I have played stiff flex shafts forever. As I get older I wonder if I should be going to regular. Is it based on swing speed, distance, zen or what? I know flex can vary based on materials used but looking for a baseline.
How to determine shaft flex
Generally when you go to a shaft manufacturer website it's based on swing speed. Always good to get fit to understand what type of shaft you need.
I think you are going to be looking for a baseline for a while. Tempo and speed are big factors but there is no baseline right now
If you have the chance, I think the best way is to compare. does one feel better to swing? Are you centering the ball better contact-wise? Do you feel like you are (or are you if you have a monitor) Hitting the ball kore consistently?
Luchnia
You will never conquer golf.
I found I don't like the stiff or heavier shafts and my CC fitting proved me right. Even though I have a fairly good swing speed, lite/senior flexes work best for me. They just give me the feel I need and around 50-55 grams is just right.
- Thread starter
- #7
I’m not losing distance and SS is around 93/94 mph. I need to get on a monitor
links_slayer
Well-known member
this is how i do it:
schedule time with my instructor/fitter
he tells me what shaft to use based on the numbers and what we're looking to achieve
i ask him to put those shafts in my clubs
he does
we repeat as needed
schedule time with my instructor/fitter
he tells me what shaft to use based on the numbers and what we're looking to achieve
i ask him to put those shafts in my clubs
he does
we repeat as needed
Shaft flex is difficult because there is no industry standard for what a stiff is or what a regular is. You kind of have to just try differet shafts and see what you like. IMO, unless youre a long-hitter or dont have a really aggressive transition in your backswing, you dont need a stiff flex.
Last year, when I bought my driver, I hit it on the sim and my driver swing speed was around 87 mph. I asked the fitter if he thought I should go stiff over regular and he told me no, that unless I was around 90 mph that I didnt need a stiff.
Thats just me though, I would go to a fitter, hit some balls on the sim, see where youre numbers are at and go from there. I played stiff when I was younger and swung out of my shoes all the time but now that Im nearing age 40 and have a smoother swing where I go more for the center of the fairway/green, a regular fits me much better.
Last year, when I bought my driver, I hit it on the sim and my driver swing speed was around 87 mph. I asked the fitter if he thought I should go stiff over regular and he told me no, that unless I was around 90 mph that I didnt need a stiff.
Thats just me though, I would go to a fitter, hit some balls on the sim, see where youre numbers are at and go from there. I played stiff when I was younger and swung out of my shoes all the time but now that Im nearing age 40 and have a smoother swing where I go more for the center of the fairway/green, a regular fits me much better.
It's the feel. Assuming you don't have issues with trajectory or squaring the club face (more flexible shafts can help this), it comes down to how the club feels and how that feel translates for your swing sequence and timing. How and where the shaft flexes can change how you swing the club.
I was at a Demo days and was hitting some Mizuno clubs, the rep put their Mizuno shaft optimizer on a club.
I got the recommendations from that, then went to a fitting after a golf store after that. The Optimizer was
right on the buttton in the shaft it had recommended. I just throw this out, since not everyone is going to go to
Club Champion. I'm not knocking them or anybody that goes, I'm just saying, to some, that's a big expense and
offering a different option.
I got the recommendations from that, then went to a fitting after a golf store after that. The Optimizer was
right on the buttton in the shaft it had recommended. I just throw this out, since not everyone is going to go to
Club Champion. I'm not knocking them or anybody that goes, I'm just saying, to some, that's a big expense and
offering a different option.
Summit
Well-known member
A lot of comments here about "feel". Feel is rarely real, especially in amateurs. If you want a real answer to the question, you can get it by going to see a good club fitter. Not only will they tell you what flex, they'll also tell you what weight and EI profile suits your swing the best. Going off of feel will keep you in a cycle that never ends. Swing speed is part of the equation, but there are multiple parts to dial in what flex suits you best.
I hear it time and time again about the cost of getting fit. While some may have extremely high prices, IN GENERAL (not always), a good fitting is not only a great one time transaction, but can create a long term relationship and become a crucial part of your game. Our swings are constantly changing for the most part, whether it's in a good way or a bad way, and having a fitter you trust can really be beneficial. I have a good number of clients that have put their trust in me over the long haul. They'll call me after a round of golf and ask me a few questions about what they saw and if it means something's not working. I even have gotten to play golf with them, creating a friendship, not only a business relationship. It's been great, not only for them, but for me as well. I say all of this to really push finding a good fitter near you and invest in that part of your game.
That's simply not true. One golfer may have a harder time squaring up the face with a softer shaft.
I hear it time and time again about the cost of getting fit. While some may have extremely high prices, IN GENERAL (not always), a good fitting is not only a great one time transaction, but can create a long term relationship and become a crucial part of your game. Our swings are constantly changing for the most part, whether it's in a good way or a bad way, and having a fitter you trust can really be beneficial. I have a good number of clients that have put their trust in me over the long haul. They'll call me after a round of golf and ask me a few questions about what they saw and if it means something's not working. I even have gotten to play golf with them, creating a friendship, not only a business relationship. It's been great, not only for them, but for me as well. I say all of this to really push finding a good fitter near you and invest in that part of your game.
That's simply not true. One golfer may have a harder time squaring up the face with a softer shaft.
Just said it "can" help, not it's a hard and fast law of golf. It is however the case that for more golfers than not it will assist with launch and direction everything else being equal and at the very least not make those issues worse.
