Shaft fitting - recommendations

[jcgolf]

Hi all,

I'm looking to upgrade my clubs, starting with my irons.

Does anyone have a recommendation or experience for how to get correctly fitted for shafts? Gaining an understanding of whether I'm a regular or stiff player, plus how they will affect my ball flight is really important to me.

Few pieces of context: looking specifically at Mizuno Irons (although head is somewhat irrelevant, I'm more focused on actual shafts at this stage), and I'm based in Surrey, if anyone has any local recommendations.

Cheers!

 

[Neilds]

Unfortunately there is no set standards when it comes to what is regular/stiff shafts so don’t go with any preconceived ideas. Use your normal swing and let the fitter do their job. If you try swinging too hard chasing distance or trying to slow down to make sure you hit ok then you won’t be fitted correctly

 

[patricks148]

Mizuno dealers have the shaft optimizer, which will give a choice of 3 or 4 shafts, which i suspect would be what would happen if you went to their place at Bearwood anyway

 

[jcgolf]

Appreciate the responses. If I wasn't so worried about a full club fitting, and wanted to just understand the shaft type most suitable, is there a different way to approach this?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

If you are in Surrey I'd suggest Precision Golf or Silvermere

 

[Jamesbrown]

Appreciate the responses. If I wasn't so worried about a full club fitting, and wanted to just understand the shaft type most suitable, is there a different way to approach this?

I’d be more concerned with the correct loft and lie rather than shaft. The shaft is not an engine.

A club fitter will ask how each shaft feels to you. That’s it. Let the fitter do his job and he will determine the best for you based on the data on a launch monitor.

 

[Ethan]

Flex is only one consideration, and is, in any case, as stated by others rather variable between brands. Some fitters would say shaft weight is more important for the average golfer, and shafts often have different flex characteristics in the butt, middle and tip sections which also affects feel and performance.

If you fancy Mizzy, then Bearwood Lakes is the place to go in SE England. The set up is very good and Mizuno Tour players go there. You could also go to an independent fitter such as Precision Golf (West Byfleet) or Golf Principles (Basingstoke) which opens up a wider range of shafts, including some rather expensive options, but you will pay a fee for the fitting.

 

[i*windows]

some people think shafts make a massive difference and some people don't. You can get a shaft from 60gram to 130gram, soft or stiff, personally I think it is about feel and what you like in a swing. I prefer a lighter shaft, but you may get on better with a heavy shaft. There are some good videos on youtbe that you can hunt out.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Personally I think you are going the wrong way about it. I would find the head first then the shaft that makes it work best for you.
But your choice if you want to find the shaft first.

 

[evemccc]

I'm a long time away from buying new clubs, let alone a new iron set...but that doesn't stop me looking / dreaming of what I might upgrade to...
How is it best to gain experience of what I like or don't like?

It's quite hard to know what you really like in a shaft for relatively new golfers, or golfers who haven't been playing for a long time or had many sets (or hired or borrowed many sets)
My golf experience is I imagine similar to others. Play with some ancient hand-me-downs for a few rounds...enough to know I want to play golf more often. Research game-improvement clubs and then look at ebay /golfbidder for a few weeks to see what those sort of clubs sell for. Bid / buy a set. Play them.

Having a set of clubs I'm pretty happy with, I have no need to hire clubs. Obviously I will get a fitting if and when I do upgrade to new clubs. But people have recommended paying for a fitting and not relying on AG free fittings.
In the meantime, I have no clue as what shaft is right for me, just that I get on with my irons pretty well, and they have a KBS Stiff shaft. Maybe I'd be scratch (LOL) with a X or R shaft, but I'd have thought sufficient time and practice with anything would make shaft or club configuration feel more natural or have improvements

Either way, I'm not inclined to get a free AG fitting, and I'm not minded to pay to hire clubs anywhere, or to pay for a proper fitting (as I'm years away from buying new clubs). In the meantime, I have no idea if this is the shaft make or stiffness for me, simply it's what I'm used to

I'm having occasional lessons so presumably my coach would let me know if the shaft or lie angle is way off. But apart from this, is there any other way of knowing?

 

[Blue in Munich]

Appreciate the responses. If I wasn't so worried about a full club fitting, and wanted to just understand the shaft type most suitable, is there a different way to approach this?

Why the preoccupation with the shaft? It is only one part of the equation. Someone much wiser than me on these matters once said something along the lines of the right head will get something out of the wrong shaft, but the right shaft will never save the wrong head.

 

[Ethan]

Personally I think you are going the wrong way about it. I would find the head first then the shaft that makes it work best for you.
But your choice if you want to find the shaft first.

