Driver shaft change

Considering doing some experimenting with driver shaft during the winter.
Particularly going from a 64g shaft, (Diamana S+ limited Stiff shaft) to a heavier and stiffer shaft at 77g (Kuro Kage S Tini X-stiff)
I'm a pretty fast swinger, have a swing speed of around 111-113 and hitting it pretty well, but far from perfect.
Average 285 off the tee, slight fade - miss is an occasional slice.

What consequences can I experience, aside from being slightly stiffer and a lower torque (might increase the fade tendencies? or have I misunderstood that part?)
Would I get: lower spin, in theory tighter dispersion, lose/gain distance etc?

Playing a Nike Flex 440, set at "low" and 9.5°.

And to get it out, would only do this "for fun" and not to actually correct anything. :blob:

Blackizzz said:

Considering doing some experimenting with driver shaft during the winter.
Particularly going from a 64g shaft, (Diamana S+ limited Stiff shaft) to a heavier and stiffer shaft at 77g (Kuro Kage S Tini X-stiff)
I'm a pretty fast swinger, have a swing speed of around 111-113 and hitting it pretty well, but far from perfect.
Average 285 off the tee, slight fade - miss is an occasional slice.

What consequences can I experience, aside from being slightly stiffer and a lower torque (might increase the fade tendencies? or have I misunderstood that part?)
Would I get: lower spin, in theory tighter dispersion, lose/gain distance etc?

Playing a Nike Flex 440, set at "low" and 9.5°.

And to get it out, would only do this "for fun" and not to actually correct anything. :blob:

Click to expand...

You're swing speed is definitely in the "x-stiff" range, but I would consider your tempo as well. Are you a smooth swinger, or more of a hard "hitter" of the ball? If you're more in the "hitter" or quick tempo category then the heavier shaft might help smooth you out.

In general though you have it correct. Going stiffer should help tighten up your grouping, but it also might promote a fade if you're unable to load the shaft properly. You also might see a decreased launch/spin, but it's hard to say whether that will be good for you or not without knowing how your current setup performs. If your current driver combo spins too much or launches too high then you could see an increase in distance with the new combo, but the reverse could mean a loss as well.

Taos said:

You're swing speed is definitely in the "x-stiff" range, but I would consider your tempo as well. Are you a smooth swinger, or more of a hard "hitter" of the ball? If you're more in the "hitter" or quick tempo category then the heavier shaft might help smooth you out.

In general though you have it correct. Going stiffer should help tighten up your grouping, but it also might promote a fade if you're unable to load the shaft properly. You also might see a decreased launch/spin, but it's hard to say whether that will be good for you or not without knowing how your current setup performs. If your current driver combo spins too much or launches too high then you could see an increase in distance with the new combo, but the reverse could mean a loss as well.

Click to expand...

Cheers for the reply!

I wouldn't really say I can precisely define the differences between a "smooth swinger" and a "hard hitter" but I would definitely categorize myself with a faster tempo without necessarily being a "hitter" (per the definition google gives me)

My current setup works rather well, and I would definitely attribute the existing faults to me and not the club/shaft combo. I would say I have a medium launch/peak height (lowered since I started gaming this setup, but it's definitely high enough to cause trouble into the wind) and I spin the ball (indoor trackman) around 2.7k RPM. So I definitely wouldn't say it's too high spinning or launching. When I mishit it, I of course spin it higher and that's when the slight fade turns into a more pronounced fade or even a slice.

Not chasing more distance, but rather "not lose any" while decreasing the dispersion.

I will try and see if I can test the Kuro Kage or an equivalent (weight and stiffness-wise) tomorrow and see what happens, even if the head might be different.

So the store I went to didn't have the kuro kage or basically anything like it in X-flex (weird)
But tried the Diamana whiteboard (D+) 70 gram in S flex and it definitely felt "better"
Couldn't try it in the correct driver head, and the head that I tried (Titleist 917D2) spun way too much for me, but still, I liked the weight.

Got a higher swing speed (on average) surprisingly, with the heavier shaft. Though the spin caused by the head kind of "killed" the drives. So I got "better numbers" with my own driver.

I think the whiteboard might launch too low with my head, so I'm still a bit interested in the Kuro Kage S Tini 70, but perhaps in a stiff?
Sucks that I can't try the shafts and see which I like the most, might have to buy both just to try which I like the best...
ponder goes on