lazychicken
Active member
I recently learned what many of you have been saying for a long time: The shaft matters. I'll be honest, I knew there were lots of technical differences and tons of super-special engineering in these things, but I didn't think any of that would matter to *ME* with *MY* mediocre amateur swing. Here's my story:
Maybe 2 years ago or so I was playing a Mizuno driver. It was a JPX-EZ I bought from RockBottom just as a test. I had always played regular flex shafts, and I started wondering if I would produce better results with a stiff flex. I also wanted to experiment with the driver at 43.5". So I got the inexpensive Mizuno and had it shortened. I certainly noticed an improvement from my previous driver. But obviously I changed a lot of things so it's tough to say what exactly led to the improvement. I wasn't going for science here, just making a change because: golf.
One day, after playing the Mizuno for awhile, I walked up to a tee box, leaned over to put my tee in the ground, and heard a crunching noise. The shaft on the Mizuno just fell apart. Most likely owing to my perfect swing and my stellar driving skills, of course. The guys in the pro shop offered to send it in for warranty replacement. And, in the meantime, like any other golfer, I used this as an opportunity to buy a new driver. The head pro did a fitting using Trackman and ended up putting me in the Callaway Rogue. As tends to happen with me, I noticed an improvement for a little while and then I guess I unconsciously changed something in my swing and went back to struggling.
Due to a mixup between the pro shop and Mizuno, my warranty replacement shaft eventually arrived and they had sent a Tensei CK Orange 50. I wasn't sure what to do with it, but the head pro told me it was a much better shaft than what I had and I would be silly to not at least try it. So I put it on the Rogue and played it until maybe a month ago. A month ago, I hit my tee shot with it and heard the sickening double crack sound (my ball hitting the face, and then another crack of the shaft breaking). It broke in between the adapter and the ferrule. I'm pretty sure this break was due to my clubs sliding around in the trunk of my car so much lately. I'm told I drive..."spiritedly". lol
So now I needed a new shaft but I had learned enough from you guys and from my experience with the Tensei to understand that I really needed some help figuring out what to buy. But I also needed my driver back quickly, so I determined to find an inexpensive shaft to use in the meantime, and then to seek a fitting to figure out what I should be playing. A local guy on Facebook Marketplace was selling a Diamana S+ Blue 60 stiff flex driver shaft he said he played a couple rounds on and then figured out he needed regular flex and changed it out. I bought it, had it regripped and a Callaway adapter put on, and put it in the bag.
Guys? I've never had an experience like this with a driver before. My dispersion is MUCH tighter. I'm finding the fairway on nearly every shot and I'm annoying the crap out of my usual golf buddies because my drives are longer, straighter, and more predictable than ever before in my golfing life. I realize this was just a fluke, just dumb luck. But this is fantastic!! The ball is suddenly going where I aim it!! I really had always assumed my swing was too inconsistent for the shaft to matter much. But maybe my swing was inconsistent because I was trying to solve for a shaft that didn't work for me. My swing seems very consistent now. This is the weirdest thing! (I know, I know, you're shaking your head because I'm freaking out about something that is probably so obvious...)
Anyway, now if I could just learn how to putt.
Maybe 2 years ago or so I was playing a Mizuno driver. It was a JPX-EZ I bought from RockBottom just as a test. I had always played regular flex shafts, and I started wondering if I would produce better results with a stiff flex. I also wanted to experiment with the driver at 43.5". So I got the inexpensive Mizuno and had it shortened. I certainly noticed an improvement from my previous driver. But obviously I changed a lot of things so it's tough to say what exactly led to the improvement. I wasn't going for science here, just making a change because: golf.
One day, after playing the Mizuno for awhile, I walked up to a tee box, leaned over to put my tee in the ground, and heard a crunching noise. The shaft on the Mizuno just fell apart. Most likely owing to my perfect swing and my stellar driving skills, of course. The guys in the pro shop offered to send it in for warranty replacement. And, in the meantime, like any other golfer, I used this as an opportunity to buy a new driver. The head pro did a fitting using Trackman and ended up putting me in the Callaway Rogue. As tends to happen with me, I noticed an improvement for a little while and then I guess I unconsciously changed something in my swing and went back to struggling.
Due to a mixup between the pro shop and Mizuno, my warranty replacement shaft eventually arrived and they had sent a Tensei CK Orange 50. I wasn't sure what to do with it, but the head pro told me it was a much better shaft than what I had and I would be silly to not at least try it. So I put it on the Rogue and played it until maybe a month ago. A month ago, I hit my tee shot with it and heard the sickening double crack sound (my ball hitting the face, and then another crack of the shaft breaking). It broke in between the adapter and the ferrule. I'm pretty sure this break was due to my clubs sliding around in the trunk of my car so much lately. I'm told I drive..."spiritedly". lol
So now I needed a new shaft but I had learned enough from you guys and from my experience with the Tensei to understand that I really needed some help figuring out what to buy. But I also needed my driver back quickly, so I determined to find an inexpensive shaft to use in the meantime, and then to seek a fitting to figure out what I should be playing. A local guy on Facebook Marketplace was selling a Diamana S+ Blue 60 stiff flex driver shaft he said he played a couple rounds on and then figured out he needed regular flex and changed it out. I bought it, had it regripped and a Callaway adapter put on, and put it in the bag.
Guys? I've never had an experience like this with a driver before. My dispersion is MUCH tighter. I'm finding the fairway on nearly every shot and I'm annoying the crap out of my usual golf buddies because my drives are longer, straighter, and more predictable than ever before in my golfing life. I realize this was just a fluke, just dumb luck. But this is fantastic!! The ball is suddenly going where I aim it!! I really had always assumed my swing was too inconsistent for the shaft to matter much. But maybe my swing was inconsistent because I was trying to solve for a shaft that didn't work for me. My swing seems very consistent now. This is the weirdest thing! (I know, I know, you're shaking your head because I'm freaking out about something that is probably so obvious...)
Anyway, now if I could just learn how to putt.
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