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Am I in the minority?

Nippon Shafts
TimG3394

TimG3394

Lost: Center of clubface
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I absolutely LOVE reading when people talk about different shafts, the characteristics, what it does to the flight of the ball etc. I also like hearing what people think different shaft feel like. I know feel is a subjective thing but I have never understood it.

If you gave me two different shafts with the same flex, I would never be able to tell the difference. Do I just not have enough experience? Perhaps I don't "load" the shaft correctly so I never feel a difference. Give me a KBS C taper or a TOUR 90 (if they were the same finish) I simply couldn't tell the two apart feel wise.

Am I the only one?
 
No your not. I struggle to tell iron shafts apart big time and while I can detect differences between the ends of the spectrum it gets much tougher when they are closer. If I did a blind shaft test in a driver I would probably embarrass myself.
 
TimG3394 said:
I absolutely LOVE reading when people talk about different shafts, the characteristics, what it does to the flight of the ball etc. I also like hearing what people think different shaft feel like. I know feel is a subjective thing but I have never understood it.

If you gave me two different shafts with the same flex, I would never be able to tell the difference. Do I just not have enough experience? Perhaps I don't "load" the shaft correctly so I never feel a difference. Give me a KBS C taper or a TOUR 90 (if they were the same finish) I simply couldn't tell the two apart feel wise.

Am I the only one?
Click to expand...

No, your not. And we have tested it a dozen times. Despite many discussing it online, the average golfer cannot tell any differences in our tests. And even further, our tests show very little difference in ball flight for the average golf.

Key word there being the average golfer.
 
JB said:
No, your not. And we have tested it a dozen times. Despite many discussing it online, the average golfer cannot tell any differences in our tests. And even further, our tests show very little difference in ball flight.
Click to expand...

I was hoping you would respond because I could of sworn you saying you did a test before.

Did this include flex? For example, giving someone a regular flex and a X flex and seeing if they knew the difference?
 
TimG3394 said:
I was hoping you would respond because I could of sworn I remember you saying you did a test before.

Did this include flex? For example, giving someone a regular flex and a X flex and seeing if they knew the difference?
Click to expand...

Sure did. 4 flexes including senior. 8 weights. 6 brands.
Only thing that was constant, golfers preferred lighter weight steel, and most of them chose the KBS Tour 90s.
I have done it with over 100 golfers at this point.
 
I think many can pick up the extremes. I have swung a shaft that was way too stiff for me and one that was way too floppy --but in the middle it would probably be hard to tell. I guess that's where places that fit using Trackman or Flightscope come in adding numbers to what you may not be able to feel on your own.
 
WardF said:
I think many can pick up the extremes. I have swung a shaft that was way to stiff for me and one that was way to floppy --but in the middle it would probably be hard to tell. I guess that's where places that fit using Trackman or Flightscope come in adding numbers to what you may not be able to feel on your own.
Click to expand...

I agree on the extremes like a black tie feels like rebar to me.

But the other 99.9% fall into what jb is saying imo
 
I know I played some really nice light weight Nippon iron shafts last year. I loved how they felt but my flight was really high. Tried some lbs tours in a stouter flex. Flight came down. If I couldn't see ball flight, I don't know if I could tell a difference based on feel.
 
mikedean441 said:
I agree on the extremes like a black tie feels like rear to me.

But the other 99.9% fall into what jb is saying imo
Click to expand...

Feels like rear. Icky.
 
You're definitely not alone. I'd go as far to say that I couldn't tell the difference between a cheap ball and a high dollar ball. I always chalked it up to me not being a great ball striker, but I really don't know.
 
mikedean441 said:
Rebar...whoops
Click to expand...

that's classic Freudian slip there! Not a black tie fan either--but for me that was one that the numbers and flight over time and many hits were not right. but on one hit, I would not have known it was not for me right away.
 
I was posting about this the other day, and I don't know what to do with this information. I respect and accept it, but how should it change how I look for or test clubs?

Btw, I'd love to go through that test. Maybe I'm delusional, but it think I'm able to discern for the most part.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Philly Golf Guy said:
Btw, I'd love to go through that test. Maybe I'm delusional, but it think I'm able to discern for the most part.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

While I would never say who or who couldn't discern, every person heading in said they would be able to. Less than 15 of well over a 100 have been able to identify much.
 
JB said:
No, your not. And we have tested it a dozen times. Despite many discussing it online, the average golfer cannot tell any differences in our tests. And even further, our tests show very little difference in ball flight for the average golf.

Key word there being the average golfer.
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying, but I recall seeing you fit people at University and seeing big gains just from switching shafts. I believe I gained 17 yards by switching shafts.
 
Philly Golf Guy said:
I was posting about this the other day, and I don't know what to do with this information. I respect and accept it, but how should it change how I look for or test clubs?

Btw, I'd love to go through that test. Maybe I'm delusional, but it think I'm able to discern for the most part.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I really do think that's were the profession fitter helps. Picking out the best for your game when your in that middle area. Example: over time and in certain conditions I could tell that one stock OEM brand shaft would always balloon in the wind, on a range or just a simulator I would have never found that alone with no numbers on spin etc.
 
JB said:
While I would never say who or who couldn't discern, every person heading in said they would be able to. Less than 15 of well over a 100 have been able to identify much.
Click to expand...

It'd be a fun test. Maybe I could pick up the extremes at least. Was it wood or iron shafts or both?




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Philly Golf Guy said:
It'd be a fun test. Maybe I could pick up the extremes at least. Was it wood or iron shafts or both?




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Steel iron shafts.
 
Wake said:
I understand what you are saying, but I recall seeing you fit people at University and seeing big gains just from switching shafts. I believe I gained 17 yards by switching shafts.
Click to expand...

EDIT: I THINK He is saying the golfer can't detect which shaft he was using--or could not tell the "Feel" difference--not that there are not gains to be had by swapping for the right fit.
 
WardF said:
He is saying the golfer can't detect which shaft he was using--or could not tell the "Feel" difference--not that there are not gains to be had by swapping for the right fit.
Click to expand...

He also said differences weren't noticeable, but now I see he was talking about iron shafts.
 
So my quandary right now is I have Nippon 950 shafts in stiff, but was fit into Steelfiber 80 in regular for irons. Is it worth spending the money to switch? Or would the difference be so small it wouldn't be worth it?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
JB--Clarifying Question--was it just the golfer discerning the difference or no actual performance change?
 
As for the original post, I was speaking of steel iron shafts.
 
Wake said:
He also said differences weren't noticeable, but now I see he was talking about iron shafts.
Click to expand...

That was not even close to a fitting. That was switching heads and shafts. Gains could just as easily been attributed to a different swing between balls.

I have watched robot testing showing the exact same thing. I'm not discounting fitting or gains just that with swings changing for !most amateurs the shaft is not going to play as large a roll as most believe.
 
blugold said:
Feels like rear. Icky.
Click to expand...


Haha.

I was trying to figure out if that was a good thing, a bad thing, or a Pandaism.




To the topic at hand, I don't usually see much difference in feel between shafts. I do see some difference in ball flight, though.
 
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