Shaft or Head Whats More important?

JB

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In your mind when deciding one what club to buy, what do you decide on first? And which one in your mind is more important to your overall ball striking?
 
Shaft.

It's what connects you to the ball. I'm a tinkerer, and have clubs that I stick different shafts in from time to time, and nothing affects the playability more dramatically than that.

I'll not discredit the value of good heads, however. Good heads make a WORLD of difference, but on the wrong shaft, they can very well be the worst investment you'll have ever made.
 
I'll throw my thoughts into it...keep in mind, I'm barely better than a hacker and got back into the game this year after 7 years off...Back then, it was the heads.
Now, irons I still say the heads, as long as the flex is in the similar range you need.

Drivers, whoa! This blows me away these days! I can't believe how much a shaft changes a driver. I have demoed the exact same driver side-by-side all with stiff flex shafts, but different brands, wow, night and day difference.

I have learned this...laucnh monitors are nice to get a rough idea of what is working for you, but nothing beats the actual range or course.
 
shaft for sure. but i do have a question, do the lock on shafts in demo fitting systems decrease performance versus a regular shaft in a driver?
 
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I have always heard that there is not a difference.
 
thanks because my country club has a taylormade driver fitting system. i am somewhat interested in a tour burner tp, mainly a 907d2, but i have yet to try every shaft so i would like to go through the shafts i like and the shafts i havent tried and determine which i like best. thats why i wanted to know if it changed the performance with a lock on
 
this is a pretty interestic topic... personally I believe it is the shaft. Unfortunately, there are so many high quality exotic shafts out there that it can be difficult to find a fitter who has demo clubs with those available shafts. it's hard to find a rombax, or a white/blue/red board just lying around at a shop
 
I am guessing for me it has to be the shaft as I seem to hit driver with a very low ball flight. If I could get something to perform the way I wanted I would like a 9.5* head with a high launch shaft but I doubt I will ever find it without spending tons of cash testing.
 
Head. In irons and woods. No shaft is going to fic my swing flaws, but the head can hide those flaws a little easier. At least in my experience
 
Vince with some epic necromancy. I would go head first in my experience. I can slow my swing down a little for some shafts but if the head doesn't fit it's over
 
Vince with some epic necromancy. I would go head first in my experience. I can slow my swing down a little for some shafts but if the head doesn't fit it's over

I guess thats my problem, where do I go to try different heads and shafts? I know Golf Galaxy cant do that, at least the one near me. Maybe Golftech could do this?
 
I would start a thread and ask people their thoughts to be honest. JB probably could narrow your list down quite a bit. Then call around and see what local stores have. I have the same issue though man. I have no clue what I need
 
I would start a thread and ask people their thoughts to be honest. JB probably could narrow your list down quite a bit. Then call around and see what local stores have. I have the same issue though man. I have no clue what I need

I know my swing has the biggest effect as of now, lessons are starting soon but damn it gets frustrating at times.
 
I guess thats my problem, where do I go to try different heads and shafts? I know Golf Galaxy cant do that, at least the one near me. Maybe Golftech could do this?

THP Demo Day if you get a chance to come to one some time.
 
THP Demo Day if you get a chance to come to one some time.

I am actually coming to the THP Demo day in May. I got one of the spots that came open recently, cant wait.
 
Holy thread revival. Thatta way to use the search tool.

I think they are of relatively equal importance.
 
For the average golfer shaft isn't that important but I see where a great golfer needs the right shaft.
 
For the average golfer shaft isn't that important but I see where a great golfer needs the right shaft.

I could absolutely not disagree more with this. A great golfer could probably make up for a shafts shortcomings, but an average player? Not a chance. I know I was playing a shaft in my driver that didn't work at all for me, and when I swapped it out I gain a LOT of distance and a helluva lot of accuracy.
 
For the average golfer shaft isn't that important but I see where a great golfer needs the right shaft.

Respectfully, I disagree with that. I think it's as, or more so, important for the avg golfer to have the right shaft. A 'pro' can work around it to some degree.


I'm a hack, so it's only a matter of me thinking about my experiences.

Shaft ... put the wrong shaft in a bad head and you can't get the ball off the ground. Put the right shaft in that same head and you can get the ball airbore. To me that's IMPORTANT ...

Head forgiveness is a BEAUTIFUL thing, but if you can't get the ball in the air because you have the wrong shaft, those G20 irons I got wouldn't be liked so much by me.

Clearly they are both important, and today's technology is WONDERFUL, IMO the shaft is more import.

Now, having said that, it was not the shaft in the G20's that made me buy them :D
 
I think it's all relative to you, your needs, and your playing conditions. Any head that meets your needs (ie low spin vs high spin or max "workability" vs max forgiveness) will work well with the shaft that meets your swings needs.

I play a 910 D2 because it's lower spin, but not a spin killer. Kinda in between. However I have 2 shafts that I play. On nice calm days with no wind I play my Kai'li because of the extra launch and spin I get for extra carry distance. On windy days I play my Projext X 7C3 because it launches lower and cuts through the wind better with less spin to combat ballooning and more rollout on the ground.

What I'm saying is that really any head that meets your needs is probably gonna work well with a shaft that meets your needs and your conditions. Seeing as though a head isn't going to help you combat playing conditions as much as a shaft will I see the shaft as more important.

I think I'm making sense...I do to me anyway.
 
Overall it should be the shaft as it is the "motor" of the club. But they can be changed. I like a head to feel "hot" and have the right sound. If the shaft fits my swing then it's a bonus.

Alex
 
Definitely the shaft !
 
I would say the shaft. If I have the right flex in the shaft, I'm confident I could still hit a persimmon headed driver pretty decently. But put an A flex shaft in the latest greatest driver head, and I probably couldn't hit the fairway 1 in 10 swings.
Shaft flex isn't as pronounced a factor in irons because I swing a little slower, but its still an issue. Again, I believe a blade iron with the right shaft will be more effective for me overall than an R11 iron head with a super flexible A flex shaft.
 
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