turkish
Journeyman Pro
So with there nowhere in Scotland in the mould of Tour X or Golf Principles I am taking it on myself to experiment with different shafts bought 2nd hand from ebay/facebook etc alongside my course of lessons with a pro on GC2.
Disclaimer; I am very much learning so if anything I say is a load of tosh feel free to enlighten me as there is an overwhelming plethora of variables in the multitude of shafts out there.
I've a few questions for all you shaft experts out there and what direction I should be going if anybody has any advice. As I said I'm new to all this but find it really interesting so if it interests you also read on!!! If not trolls beat it
This is likely to be a costly endeavour so I am looking at 2nd hand market and not wanting to pay more than £60 a shaft so things like the new project x hzrdus, or expensive oban shafts I can't consider... anything that doesn't work for me will be getting quickly moved on hopefully at no/little loss.
about me:
Handicap 16.5
AOA -1ish (still a work in progress with pro but big improvement from the 5-6 I was before)
in to out swing path
SS- can vary between 96-101 mph
Spin- can vary but usually between 2200-3000 then goes northwards on my poor hits. When I started along with AoA being massivly down my spin was as high as 5 and 6k.
my poor shot: Heel strike cuts or pushes right with an open face.
distances: Not got the data yet as just started testing but best shaft yesterday from memory was 240 carry 262 total average which is up by about 40 yards when I started this.
Height: 5 foot 7", fairly fit.
Driver Head: Titleist 915 D2 9.5 degree set to 8.75 degree and 1.5 upright (D2 setting)
Hopefully my journey will help other people and give them an insight- so far I've noticed not only how big a difference it can make to the numbers but also the overall general feel from the standard shafts you get with a driver.
Shaft history so far: had stock Diamana blue 60 shaft which I had cut an inch from the butt- this was when I was hitting massively down and spinning massively.
After testing several have now changed to the low launch Aldila Rogue Max 65s. I then yesterday tested Fujikura Fuel 60S(Low Launch, Low torque) and Proforce UST V2 (Mid Launch, Low torque)
Findings: I found the Proforce V2 I liked the stiff board feeling from the low torque as I found it easier to square the face from the aldila rogue max shaft I was using which has been an issue for me, but the Fujikura Fuel had very similar characteristics yet felt dead in my hand and was spraying the ball about a bit (although it did give my highest distance of 275 total) so is it just due to the different launch characteristics? (also I've found out there is no standardised number on things like flex and torque so it really could be trial and error). It was one test though so going to give Fujikura another chance.
Questions:
1) How many shots would you say a good sample size? How many tests of the same shaft should I do in case I just wasn't swinging it well that day? I'm thinking if I know its definitely not the right one 1 should be enough?
2) Should I delete really poor shots from my averages? And maybe count how many poor shots there are- as if there's loads then the odd good one shouldn't matter.
3) What parameters should I be looking at: Launch, side and backspin, face angle, Ball Speed, dispersion, carry & total distances? Anything else you consider really important.
4) Anything else I should be asking pro for advice?
5) I can change the settings on my 915 to 16 different settings, I also have a weight kit from 4g up to 17g so should I pick one setting and stay with it or is this something I should also toy around with- i'm worried I might discount a shaft that would maybe be good in a different setting but then too many variables will be hard to test? Thoughts?
6)From what I've said is there a particular direction you think I should be going with regards to toque, shaft weight, length etc,
7) what brands and types should I be considering to trial given what I can afford and what i've said so far? Low spin I am sure I should be going for but not sure on what weight of shaft, what length, what torque etc but I am guessing from my trials this will become clearer?
Anyway hoping to put my 1st set of data up tomorrow for the 3 shafts I currently have, if not will be Friday.
Shafts I have or on the way:
Aldila Rogue Max 65s Low Launch
Fujikura Fuel 60S
UST V2 60S
Aldila Rogue Silver 60S (on the way)
Aldila RIP red eyes 60S 2.9 (on the way)
What I'm hoping to get is a shaft that suits me to go along with the lessons I am having and will continue; I realise this type of thing is highly individual and the right shaft for me might not be right for then next guy.
