# How much a difference does a driver shaft make?



## turkish (Dec 11, 2016)

So I bought off the shelf after trying a few stock clubs and went with what felt best in AG. Was never offered various shafts and lofts.

I have blue diamona stiff Flex shaft. SS varies between 98-100 recently. Last year was 105 but fitness and flexibility has dwindled. As I never got fit foe the driver I've always had niggling thought of having right set up. 

How would I go about testing various shafts then repkacing without actually spending  Â£400 on a new driver? Would it even be worthwhile

I'm a honking driver of the ball, albeit I've improved massively in 2 years. My average total is probably 230 but many are high spinny 200 yard balloons.


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## patricks148 (Dec 11, 2016)

i would go for a proper fitting if thats what you want.... or just buy a load and try them and find out what works best for you the hard way


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## Face breaker (Dec 11, 2016)

Believe it or not it makes a hell of a difference to ball flight, too soft and it'll balloon, to stiff and it'll stay low causing you to struggle with distance.

I use a stiff shaft because I have a real high trajectory and the stiff shaft helps to eliminate the looping effect thus giving me more distance, now if only I could find a shaft that eliminates the effects of slicing ! :smirk:


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## Hobbit (Dec 11, 2016)

I went through a costly experiment of buying a couple of drivers with reg shafts, thinking old age had slowed me down enough to warrant it. Each time I 'garaged' the new driver and put the old one with a stiff shaft back in the bag. I was losing a shed load of balls out right, with a massive slice. I haven't sliced like that for 20 years. 

American Golf's double deal was launched and I traded a load of gear in and bought a new driver with a stiff shaft I thought would suit - lots of research on shaft types, spin rates and launch angles. I missed two fairways yesterday, pretty similar to last week. And they're travelling miles.

Most definitely the wrong shaft can destroy your game.


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## Beezerk (Dec 11, 2016)

I'm  mid handicapper so my opinion means little, but...
I've always hit high drives, after a bit of research I chose a stiff shaft which is supposed to be lower launching. Put it this way, I had to increase my driver loft as worms were putting on tin hats when i walked up to the tee box. It worked and strangely I've gained a fair bit of distance as a bonus.


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## turkish (Dec 11, 2016)

Thanks for the replies.... and just adding to my niggling thoughts lol... have no intention of changing drivers as simply cant afford it, nor could I afford trying multiple shafts.

Am I likely to find a fitter for shaft only?


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## garyinderry (Dec 11, 2016)

Short answer is it can completely change a club. 

Depending on how you swing you may still hit it high low slice or hook.


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## moogie (Dec 11, 2016)

turkish said:



			Thanks for the replies.... and just adding to my niggling thoughts lol... have no intention of changing drivers as simply cant afford it, nor could I afford trying multiple shafts.

Am I likely to find a fitter for shaft only?
		
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Scott Gourlay
Craigmillar park golf club
Edinburgh
Dozens and dozens and dozens of shafts
Book a driver shaft fitting,  eye opener id say

As if you've a 98-100mph swing,  you're defo not getting the most out of it with the yardages you quoted above


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## hovis (Dec 11, 2016)

shaft flex has very little effect on spin, dispersion and launch.    i have witnessed and been part of extensive blind shaft testing.    however,  shaft weight can have dramatic differences on the golf shot.


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## stevek1969 (Dec 11, 2016)

I did a Cobra fitting at my place in the summer and i got on better with a slightly shorter shaft than standard and a bit heavier, starting to see the results of that now. Try find a manufactures demo day and you can try as many shafts as you want


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## Evesdad (Dec 11, 2016)

Also worth a mention are different kick points can make a huge difference.


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## Papas1982 (Dec 11, 2016)

Evesdad said:



			Also worth a mention are different kick points can make a huge difference.
		
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When I upgraded to the 917 I sold my 915 with the stock shaft it came with. Tried all the available shafts in store and then fitted my old shaft in it.  Are up trumps massively. 

In fact, the 915 with it was better than any 917 option until I changed the shaft. So I'd say finding a shaft that you like (ahem) is very important.


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## srixon 1 (Dec 11, 2016)

turkish said:



			So I bought off the shelf after trying a few stock clubs and went with what felt best in AG. Was never offered various shafts and lofts.

I have blue diamona stiff Flex shaft. SS varies between 98-100 recently. Last year was 105 but fitness and flexibility has dwindled. As I never got fit foe the driver I've always had niggling thought of having right set up. 

How would I go about testing various shafts then repkacing without actually spending  Â£400 on a new driver? Would it even be worthwhile

I'm a honking driver of the ball, albeit I've improved massively in 2 years. My average total is probably 230 but many are high spinny 200 yard balloons.
		
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Some useful info in this link

http://www.golfclubshaftreview.com/


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## USER1999 (Dec 12, 2016)

What driver have you got?


