Shaft Flex; Are you right?

War Eagle

the Beags of THP...
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Over the past few weeks, this is a subject that I have been thinking quite a bit about. With new shafts being released and talked about, there is always some great information out there as well as some good banter to read through on different peoples thoughts on a shaft selection.

Often times you hear golfers say they play "stiff" shafts throughout the bag, even though the bag consists of numerous brands of shafts and models. One stiff may be less than the other, etc. But, too many times a shafts flex is taken as a constant when looking across the board of equipment.

This past weekend, I noticed something quite interesting. A lot of people were hitting a recently announced driver and absolutely loving it. I may have purposely handed it to a few people to see a reaction, but I wont confirm that. What I saw was great results off the tee on the driving range, this includes myself, and then often you would hear the following; "Regular flex? That shouldn't work so well for me."

So, it really had me thinking on what factors go in to what we play, especially since a large percentage of golfers are not fit for what they game on the course. If you have not been fit for a particular shaft, what goes in to your decision on the shaft you decide? Is it based off marketing from a company related to swing speed? Is it based solely off marketed trajectory and ball flight? Or, do you play what works for you, regardless of what the label says R/S/X. Just curious here...
 
I was fit for a previous driver, but not my current one. When it came to the shaft in my classic, I didn't care for the ball flight of the CKua and I knew the characteristics of the Kusala Blue and so I acquired one and put it in my Classic and I am really liking it.

I was at Golfsmith a couple weeks ago and a guy got a set of used irons frequenced that said "stiff" on them, but they were playing just a hair over senior, somewhere between senior and regular, so I do think the point that not all stiff are made the same is definately accurate.
 
Over the past few weeks, this is a subject that I have been thinking quite a bit about. With new shafts being released and talked about, there is always some great information out there as well as some good banter to read through on different peoples thoughts on a shaft selection.

Often times you hear golfers say they play "stiff" shafts throughout the bag, even though the bag consists of numerous brands of shafts and models. One stiff may be less than the other, etc. But, too many times a shafts flex is taken as a constant when looking across the board of equipment.

This past weekend, I noticed something quite interesting. A lot of people were hitting a recently announced driver and absolutely loving it. I may have purposely handed it to a few people to see a reaction, but I wont confirm that. What I saw was great results off the tee on the driving range, this includes myself, and then often you would hear the following; "Regular flex? That shouldn't work so well for me."

So, it really had me thinking on what factors go in to what we play, especially since a large percentage of golfers are not fit for what they game on the course. If you have not been fit for a particular shaft, what goes in to your decision on the shaft you decide? Is it based off marketing from a company related to swing speed? Is it based solely off marketed trajectory and ball flight? Just curious here...

It's a great question and something that I have been pondering for a while. When I had my shaft fitting for my driver I was put in an A flex simply because of my swing speed. I like the the trajectory and spin I am seeing but I wonder often if an R flex wouldnt suit me even better in a different shaft. I have been following along the B.Asha thread and obsessing over it. I am probably going to head to GS this weekend and get on a monitor and see how a R flex will suit me over my current A Flex.
 
great topic War

I hit said driver and couldnt believe how solid it felt, I would have loved to have hit that same driver seconds later in the stiff to see what the differences were, but it was hiding in someone's bag.

I was fit into my old CB's shafts and havent been fitted yet, im guilty as one who since I played stiff before, continue to play stiff in any chaft across the board.
 
Good question, War Eagle. I guess I don't really lock myself into a flex across the board. My irons are R flex because I like what that set up offers me. My woods are all considered "S" flex, but feature a softer tip section. I figured out what I like by hitting both options indoors and out.
 
It's a great question and something that I have been pondering for a while. When I had my shaft fitting for my driver I was put in an A flex simply because of my swing speed. I like the the trajectory and spin I am seeing but I wonder often if an R flex wouldnt suit me even better in a different shaft. I have been following along the B.Asha thread and obsessing over it. I am probably going to head to GS this weekend and get on a monitor and see how a R flex will suit me over my current A Flex.
The B. Asha thread has me thinking quite a bit, Dev. As it is quite STOUT. That shaft has me wondering if people just look at R/S/X and go with it, instead of looking at weight and other properties. If I went with the B. Asha, I would probably look at the R flex, as it would play closer to a stiff in other options that I have played in the past.
Good question, War Eagle. I guess I don't really lock myself into a flex across the board. My irons are R flex because I like what that set up offers me. My woods are all considered "S" flex, but feature a softer tip section. I figured out what I like by hitting both options indoors and out.
Im the same way, Hawk.
 
