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Driver Shaft

ShotScope
Gummi Bear

Gummi Bear

Sporadic Golfer
Joined
Oct 16, 2008
Messages
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Location
D/FW, Texas
Handicap
Bean Dip
I want to put a new shaft in my driver. Presently, I've got a UST V2 High Launch, regular flex in there. As time goes on, it's feeling more and more "noodly".

Last time I was on a launch monitor, I was recorded as having a 93mph average swing speed. I feel as though this will speed up, as I keep honing my swing, and finding some more comfort, and quit trying to 'control' it so much with my arms, and let the club go for a ride as it was intended to.

Looking at specs, I tend to fall right at the breaking point between regular and stiff flexes.

Right now, my handicap is still in the 20's, but I've been working hard to bring it down, 6-8 hours a week.

My accuracy has improved since I cut my driver down from 45.75" to 44.5" in the last couple of months. (this could be perceived)

I talked with my teacher about this a while back, and he suggested a Graphite Design YS-Q. It looks like a nice shaft, but I'm not sure how I feel about dropping that kind of coin.

I've been doing a little bit of looking at:
  • Grafalloy "Epic"
  • Grafalloy "Pro Launch Blue"
  • Aldila "MOI Proto"

I've also looked at the regular V2. The specs are promising, but I hate the gold and black shaft (a small part of the reason I want a different shaft now, it's fugly)

My questions for you:

  • Which one would you suggest for a 20 handicapper?
  • Should I start looking at 75 gram shafts?
  • Am I right to be wanting something with a lower torque than my current shaft (3.8°)?
  • Should I cut down the new shaft, or play it full length?
 
Adila Proto "By You" and keep it full length. Fantastic shaft.
 
Gummi it is hard to fit on swing speed alone. What was the spin rate like on the moniter? This is the number you want to watch. If a club is too "whippy" you will see higher spin rates. You want to keep this number between 2500-3200rpm. If you find that you have a spin rate above 3200rpm you are robbing yourself of distance.

To get to the second part of the question all 3 of the shafts listed are very good. I like the grafalloy line very much. You may want to look into the Graphite Design aura line. These are wonderful shafts for a great price. The YSQ is very good. I have never been much of an aldila guy and if you were leaning that way I feel the Proto "By You" is at the top of the list from them.

As a side note if you find yourself fitting somewhere inbetween the reg and stiff....go with the reg and have your club guy tip the shaft a 1/2 inch and then butt cut to length. By a 1/2 inch I mean more than the factory recommendation if it calls for tipping prior to install. This will give you a shaft that plays between the two and will help alot. If you can get me some spin rates we can dial it in some more.
 
BTW, sorry for the posting as I didn't realize until just now which section it was in.
 
On a bad swing, I've gotten nearly 3,500 RPM, which did wind up disasterous.

When Bridgestone fitted me to the TreoSoft, I had spin rates well within that spin range, with a couple hovering around 2,000. With the E6+ and my current Ignite, I was nearer 3,000 RPM.

I forgot to include, that my irons, wood and hybrids are all stiff flex (Nippon 950GH in irons, PING TFC 129 shafts in wood and hybrids).

By tipping the regular flex, that'd make it a "half step soft", correct? My G10 irons were done that way, and I did enjoy playing them.

I'm really leaning more toward the Epic, and I do plan to have it Pure'd before installation.

What are your thoughts about the weight, length and torque questions?



I'll try to get to the Golfsmith this week, and use their launch monitor to get some spin rates.
 
GB if you like the Epic, you should check out the GD Aura line. Especially the red.
 
JB -

I like it on paper, I haven't gotten a chance to hit one yet. I'll look at the Red also.
 
The soft stepping that you are talking about is if steel shafts and for the most part irons only. Tipping a graphite shaft beyond the standard installation recommendations is a way to fine tune your fitting. A stock driver shaft come around 46" uncut and when you add it all up you end up butt cutting it quite a bit. If a person is close with some regular flexes and close with some stiff flexes this is how we get you the inbetween. It doesn't really change the caracteristics of the shaft in terms of torque or the flex point. All tipping does is allow a player to stiffen up the shaft as a whole so it plays more like what they need.

Gummi the Epic shaft is a good shaft. It is designed to be lightweight and extra strong to resist deformation during very aggressive swings. JB is on the right line I think you would benifit more from the GD aura shaft. Or even the Fujikura Fit-On line maybe the E260. Get me some numbers if you can and we will go from there. Sound like a plan?
 
Here's my data from my Bridgestone ball fitting, with the TreoSoft (April 03, 2009):

Swing Speed: 91.7 mph
Ball Speed: 131.3 mph
Launch Angle: 10.2 degree
Back Spin: 1,943 rpm



Since then, I've worked pretty hard on getting a better launch angle (so I could carry over a tree if need be), the rest is still pretty applicable I'm guessing.


Also - I've scored a deal on a Graphite Designs YS-Q Tour AD, 65g stiff shaft. What do you think about that? Good fit? Can you not tip a stiff shaft, and find a midpoint like tipping a little extra on a regular shaft?
 
If you are going to play the YS-Q don't tip the shaft that will make it stiffer. Just have them butt cut it to length. You are going to love this shaft.
 
Gummi Bear said:
Here's my data from my Bridgestone ball fitting, with the TreoSoft (April 03, 2009):

Swing Speed: 91.7 mph
Ball Speed: 131.3 mph
Launch Angle: 10.2 degree
Back Spin: 1,943 rpm



Since then, I've worked pretty hard on getting a better launch angle (so I could carry over a tree if need be), the rest is still pretty applicable I'm guessing.


Also - I've scored a deal on a Graphite Designs YS-Q Tour AD, 65g stiff shaft. What do you think about that? Good fit? Can you not tip a stiff shaft, and find a midpoint like tipping a little extra on a regular shaft?
Click to expand...

I'm not an expert by any means. And there are lots of other factors like how you load the shaft, whether you hit down on the ball or hit it on an upswing. But with those numbers, I would think you would benefit with a softer flex. The extra kick would increase both the launch angle and spin, which would almost certainly give you extra yards. At the very least, you should try the shaft in a regular flex to compare.
 
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