Dispersion - I don't get it

[Deleted Member 1156]

Exactly, so the dispersion won't have been as bad as some other shafts you tried surely?
Or have I missed the point?

I think you've missed the point. By default, just about every new driver claims better distance and dispersion than the previous model, regardless of the standard shaft in it.

As previously mentioned, one particular shaft can have very different results from person to person yet they make these universal claims.

 

[hovis]

dispertion for some is massive especially if you are not a big hitter.
.

its quite the opposite. shaft selection is more important if you're putting bigger forces through it.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Long story short was that the distance with the tour shaft was 12 yd further carry, better flight but the dispersion was excellent, even with a wayward drive.
With the stock shaft it was not as good.

This is pretty much my point Tashy, the tour shaft will be a better quality, more consistent shaft than the standard issue one so with a consistent swing/strike it will give better results.

 

[Tashyboy]

its quite the opposite. shaft selection is more important if you're putting bigger forces through it.

It might well be Hovis and it is a problem I will never have. But it is still massive
( dispertion) for a short hitter like me.

 

[JT77]

for me, if i test a club, and to keep it simple lets say 2 shafts, 5 good shots each and they both ave similar distances, but A has left to right dispersion of 5 yards, and B has a left to right of 10 yards, I am going shaft A.
for me, thats what is important about dispersion, however, i agree with what drive for show just put about universal claims of tighter control etc. all manufacturers will likely be able to match a suitable club to an individual to make tighter controls of their results on good swings. A bad swing will always be a bad swing, and who knows what the results of it will be, but more control over good swings and minimising damage of the bad ones is important to me anyway.

 

[JV24601]

I think you've missed the point. By default, just about every new driver claims better distance and dispersion than the previous model, regardless of the standard shaft in it.

As previously mentioned, one particular shaft can have very different results from person to person yet they make these universal claims.

I see - so it's a pop at the manufacturers!
With you now.

 

[patricks148]

I see - so it's a pop at the manufacturers!
With you now.

I can see the manufactures making a big deal of it after all the testing is done by a robot with the same swing over and over and over. there maybe something in it, but handicap golfers with inconsistent swings, i can't see it making a difference

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I see - so it's a pop at the manufacturers!
With you now.

Well, it's more a query regarding patrick's point in post #27. Are manufacturers fitting better quality shafts with every new club release or just making unfounded claims?

 

[ScienceBoy]

I see dispersion as 3 things.

1. XY (axes) dispersion on centre strikes, good swing path
2. XY dispersion on Heel/Toe Strikes
3. XY dispersion In/Out Swing path.

So your good shots, bad strikes and bad swings.

I doubt you can do much about 3, 2 is probably more about the clubhead design, leaving on 1 for the shaft.

We all know with irons the Y (long/short) dispersion is as important as the X (left/right) dispersion, Y is not that important for the driver however.

So that just leaves 1 with X axis dispersion for shaft.

 

[Three]

Often read posts on here where people say that their dispersion with X club was better than Y club. OK, that's fine but surely the only causes can be a) their swing or b) crap shaft in one of the clubs?

I have a top end shaft in my driver so if I tested a super whizzy new driver like an Epic and it had better dispersion then I would either be swinging badly with mine or very hacked off with my expensive shaft!

This is the real issue, the big marketing job that has convinced recreational players that expensive shafts are "better".

 

[Tashyboy]

This is the real issue, the big marketing job that has convinced recreational players that expensive shafts are "better".

Taylor made also did a good marketing job convincing me that the SLDR was the MOAB when it came to drivers. So I don't think the marketing is just confined to shafts. Unfortunately.

 

[User 105]

Most of us don't hit it out the middle every time. Dispersion to me is more to do with how the ball reacts to those off center hits.

All things being equal if you middle any club with a neutral path it's going straight. So it's more to do with what happens if you're a bit off center or a bit off neutral path. i.e. How forgiving is it.

I tend to look at dispersion rather than distance, I hit the ball as far enough, I'm more interested in something that is consistent.

When I tested the M1 against other drivers\shafts I think it was the Cobra F6 that was the longest for me. But it also had the worst dispersion, front to back and left to right. M1 was second longest but dispersion was much tighter. So for me that's what I put in the bag.

 

[Three]

Taylor made also did a good marketing job convincing me that the SLDR was the MOAB when it came to drivers. So I don't think the marketing is just confined to shafts. Unfortunately.