I tried hitting with just the head, but couldn't really get any distance, and with the shaft alone, the margins were tiny. I really think you need both together.

 

[harpo_72]

You need to match them both together. Shafts react to weight of the head and the speed you swing at and then this gets fed to you via the grip having come from the butt of the shaft. So choose a head you like and work your way through shafts, and not many people will tell you this, but for every really expensive shaft, there is a cheaper one that pretty well matches it, so don’t get hung up on cost . Find what you like then ask the fitter what is similar and try those .. kind of fine tuning.
But most of all, enjoy yourself !

 

[Jigger]

some people think shafts make a massive difference and some people don't. You can get a shaft from 60gram to 130gram, soft or stiff, personally I think it is about feel and what you like in a swing. I prefer a lighter shaft, but you may get on better with a heavy shaft. There are some good videos on youtbe that you can hunt out.

I went to SGGT in Scotland to get fitted with a mate. we both both bought Mizuno JPX900s with regular shafts. His KBS and mine project X. We can’t hit with each other’s clubs at all.

 

[Blue in Munich]

Why the preoccupation with the shaft? It is only one part of the equation. Someone much wiser than me on these matters once said something along the lines of the right head will get something out of the wrong shaft, but the right shaft will never save the wrong head.

Found it, it's in here;

https://www.golfwrx.com/633478/2020-best-drivers-a-deeper-look/

Ben Giunta: The Tour Van
The versatility you get with Callaway if you can get used to how it sits is second to none. The head weight manipulation and loft sleeve give you more options than the rest.

To compare SIM to Mavrik, Callaway seems to be more forgiving for a broader range of players due to the ability to manipulate the head.

With drivers, it’s head first and shafts second. You can’t manipulate the shaft the way you can the heads. You can make the wrong shaft work in the right head but not the wrong head with the right shaft.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I tried hitting with just the head, but couldn't really get any distance, and with the shaft alone, the margins were tiny. I really think you need both together.

Yes obviously both need to work together but I wouldn't start with the shaft. No point finding 'the right shaft' then putting a tiny bladed head on the end for a 28 handicapper. My last fitting I tried about 8-10 different heads till I found one that a) felt good and b) suited my eye then went through loads of shafts to get the best performance from it.
I had a driver fitting in August, found a really good TS2/Hzrdus combo that worked well. Out of curiosity the fitter got me to try the TS3 with the same shaft and I could barely hit the thing.

 

[Ethan]

Yes obviously both need to work together but I wouldn't start with the shaft. No point finding 'the right shaft' then putting a tiny bladed head on the end for a 28 handicapper. My last fitting I tried about 8-10 different heads till I found one that a) felt good and b) suited my eye then went through loads of shafts to get the best performance from it.
I had a driver fitting in August, found a really good TS2/Hzrdus combo that worked well. Out of curiosity the fitter got me to try the TS3 with the same shaft and I could barely hit the thing.

I think players naturally gravitate to the right head more easily than the right shaft. Very few of us choose a blade these days, even though I played one for years back in the day, and they are a lot easier to hit now than they used to be. But a lot head for a TTDG shaft when they should be in something lighter. One can offset the other, obviously, a higher spin or launch head can be balanced a bit with a lower spin/launch shaft.

 

[azazel]

I got fitted for new irons a couple of weeks ago and tried three different heads with various combinations of shafts. I was really surprised that the "best" shaft in one head wasn't the best shaft in another but the numbers and feel were very clearly telling us that.
Ended up with a much heavier and stiffer shaft than I've played before in order to achieve a lower ball flight and reduce the tendency to hit a big, high hook, even though the head it's been paired with is (I think) designed to be higher launching.
TL;DR: as others have said, it's all about the combination rather than the shaft or head in isolation.

 

[Freewaytom]

When I had my fittings early 2020 I found the opposite to what a lot of people here are saying. I was fitted into a project x LZ 5.5 shaft by 3 different fitters, including the mizuno DNA thingy. I then tried numerous heads with that shaft, and based it on feel/performance from there.

I actually went with a 6.0 flex in the end, as I preferred the extra weight, but having a consistent shaft for comparing multiple heads was critical in narrowing down my decision on which iron head to go for. I suppose you could then re-optimise the shaft once you've narrowed down the head, but for me it was obvious that the Lz was the best shaft for me.

 

[ScienceBoy]

The main advice is not to pigeonhole yourself as “stiff” or “regular” as it varies between manufacturers.

I found out once I was best fitted to an elite senior shaft as it had the spec I needed.

Look at the numbers over any labels and categories. If you get the best numbers with senior women’s shafts then play them with confidence!