Can soft shaft cause distance lost?

[scottmti]

This topic probably came out often but when I search most of them are too stiff shaft cause lost distance.

I thought about this while I was at driving range and started thinking about how too much spin on driver cause lost of distance. I know we need some spin to help launch. But on irons. Is it possible that you can lost distance by going too soft?
I tried CF16 in regular flex and comparing to my XP S300. I seems to hit further with S300 than R300. R300 launch higher but with less carry. I took it up to 2nd level just to see where it lands. Almost full club less carry. I always thought use softest flex shaft that you can control. I might be wrong on this now.



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[DataDude]

No soft shafts will not cause distance loss, actually the flex adds distance. If your shaft is too soft you will lose accuracy. Stiffness helps with accuracy and flex helps with distance. The other factor now is where the shaft flexes. Does it bend low or bend high? Where the flex is in the shaft can fine tune launch angle and spin. Not sure I really understand all that yet though.

 

[Golf 'N Gator]

My old PGA teacher always said to play the softest shaft you can control to max distance. I know for me, stiff is less distance, but better control.

 

[JayB]

My old PGA teacher always said to play the softest shaft you can control to max distance. I know for me, stiff is less distance, but better control.

A bit too broad in my opinion. Too soft can cause too high a launch and too much spin, also hurting distance, even if you take the control aspect out of the equation.

For certain though, an excessively stiff shaft you can’t load absolutely doesn’t help getting good launch conditions.

 

[gmiller598]

I think you might have answered your own question when saying the softer shaft launched higher with less carry. Its not standard across the board because no company defines R and S the same way but that particular shaft was going higher instead of further and probably had more spin as well. It more than likely comes down to how the kick point of the shaft reacts to your swing. Another company's R shaft might perform better if you were to try it.

 

[DataDude]

I should really say nowadays there are so many flex point, twist construction, and flex options that a normal amateur can probably find a shaft that flexes a lot that works for them and a shaft that doesn't flex much at all that works for them. Really I think you should know how you want your shaft to feel (weight and stiffness mainly) and then let a fitter find the flex points and twist construction that will let that work for you.

 

[mpeterson]

I think the way to think about it is the wrong shaft can cause distance loss. Were you hitting on a monitor, or just going by eye? Could be that you were putting a lot of spin on the ball with the weaker shaft. On the flip side, while less spin might help carry the ball further, if there's not enough stopping on the other side could be a problem if you go too low.

I usually see pretty similar numbers in different flexes of the same club profile, but I also am not someone who puts a ton of load on the shaft.

 

[scottmti]

I think the way to think about it is the wrong shaft can cause distance loss. Were you hitting on a monitor, or just going by eye? Could be that you were putting a lot of spin on the ball with the weaker shaft. On the flip side, while less spin might help carry the ball further, if there's not enough stopping on the other side could be a problem if you go too low.

I usually see pretty similar numbers in different flexes of the same club profile, but I also am not someone who puts a ton of load on the shaft.

I was hitting from 2nd level just to see where the ball lands.
Regular flex shaft lands way short compare to stiff shaft. They both with same head and same brand shaft with dif flex. As I get older I am leaning toward regular shaft.
No LM was used. I never measure my swing with it. I usually go with my feel and actual ball flights.
I usually never had issues stopping on green so I guess I creates enough spins with S300.


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[ntanygd760]

No soft shafts will not cause distance loss, actually the flex adds distance. If your shaft is too soft you will lose accuracy. Stiffness helps with accuracy and flex helps with distance. The other factor now is where the shaft flexes. Does it bend low or bend high? Where the flex is in the shaft can fine tune launch angle and spin. Not sure I really understand all that yet though.

This isn't right. You might not lose ball speed but you can easily lose distance with too much spin.

 

[scottmti]

This isn't right. You might not lose ball speed but you can easily lose distance with too much spin.

I agree on this 100%. I think there is a fine line where is your optimal spin should be in each iron. Enough to stop on green and not too much that you lose distance. I have no idea what that is but it should be there for individual golfer.


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[leftshot]

#1 - Your irons are your scoring clubs. These are the clubs you use for approach shots onto the green. Dispersion is the thing that matters the most. A too soft shaft increases dispersion and will accentuate timing, sequence and other problems with your swing.

#2 - Distance will vary more with a softer shaft (more variability short and long). As stated above, imperfections in your swing, including swing to swing differences will create more variability in results. With this in mind, practicing with a club that has a very soft shaft can help improve your swing. In the past, I've done this and found distance and dispersions improvements with such a club led to better results with the clubs with a more normal (fitted) shaft flex.