Swing speeds & shaft flex?

[Captain_Black.]

A bit of a strange one this?
For years I've played regular flex shafts
My Ping G410 driver is knocking on a bit, so I was thinking of getting a new driver.

I took out a few demo options out of the pro shop & although they were OK, the results didn't warrant spending £450 on a new driver.

I then started experimenting with different shafts, Ping Alta 55g stiff, Ping Tour 2.0 65g stiff, Ping tour 2.0 75g stiff.

The results were amazing.
I had to wind down the standard 10.5 degree head to 9 degrees to keep the high ball flight down, but the Ping Alta 55g stiff was fantastic.

My swing speed is a pretty constant 88 - 90 mph, which should really be a regular.
I then went on a golf fitters simulator & got the pro to check the numbers.
Sure enough, not only does the stiff shaft feel so much nicer & smoother to hit, the numbers didn't lie.
Straighter & longer by 20 - 30 yards
I then tried the 3 wood with the same results.
Even the fitter was stumped.
He said, really you should be in a regular shaft all day long & that's what I would recommend, but the data from the sim & my experience on the course doesn't back that up.
Thoughts?

 

[Imurg]

The Alta shaft isn't the stoutest shaft in the box..I'm not surprised your speed coped with a stiff flex..

As you're probably aware there is no standard when it comes to shafts...
One company's X stiff can be similar to another brand's regular..
And weight is just as, if not more, important

 

[Captain_Black.]

The Alta shaft isn't the stoutest shaft in the box..I'm not surprised your speed coped with a stiff flex..

As you're probably aware there is no standard when it comes to shafts...
One company's X stiff can be similar to another brand's regular..
And weight is just as, if not more, important

Yes, I get all of that.
I just thought my experience just points out the importance of trying a club on the course in real world conditions as well as carefully noting the figures on a sim.

If I hadn't tried a stiff shaft on a whim one afternoon, I probably wouldn't have tried one with the club fitter on the sim.

 

[Deleted member 25575]

I think there is a lot more to it than a binary swing speed =xx so shaft should equal AA.
That’s why a fitting is a good idea rather than picking something up off the rack that you believe should be right.

 

[Neilds]

I have read somewhere, maybe on here, that it also depends how smoothly you swing and deliver the speed.

 

[jim8flog]

The last club I was fitted for was a Ping G425 3 wood.
The fitter recommended the Alta CB 65 in stiff or the Mitsubishi Tensei CK orange in regular both of which played similar. I have since tried the Alta in reg and stuck with the stiff.

I wanted to try the Tour shaft but surprisingly the fitter did not have it.

 

[KenL]

I would have thought the stiff shaft would launch lower.

 

[Captain_Black.]

I would have thought the stiff shaft would launch lower.

That's what I thought, but I got huge airtime when it was set to 10 5.
I had to wind it down to 9.0 to get the flight I was happy with.
The following day it took it out with the Alta 55g shaft, the Tour 2.0 65g shaft & the Tour 2.0 75g shaft
I hit it well with all the shafts, but the best feel / flight & distance I got was with the stock Ping Alta 55g stiff shaft

 

[KenL]

I have the tour 2 65g in my g430 lst. Works for me.
Watch out for wear on the shaft. Mine rubbed through the paint in less than a year in a brand new bag.

Ping would not replace it, hugely disappointing. Their customer service is not what it used to be it seems. £500 for the club too.