Playing the wrong shaft?

mikedean441

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Was thinking about my recent "driver fitting" at Golf Galaxy and realized that my swign speed is much slower than it used to be, as Ive tried to have more of a controlled swing.

Right now I recall most of the swing speeds being around 95 with a few near 98, but all in all closer to 95.

Is there a rule of thumb as far as whether or not I should be playing a stiff shafted driver? Browsing some sites online and the consensus seems to be if you are playing too stiff of a shaft, you will have less distance and hit the ball to the right...THATS ME

thoughts?
 
During your fitting, did you hit different shafts as to weight and flex? That's the good thing about lots of the new drivers, you can try lots of different shafts in the same head.

In my opinion, the head of the club is far less important than finding the right shaft.

My current driver is by far the best driver I have ever had because of the shaft. We are lucky enough to have an excellent fitter here, he is set up where we hit to the range from his indoor launch monitor station. He found the right shaft for me almost instantly but then had me hit 5 or 6 more shafts in the same driver on the launch monitor. It was eyepopping to see the differences among all the shafts.

Don't get hung up over a label like stiff keep an open mind and try lots of different shafts.
 
During your fitting, did you hit different shafts as to weight and flex? That's the good thing about lots of the new drivers, you can try lots of different shafts in the same head.

In my opinion, the head of the club is far less important than finding the right shaft.

My current driver is by far the best driver I have ever had because of the shaft. We are lucky enough to have an excellent fitter here, he is set up where we hit to the range from his indoor launch monitor station. He found the right shaft for me almost instantly but then had me hit 5 or 6 more shafts in the same driver on the launch monitor. It was eyepopping to see the differences among all the shafts.

Don't get hung up over a label like stiff keep an open mind and try lots of different shafts.

NO I havent hit multiple shafts, with my R9 I tried it in the store last year, thought I hit it well and walked out with it....lesson learned

The "fitting" I hti last week was a waste of everyones time and money and Im pretty much back to square one
 
NO I havent hit multiple shafts, with my R9 I tried it in the store last year, thought I hit it well and walked out with it....lesson learned

The "fitting" I hti last week was a waste of everyones time and money and Im pretty much back to square one

I too learned the hard way never to buy a driver that you hit a few times on a monitor under perfect indoor conditions where you don't know for certain the guy running the computer knows what the heck he is doing or that it is not intentionally set to give good numbers just to sell you the club. I won't ever buy one again that I haven't taken it to the range and even played a round with it, and then I would only buy the one I tested if I liked it, no switching.
 
If you're ever headed up to Columbus let me know. I've got several R9 shafts that I have rotated through. I'm currently using a Grafalloy ProLaunch Red (R flex) and it's working very well for me. I've not been professionally fitted but I know that generally speaking I have a high ball flight and somewhat higher spin so I look for shafts that are lower launching and lower spinning. The other that has worked well for me is a UST Proforce V2 Tour Flight (also an R flex). I have a slower swing speed (90 - 95 mph) so I don't need a stiff flex. But I do have a couple of stiff flex R9 shafts. You're welcome to try any of 'em.
 
Well, I know I am playing with the wrong flex, but in the other direction. My shaft is too weak, which I am convinced is WAY worse than being too stiff. I get some crazy ballflights out of it. One will be a high slice and the next won't get 10 feet off the ground. I have no idea why, but when I swing my buddies stiff flexed driver I have none of these problems. I really need to get the stiff that came with it in ASAP.
 
Shaft flex isn't just about swing speed. I know someone with a swing speed of a 105 mph that plays regular flex. I know someone else with a swing speed of 75 mph that plays stiff flex. That's what they were fitted for.

How does a person load the shaft? What is his transition like? Rhythm? Tempo? Etc., are also factors that are considered when selecting shaft flex.
 
I did listen to the 3 shows during my 4 hour drive tonight, very educational
 
Shaft flex isn't just about swing speed. I know someone with a swing speed of a 105 mph that plays regular flex. I know someone else with a swing speed of 75 mph that plays stiff flex. That's what they were fitted for.

How does a person load the shaft? What is his transition like? Rhythm? Tempo? Etc., are also factors that are considered when selecting shaft flex.

I agree with this. Add weight and kick point to it as well as far as the answers for the questions above. Super important because one stiff shaft can have different DNA than another stiff shaft. A good fitter will take all of those into account.
 
good info fellas, thanks for the replies. Going to try and get on the launch monitor somewhere around here tomorrow and see if I can get some answers to some long overdue questions
 
Well, I know I am playing with the wrong flex, but in the other direction. My shaft is too weak, which I am convinced is WAY worse than being too stiff. I get some crazy ballflights out of it. One will be a high slice and the next won't get 10 feet off the ground. I have no idea why, but when I swing my buddies stiff flexed driver I have none of these problems. I really need to get the stiff that came with it in ASAP.

