Driver - shaft or head more important?

[SteveJay]

I was fitted last year and ended up with a Wilson Dynapower 10.5 degree driver with a regular Project X HZRDUS Smoke Red RDX (53g). It was about 20 yards longer than my previous driver, a Callaway Rogue draw, also 10.5 degrees, fitted with a Tensei Blue AV 65g regular shaft.
However, I have since struggled for consistency with the Wilson, missing both ways (suffering from leaving the face open and over compensating, missing left).
Today, I went back to my Rogue and hit every fairway, albeit with drives ranging from 190 - 225 yards. The Wilson would typically be 220 -240 when i do make a decent strike.

I have booked a session next week with our pro and will try out some different drivers - am eager to try the Ping G440 - but wonder if you experts have any thoughts on should I consider swapping heads and shafts before shelling out on a new driver. The Rogue is obviously an older driver. I assume technology advances are mainly in the heads, so am tempted to try the Tensei shaft in the Wilson head. I presume that putting the Hazardus shaft in the Rogue would not gain distance due to the limitations within a dated head. Any thoughts or experiences from you guys that tinker with shafts?

 

[clubchamp98]

You can’t just swap shafts as the adapter will be different.

53g to 65g is a decent drop in weight which can affect your delivery.
You might be getting your hands to far ahead of the clubhead. ( open face)
The heavier shaft will slow you down a bit and this might explain the accuracy you see but you do lose head speed and so distance.
So each shaft is delivering the head differently.

Most standard heads are very similar and the shaft is the engine of the club

But 20 yds does seem a lot to gain over a top driver.

See if you can get on a Trackman with a pro to look at the delivery of the head as having a two way miss isn’t good and does come from compensations .
It’s mental as well once you mistrust a driver your looking for problems to give you an excuse to offload it

 

[SteveJay]

You can’t just swap shafts as the adapter will be different.

53g to 65g is a decent drop in weight which can affect your delivery.
You might be getting your hands to far ahead of the clubhead. ( open face)
The heavier shaft will slow you down a bit and this might explain the accuracy you see but you do lose head speed and so distance.
So each shaft is delivering the head differently.

Most standard heads are very similar and the shaft is the engine of the club

But 20 yds does seem a lot to gain over a top driver.

See if you can get on a Trackman with a pro to look at the delivery of the head as having a two way miss isn’t good and does come from compensations .
It’s mental as well once you mistrust a driver your looking for problems to give you an excuse to offload it

Thanks for that. Yes, I realise I will need to replace the adapters, but at £20 or so thats a far cheaper option than a new driver!

I get what you are saying though, and it might be the case that swapping shafts would reduce speed and so reduce distance with the Wilson head. Thats the sort of info I was after so I can have a meaning fun discussion with my pro.
I was fitted on Trackman for the Wilson, and hit it well in the studio. Since then on the course I have struggled and agree that confidence plays a huge part. Using the old Callaway today I had no swing thoughts, just swung freely, being so familiar with how it performs.

 

[clubchamp98]

Thanks for that. Yes, I realise I will need to replace the adapters, but at £20 or so thats a far cheaper option than a new driver!

I get what you are saying though, and it might be the case that swapping shafts would reduce speed and so reduce distance with the Wilson head. Thats the sort of info I was after so I can have a meaning fun discussion with my pro.
I was fitted on Trackman for the Wilson, and hit it well in the studio. Since then on the course I have struggled and agree that confidence plays a huge part. Using the old Callaway today I had no swing thoughts, just swung freely, being so familiar with how it performs.

Don’t forget fitting on a Trackman and playing in 2* cold in January are a bit different.

Sometimes in a fitting you get in a grove and can basically hit anything well to a certain degree.
Good luck

 

[rulie]

Don’t forget fitting on a Trackman and playing in 2* cold in January are a bit different.

Sometimes in a fitting you get in a grove and can basically hit anything well to a certain degree.
Good luck

My hypothesis is that the body will adapt to a club within 5-7 strikes.

 

[jim8flog]

Shafts are the power house of a club and can make a big difference.

If you do not have the skill to change adapters yourself (cost about £6-8) I would have a look around on ebay for the shafts with the correct adapter, there are always load on there. If you do not like it resell it.

First thing you really need to do is look at shaft manufacturers websites to work out what flight etc you are looking for.
Whilst there you could look at the difference between the shafts you already have.

 

[3 jabber]

The COR on driver heads hasn't changed for years. Manufacturers now concentrate on forgiveness. If you are hitting out the middle of the face you won't see a massive difference between a current and (relatively) older driver so yes you need to focus on the correct shaft. Flex, weight, kickpoint and torque will all have a big difference on the flight of the ball.
I see from your bio you are near the coast so if you play mainly on a links you might be better off with a lower flight and more run but if you play on a parkland more carry will likely be better.

 

[BubbaP]

Wonder how much the draw biased head is giving a 'comfort'. May not be middling it but in a zone that is giving fairway finders.