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## turkish (Dec 12, 2016)

915 d2


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## Foxholer (Dec 12, 2016)

There does seem to be something out of kilter with your (hardware) set-up! But it could also be your physical set-up!

How high do you tee the ball on drives?


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## turkish (Dec 12, 2016)

Foxholer said:



			There does seem to be something out of kilter with your (hardware) set-up! But it could also be your physical set-up!

How high do you tee the ball on drives?
		
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Well this is also something I have been toying around with- I try to tee it up high- silver/orange castle tee height to get that hitting up feeling.... near the end of the summer that was going quite well but when I started skying a lot went back down to pink castles but generally try to stay at the higher height.


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## USER1999 (Dec 12, 2016)

I might have a grafalloy red in stiff with a 910 adaptor on it somewhere you can try. If you hit this high, youve really got swing issues. I think this will fit a 915.


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## Dasit (Dec 12, 2016)

My swingspeed is 94 to 96 and I got high spinny drives that carry about 200, lucky to see 220 total. Regular shaft.

would I be better off trying a stiffer shaft, I got my driver online without testing it


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## Andy (Dec 12, 2016)

Turkish go and see David Orr at Eastwood, he can probably let you try shafts plus he has trackman.


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## Foxholer (Dec 12, 2016)

turkish said:



			Well this is also something I have been toying around with- I try to tee it up high- silver/orange castle tee height to get that hitting up feeling.... near the end of the summer that was going quite well but when I started skying a lot went back down to pink castles but generally try to stay at the higher height.
		
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That sort of confirms my thought that you are likely to be hitting down on the ball - which adds (lots of) spin! If that's the case, then it's much better to fix that than to kludge things with a different shaft. If the Diamana is the Blue, then that's a nice mid launch/spin one, so shouldn't balloon! The Red is higher Launch/Spin, but not ludicrously so.

I'd suggest you try using the longest wooden tees you can find (only just put in the ground) and try to ensure that you hit up on the ball! - even almost trying to skim the grass about a foot behind the ball! Make sure the ball is just inside the heel of your front foot at setup.


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## Tommo21 (Dec 12, 2016)

moogie said:



			Scott Gourlay
Craigmillar park golf club
Edinburgh
Dozens and dozens and dozens of shafts
Book a driver shaft fitting,  eye opener id say

As if you've a 98-100mph swing,  you're defo not getting the most out of it with the yardages you quoted above
		
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Scott's the man IMO. He won't sell you anything unless it helps. It could be you need a run through of your present driver settings.


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## turkish (Dec 12, 2016)

Andy said:



			Turkish go and see David Orr at Eastwood, he can probably let you try shafts plus he has trackman.
		
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Thanks Andy I will speak with David next time I'm in.


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## USER1999 (Dec 12, 2016)

Foxholer said:



			That sort of confirms my thought that you are likely to be hitting down on the ball - which adds (lots of) spin! If that's the case, then it's much better to fix that than to kludge things with a different shaft. If the Diamana is the Blue, then that's a nice mid launch/spin one, so shouldn't balloon! The Red is higher Launch/Spin, but not ludicrously so.

I'd suggest you try using the longest wooden tees you can find (only just put in the ground) and try to ensure that you hit up on the ball! - even almost trying to skim the grass about a foot behind the ball! Make sure the ball is just inside the heel of your front foot at setup.
		
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The graffalloy prolaunch red is very low launch low spin though.


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## hines57 (Dec 12, 2016)

I was fitted by Callaway and the recommended shaft made a difference of 11 yards and better dispersion than the stock shaft. Best of all is that there was not a price premium over stock.


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## Garush34 (Dec 12, 2016)

Tommo21 said:



			Scott's the man IMO. He won't sell you anything unless it helps. It could be you need a run through of your present driver settings.
		
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Anyone know how much it is for a fitting at Scott Gourlay's?


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## Tommo21 (Dec 12, 2016)

Garush34 said:



			Anyone know how much it is for a fitting at Scott Gourlay's?
		
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Not sure, give him a call......0131 667 2850


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## MadAdey (Dec 12, 2016)

The difference is unbelievable, try different shafts and the results will change dramatically. Going with a lighter weight X-stiff I can get some serious distance, but with the a heavier Stiff shaft I get better consistency. There is a magical spin rate target to hit of 2000RPM. When I got fitted it was a case of playing around with shafts and lofts until I got a nice low spin rate, but still got a high launch angle.


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## harpo_72 (Dec 12, 2016)

I play a regular shaft but stable tip, swing speed is 98-102. I was thinking of trying a pro launch red in regular, I should be able to make it kick to pick up distance a stiff is a bit tough.
i play stiff shafts in my fairways so project x 6.0 in the 4 w and ust axivcore tour green in my 7 w ... both feel smooth to me which is the feeling I like.