At least with a driver we can sometimes see big differences compared to what we're currently using. The looks, sound, feel and performance, including distance of course, can be very different. One of good thing is that there are many who are happy to say that they are really happy with their MD or some other less expensive make.

Obviously I know different shafts can produce different results, that's the whole point, but these differences are often miniscule. I've done it myself, had a choice of more than one shaft, no apparent differences in performance, but gone for the most expensive because we kind of feel that it's somehow going to be more consistent, or we're losing out if we take the cheaper option.

Ridiculous, but great marketing psychology.

 

[Foxholer]

This is pretty much my point Tashy, the tour shaft will be a better quality, more consistent shaft than the standard issue one so with a consistent swing/strike it will give better results.

Ping's 'Tour' shafts are no 'better quality' than their non-Tour ones! Nothing wrong with the quality of either style btw! There was a time when the really high volume Driver marketers (TM, Callaway, Cobra) often used stupidly low quality shafts - and got away with it because either no-one really knew better/realised the difference it could make or the comparison facilities just weren't available! It wasn't all doom and gloom though! Occasionally, a 'real' one would be used, possibly with a different paint job. So there were potential 'bargains' (like the TM R510TP)! There's a video somewhere on YouTube showing the different thickness of some shafts - made-for and real ones - which could be alarming - and the actual materials used were (are?) often different too! Low Quality Control (when making many 10s of thousands of shafts in a short period for a particular release, as opposed to making hundreds in the same time frame) is a big issue for 'Made For' as opposed to 'Real' shafts too! I have swapped my favourite Droiver shaft into nearly a dozen different heads over the years (nearly 10), with no problems. That would be impossible with one of the thin-walled cheapo ones that used to be supplied on Drivers

If Tashy's shaft (oooh-er) is Ping's 'Tour' shaft, then the 'Tour' is a (marketing?) misnomer! It's not a shaft made for/from 'the Tour', merely a slightly heavier, shorter one with less torque. It's very likely that it's these attributes that provide the increased stability that allows Tashy to 'go after it' either as a high handicap slash or with an element of 'control' - the effect of which is quite possibly a 'more centred' strike, which often has more effect on distance than a small increase in clubhead speed!

Also, very often, 'going after it' actually produces LESS actual clubhead speed (irrespective of centredness of strike)! It may feel 'faster', but sequencing tends to go haywire and actual LM values show swing speed is LOWER!

The 'secret' of fitting is finding a shaft that has the correct attributes for the particular player - and will also suit him/her when (s)he gets more confident in the changed results that the initial fitting provides!

Dispersion values could well be over-rated - though they could also indicate a potential future issue! A 10 yard value is likely to still be either on the fairway or semi and could well be discounted if there's significant distance gained. A 20 yard figure almost certainly spells trouble (already) though!

 

[Three]

What on earth is a "tour" shaft??????

 

[GreiginFife]

What on earth is a "tour" shaft??????

About £100 more...

 

[Foxholer]

What on earth is a "tour" shaft??????

Here's Ping's G30 'Retail' Shaft options! http://www.ping.com/clubs/driversdetail.aspx?id=17120

Note the word 'Tour' on several of them! Make what you will of that word!

There are, indeed, some 'Made for the Tour' shafts, normally simply in limited quantities. These are almost certainly no better than other 'real deal' ones though, simply profiles that tour players tend to like.

 

[Region3]

What on earth is a "tour" shaft??????

I swing the club slower than the shortest hitter on tour, so if they really are used on tour, why on earth would I want a tour shaft?

It plays to people's egos.

 

[clubchamp98]

Dispersion is very important tried mates Epic Hazardus 6.0 stiff all over the place.
Put my Kuro Kage stiff in it on the back nine never missed a fairway.
Thats what fitting is it just identifies what shaft is best for you it doesn't have to be the most expensive.
dispersion is crucial you can't play golf out of the trees

 

[User 105]

I swing the club slower than the shortest hitter on tour, so if they really are used on tour, why on earth would I want a tour shaft?

It plays to people's egos.

My m8 has just been fitted for a cally GBB with a reg shaft. He hits it about 20 yards further than his previous driver that had a stiff shaft and is much straighter as well.

But, he's now swapped back to a stiff shaft 'because he has more control'. Which is rubbish from what I've seen. He's lost the distance and the accuracy but he's convinced he hasn't.