And have to disagree that feel isn't real? The vast majority of golfers can pick up a golf club and tell whether they like it or not without the help of computers or "experts".
Feel, or how the golfer responds to the weight, balance, appearance, sound, etc of a club is very much a thing and can make a big difference in both the physical and mental performance.
And have to disagree that feel isn't real? The vast majority of golfers can pick up a golf club and tell whether they like it or not without the help of computers or "experts".
Feel, or how the golfer responds to the weight, balance, appearance, sound, etc of a club is very much a thing and can make a big difference in both the physical and mental performance.
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There is far more that goes into fitting a shaft than swing speed.
As has been said multiple times, there is no baseline, no standard for shaft flex anywhere in the industry. One company's stiff is another's regular and yet another's extra stiff. It's a crap shoot out there.
Always great to hear from those in the industry. Thanks for your input.
As has been said multiple times, there is no baseline, no standard for shaft flex anywhere in the industry. One company's stiff is another's regular and yet another's extra stiff. It's a crap shoot out there.
Always great to hear from those in the industry. Thanks for your input.
It's all over the map. Stiff (even regular) is usually fine for me in the bend profiles I play, but in more common ones, it doesn't work well at all. Need to go X usually. Really depends on your swing and the type of shaft.
If you're not losing distance, it probably still fits, or you're used to it in a way that still works for you. You might get a little bit more out of a softer flex or different profile, but that's the kind of benefit that's hard to find just stabbing at it in the dark. There are some decent 'fitting' things on the manufacturer websites that would help guide your decision, but it might be something you need good in-person guidance on to really improve.
If you're not losing distance, it probably still fits, or you're used to it in a way that still works for you. You might get a little bit more out of a softer flex or different profile, but that's the kind of benefit that's hard to find just stabbing at it in the dark. There are some decent 'fitting' things on the manufacturer websites that would help guide your decision, but it might be something you need good in-person guidance on to really improve.
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Summit
Well-known member
Again, it’s just not true that “for most” a softer shaft will assist with launch and direction. There are way too many things being assumed to prove that statement true. Softer is not universal for starters. There are also different points of softness in a shaft. Softer tip, softer mid and softer butt sections. Each one of those will cause a player to do something. There is no way to guarantee it will have the affect it’s supposed to, ie higher launch or lower launch etc. because every player reacts to every shaft differently. To say a softer shaft will assist in launch AND direction for MOST is just the truth. It absolutely can for some, I agree with you there.
With regards to your comment about the vast majority of golfers being able to hold a club and tell whether they like or not... I have had countless clients come in to get fit and say they prefer a specific weight of shaft and that they don’t get along with another weight. The problem with that is, the vast majority of golfers don’t have access to launch monitors and data that tells them WHY they feel that way. I used to be one of those golfers. I always thought I wanted lighter shafts in my irons. Heavy ones just didn’t “feel” good. Once I started using a launch monitor and understanding weight, I realized I didn’t like the “feel” because it didn’t allow me to do something in my swing, which turned out to be a swing flaw. After I learned the lighter shafts allowed me to keep my bad habits, I moved into a heavier shaft and over the course of 2 range sessions, I began to hit the ball better. So, at the end of the day, feel is always something we can use to guide us, but there are quite a few times where feel is not telling us the whole truth.
I'm with those who say that a fitting is the best way to tell. My old irons were stiff shaft and I was wondering if I needed to go to regular or even senior flex due to my swing speed. When I got fitted, I discovered that my swing speed wasn't as slow as I thought it was, and was fitted into stiff shafts on my new irons. My driver is R flex and I thought maybe I should move to senior flex - which was also disproved on the launch monitor at my fitting, I stayed in a R flex.
If I had tried to fit myself based upon feel, I would have screwed it up and probably made things worse rather than better. The fitting was well worth the time and money to me.
If I had tried to fit myself based upon feel, I would have screwed it up and probably made things worse rather than better. The fitting was well worth the time and money to me.
Good stuff in here.
- Admin
- #19
See, you get it.
Exactly what myself and a number of others were saying in the other thread.
Summit
Well-known member
- Admin
- #21
Haha. I think you should go read all of yours posts in that thread again.
And sure, I never give away anything, so that would be a first
CobraX51
F-ck Yeah Baby!
The obvious answer and if it works is getting fit. My last fitting for driver I was moved from a Stiff Flex to Regular Flex and gained on average 6 or 7mph of club head speed.
I'm actually intrigued about doing a wedge fitting once all of this garbage finally ends at one point because I want to dial in the short game!
I'm actually intrigued about doing a wedge fitting once all of this garbage finally ends at one point because I want to dial in the short game!
Summit
Well-known member
Haha. I think you should go read all of yours posts in that thread again.
And sure, I never give away anything, so that would be a first
I have no issues standing by what I said on the other thread. The things I said in the other thread are specifically to the golfer who head a club head speed of 115mph. You're a little passive aggressive just because I don't share your opinions.
- Admin
- #24
Haha. Nothing passive agressive here and clearly you do share the same opinions as I do. You just posted my entire thought (other than the feel doesn't matter part) on shaft flex being black and white.
Someone said in one thread that players swinging at a speed would be in X 99.9% of the time and in this one said exactly what we were speaking of, that its not black and white.
A golf forum is for conversation and debate...Its cool.