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Driver Shaft - How Did You Decide?

Nippon Shafts
I have read many articles on shafts, reviews from different sites, and tried many out through trial and error. Prior to the R9 era where you were not able to just plug in and out different shafts, it was a bit more tasking to demo different shafts. If a particular store had a brand with more than one brand/type of shaft it was a commodity. I have been on launch monitors with different drivers and some shafts produced more swing speed than others. Most of my knowledge with shafts has come the hard way. Pay and play or hit some of my friends drivers and hope for a good fit. The past trip to the THP outing at WPB was the most interesting and informative way of testing out shafts, drivers, irons, putters, you name it to get the real feel deal. JB & team not only had several options but some of the equipment you could take out on the course for a real time test drive! I know for a fact one of the shaft/head combos I would have never considered had it not been for demo day at WPB. I had bad luck with all light weight shaft driver combos and the demo day at West Palm Beach hosted by THP made me a believer. I have no doubt a demo such as the one THP hosted ,is the best way of finding what works for you.
 
TC said:
yeah, definitely know which one you need first man
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Yea I know :confused2:

JB said:
They dont. TC tested 3 shafts for us as part of a staff testing program and wanted one, so Miyazaki offered him a demo shaft at a slightly reduced price.
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Ah ok I did not think I saw a place on their site for purchases.
 
I changed the shafts in my woods because I knew something wasn't right for me with the stock SuperFast shafts. Since I got the clubs for free in a drawing, I wasn't about to sell them off or give them away. I walked in to Golf Galaxy and hit a few balls in their simulator. They looked at my swing speed and launch angle, then proceeded to search through their clearance bags to find a Grafalloy ProLaunch Red (for the driver) and Epic (for the 3 wood). I walked out a couple of hours later with those shafts installed in my clubs and I continued my road trip to meet royalwulff for a round in the morning with the new weapons in the bag.
 
Selected the shaft through a full bag fitting process . However still not 100% happy with the shaft in my driver although all the other clubs I was fitted for are fine. Gives me the excuse to keep trying to find "the one".
 
I went through a fitting which ended in an aftermarket shaft recommendation. From this list I picked 3 that had a comfortable shaft weight and general launch caracteristics that I was looking for.
 
My first "big" driver two years ago I just bought the stock shaft and never thought twice about it. That was before THP.

Earlier this year I made the switch to the super-tri. I tired a bunch of drivers, found one that suited me well- and then went about hitting all of the THP shafts at the B+M place. There weren't all that many but I was able to narrow it down to 3 I liked. As I was about to buy the driver a man walked in and sold a SuperTri TP in the shaft that was my #2 choice. I took slightly less performance to save a lot of money.

I gamed that combo for the better part of the summer but after a bridgestone ball fitting I realized how much performance I was leaving on the course. Once I figured out my tendencies I knew that I needed a lower launching shaft. When the outing rolled around I tried the miyazaki blue, black and PX shafts on the supertri and just looked at the numbers. They showed me the black was the shaft for me and I went about picking one up.

TL;DR
I started off not doing anything special. Then tried to fit but let cheapness get in the way. My most recent attempt was on a LM with good shafts and I just went with the best one.
 
I actually tested several different shafts on the course and decided over all the factors. I wasn't fitted for the driver by a certified fitter but since I have a driver that can change shafts easily I went with trial and error.
 
Sorry this is long but tried to be more thorough.
This latest go round, I bought the R9 with a stock shaft (Motore 65 in Stiff) because I got a good price on it. But I did get to hit it & a reg. flex using their monitor. The suggestion was both are close in readings and that since I had & R7 in a R. flex (Matrix Ozik Xcon 5.5) I could buy the S. & have a 30 day playability guaranteed so I could exchange it if I liked. Well I played a lil with it & liked it enough the stiffness helped & I was happy with the distance I was getting but the ball flight was lower than my liking.
I went to Dick's sporting Goods who has a guy that knows how to build & also fit, plus he gives lessons. So I took my Cl. Monster with a Pro Launch Blue in R. The R7 & the R9 & hit balls on the monotor. I hit the Matrix the best but it didn't quite have the launch height, Knowing my swing & how the ball truly flies outdoors. I decided on a Pro Launch Blue in a S & had that made up for my R9. I had him cut the shaft of it & the stock Motore down to 45, be cause hitting balls he had me choke down & I was getting better #s.
Well to make a long story longer. Sat. played a tourney (4 man scramble) in strong wind used the Motore with lower ball flight & hit a bunch of Fairways. The next day played in calm winds playing the P.L. & hit 9 out of 14 fairways, 2 were just off the edge & 1 in a fw bunker.
 
Also like to add that I did alot of research @ manufactures sites, Golfworks, Golfsmith & such for kick points launch angles & other specs.
 
After a fitting session with a local big box store and beating the Hibore driver around for a season, I hit a friends ping g10 driver and liked it. I'm lucky to have a good shop near by that has a great HD simulator for fitting and instruction. We set up a driver fitting session and my numbers worked out the best with the G15 Ping TFC 149D stiff flex stock shaft, standard length with a slightly smaller grip...ID8-Agua. I really wish there was an easier way to demo alternate shafts with this driver head though. I'm very interested in the Miyazaki shaft offerings!!
 
