Basic Driver Question

[Wilts]

HI, I currently use a ping G5 Driver which is on loan from a friend and i need to give it back soon.

It has a stiff shaft which the pro, who i am having lessons with, thinks is ideal for me. I have regular steel shaft Irons which i get on very well with. I swing my irons at about 80mph

I dont know what speed i swing the driver at but i would imagin it is a little higher than 80MPH, i read somewhere on here thet 100MPH is on the cusp of stiff/regular.

This advice is obvously contradicting the advice from my pro! I need to buy one soon so which shaft do you guys think would be best suited?

 

[bobmac]

You have a dilema
The first thing to know is different club maufacturers idea of stiff and regular vary quite a lot. some stiffs are reg and vice versa.
The only way to find out is to try them on a range or even better borrow one and try it on the course for a few rounds.
Things to look out for....
If it tends to go to the right, the chances are it's too stiff. If its left, its too soft.
Or just buy the same Ping G5 driver you are using now
Good luck

 

[JustOne]

As Bob says, the only real way to find out what suits your game is to take some different clubs onto the range or have a custom fitting session. I'd say that 100mph is comfortably in the stiff shaft range, even 95 is OK but you still don't know what your speed is...so that's not going to help

How old are you (ballpark) and how long have you been playing?

 

[Wilts]

I am 28 and have been playing once a year for 15 years but for the last 6 months been playing once a week and i am well and truely hooked.

I have slowy updated all my kit which i am now hitting 90% straight (ish) apart from the Driver which is slicing. I have put this down too technique - i have had lessons for it and it looks like i am hitting a bit straighter now but with a bit of fade (alright - slice).

Which makes me think regular (which is what my playing partner has also been saying for a while) why is my pro saying stiff?!?!?

with bobmac's comment aswell also suggest i go regular - i dont get it!!!

 

[JustOne]

At 28 I'd say there is a good chance that both your technique and swingspeed will improve. Not necessarily...but it has a good chance.

A slice is down to your technique not really the club or the shaft. A regular shaft won't open that much at 100mph (if that's what you're swinging at) to make you hit a slice...a degree or two yes...a slice no. If you are at 100mph I'd go for a stiff shaft for sure and try not to slice the ball by cutting across it and leaving the face open quite so much

Ask the pro to check your grip if you are slicing it.

Regards...

note: As is with all these things they are purely speculation. Without seeing your swing or measuring it then the best advice would be to go see your local pro.

 

[Wilts]

Thanks for that - im sure i dont swing at 100mph and i accept the slice is mainly due to technique

Am working to get a video of my swing on here, havent got a camcorder - yet!

Watch this space!

 

[RGDave]

OK. Here's my thoughts.

If you are using a stiff shafted Aldila NV, there's almost no hope for you with this club.

The NV, even in regular, requires quite a solid and fast-ish swing. I'd personally say, having messed around with both the NV and NVS shafts that until you are up OVER 90 mph with your swing speed, the NVS reg is the best choice.

If it is a grafalloy shaft, then, similar deal. The blue is the most widely used, along with the red, and t.b.h. these are both a little stiff for 90 mph. My recommendation would be the platinum.

Why so sure? I've been researching for ages about all this.

Everyone is different, but most beginners/slow swing players will probably gain better results with a lighter 55g?/higher launch shaft.

 

[RGDave]

Then again, you could ignore all that above.

Thinking about it, you may well find 80 mph with a 5 iron (?) could be plenty fast enough for all sorts of regular.

The only way is to get on a monitor.

I still think that a stiff flex is no good though for you.

 

[Wilts]

For anyone that is interested, i used a demo regular flex driver at the range last night and compared it with my stiff flex.

I think my problems were with my swing as both went straight and 80% would have hit my imaginary fairway. if anything the regular flex driver sliced a bit more than the stiff!!!

The biggest difference i noticed was that the demo driver was 10.5deg compared to the 9deg of my stiff flex. I think i prefere the stiff!!!

 

[AlexanderAdair]

I was once given the advice of, if your unsure, go for the regular. So obviously I went for the Stiff. An overly stiff shaft can cause more problems than a too flexible one. However i'm going to echo what everyone else has said. Go and see a Pro and get on a monitor. Its the only way to truely get your answers.

Take it easy.

 

[bobmac]

if anything the regular flex driver sliced a bit more than the stiff!!!

I suggest that may be the indian, not the arrow.
Normally, when a regular shaft is swung too fast, it will release too early and therefor be a little closed at impact.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Any good PGA pro will be able to give you the advice you are looking for so why not use them instead of AG etc. I'd suggest from what you are saying that it's a swing issue and not the equipment and your pro will spot the flaw in seconds.