Disclaimer; I am very much learning so if anything I say is a load of tosh feel free to enlighten me as there is an overwhelming plethora of variables in the multitude of shafts out there.
I've a few questions for all you shaft experts out there and what direction I should be going if anybody has any advice. As I said I'm new to all this but find it really interesting so if it interests you also read on!!! If not trolls beat it
This is likely to be a costly endeavour so I am looking at 2nd hand market and not wanting to pay more than £60 a shaft so things like the new project x hzrdus, or expensive oban shafts I can't consider... anything that doesn't work for me will be getting quickly moved on hopefully at no/little loss.
about me:
Handicap 16.5
AOA -1ish (still a work in progress with pro but big improvement from the 5-6 I was before)
in to out swing path
SS- can vary between 96-101 mph
Spin- can vary but usually between 2200-3000 then goes northwards on my poor hits. When I started along with AoA being massivly down my spin was as high as 5 and 6k.
my poor shot: Heel strike cuts or pushes right with an open face.
distances: Not got the data yet as just started testing but best shaft yesterday from memory was 240 carry 262 total average which is up by about 40 yards when I started this.
Height: 5 foot 7", fairly fit.
Driver Head: Titleist 915 D2 9.5 degree set to 8.75 degree and 1.5 upright (D2 setting)
Hopefully my journey will help other people and give them an insight- so far I've noticed not only how big a difference it can make to the numbers but also the overall general feel from the standard shafts you get with a driver.
Shaft history so far: had stock Diamana blue 60 shaft which I had cut an inch from the butt- this was when I was hitting massively down and spinning massively.
After testing several have now changed to the low launch Aldila Rogue Max 65s. I then yesterday tested Fujikura Fuel 60S(Low Launch, Low torque) and Proforce UST V2 (Mid Launch, Low torque)
Findings: I found the Proforce V2 I liked the stiff board feeling from the low torque as I found it easier to square the face from the aldila rogue max shaft I was using which has been an issue for me, but the Fujikura Fuel had very similar characteristics yet felt dead in my hand and was spraying the ball about a bit (although it did give my highest distance of 275 total) so is it just due to the different launch characteristics? (also I've found out there is no standardised number on things like flex and torque so it really could be trial and error). It was one test though so going to give Fujikura another chance.
Questions:
1) How many shots would you say a good sample size? How many tests of the same shaft should I do in case I just wasn't swinging it well that day? I'm thinking if I know its definitely not the right one 1 should be enough?
2) Should I delete really poor shots from my averages? And maybe count how many poor shots there are- as if there's loads then the odd good one shouldn't matter.
3) What parameters should I be looking at: Launch, side and backspin, face angle, Ball Speed, dispersion, carry & total distances? Anything else you consider really important.
4) Anything else I should be asking pro for advice?
5) I can change the settings on my 915 to 16 different settings, I also have a weight kit from 4g up to 17g so should I pick one setting and stay with it or is this something I should also toy around with- i'm worried I might discount a shaft that would maybe be good in a different setting but then too many variables will be hard to test? Thoughts?
6)From what I've said is there a particular direction you think I should be going with regards to toque, shaft weight, length etc,
7) what brands and types should I be considering to trial given what I can afford and what i've said so far? Low spin I am sure I should be going for but not sure on what weight of shaft, what length, what torque etc but I am guessing from my trials this will become clearer?
Anyway hoping to put my 1st set of data up tomorrow for the 3 shafts I currently have, if not will be Friday.
Shafts I have or on the way:
Aldila Rogue Max 65s Low Launch
Fujikura Fuel 60S
UST V2 60S
Aldila Rogue Silver 60S (on the way)
Aldila RIP red eyes 60S 2.9 (on the way)
What I'm hoping to get is a shaft that suits me to go along with the lessons I am having and will continue; I realise this type of thing is highly individual and the right shaft for me might not be right for then next guy.