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Made for (stock) vs after market shafts

Nippon Shafts
Tadashi70

Tadashi70

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I hear and have heard this my entire golfing career. Made for shafts aren't the real deal and the real shafts are after market shaft. I'm confused, do they just haphazardly slap some graphite together and jam it into the club head for stock. I find this very hard to believe.

Are we to believe that stock shafts are bad?! I've played and am playing stock shafts in two of my woods and I play them well. So what's the story?
 
Stock shafts aren't bad.

Shaft snobs are bad.
 
I look at is as, "if the shoe fits, wear it."

In this case, "If the shaft works, use it." Rather that be stock, aftermarket, homemade, pink, green....think you get my point.
 
Part of me wants my shiny new toy to have a super cool aftermarket shaft in there. The other part of me knows that my swing actually fits stock shafts really well. Usually the stock shaft that is in a driver at the big box stores is going to play a little softer but it will say stiff. Most of us hackers don't need a true stiff shaft. IMO anyway
 
Plus dang if that shaft that comes in the Covert Tour was not perfect for my swing. That will be the shaft I order with the Performance head
 
I think stock offerings have improved greatly over the last few years in terms of quality. I loved the stock Titleist 'Ahina, and only switched because I wanted to go with something in an X flex. My thing with some of the stock offerings is, sometimes they look freaking awful visually. Take Cobra's AMP Cell hybrid line for instance. I am absolutely jacked for this line of hybrids, but I can't stand the look of the shaft and head cover, so upgrading will be priority one once I pull the trigger. For all I know, the stock shaft offering could be the best fit for my game. But if I can't stand the look of it, I am not going to enjoy it and will always have hesitation in what I am playing.
 
I really don't know much about it but my impression has been that "made for" shafts are designed to give good results for a wider range of golfers where aftermarket shafts are intended to give more specific results to fit individual swing types. I don't know if that's correct but it's what I get out of it.
 
I didn't even realize there was a difference until a few years ago. Can't say as it's made a difference, other than understanding why some prices are so much more for what superficially looks to be the same.
 
I think made-for shafts are "made for" a wide range of golfers. It doesn't mean they are good or bad. Sometimes they are good for some people, and bad for others. At the end of the day getting on a monitor and trying them is the only way to know.

I don't believe they are junk, I still think they are of high quality and "made for" shouldn't matter. Just if they fit or not
 
I honestly wish I knew more about shafts then I do. I am one of those people that will get fit for shafts to make sure I am getting what is best for me, and if that is the stock offering, so be it.
 
Just some quick information about this topic, it basically comes down to quality. Answer me this, do you want something that was made in China or made in Japan? The made for shafts are manufactured and built at the Chinese foundries based on there local raw materials, which leads to lower tolerances. Now the opposite is said of the aftermarket shafts which are created in Japanese foundries using higher quality materials and thus higher tolerances. This is probably why you'll see people say, the aftermarket ahina will feel a lot stiffer than the made for Titleist ahina. Which is actually true. Is this going to benefit any of our games? Can the average Joe tell the performance difference? The answer is no. Why I favor aftermarket shafts is not just cause I know I'm receiving something of quality, but I also know the specs of the shaft.
 
yorkem said:
I honestly wish I knew more about shafts then I do. I am one of those people that will get fit for shafts to make sure I am getting what is best for me, and if that is the stock offering, so be it.
Click to expand...

Truth! Like the old saying, KISS.
 
yorkem said:
I honestly wish I knew more about shafts then I do. I am one of those people that will get fit for shafts to make sure I am getting what is best for me, and if that is the stock offering, so be it.
Click to expand...

sleuth said:
Just some quick information about this topic, it basically comes down to quality. Answer me this, do you want something that was made in China or made in Japan? The made for shafts are manufactured and built at the Chinese foundries based on there local raw materials, which leads to lower tolerances. Now the opposite is said of the aftermarket shafts which are created in Japanese foundries using higher quality materials and thus higher tolerances. This is probably why you'll see people say, the aftermarket ahina will feel a lot stiffer than the made for Titleist ahina. Which is actually true. Is this going to benefit any of our games? Can the average Joe tell the performance difference? The answer is no. Why I favor aftermarket shafts is not just cause I know I'm receiving something of quality, but I also know the specs of the shaft.
Click to expand...

I quoted myself and bolded the first part because the post by Sleuth is a perfect example of what I am talking about. I had no idea about any of this. Appreciate you passing on the knowledge.
 
sleuth said:
Just some quick information about this topic, it basically comes down to quality. Answer me this, do you want something that was made in China or made in Japan? The made for shafts are manufactured and built at the Chinese foundries based on there local raw materials, which leads to lower tolerances. Now the opposite is said of the aftermarket shafts which are created in Japanese foundries using higher quality materials and thus higher tolerances. This is probably why you'll see people say, the aftermarket ahina will feel a lot stiffer than the made for Titleist ahina. Which is actually true. Is this going to benefit any of our games? Can the average Joe tell the performance difference? The answer is no. Why I favor aftermarket shafts is not just cause I know I'm receiving something of quality, but I also know the specs of the shaft.
Click to expand...

While this can be the case, it is not definitely not always the case. A standard shaft is "Made For" an existing club head and almost every time built to different specs on purpose. In the case of the Ahina, it was done for a specific reason of ball flight to work with the Titleist driver head. Just as the last two Fujikura shafts have been done that way for TaylorMade heads. It was not about making a lesser quality product, but a product that is made specifically for the head it is going into at standard.
 