I did a fitting once and they said I should get a Proforce 75 (gold? Not sure here) Stiff. I did hit the ball like there was no tomorrow back then.

I usually just go to a shop and hit the crap out of a lot of different drivers and the best shaft I´ve tried so far is the V2. I´m curious about the lightweight Miyazaki but it´ll be ages before it reaches Scandinavia (probably).

I have a YSQ by graphic design in my 4DX right now and genuinly hate the shaft, its dead to me. Friend of mine bought the 4 DX with V2, so i´ll get around to try that and maybe buy one.
 
I had my 2007 TM Burner reshafted before I joined THP.

I read some great reviews about the UST Proforce V2 - that it had great shot dispersion, was low-launching, and was well-priced. The shot dispersion and launch would definitely help the Burner with its high-launching and very light stock shaft. The shaft and head combo work for me, but since joining THP I now know I'm probably leaving some performance on the table since I wasn't fitted.
 
I hit 3-4 different drivers at a demo day and was recommended a stiff, so the driver I purchased came with the stock shaft with a stiff flex wasn't fitted specifically for the shaft.
 
Never been fitted for my driver shaft. I know I need to but I am waiting until I buy something new to go through the whole process.

Bought a Nickent 4dX Evolver from dirt_guy here on THP and it had the stiff V2 shaft. Just now getting used to it after a few months and am loving it so far!
 
Never been officially fitted, but looking to do in the very near future. Going to look at Miyazaki, but it's been hard seeing as they are still not available in Canada. If all else fails, I'll be spending some quality time with JB and TC come next outing. I have the stock Stiff in the SuperFast as that's what I won at the raffle. I'm usually more of a reg flex (that's what was in my Dymo) but I can maybe get away with a stiff in the SF. For the little bit of time I spent on the Monitor at the last outing it said I'm kinda inbetween reg and stiff, but in the end, closer to reg. Spent 9 holes with the Miyazaki Blue and another 9 with the Project X 6.0 when I played with JB at the outing and both are top notch. I'd be really happy if I could end up with one of those.
 
I worked at GolfGalaxy for a little over 2 years so I used to do some shaft fittings and such. I was able to get some informal fittings there from the pro. However I never really bought what I was fitted for. Last season I purchased a Callaway Diablo and the stock shaft seemed to perform well for me. Going through an online fitting during the summer I picked up a Grafalloy Pro Launch Platinum Axis shaft. The results were a little better than the stock shaft. While at the THP outing I spent a decent amount of time hitting different shafts in the SuperTri head. I loved the feel of the Project X and the numbers were pretty good too. I ended up grabbing a PX 6.0 as soon as I got back from the outing.
 
A friend's recommendation turned into a lucky guess. GD YS-6 shaft is perfect for me and the clubhead.

I've had it for 6-7 years now. The area I live doesn't have anything fancy now (fitting centers, launch monitors, etc.), much less that long ago. You guess and hope you get it right.
 
Went to a Bridgestone ball fitting and they said my spin rate was too low. Went to a club repair and told him my problem and my specs that I knew. I also told him I wanted to keep the weight of the club the same or lighter (TM 07 Burner). He suggested a Graffaloy Blue 45. So far that one has been working the best.
 
StLCardsFan said:
A friend's recommendation turned into a lucky guess. GD YS-6 shaft is perfect for me and the clubhead.

I've had it for 6-7 years now. The area I live doesn't have anything fancy now (fitting centers, launch monitors, etc.), much less that long ago. You guess and hope you get it right.
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They don't have monitors in Bolivar, MO??? Who would have thought. The whole guessing game is much more exciting right? Plus, if your driver is performing, then do you really need a monitor to confirm it. My only concern would be that the guessing game could get expensive if I guess wrong... ugh.
 
Guy from the Titleist Performance center called me today and told me they don't have all their shafts yet and won't have them till late November. Even though I wouldn't even be able to use it till next season this is killing me!
 
Ol' Gray had a Graphite Design YS6 regular flex shaft in the closet that he had once used in his R9. I didn't like the standard shaft that came with my driver so I tried that one and it has worked out good for me.
 
JRod said:
Guy from the Titleist Performance center called me today and told me they don't have all their shafts yet and won't have them till late November. Even though I wouldn't even be able to use it till next season this is killing me!
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That sucks. Do they have heated bays there? Man, I think you should just wait until May and go to the outing.
 
Hawk said:
That sucks. Do they have heated bays there? Man, I think you should just wait until May and go to the outing.
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Thats what I am leaning to. Yeah its heated and an all year round deal, but the more I talk to this guy I think I would rather just wait and talk to JB and everyone else at the outing. No salespeople and honest opinions. From the sounds of it the launch monitor is a difficult tool to get ahold of though.
 
JRod said:
From the sounds of it the launch monitor is a difficult tool to get ahold of though.
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Not this time. Sign up sheet and each person gets a set amount of time that way everybody will be covered.
 
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