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## Simbo (Dec 13, 2016)

Garush34 said:



			Anyone know how much it is for a fitting at Scott Gourlay's?
		
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I wet for a driver fitting with Scott earlier in the year, pretty sure it was about Â£35. I tried loads of different shafts and clubheads. In the end he didn't sell me anything and told me to go see a pro because I had a swing issue that was the cause and not the driver as they were all doing pretty much the same thing.
There's his website, he's also on Facebook and twitter. 
http://www.sggt.co.uk
Nice knowledgeable guy


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## turkish (Dec 15, 2016)

So in the new year I fully intend to go for a shaft fitting and test a load of different shafts on a LM and try and get my setup correct.

In the meantime I have bought my brother a 2nd hand Titleist 910 which has a black Diamana ahina 72 low-mid s-flex- how does this shaft differ to my diamana blue stiff flex? What type of different flight would I see(if any)?

Does anyone know if swapping shafts on titleist drivers is easy- if you completely unscrew the settings does the head come off without having to mess about with ferules etc?

I checked online and have found that a 910 shaft should fit fine in a 915 driver.


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## daverollo (Dec 15, 2016)

Turkish, I have a 910D2 driver head.  In the last 18 months I have now accumulated 5 different shafts that I can easily change as they all fit the Titty driver.  I really loved an Oban one in the 910 head, but have since procured a 915D3 head and the Oban with 915 head just doesn't feel the same or launch the ball the same as it used to.  However, one of the accumulated shafts works a treat.


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## turkish (Dec 15, 2016)

daverollo said:



			Turkish, I have a 910D2 driver head.  In the last 18 months I have now accumulated 5 different shafts that I can easily change as they all fit the Titty driver.  I really loved an Oban one in the 910 head, but have since procured a 915D3 head and the Oban with 915 head just doesn't feel the same or launch the ball the same as it used to.  However, one of the accumulated shafts works a treat.
		
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Do you prefer the 910 head to 915? both are D2 but 910 is 8.5 degrees whereas 915 is 9.5 degree.

Re the swapping shafts and heads do they simply unscrew off?


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## Region3 (Dec 15, 2016)

Unsrew all the way, pull head off, make sure the surefit adaptor is in the right setting for you and put the new head back on lining the surefit setting up with the dot on the head. When you tighten it with the wrench it will click when it's tight enough, like a torque wrench slipping.
Just be careful not to cross thread it, ie go easy when starting to tighten it to make sure it screws in really easy before it starts to tighten up.

The ahina was the old version of the new D+ shaft, which to me feels stiffer than the blue (S+) and should lower your launch and spin.

I felt like I didn't swing hard enough to make the Ahina work properly.


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## Andy (Dec 15, 2016)

turkish said:



			So in the new year I fully intend to go for a shaft fitting and test a load of different shafts on a LM and try and get my setup correct.

In the meantime I have bought my brother a 2nd hand Titleist 910 which has a black Diamana ahina 72 low-mid s-flex- how does this shaft differ to my diamana blue stiff flex? What type of different flight would I see(if any)?

Does anyone know if swapping shafts on titleist drivers is easy- if you completely unscrew the settings does the head come off without having to mess about with ferules etc?

I checked online and have found that a 910 shaft should fit fine in a 915 driver.
		
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Good luck with the Ahina, have you signed up for the gym? &#128513;


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## Tashyboy (Dec 15, 2016)

Depends how serious you are about your golf if your not bothered and just enjoy a knock. I wouldnt get to bothered about the differances. But seeing as
Your on here asking i would suspect you are bothered. So the correct answer. Yes the differance between having the right and wrong shaft could be massive. I had a bog standard shaft for my G30 and it was ok for me. Had a hit with a tour shaft and took it when i was fitted at Ping for my irons. It was 15 yards differance. Get citted for peace of mind. Plus it could save you money.


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## turkish (Dec 15, 2016)

Andy said:



			Good luck with the Ahina, have you signed up for the gym? &#128513;
		
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LOL popped into range on way home from work and never had wrench so was really testing the 910 at 8.5 degrees in A1 vs my 915 up at A3 (11 degrees) wasn't on LM so couldn't mention distance but did hit some nice shots with it. The 910 did come out a lot lower and "seemed" less spinny but could just be the head.

Did have my swing pro with me so done a SS test and 5 shots of each the lighter blue diamana was average 3 mph faster at 99mph despite being an inch shorter. 

So in other words I still have no clue.

Just got me thinking more about even lighter shafts lol

Dispersion wasn't bad on either just thinking there may be a shaft out there I could keep SS up while being a bit less spinny. But could also be the settings I have may not be suited to me.... only one way to really find out and visit the pro I suppose.


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