razr x with steel stiff shaft and Diablo Forged with reg flex steel shafts.

I was told when I was younger that graphite was for the older slower swing speeds. I hit the burners consistently (25 balls) with a 201 carry and 208 roll no more than 3 yards left or right of the target. I hit the i15s consistently with 195yd carry and 201 roll within 8 yards of the target and I hit the razrs 186yd carry, 190 roll and was all over the board with swing speed and landing area. The burners had SuperFast 65 graphite shafts and the i15s had the TFC 149 reg flex graphite.

So now I'm thoroughly confused, I had to leave before I could get more definitive information but like I said, I always thought and was told by fitters that graphite reg flex is for slower swing speeds.

I'm not trying to hijack your thread here Shack but I'm having the same questions basically...
 
You swung 100 with irons? That's really high. Is your driver SS in the 120+ range? As a rule of thumb Graphite shafts are lighter and longer than their steel counterparts. This could explain the higher SS and increased distance. With a SS like that on a reg shaft I bet the ball would go 45 miles in the air. I suspect the monitor may be off, been known to happen. It was a monitor right? Not a simulator? If all your numbers are accurate I would venture to say regular graphite flex would be difficult for you to control.

My 6I speed is lower to mid 80s and when I hit my wife's ladies flex graphite shafts I have ZERO control over where the ball is going. They are about 2 flexes too soft and that is what you were with the regular shafts. 100 SS with irons, even long ones, would equate to a driver SS of at least 110 if not 120-125 MPH. This is X flex territory.
 
griff said:
You swung 100 with irons? That's really high. Is your driver SS in the 120+ range? As a rule of thumb Graphite shafts are lighter and longer than their steel counterparts. This could explain the higher SS and increased distance. With a SS like that on a reg shaft I bet the ball would go 45 miles in the air. I suspect the monitor may be off, been known to happen. It was a monitor right? Not a simulator? If all your numbers are accurate I would venture to say regular graphite flex would be difficult for you to control.

My 6I speed is lower to mid 80s and when I hit my wife's ladies flex graphite shafts I have ZERO control over where the ball is going. They are about 2 flexes too soft and that is what you were with the regular shafts. 100 SS with irons, even long ones, would equate to a driver SS of at least 110 if not 120-125 MPH. This is X flex territory.
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The last time I was on a monitor hitting driver I was avg 113mph. I couldn't understand it either, but I do truly hit my 7iron previously a Cleveland TA5 stiff steel shaft 200 carry and currently my Nike SlingShot 7iron steel stiff shaft 200 carry as well on the course. I hadn't had swing speed checked on the irons before and I've definitely heard that some stores will juice the monitors. It was definitely not a simulator.

I'm going to go to a different store today and try again... see what happens.
 
Graphite shafts go longer than steel. The reason steel is more common is that irons and wedges are accuracy clubs. Steel is much more consistent material than graphite, therefore more accurate but not meant for the most distance. Slower swings speeds can get more distance with graphite and since less force is exerted onto the shaft, the decrease in accuracy is minimized. I'm on the cell so sorry if this isn't too properly explained!
 
lcsmrtn said:
Graphite shafts go longer than steel. The reason steel is more common is that irons and wedges are accuracy clubs. Steel is much more consistent material than graphite, therefore more accurate but not meant for the most distance. Slower swings speeds can get more distance with graphite and since less force is exerted onto the shaft, the decrease in accuracy is minimized. I'm on the cell so sorry if this isn't too properly explained!
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This make a lot of sense and thank you for that explanation. I had not heard it from that respect before (bad fittings!).
 
Graphite is used a lot of times because older people have bad joints as well. They don't want all that stinging vibration in their hands, elbows, and sometimes shoulders.


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lcsmrtn said:
Graphite shafts go longer than steel. The reason steel is more common is that irons and wedges are accuracy clubs. Steel is much more consistent material than graphite, therefore more accurate but not meant for the most distance. Slower swings speeds can get more distance with graphite and since less force is exerted onto the shaft, the decrease in accuracy is minimized. I'm on the cell so sorry if this isn't too properly explained!
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This is why my 5W has a steel shaft and why I have a backup 3W with a steel shaft that I put in the bag to play narrow layouts. The steel shaft 3W is probably 15-20 yards shorter on average but very straight.
 
Spaceman_Spiff said:
The last time I was on a monitor hitting driver I was avg 113mph. I couldn't understand it either, but I do truly hit my 7iron previously a Cleveland TA5 stiff steel shaft 200 carry and currently my Nike SlingShot 7iron steel stiff shaft 200 carry as well on the course. I hadn't had swing speed checked on the irons before and I've definitely heard that some stores will juice the monitors. It was definitely not a simulator.

I'm going to go to a different store today and try again... see what happens.
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It's probably right Spaceman. If your driver SS is 113, 100 SS with graphite shafted irons is not unreasonable. They are lighter and longer in length. With steel you may drop back in the 90s. I would worry about controlling those regular shafts with your SS.
 
My avg SS is around 110 with the driver. I was fit for a stiff shaft. It was recommended that I go to xstiff to lower my spin rate (~4000).

