Senior Shaft too Soft?

Imurg

The Grinder Of Pars (Semi Crocked)
Joined
Mar 15, 2008
Messages
37,431
Location
Aylesbury Bucks
Visit site
Depends on who you believe.
Some say it makes very little difference, some say it makes all the difference and some are right in the middle.
The only true way to know is to try them.
 

bobmac

Major Champion
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
28,107
Location
Lincolnshire
Visit site
If you want more distance the chances are you'll need more speed.
That would be hard to do with a shaft designed for slower speeds
 

LIG

Q-School Graduate
Joined
May 14, 2010
Messages
984
Location
Middlesex
Visit site
Not if you adapt your swing apropriately!

Have hit a very whippy driver (think early graphite shaft) which easily carried past my own driver.

Was only three swings with driver of bloke in the next bay - two of which felt like swinging in slow motion; had to wait for the clubhead to catch up to my hands at impact!
Was really shocking to me on first strike, so hit two more, which flew even further.
Never had the courage to go for a whippy shaft of my own though!

(Caveat: Possibly my own driver was also unsuitable for me at that time!):unsure:
 

duncan mackie

Money List Winner
Joined
Feb 19, 2012
Messages
11,136
Visit site
Can a driver shaft that's too soft limit one's distance?
Yes

But it's also true to say that a driver shaft that's too stiff will limit one's distance.

On balance the latter will be more limiting to average Joe, whilst giving the user a feeling of more control (generally associated with a lower flight, slightly blocky and possibly cut shot). The softer shaft faults are generally a wider dispersion from a wider range of shots as the player struggles to control the club head. A better golf swing will resolve most of these with the softer shaft but, as Bob has posted, in terms of ultimate distance there will come a point where you would be sacrificing distance over a correctly matched shaft.

This will also be the case with other shaft charecteristics such as weight, flex points (as opposed to overall flex) and length.
 

Hoganman1

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 24, 2018
Messages
387
Visit site
Thanks for the input. The reason for my question was that I recently bought a Callaway Rogue driver. I replaced the stock shaft (an Aldila Synergy 50R) with a Fuji Vista Pro 55R2 ( senior flex) shaft that I was playing in my XR16. The Rogue is longer, but I'm tempted to try the stock shaft and see it works better and will help me pick up a few more yards.
 

jim8flog

Journeyman Pro
Joined
May 20, 2017
Messages
15,557
Location
Yeovil
Visit site
Not knowing any better I played for the first few years with senior flex in my irons and ladies flex in my driver & 3 wood.

I would say it depends on how you learn to control the club. When I switched to men's regular the first thing I noticed was the loss of distance.
 

clubchamp98

Journeyman Pro
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Messages
17,267
Location
Liverpool
Visit site
If you have to adapt your natural swing to accomadate a shaft then it’s not for you.
Surley a shaft that suits you will be easier to hit/control.
A fitting might show some surprising results.
Nothing to lose.
 
Top