Stiff vs Regular

[Break90]

Just thinking out loud.......

I've had a 910 D3 for a couple of years, with a stiff shaft (Diamana Red something). Have been looking for a while to upgrade, and a mate has just decided to move on his 913D3 with a regular shaft(Diamana blue something)

If I were to make the assumption that aside from the shaft itself all other things were equal (loft, head setup, swing speed 90-95mph, path etc), what difference would you expect to find betwen the two shafts in terms of distance, dispersion etc?

Or, as I suspect, are there more variables that I haven't considered?

Over to you.....

 

[Region3]

Not sure whether or not this will be useful as I've no idea what it will do to your ball flight, but from memory of my fitting for a Titleist 910 driver, the red shaft is the least stiff of the 3 Diamana that were available. Blue (Kai'li) was the middle one and the stoutest was Ahina (can't remember if it was black or white).

I'd guess the Diamana blue may be a touch heavier than the red which might offset the softer flex a little. I tried the red one and hated it, didn't seem anywhere near as stiff as the others (I ended up with PX).

Or a shaft expert could tell me I'm talking oot my backside

Even though the adaptors might be a slightly different design they will definitely fit each other, so if you don't like the regular shaft you could swop them over and sell your 910 with the new shaft.

 

[One Planer]

Shaft flex isn't everything. Shaft weight plays a massive part IMHO.

As an example.

I play a heavy regular shaft in my irons, yet I play light weight stiff shafts in my woods.

 

[Paul77]

I bought my 915 D2 with a reg shaft as it 'felt' nicer in the shop on trial. Three days later I took it back to get swapped with a red face as I was advised to get the stiff one. Felt there was too much torsion twist in the head on off centre or toe strikes. YOu could actually feel it happening. Much better now with the stiff. For me it's feel, others it might not be as linear as that.

 

[garyinderry]

The stiffer the better for me.

Gives me the feeling of having control of the club head.

I cannot stand the feeling of regular clubs where the club head feels like it is trying to play catch up.

 

[tsped83]

All things being equal, I would have thought the regular shaft would give you more distance (and probably height) on a perfect strike as the club releases in to the ball. No idea about dispersion.

All the above could be completely wrong however.

 

[Sybez]

Come on guys... all thing being equal - so ball speed being the most important number here. They will go the same distance. The shaft won't have any effect on making it go further, it will change the "feel" on a particular players swing, and as we are all different we generally have different shafts...

Watch some of Crossfields videos about shafts and you'll understand its all about player feel.

 

[JT77]

If your swinging at 90 mph I would think reg would be a better fit for you. It should in theory give you a higher flight and more yardage.
Do you not get along with the 910?

 

[One Planer]

Come on guys... all thing being equal - so ball speed being the most important number here. They will go the same distance. The shaft won't have any effect on making it go further, it will change the "feel" on a particular players swing, and as we are all different we generally have different shafts...

Watch some of Crossfields videos about shafts and you'll understand its all about player feel.

I get what you're saying but it's pointless having good ball speed if you can't attain the hight to maximise carry.

 

[99problemsbutapitchaint1]

Golf is all about player feel, period as the yanks say.

The club that feels right and looks right is the right club, it is that simple

 

[Break90]

If your swinging at 90 mph I would think reg would be a better fit for you. It should in theory give you a higher flight and more yardage.
Do you not get along with the 910?

The 910 is fine, we have our ups and downs but we've developed a functional relationship. TBH the reason I'm thinking about the 913 is mainly to try the reg shaft, i'll be getting it for about 70 quid so I think its worth it. I'm also guessing that there are some technical advantages to the 913 head, so with the choice of shafts i figured i should be on to a winner

 

[JT77]

The shafts and heads will be interchangeable I think so for that money seems like a deal

 

[99problemsbutapitchaint1]

Why would a regular shaft give more height and yardage?

 

[JT77]

with that swing speed and a stiff shaft common issues are getting the ball to fly high and distance loss because you are not getting the best from the shaft.

 

[craigstardis1976]

My driver swingspeed is about 90 and about 74 for my six iron.

Recently I got a set of Ping Irons with a stiff shaft and an older Callaway wood with a stiff steel shaft. I hit both the irons and the wood further than I did my regular graphite irons and fairway wood.

I am lucky each weekend now to play with guys who shoot between 70-74. This is what I have noticed.

1. When I swing I feel the weight along the length of the club, previously it was more towards the head.
2. If needed it is easier with these to give it a bit more welly when needed without losing it to the left.
3.I am hitting it longer than the reg flex graphites but if I do not catch the ball in the center, I do lose distance but not direction. Whereas before I would lose direction. The new stiff shafted clubs have 115 gram shafts in them (so on the lighter side for steel) and I think that helps but with old school lofts and smaller clubheads there is not as much forgiveness.
4. That said, I have more confidence in them and they feel great.

Craig

 

[Break90]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have now got a 913 head, a 910 head, a regular shaft and a stiff shaft.

And an afternoon planned at the practice range to see what happens..........

 

[Deleted member 18121]

The only visible difference for me is that regular shafted clubs "balloon", meaning I lost a lot of distance and as soon as the wind blew I could end up with my driver stalling in mid air. Stiff shafts all the way for me now.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Come on guys... all thing being equal - so ball speed being the most important number here. They will go the same distance. The shaft won't have any effect on making it go further, it will change the "feel" on a particular players swing, and as we are all different we generally have different shafts...

Watch some of Crossfields videos about shafts and you'll understand its all about player feel.

Actually, what you have stated isn't true. The ball might launch at the same speed with both a regular and a stiff shaft but there are loads of other things to take into account such as spin rates and launch angle. These can vary massively depending on the flex, weight and kick point of the shaft and have a big bearing on the total distance of the shot.

I would be very surprised if Crossfield has said it won't make any difference and if he has then I certainly won't bother watching any of his stuff.

 

[Ethan]

Actually, what you have stated isn't true. The ball might launch at the same speed with both a regular and a stiff shaft but there are loads of other things to take into account such as spin rates and launch angle. These can vary massively depending on the flex, weight and kick point of the shaft and have a big bearing on the total distance of the shot.

I would be very surprised if Crossfield has said it won't make any difference and if he has then I certainly won't bother watching any of his stuff.

Crossfield showed, IIRC, that a good player can use shafts of different flex and get similar results. That, to me, is about the skills of a good player and doesn't say so much about shafts.

I have seen average players inadvertently use clubs with a wrong flex (in either direction) and the results were horrible but easily fixed.

 

[99problemsbutapitchaint1]

I find it interesting that Crossfield has become a guru, he knows how to use social media and make a nice video, does not mean that everything he says is spot on. I like his presentation but being good at social media does not make you the top coach out there, another guy did a quest for 350, now i know a thing or two about launch numbers and really the whole thing was nonsense, just bad information being presented well.

My 4cents