I had the same problem. The reason you are having such inconsistent flight is the shaft head can't keep up with your quicker swing. The results in massive spin rate. I had the same problem and was hitting the ball with 5500 spin rate. I got a heavier shaft and my spin rate dropped in half. What is your current driver set-up? You may not need a stiffer flex but you might just need a heavier shaft?
 
I had the same problem. The reason you are having such inconsistent flight is the shaft head can't keep up with your quicker swing. The results in massive spin rate. I had the same problem and was hitting the ball with 5500 spin rate. I got a heavier shaft and my spin rate dropped in half. What is your current driver set-up? You may not need a stiffer flex but you might just need a heavier shaft?

Spin can be altered by a ton of different things. Dont forget how much a role the ball plays as well.
 
when I go back monday I'll keep better track of my spin rates, I really dont have a feel for where Im at. I know I do have a very high ball flight for a 9 degree driver and tend to not get much love on teh roll part of things when I actually do hit a fairway every now and then
 
when I go back monday I'll keep better track of my spin rates, I really dont have a feel for where Im at. I know I do have a very high ball flight for a 9 degree driver and tend to not get much love on teh roll part of things when I actually do hit a fairway every now and then

9* driver is could very well be causing more issues than you think. If you are hitting the ball too high, most likely it is a shaft thing. Try a lower launching shaft first before changing loft.
 
9* driver is could very well be causing more issues than you think. If you are hitting the ball too high, most likely it is a shaft thing. Try a lower launching shaft first before changing loft.

sounds like a plan, Im heading up to golf galaxy tomorrow and will take your advice.

Never tinkered with shafts before, any suggestions to improve my results?
 
I strongly recommend you listen to a few THP Radio shows.

Club Fitting in general
http://thehackersparadise.com/home/?p=12686

Driver shaft answers from Miyazaki
http://thehackersparadise.com/home/?p=8731

Miyazaki answers THP reader questions
http://thehackersparadise.com/home/?p=9834

sounds like a plan, Im heading up to golf galaxy tomorrow and will take your advice.

Never tinkered with shafts before, any suggestions to improve my results?

Yes. DEFINITELY listen to the 3 shows above. You will be better prepared.
 
yeah I listed to those on the long car ride up to Canton, if MIyazaki isnt a financially viabale options, are their other avenues for me to explore?
 
yeah I listed to those on the long car ride up to Canton, if MIyazaki isnt a financially viabale options, are their other avenues for me to explore?

Of course. Whatever fits your swing. Many brands will have shafts that will fit fairly well.
 
Of course. Whatever fits your swing. Many brands will have shafts that will fit fairly well.

ok cool, I'll see what I hit well and what golf galaxy advises and throw it past you guys before I buy, when it comes to shafts, Im truely a rookie

also, loved the Radio Shows, really were interesting and helped pass time on a long drive
 
ok cool, I'll see what I hit well and what golf galaxy advises and throw it past you guys before I buy, when it comes to shafts, Im truely a rookie

also, loved the Radio Shows, really were interesting and helped pass time on a long drive

i also love the radio shows, they are great, very informative
 
Mike:

FWIW - I believe GolfSmith has the ProLaunch Red on sale for around $50. Another option would be the UST Proforce V2 Tour Flight, which GS has on sale for $20. As I mentioned earlier, both are mid-launch shafts and have certainly lowered my ball flight and spin. You can also order additional R9 sleeves from GS.
 
Mike:

FWIW - I believe GolfSmith has the ProLaunch Red on sale for around $50. Another option would be the UST Proforce V2 Tour Flight, which GS has on sale for $20. As I mentioned earlier, both are mid-launch shafts and have certainly lowered my ball flight and spin. You can also order additional R9 sleeves from GS.

ok cool, I'll keep those in mind as well.

The R9 is pretty much dead to me, if Galaxy wasnt offering next to nothing in trade for it, it would already be gone....It was WAY shorter than all of my R11 and 2.0 drives
 
ok cool, I'll keep those in mind as well.

The R9 is pretty much dead to me, if Galaxy wasnt offering next to nothing in trade for it, it would already be gone....It was WAY shorter than all of my R11 and 2.0 drives

Which shaft is in your R9?
 
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