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Shafts: Do You Believe in Feel?

Nippon Shafts
Canadan

Canadan

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This should be another one of those threads where people get mad at me for starting, yet can't stay out of hahahaha

Do you believe that shafts have 'feel' to them?

- If yes, what does that mean to you? How important is it?
- If no, why? And, how can you select something without considering feel?
 
Ugh.....
 
Yes.
I don't think everybody feels transition and kick, but I think it exists.
I think chasing numbers purely inside a bubble is not the best way to fit.
 
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I'll lead off in case everyone is shy.. and say that I absolutely believe feel to be a reality in shafts, and here's why;

1 - Weight. If something is too heavy, between the weight of the head, the weight of the shaft, or the overall swing weight, I can 'feel' it being too light or heavy. Yes I do agree that this is a small component to the shaft feel story, but I think it's an important element.

2 - Load. I've said it numerous times, if something is either too stiff or stiff in the wrong places, and I cannot feel the shaft transition power in the swing, it makes me go out of my way to try to create a load sensation that I want. Shafts like C-Tapers or even the OG Project X are great samples.

3 - release. When people talk about a shudder (which I'd argue is feel) at, before, or after release, I believe that's highly representative of feel as well. Once again it comes down to properly loading and releasing (and thank god we have tons of options because this can be a BRUTAL one for me), but this is also highly associated with the 'feel' aspect of a shaft.

Number 2 is probably by biggest concern. If I don't feel a shaft working with my swing, I will absolutely alter it to accommodate, which rarely ends well.
 
JB said:
Yes.
I don't think everybody feels transition and kick, but I think it exists.
I think chasing numbers purely inside a bubble is not the best way to fit.
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This. This is it.

And I’ll add, torque is the biggest contributor to what most consider feel.

Of course, all of this is just stuff that comes FROM the actual shaft designers so I’m sure some here will call it wrong. :p
 
I'll be completely honest and say I suck at telling much of a difference between shafts. There are certainly some products where I can feel more kick or whip in a shaft or if one is too stout for me but outside of that I'm not able to tell a big difference. I'm not sure if I'm jealous of those that can or if it would be one more thing that I would way overthink.
 
I think they do. That’s why some feel like a wet noodle and others a 2x4.
 
I certainly think they have feel to them. But I'm not good enough/consistent enough to discern the feels unless they're pretty radically different. I have to rely upon a launch monitor and somebody who knows how to interpret the numbers to get me in the ballpark, then it's all about how it performs in the real world, hitting real distances and dealing with real ball flight.
 
Jman said:
This. This is it.

And I’ll add, torque is the biggest contributor to what most consider feel.

Of course, all of this is just stuff that comes FROM the actual shaft designers so I’m sure some here will call it wrong. :p
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I don't think torque has anything at all to do with feel.

Sorry. Couldn't help myself. In fact, I think you're right on the money. Torque is a huge factor in the feel of a shaft.
 
Yes! There is a huge difference from shaft to shaft. Nippon Modus feels a lot different from a KBS Tour V or a Dynamic Gold. Even HZRDUS Black and HZRDUS Smoke Black feel completely different.
 
I absolutely think feel in a shaft (especially driver and woods) is important. I hit a regular flex for a long time even though I have been told I needed a stiff or maybe even X-stiff. I finally got a newer shaft as that one was broken while being regripped. The newer one is on the lighter side of stiff and feels similar to my older regular flex but gives me better ball flight. I have tried other and felt like they were a 2x4 and I had know clue where the club was. With the old regular flex I could feel that and manipulate the club more for higher or lower draws, cuts, etc.
 
I agree 100% with @Canadan. I can feel kick in a shaft and it settles me down so I don't feel the need to go at the ball quite as hard (this is relative guys as I always go after the ball), but I can also feel if the head of a club is lagging open during the downswing. I suppose this feeling may be related to kick (or lack of kick due to being too soft) and/or torque. Either way, certain shafts feel right to me and I am pretty picky in that regard.
 
What I like in a shaft is the ability to feel where the ball hit on the face of the club. I don't know if this is a real feeling or how better to describe it. Stouter shafts, I have a hard time feeling where my strike was. I know that has to do with the head you are using as well but I feel it is also in the shaft. I had a Riptide in my EF and my college golfer buddy had a tour flex shaft that someone wanted him to try. It had a Callaway adapter so I thought I'd give it a try. I was hitting it decently but I had no idea where I was hitting it on the face. So that is a big thing for me feeling wise in a shaft.
 
Yes, absolutely feel is real (or at least perceived feel is real). I guess it all depends on the profile of the shaft.
I agree 100% about the weight of the shaft and how it effects the transition during the swing. I like to be able to feel the head release and "drive" through the ball.
example, I had a Diamana Blue Board that felt like I had a head connected to a piece of rebar. I had no confidence in that club because I felt I had to overswing every time just to replicate the "feel" of the head releasing. That shaft was just not for me.
 
Most of the time I have difficulty feeling a difference. It's usually when there is an extreme difference in some element of the build that I can "sense" something has changed. But that's rare for me.
 
Absolutely. There are different aspects of it too, as Dan alluded to, but yes it is there. To me, if a shaft doesn't feel right or adequate, I don't want to use it. Whether that pigeon holes me or not I don't care. I don't want to play a shaft I think feels horrible (ie. steelfiber's).
 
Sure. I think different shafts feel different throughout the swing as well as at impact. I won't pretend to know all of the ins and outs of why they feel different, but I can tell between some of them. Then, if you add differing balance points I think they feel much different.
 
To me it is about the weight distribution which I guess is swing weight. Some shafts feel like I really need to.get after it with them and some feel like I have to slow down with them. I don't like either of those feelings. I want it to work with my swing.
 
difficult for me to feel shafts - but recently encountered a 2x4 (heavy and stiff) shaft - just feels like i cannot get any movement.
 
Of course they can have feel. Some feel "boardy" too stiff, like you're swinging a telephone pole. Some are "whippy," like swinging a wet noodle. Some I can feel where the clubhead is at in my swing. Some others I can't feel anything but the grip in my hands.
All shafts have feel. It just may mean a something different to everyone.
 
Space Bandito said:
I believe in the feel of a shaft in the same way I believe in loft jacking.
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You've never been in a fitting where you try a shaft and go "well that felt terrible"?
 
yes
isn't flex a feel?
 
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