Does shaft weight really matter?

[Sidsidgwick]

Being rather new to the game and about as consistent as Audi's emission testing procedures I decided to try out a my friends driver shaft tonight and what a difference I found.

Now my question to you ladies and gents of much more knowledge is "does shaft weight play much of a role, or is it all in my head?"

Context: current driver is the 2014 big bertha with stiff 50g Fukubi shaft and my shots go high and right a lot of he time (tried different club head and loft settings)

Borrowed my friends shaft from his Epic (I was worried about marking his lovely new club) so just borrowed his stiff 75g Adila rogue shaft and my high right shot quickly turned into a bullet of a shot leaving me in play on the fairway (something of a novelty to me)

Now should I be running away with his shaft (oh er missus) or should I be spending monies wisely on lessons to try and fix my problems rather than buying new kit?

Any advice greatly accepted.

Thanks.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Being rather new to the game and about as consistent as Audi's emission testing procedures I decided to try out a my friends driver shaft tonight and what a difference I found.

Now my question to you ladies and gents of much more knowledge is "does shaft weight play much of a role, or is it all in my head?"

Context: current driver is the 2014 big bertha with stiff 50g Fukubi shaft and my shots go high and right a lot of he time (tried different club head and loft settings)

Borrowed my friends shaft from his Epic (I was worried about marking his lovely new club) so just borrowed his stiff 75g Adila rogue shaft and my high right shot quickly turned into a bullet of a shot leaving me in play on the fairway (something of a novelty to me)

Now should I be running away with his shaft (oh er missus) or should I be spending monies wisely on lessons to try and fix my problems rather than buying new kit?

Any advice greatly accepted.

Thanks.

Interesting post. Why not speak to your pro and get him to look at your swing with the lighter shaft? He may suggest it is too light for your action and that a heavier option would help or he may simply say your swing itself is out and fix that. Of course you could simply bite the bullet (perhaps avoid delaying the inevitable) and go and try some new clubs with different, heavier shafts

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Being relatively new we will forgive your obvious error in posting this. New clubs ALWAYS improve your golf 😁. It's a fact.

 

[Sidsidgwick]

Haha my initial thought was surely a new club will automatically be the answer, I better purchase a new putter to sort my short game out too

Interesting response Homer-think I'll go and speak to him this week and see what he suggests.

 

[duncan mackie]

You have answered your own question - shafts can make a huge difference.

However, you should get the underlying numbers from a launch monitor to appreciate what's really happening

 

[Imurg]

Although flex matters, current thinking is that weight is as much, if not more ,of and influence.
A heavy regular flex shaft will react differently to a light one, even of the same type.
Aldila used to make a shaft - the NV. It was available in weights from about 50-105 grams.
As you get heavier shafts they tend to get stiffer but, for example in this NV, a 60g stiff shaft will feel massively different to a 105g stiff.
Which weight and flex is all part of the fitting process and relates to your swing.
Not just swing speed but tempo and transition from backswing to down swing...
And it's a minefield - if you find a shaft that works - stick with it!

 

[hovis]

I've seen a countless amount of blind testing stats and they almost always conclude that shaft weight is more important than shaft flex

in fact, if you can be bothered to search. mark Crossfield and his friend done a feature on shaft weight

 

[Face breaker]

Yep it certainly does, get a proper fitting done, it'll save a lot of hassle and money in the end !... :thup:

 

[pendodave]

Are both shafts the same length? A shorter shaft may be easier to control irrespective of other variables.

 

[Sidsidgwick]

Thanks gents (yes shafts were both same length)

Off I toddle to YouTube for a Mr Crossfield video.

My local pro doesn't have a launch monitor etc available but there are a few teaching pros local with such devices so may need to go and see one of them for a lesson (unless anyone has any recommendations for fitting in the North East of England)

 

[hovis]

https://youtu.be/QCRH8d2zG9I

 

[Jensen]

Dave Fletcher at Brancepath in Durham. A very knowledgeable bloke, extremely helpful, honest and dedicated

 

[jpxpro]

personal thought only but defo yes, too light a shaft is fair too whippy for me and usually goes left, to heavy a shaft and I block it right,

 

[USER1999]

Equally, the best shaft for you on a launch monitor may not be the one you actually want to play golf with. My Epic gave the best numbers with the 55g hazardus, but out on the course, it just feels way too light, and i dont like it. Put a 62g fujikura in it, and i hit it way better, but the numbers on the monitor were worse.

75 odd gram shafts in a driver are pretty heavy though.

 

[Yant]

Shaft weight and quality are what make the biggest difference. You can stick pretty much any head you want on a club if the shaft is right.

 

[hovis]

Shaft weight and quality are what make the biggest difference. You can stick pretty much any head you want on a club if the shaft is right.

that's nonsense. the head is by far more important when it comes to club selection. you cant make a bad club great with the right shaft but you can make a great club better with the right shaft.


if you had a poor iron striker that struggles to get the ball in the air. then, by your theory if you have him a nike vrs blade then it'll be ok as long as the shaft is ok?. giving him a ping g400 with a ladies shaft would still be more suitable

 

[jim8flog]

When it comes to shafts in woods weight is not the only issue. It is also very largely about where in the shaft the kick point is.

This can affect the amount of lag in the club head reaching the ball and the face angle at impact.

You can have a lightweight shaft with very high kick point and it does not feel 'whippy' as some describe it.

 

[SugarPenguin]

Heavier shafts will tend to go lower and straighter as they are less whippy as a rule of thumb. If you have the strength and can sacrifice a few mph in club head speed then go for a 70g shaft. I'm being very generic.

 

[Foxholer]

Shaft weight is certainly an important consideration, now deemed at least, if not more, important than Flex! Though, as noted, there are several other characteristics to consider.

A heavier shaft tends to force a smoother transition, so training yourself to be smoother could be a better solution - as it also tends to slow the swing down too!

Worth trying a few others before deciding that the pretty heavy Rogue is the one for you! And it may well be to 'auditioning curse' where it all seems magic until it's paid for!

I have a pretty light Driver shaft (that I believe I swing 'smoothly), but iron ones are 'heavy' to avoid dispersion issues that I have with 'light' ones!