I dont even try R-flex shafts because of my swing speed.
My swing speed is above what the Cleveland Black Driver is recommended for. Supposedly, the CG Black "should not work for a golfer with my swing speed." Yet, I hammer it and it is by far the best driver I have ever gamed.
 
The B. Asha thread has me thinking quite a bit, Dev. As it is quite STOUT. That shaft has me wondering if people just look at R/S/X and go with it, instead of looking at weight and other properties. If I went with the B. Asha, I would probably look at the R flex, as it would play closer to a stiff in other options that I have played in the past..

Thats the the part I keep seeing and is scaring me a little bit but I think a stout R flex may be just what I need. I really need to find a way to hit a 4R and get this sorted out. Season is just about over. PGA SS is opening here in few weeks so by next spring I figure I should be able to get some good info.
 
Before this summer I would have played whatever shaft was stock on the clubs I had.

After playing much more and spending so much time reading over things here at THP I plan on getting fitted for everything at Golf Tec. I have no illusions about upgrading everything at once, there's just no way I can do that but having the information so I can make strategic changes when I can is more of a plan than I've ever had. I've hesitated to do so until this point because I was trying to get a swing change down the past couple of months and now that I feel pretty comfortable with most of it, I want to schedule the fitting soon.

Marketing and aesthetics won't play nearly the role the would have in my mind in the past.

Being fitted should also take out some of the "pondering" or needless spending. I need more practice, not more stuff.
 
My swing speed is above what the Cleveland Black Driver is recommended for. Supposedly, the CG Black "should not work for a golfer with my swing speed." Yet, I hammer it and it is by far the best driver I have ever gamed.

Bolded for truth

Ideally Id like to get both R and S shafts together side by side and hit and make my decision based on results, that seldomly ever happens though and I continue to go the stiff route.

That freaking Driver in regular was MONEY though
 
Bolded for truth

Ideally Id like to get both R and S shafts together side by side and hit and make my decision based on results, that seldomly ever happens though and I continue to go the stiff route.

That freaking Driver in regular was MONEY though

The initial post said the mystery driver was already announced so why the secrecy? Was it the Amp Cell?
 
Before this summer I would have played whatever shaft was stock on the clubs I had.

After playing much more and spending so much time reading over things here at THP I plan on getting fitted for everything at Golf Tec. I have no illusions about upgrading everything at once, there's just no way I can do that but having the information so I can make strategic changes when I can is more of a plan than I've ever had. I've hesitated to do so until this point because I was trying to get a swing change down the past couple of months and now that I feel pretty comfortable with most of it, I want to schedule the fitting soon.

Marketing and aesthetics won't play nearly the role the would have in my mind in the past.

Being fitted should also take out some of the "pondering" or needless spending. I need more practice, not more stuff.

I agree that getting fitted to a shaft is the way to go, looking forward to how your fitting goes for you buddy.

But, if you are fit and it is recommended that you go down in flex, will that bother you?
 
You know War, I think it's hard to know unless you can just give a lot of stuff a whirl, which is precisely why THP's demo day is so sweet! It can not only be the ultimate weekend of golf, but it can be an eye opener for those who truly embrace demo day and try everything!
 
Sweet man. Im glad it works for you. There is one thing consistent across the board, any R-flex shaft that I have picked up, has been far too weak for my swing. This can be said about many stiff shafts as well.

I rarely rarely RARELY hit golf equipment before I purchase it. So I read up on it and decide from there. But when you get past a certain number for swing speed, you realize that you can leave certain categories behind. And that is one of those categories.


I also LOVE the people who do testing with R-flex shafts and high swing speeds and x-flex shafts with low swing speeds. The results always leave me laughing.




My swing speed is above what the Cleveland Black Driver is recommended for. Supposedly, the CG Black "should not work for a golfer with my swing speed." Yet, I hammer it and it is by far the best driver I have ever gamed.
 
The initial post said the mystery driver was already announced so why the secrecy? Was it the Amp Cell?
Yes, it was the Amp Cell. I was trying to leave specific equipment out of the thread, so that wouldnt play a role in talking about shafts in general.

