Swing speed/shaft fit question

[Flooder]

okay so the wife and I hit the golf store today and spent a couple hours drooling over all the shiny new equipment :desire: (mind you neither of us has anything in our bag more than 2 years old except my 5 wood )

I was playing with the TM SuperTri (my current lust item) and noticing my swing speed jumping around. So this is my first question - for those of you who know your number, what's the range your swing normally falls in?

Most of my swings were 98-103 but I had outliers as high as 113 and 116. Would you think these swings were better technique, mechanical error of the sensor or something else?

Based on the 100ish swing speed would you expect me to be a regular or a stiff shaft? The fitting guy at the store took one look at my swing and said I was a stiff. He asked me about my current driver (FTIQ in regular shaft) and immediately said, "you lose it right I bet". I do, and the damn thing is preset draw! Thoughts? TIA for any help...

 

[JB]

Based on the 100ish swing speed would you expect me to be a regular or a stiff shaft? The fitting guy at the store took one look at my swing and said I was a stiff. He asked me about my current driver (FTIQ in regular shaft) and immediately said, "you lose it right I bet". I do, and the damn thing is preset draw! Thoughts? TIA for any help...

One thing you MUST remember is that all shafts are not created equally. One companies stiff is another companies regular or XS.

 

[Dazinkster]

Yep, I've been looking at numerous clubs (both irons and the big sticks) and shafts over the past few weeks. Obviously I agree with JB. But I'd go one step further, different shafts tend to work well with different clubs. Just because one shaft is good for you with one club, doesn't mean it'll work with another one.

If you can, try and go to see someone with lots of previous experience and let him (or her) advise you on what would be best for you. I recently got fitted with a new driver shaft, I'd have put money on the fact that I'd have been a stiff (swing speed 100-110mph) but the fitter put me in a regular Shimada (sp?) shaft. He didn't tell me this until after I sang its praises, lol. I thought a regular shaft would be too whippy for me to control, what do i know?!

 

[Schweitzer_07]

When I got fitted, I was pretty consistent in the 112-115 area. I didn't really jump all over the place as you mentioned, so I really am not sure what would have caused that. But like everyone has said, the shafts will play differently, and losing the ball right may not be a result of your shaft at all. I'd go to a professional and let them see your swing with your current driver and see what they say about that. It may be the shaft, but then again it may be a result of leaving the club face open, not rolling your wrists, or a multitude of other swing related factors. Just my thoughts on it.

 

[Hanks]

okay so the wife and I hit the golf store today and spent a couple hours drooling over all the shiny new equipment :desire: (mind you neither of us has anything in our bag more than 2 years old except my 5 wood )

I was playing with the TM SuperTri (my current lust item) and noticing my swing speed jumping around. So this is my first question - for those of you who know your number, what's the range your swing normally falls in?

Most of my swings were 98-103 but I had outliers as high as 113 and 116. Would you think these swings were better technique, mechanical error of the sensor or something else?

Based on the 100ish swing speed would you expect me to be a regular or a stiff shaft? The fitting guy at the store took one look at my swing and said I was a stiff. He asked me about my current driver (FTIQ in regular shaft) and immediately said, "you lose it right I bet". I do, and the damn thing is preset draw! Thoughts? TIA for any help...

my swing speeds are almost identical to your and I tend to do better with a S flex. My like JB said, not all shafts are created equal. Example- the VooDoo shaft in my VR driver is a R flex but is certainly stiffer than the R flex shaft found in a TM SuperFast.

 

[h2ojon]

From my experience when a shaft is to soft you will loose it to the LEFT not Right because the shaft is able to kick at the bottom of the swing. Where as if the shaft is to stiff it is not able to kick at the end and the club face will stay open.

 

[bpipe95]

From my experience when a shaft is to soft you will loose it to the LEFT not Right because the shaft is able to kick at the bottom of the swing. Where as if the shaft is to stiff it is not able to kick at the end and the club face will stay open.

I think you have it backwards.

 

[Dazinkster]

From my experience when a shaft is to soft you will loose it to the LEFT not Right because the shaft is able to kick at the bottom of the swing. Where as if the shaft is to stiff it is not able to kick at the end and the club face will stay open.

I was under this impression too...question for the pro perhaps?

If indeed you do lose it to the right with a softer shaft then I can go to my local Direct Golf store and tell them they were wrong and a bunch of mugs!! lol

 

[JB]

People's swings can make misses different, but I can tell you when a shaft is too soft for me, my miss is to the right (RH Golfer)

 

[Hanks]

Echoing some sentiment here but if a shaft is too soft or 'whippy' for me, my misses and straight blocks to the right

 

[h2ojon]

Like everything else in golf it may be different for each person. I know that in my hybrid and my 3W I had a bad snap hook with those two clubs and no other and they had the stock stiff shaft in them. My instructor who is one of the top 50 junior instructors in the nation said that I should try an X flex shaft. I got new shafts and the snap hooks were gone. But everyone has different experiences with different equipment.

 

[Flooder]

Alright, thanks to everyone for the feedback. I know I need a professional to do this right, I was just looking for some general consensus. Besides, having just spent way too much on my current driver 16 months ago, the wife is never going to go for me making a change now. I'm so mad at myself for that purchase decision. Bought it at a demo day and noone spent more than 5 minutes with me - WHAT WAS I THINKING

 

[PiratePenguin]

I think many who swing normal with a weak shaft will go right, while others try to compensate for that and get handsy and thus develop the quick hook. Regardless - wrong shaft = bad.

 

[TC]

ironically, i have about a swing speed avg of around 101 mph, and i have the 72gram, miyazaki black shaft in my driver. never thought i swung fast enough to warrant it, but somehow it suits me just perfectly.

 

[revrat]

The fitting guy at the store took one look at my swing and said I was a stiff.

I've been told that before, but I don't think it meant the same thing it meant when it was said to you.

 

[EJR2]

I have always been told that a stiffer shaft will result in balls going right. From a physics standpoint the swing is too slow to bend the shaft and so on the downswing the club face will stay open. With a softer shaft and a faster swing the shaft flexes too early closing the clubface at impact. Granted different swings will result in different results but if you put a stiff shaft on an Iron Byron and set it to swing at 80 mph, I think you should see the ball go right.

 

[Gus R]

I have always found for my swing a stiffer shaft will go right.I am a swinger of the club so I can't load a stiffer shaft properly and the lower body will get slightly ahead of the shaft. With a softer shaft if I miss it will go left. I have seen tendencies just the opposite from mine when fitting players back about 5 years or so. If a player is a hitter more than likely they will hit a soft shaft to the right. No two people swing alike so there will be some who hit a soft shaft left and some who hit it right.

 

[JPsuff]

I have always found for my swing a stiffer shaft will go right.I am a swinger of the club so I can't load a stiffer shaft properly and the lower body will get slightly ahead of the shaft. With a softer shaft if I miss it will go left. I have seen tendencies just the opposite from mine when fitting players back about 5 years or so. If a player is a hitter more than likely they will hit a soft shaft to the right. No two people swing alike so there will be some who hit a soft shaft left and some who hit it right.

I think your comments are the closest to being right on the money.

It all has to do with how someone loads a shaft.

As you said, you're a "swinger" of the club which means that your overall motion is smooth from start to finish and with that type of swing a stiffer shaft will miss right. To correct this, a weaker shaft is in order.

But a "hitter" has an aggressive move to the ball from the top and loads the shaft dramatically and a weaker shaft will tend to twist open as the clubhead reaches the ball and will also miss right. So the correction for that would mean going to a stiffer shaft.


-JP