Should Shaft Ratings Match?

[thedue]

I may have missed this along the way, but I don't recall this topic being raised.

My irons are stiff flex, but my driver is regular. I've thought all along that I needed a stiff driver and kind of confirmed it yesterday. I was hitting another driver a mile and straight consistently, where I really move my own driver a lot, generally right to left often times into trouble.

I'll be getting a fitting soon, but my real question is if there is any reason for the driver and irons to be of similar stiffness?

 

[JB]

They should absolutely. There is no universal info or standard on shaft technology. I had this conversation with two different shaft companies over the last 2 weeks about this very issue.

Pay close attention to the new shaft company making headlines with Miyazaki. We think they will have a major impact on this very subject.

 

[Vegan702]

I am actually the same way you are, my driver and 3 wood are a regular flex and my irons are a stiff flex. I am on the borderline with my speed, so I could actually go either way depending on the make of the shaft. My driver and 3 wood shafts even though they are a regular flex are almost as stiff as a lot of companies stiff flex, so I kind of get a good balance.

 

[BigLeftyinAZ]

People need to not be concerned with a shaft flex letter and just play the shaft that fits them.

 

[thedue]

I'll watch for the Miyazaki and hope the fitting will reveal what I need to know about my swing needs. It just seem's like my swing in a booth is so different than my swing on the course. I have a very controlled swing inside, but get me on the course with a distant object to "go for" I swing all out.

 

[Vegan702]

Try and go to a demo day when they have the launch monitor on the range vs. in a store and see what your numbers say. I think in a store booth you are less concerned with setup, etc and don't get your true swings in that you would do on the course, at least for me it is that way.

 

[thedue]

I'll give that a try if possible Vegan. My hope is to make it to a TaylorMade Performance Lab this spring, just not sure when I can break away and get a flight to sunny Florida.

 

[ClairefromClare]

I've seen this before--folks whose irons are a stiffer flex than their woods and drivers. I know I could play senior flex in my irons, but (for the moment) choose not to. The R9s may change my mind...

 

[Osahar]

I'm set up exactly the opposite - Driver and Fairways are all stiff flex while my hybrids and irons are regular flex. But I tend to swing harder with the driver and fairways than my irons, so that's the reasoning behind buying them this way.

 

[solidkjames]

I too am on the borderline for stiff flex. My driver ss is between 95-100 and my 6 iron ss is between 80-90 depending on the shot. I could play regular but with my quick tempo and need for accuracy over distance I go stiff. I really like how a regular flex iron fires through the ball but I turn that into pulls left when I'm going for it. So I err on the side of stiff. I've thought long and hard about going to a softer flex in my irons but at the end of the day I hit my stiffs just fine and gaining 5 yards isn't enough to justify adding a pull hook into my swing results. Go with what lets you hit the ball with the best results in my opinion as well.

 

[JPsuff]

People need to not be concerned with a shaft flex letter and just play the shaft that fits them.

Exactly.

The only "oddball" shaft I have in my bag is my Rifle MT85 graphite for my hybrid. It's the only "S" flex in my bag but it works like a charm with that particular club.



-JP

 

[thedue]

Exactly.

The only "oddball" shaft I have in my bag is my Rifle MT85 graphite for my hybrid. It's the only "S" flex in my bag but it works like a charm with that particular club.



-JP

I don't think I'm overly concerned with the shaft letter, I'm overly concerned with the dispersion of my shots with driver versus irons. I have a much stiffer shaft in my irons which has me thining I need to lean that direction, however I will be testing all of this before jumping one way or another.

The real question here, however, is wether or not most peoples requirments differ from irons to driver.

I would quess that most if not all golfers looking to change clubs look at the "letter" as a starting point. When I bought my driver I started out hitting a stiff before going to the regular, but that was on a monitor rather than out on the range.

 

[provisional]

All my clubs in my playing bag are all the same flex. Of course this does not include my putter. I am pretty sure one could do a search, and build themselves a flex board, and hang it on a wall some where.

A guy down the street who is learning about club making/fitting has one he bought. He showed me something that was interesting. He took blank graphite shaft, and measured it on his board. It read regular flex. Then just by turning it a little, he measured it again and it measured closer to stiff. Same shaft, two different measured flexes. I am assuming this is where the (ultimate) tweak of shaft splining comes it play.

 

[LBlack14]

I like my fwy woods to play a little softer than the rest of my clubs so I tip them less than called for.