FWIW, it was a Regular Flex, Amp Cell set at 11.5*. And people were absolutely hammering it.
 
Yes, it was the Amp Cell. I was trying to leave specific equipment out of the thread, so that wouldnt play a role in talking about shafts in general.

FWIW, it was a Regular Flex, Amp Cell set at 11.5*. And people were absolutely hammering it.

No worries. It was what I figured it was. What is the stock shaft in it? 11.5 eh? I have often wondered about an 11.5 but dont know of any OEM's that make it in LH. Looking at some videos and reading the OH tour stop thread, you guys had some absolute bombers out there so it was probably a really good forum for it.
 
You know War, I think it's hard to know unless you can just give a lot of stuff a whirl, which is precisely why THP's demo day is so sweet! It can not only be the ultimate weekend of golf, but it can be an eye opener for those who truly embrace demo day and try everything!
TC, we talked about this for a while in Myrtle, and how lightweight shafts have absolutely changed my game and dropped my scores. Switching to the Tour 90s and their lighter weight had me kind of skeptical at first, but, I am not one to argue with results.
Sweet man. Im glad it works for you. There is one thing consistent across the board, any R-flex shaft that I have picked up, has been far too weak for my swing. This can be said about many stiff shafts as well.

I rarely rarely RARELY hit golf equipment before I purchase it. So I read up on it and decide from there. But when you get past a certain number for swing speed, you realize that you can leave certain categories behind. And that is one of those categories.


I also LOVE the people who do testing with R-flex shafts and high swing speeds and x-flex shafts with low swing speeds. The results always leave me laughing.
Im not by any means saying you are playing the wrong shafts, Thainer, hope it didnt come across like that. I agree with what you said, and I am the same way, when looking at irons, I rarely try a R flex iron, as I know it wont benefit me.
 
Im not by any means saying you are playing the wrong shafts, Thainer, hope it didnt come across like that. I agree with what you said, and I am the same way, when looking at irons, I rarely try a R flex iron, as I know it wont benefit me.

Funny you say that, as I perform best with an R-flex hardstepped iron. This crazy game...
 
No worries. It was what I figured it was. What is the stock shaft in it? 11.5 eh? I have often wondered about an 11.5 but dont know of any OEM's that make it in LH. Looking at some videos and reading the OH tour stop thread, you guys had some absolute bombers out there so it was probably a really good forum for it.
Stock shaft in it. And yes, it was set at 11.5*. People were absolutely surprised and pleased with the results they were seeing.
 
Funny you say that, as I perform best with an R-flex hardstepped iron. This crazy game...
Exactly dude. And, that spins it back around to how important a proper fitting is when looking at golf equipment.
 
I personally like to go after the stiffest shaft that I don't loose distance with. I think the stiffer the shaft the more consistency I gain. I know that I could play a weaker shaft, but I would have to concentrate on tempo a lot. I am one of those that if I fall on the line between different flexes. I tend to go for the stiffer of the two, to gain better consistency.
 
This is why I love the International Flex code and wish other OEM's would adopt it. I got fit for my shafts which happen to be stiff across the board but the shafts in my woods are on the weaker side of stiff with very weak tip sections. I will get fit again for my iron shafts this year are I don't think I was taking as relaxed a swing as I should have when I was fit for them. I will also be attending the outing to get dialed in on my shafts.
 
Thats a great question War. I too hit said driver and was really surprised at the results. While it wasn't the flight I was looking for it was surprisingly a very good trajectory and flight. I was going to try the stiff but it was not set right and we didnt have the wrench to fix it.

But I do fall into the category of just always playing stiff so thats what I look for when purchasing new clubs. I have been fitted a couple of times for driver shafts but not so much in my irons. I recently hit the B.Asha shaft and didnt care for the 4s but I really liked the 7x. I wish I could have gotten on a LM and really got to see some numbers but from what I saw on the range I was really liking what I was seeing.

But I think a lot of people really don't like to say that they play a regular flex or a senior flex because they may have buddies that play a stiff or a x and they just dont want to feel like they are not as good as them. But why wouldn't you want to play something that will perform better than what you have and help you play better golf? I think it comes down to an ego thing and people don't want to think that they are not as good as someone else because they play a "weaker" flex.
 
It's a good question.

I know exactly what driver you're talking about. I remember Toad absolutely crushing it on the range at the ATL Outing and then being surprised that it was a regular flex.
 
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