Oh btw. My top SS ever was 132. And I have done this on a couple different monitors. :) but I can't control it at all.

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jefrazie said:
My avg SS is around 110 with the driver. I was fit for a stiff shaft. It was recommended that I go to xstiff to lower my spin rate (~4000).

Oh btw. My top SS ever was 132. And I have done this on a couple different monitors. :) but I can't control it at all.

Sent from my Epic 4g using Tapatalk.
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Last edited:
I have a question. What flex shaft would be best if I'm used to hitting the PX 5.5. Should I go R or S? I know a fitting would be best. But I figured I'd ask anyways. Thinking shafts at the moment. If I had to guess my driver swing speed is around 100. Give or take 5 mph. But I feel it's higher once I'm in mid season form if that makes sense. I plan on going to see what my driver swing speed is so I can make an accurate decision. Just thought I'd ask you guys who know more about shafts than I do.
 
Bullfrog said:
I have a question. What flex shaft would be best if I'm used to hitting the PX 5.5. Should I go R or S? I know a fitting would be best. But I figured I'd ask anyways. Thinking shafts at the moment. If I had to guess my driver swing speed is around 100. Give or take 5 mph. But I feel it's higher once I'm in mid season form if that makes sense. I plan on going to see what my driver swing speed is so I can make an accurate decision. Just thought I'd ask you guys who know more about shafts than I do.
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I use PX 5.5 in my irons and stiff in my hybrids and 3wood. I had stiff in my driver up until a couple of weeks ago and now it's an R despite all indicators saying it should be stiff as well. I have a smooth tempo, which is why R in the driver works for me. My driver swing speed is 101-103.
 
Bullfrog said:
I have a question. What flex shaft would be best if I'm used to hitting the PX 5.5. Should I go R or S? I know a fitting would be best. But I figured I'd ask anyways. Thinking shafts at the moment. If I had to guess my driver swing speed is around 100. Give or take 5 mph. But I feel it's higher once I'm in mid season form if that makes sense. I plan on going to see what my driver swing speed is so I can make an accurate decision. Just thought I'd ask you guys who know more about shafts than I do.
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5.5 used to be reg. flex in these shafts so that should be a safe transition. But it's really about how you load the club. If you have a great deal of lag, I'd go stiff but if that lag is minimal...reg flex all day
 
Bullfrog said:
I have a question. What flex shaft would be best if I'm used to hitting the PX 5.5. Should I go R or S? I know a fitting would be best. But I figured I'd ask anyways. Thinking shafts at the moment. If I had to guess my driver swing speed is around 100. Give or take 5 mph. But I feel it's higher once I'm in mid season form if that makes sense. I plan on going to see what my driver swing speed is so I can make an accurate decision. Just thought I'd ask you guys who know more about shafts than I do.
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Is there a certain shaft you are looking at. KBS has a great tool on their website and experts in the KBS Official thread could answer any questions you may have.

http://kbsgolfshafts.com/fit-system

http://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/showthread.php?32742-**-KBS-Shafts-Official-Thread-**
 
Tadashi70 said:
5.5 used to be reg. flex in these shafts so that should be a safe transition. But it's really about how you load the club. If you have a great deal of lag, I'd go stiff but if that lag is minimal...reg flex all day
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Stupid question here.... How do I know if I have a great deal of lag? I'm gonna go and get my swing speeds but in the meantime. I'm just testing the waters.
 
Tempo and release point are usually greater contributors to shaft flex selection than swingspeed. A person with a smooth transition and mid release could easily use PX 5.0 with a 100 MPH driver swingspeed. Someone with an aggressive transition or late release could easily go to 6.0 at 100 MPH.

Bullfrog said:
I have a question. What flex shaft would be best if I'm used to hitting the PX 5.5. Should I go R or S? I know a fitting would be best. But I figured I'd ask anyways. Thinking shafts at the moment. If I had to guess my driver swing speed is around 100. Give or take 5 mph. But I feel it's higher once I'm in mid season form if that makes sense. I plan on going to see what my driver swing speed is so I can make an accurate decision. Just thought I'd ask you guys who know more about shafts than I do.
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Bullfrog said:
Stupid question here.... How do I know if I have a great deal of lag? I'm gonna go and get my swing speeds but in the meantime. I'm just testing the waters.
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If you ever get your swing video'd, you can really tell in the slow-mo.
 
check this out *of course, like other have said already, it is not just the swing speed. there are other factors to be considered.

http://www.golfsmith.com/display?page=learn_how5

SWING SPEED CONVERSION CHART
When a swing speed device is not available, this chart may be used to approximate swing speed based on driver carry distance or the club used to approach the green from 150 yards. (Based on average club lengths and lofts.)
Shaft FlexDriver
Swing Speed (mph)		Driver
Carry Distance (yards)		Club from 150 yards
Extra-Stiff105 +260 +8 or 9-iron
Stiff90-105240-2606 or 7-iron
Regular80-95210-2405 or 6-iron
Flexible (A-Flex)70-85180-2104-iron
LadiesLess than 70Less than 1803-iron/lofted wood

 
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