Low handicappers / Regular shafts

mboy1980

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Had an interesting conversation tonight with a local chap who has a handicap of +2.

We were discussing equipment and I was surprised to learn his Driver has a regular shaft.I always thought low men would use stiff.The reason he gave was that although he accepts he won't hit the ball quite as far as me, 9 times out of 10 he will "have a shot".Obviously this makes perfect sense but I always thought good players using a regular would slice the ball.

Is this more common than I think?

I wonder if any Tour Pro's use regular?
 

mrobbie

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He may be a low handicaper, with a slow swing, that hits the ball well, and gets where he wants it each time. Shaft flex is determined by swing speed. Same way a 28 handicapper with a fast swing speed could use a stiff flex.

I know of a 3 handicapper that used to have a 9 degree stiff driver, but when fitted on a launch monitor, changed to 10.5 with a reg, and he gained about 30 yards - but was still as accurate as before.
 

Nico

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Even tho I am a shaft ponce,I have genuinely got to the stage where what fits is what I will use.

It's a combination of kick point,flex and swing weight that are the important things.

On the Tour matter I know Westwood used the Ping ZZ65 shaft originally (and may still do) which was their uniflex shaft.
 

USER1999

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You should use the most flexible shaft that you can control, as this generates the most power. Stiffer = control, bendy = power.

A faster swing speed with a bendy shaft will hook, a slow swing with a stiff shaft will slice.
 
D

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You can have two people on the same handicap with totally different swing speeds and therefore different club spec's.

Me and my winter league partner are perfect examples:

I hit hard and long, he hits steady and short.
I hit high, he hits low.
I'm wild, he's consistent.
I'm a birdie/bogie man, he's a steady par man.
I use stiff shafts, he uses regular.
I like mid/long irons, he uses 5 different fairway woods.
I can chip, he can't.
I can't putt, he can.

In fact he has my old driver (Nike Ignite with Fujikura regular), I was "fitted" for it at my local golf outlet. But when I went to the Belfry for lessons I was advised to move to a stiff.

We are both so different but both play off 10.
 

ACP

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The ZZ65 shaft is actually a stiff - check the link.I have them on my i10's.

http://www.pinggolf.com/shafts/ironshafts.aspx?id=110

Yes you're correct. I also use the zz65 shaft which, when I was fitted at Gainsborough earlier this year, actually gave me a slightly better ball flight and distance than Pings new AWT stiff shaft. Obvoiusly the varying degrees of stiffness will also make a difference!

ACP
 

Nico

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Ping may classify it that way now but when I had my ISI's made they called it uniflex.

I eventually found it a bit light but it always felt solid and the club never felt like it had got away from me.

It has been in their range for ages.
 
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