JB said:
While this can be the case, it is not definitely not always the case. A standard shaft is "Made For" an existing club head and almost every time built to different specs on purpose. In the case of the Ahina, it was done for a specific reason of ball flight to work with the Titleist driver head. Just as the last two Fujikura shafts have been done that way for TaylorMade heads. It was not about making a lesser quality product, but a product that is made specifically for the head it is going into at standard.
Click to expand...

Man, I wish I could take a class on shafts. I feel like my knowledge is really limited, and would love to learn more.
 
I don't think stock/made-for is always bad, I DO think that some companies seem to do their due diligence in pairings much better/more than others (Adams and PING come to mind immediately on the positive side of it).

I know what fits me, so if that makes me a "shaft snob" as Blu claims, then so be it. :alien:
 
yorkem said:
Man, I wish I could take a class on shafts. I feel like my knowledge is really limited, and would love to learn more.
Click to expand...

You can. Listen to the Tim Gillis interviews on THP. There are 3-4 of them and every one is filled with this information straight from one of the most knowledgeable shaft experts there is.
 
JB said:
While this can be the case, it is not definitely not always the case. A standard shaft is "Made For" an existing club head and almost every time built to different specs on purpose. In the case of the Ahina, it was done for a specific reason of ball flight to work with the Titleist driver head. Just as the last two Fujikura shafts have been done that way for TaylorMade heads. It was not about making a lesser quality product, but a product that is made specifically for the head it is going into at standard.
Click to expand...
I agree, but at the same time that gets back to my last point why I prefer aftermarket. You know the specs and what you're obtaining. The market is getting even more clouded with club manufacturer's saying they're authentic shafts, when it's actually just a grey area. They're authentic in the sense that they are not being built by Titleist, Callaway, TM, etc. but they're still coming out of Chinese foundries with different tolerances. I've seen Made in China AD-DI shafts out there from Callaway pulls.

Another good example of a night and day difference is the Callaway RIP'd NV shaft vs. the aftermarket RIP'd NV shaft.
 
sleuth said:
I agree, but at the same time that gets back to my last point why I prefer aftermarket. You know the specs and what you're obtaining. The market is getting even more clouded with club manufacturer's saying they're authentic shafts, when it's actually just a grey area. They're authentic in the sense that they are not being built by Titleist, Callaway, TM, etc. but they're still coming out of Chinese foundries with different tolerances. I've seen Made in China AD-DI shafts out there from Callaway pulls.

Another good example of a night and day difference is the Callaway RIP'd NV shaft vs. the aftermarket RIP'd NV shaft.
Click to expand...

Understand though too that for those of us who DO know specifically what we want as far as spec's on a shaft go, we are the VAST minority. Most people buy a club and play it as is until they buy then next, hence why the shafts are tuned by the companies for that club to fit the BROADEST margin possible.
 
sleuth said:
I agree, but at the same time that gets back to my last point why I prefer aftermarket. You know the specs and what you're obtaining. The market is getting even more clouded with club manufacturer's saying they're authentic shafts, when it's actually just a grey area. They're authentic in the sense that they are not being built by Titleist, Callaway, TM, etc. but they're still coming out of Chinese foundries with different tolerances. I've seen Made in China AD-DI shafts out there from Callaway pulls.

Another good example of a night and day difference is the Callaway RIP'd NV shaft vs. the aftermarket RIP'd NV shaft.
Click to expand...

This is a perfect example of something I call ease of mind. Nobody knows what they are getting. Why you ask? Because there is no standardization in shaft measurements/quality. Something being made somewhere might ease one person's mind, but I can tell you for fact that they are off in this thinking based on materials used. With no standardization of measurement, and no companies outside of say a Miyazaki that is willing to create one, there is no way to tell any information outside of what a company is telling you.
 
JB said:
This is a perfect example of something I call ease of mind. Nobody knows what they are getting. Why you ask? Because there is no standardization in shaft measurements/quality. Something being made somewhere might ease one person's mind, but I can tell you for fact that they are off in this thinking based on materials used. With no standardization of measurement, and no companies outside of say a Miyazaki that is willing to create one, there is no way to tell any information outside of what a company is telling you.
Click to expand...


This is why Cleveland's custom shaft catalog is so cool. It gives the Intl Flex code for all the shafts that are available in their custom program.
 
JB said:
This is a perfect example of something I call ease of mind. Nobody knows what they are getting. Why you ask? Because there is no standardization in shaft measurements/quality. Something being made somewhere might ease one person's mind, but I can tell you for fact that they are off in this thinking based on materials used. With no standardization of measurement, and no companies outside of say a Miyazaki that is willing to create one, there is no way to tell any information outside of what a company is telling you.
Click to expand...
You're absolutely right. One reason why I used to only play Mitsubishi Rayon shafts. When you stick with one manufacturer it's quite easy to discern. The issue arises when you have a mixed bag and no universal measurement system and feel plays a crucial role. I know this from my own experience since I only ventured out over a year ago to other manufacturer's. There is so much equipment out there to toy and play with I cannot help myself!
 
Jman said:
Understand though too that for those of us who DO know specifically what we want as far as spec's on a shaft go, we are the VAST minority. Most people buy a club and play it as is until they buy then next, hence why the shafts are tuned by the companies for that club to fit the BROADEST margin possible.
Click to expand...

You mean I was right? Wow, this place is really making me smart. Three years ago I didn't even know shafts came in different flexes, and now look at me go.:act-up:
 
JB said:
You can. Listen to the Tim Gillis interviews on THP. There are 3-4 of them and every one is filled with this information straight from one of the most knowledgeable shaft experts there is.
Click to expand...

Thnk you sir. Heading there now.
 
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