But, at the end of the day, the golfer will tell us if a club feels too heavy or too light. After all, the lighter the shaft, the faster the club can be swung. According to golfweek, steel shafts weigh up to 125 g and extraheavy shafts weigh up to 9 g. The swingweight measurements can be used as a point of reference to determine how heavy or light a golf driver feels to the golfer swinging them. Golfsmith tests show 50% of golfers show a less than 6% increase in swing speed. Although those using heavy driver shafts are in the. New and cheap drivers from top brands like callaway, taylormade, and wilson, to name a few. It is possible for all golfers to play lightweight shafts in search of more distance as long as the clubfitter understands how head weight can mask the feeling of the lighter total weight while still allowing the golfer to control the golf club. A shaft thats too heavy will cause a labored golf swing. I was curious about the various pros and cons of light and heavy shafts. Golf club shaft flex guide everything you need to know. The numbers become more balanced when we move to carry and total distance.
True temper project x pxv 39 driver shaft by russ ryden, a golf digest americas 100 best clubfitter fit2score, dallas fort worth, texas. A shaft thats too light will hurt your ability to make solid contact. Golfers with very fast speeds and tempo should play heavier shafts. A lot of golfers that have never been through our fitting process, think that the majority of their misshits are caused by their swing.
A heavier golf shaft may provide an improved sense of control and cure some of. Strength, swing speed, general rhythm, tempo, length of swing, the specific release mechanics, total weight shaft weight all can play a part among other things in what might be a good fit for swing weight but it all really just comes down to how the feel fits together with all those different parts. Woods was one of the last to forego a steel shaft for graphite and over time the weight in his driver shaft crept lower, eventually to less than 70 grams. Over half of our testers posted their best dispersion range distance between farthest right and farthest left shots and average distance to target with the 85 gram shaft. This was and still is, an excellent way to rate shafts. Best golf drivers for distance and accuracy in 2020. There are golfers out there, however, who will get great results from ultralightweight driver shafts. I have for the most part always played or adjusted them s. A steelshafted club imparts more vibrations up the shaft to your hands.
Im thinking of getting a cheap driver on ebay with a heavy shaft and see how it goes before i re shaft my driver. So if youd rather hit a few more fairways as opposed to hit it 10 yards longer, this is the driver for you. Hitting the ball farther than i have in a long time but more importantly in the fairway. In my case its usually playing with a driver with a length too long making it harder to square up and turn over. I began to wonder if i could create the same solid impact with a shorter heavier driver as i could a short and heavy fairway wood. Longer clubs are very easy to fall into that outside in swing path as well. Search by name, filter by weight or launchspin characteristics, and compare specs sidebyside. May, 2012 anyone who every played a set of hogan irons will know that hogan used light weight shaft because mr. Add weight to your driver golf club for more distance pga. Not having to swing a too heavy shaft with more effort. That question is on the mind of anyone who has ever been curious about their golf clubs.
Since the very first golf clubs, club makers have considered how much or how little a golf shaft flexes. The sketch did not receive a lot of praise, but once a 3d prototype. Jun 25, 2017 i have to play heavy shafts because of my quick transition. What affect does shaft weight have on your golf shots. Because the shaft flex directly facilitates this power transfer, your shaft choice can make or break your game. Importance of shaft weight in fitting dlance golfd. I just put a shaft in my driver that is about a 57 gram shaft, and it is one of the best ones i have ever used. If you look at the picture to the left, these are just a few of the steel iron shafts available and they run the range from 85 grams to grams. The dreaded driver many of us dream of hitting our driver long and straight consistently but the truth is that for many of us, hitting a driver is our worst nightmare. Club champion golf club fitting can swing weight affect.
I have to play heavy shafts because of my quick transition. Tiger hit 4 different drivers and said, i like the heavy one. Not to board like or whippy just a perfect balance. Lights right for many pros, but heavy shafts still work for some. Driver and fairway wood shaft weight game improvement. Seems reasonable, but id suggest working with a fitter to test the idea before pulling the trigger. The dg 120s seem to be a good all around shaft much like the s300.
For example, picking the wrong golf shaft flex can cause you to hook or slice the. Steel golf shafts are traditionally heavier than graphite shafts and the key benefit, according to the u. Jan 12, 2017 only two golfers registered their highest ball speed with the lightest shaft. I have a 75g on my 910 3wood and i love the feelweight of the whole thing. Sergio is an interesting player to bring up though, because while he does use a heavy shaft 90g, considered heavy for a driver by todays standards, he plays his drivers at 43 now a standard 3 wood length, so hes effectively using the heavier shaft to maintain the swingweight as a 5565g shaft would be unusable at the length he prefers. The leading contender so far at the pga merchandise show for the most surprising new club is. Understand golf shaft stiffness ratings golf shaft. Wed recommend a steel shaft for golfers who have normal swing speed 90 to. Who knows, its just how my body and my swing reacted to the shaft. Anytime that any golf club undergoes a change from a heavy shaft to a light shaft, the swingweight automatically drops at a rate of 1 swingweight point for each 7 to 8 grams that the graphite shaft is lighter than the previous shaft.
Dec 29, 2014 the swingweight measurements can be used as a point of reference to determine how heavy or light a golf driver feels to the golfer swinging them. The problem was that none of the shaft companies used the same board. My driver has a 83 gram shaft which is heavy and my irons are dynamic gold regular and i believe they are about 122 grams. Golf club shaft flex guide everything you need to know about. It really is a bummer that this shaft is not in many fitting carts because its a great shaft. Driver heads weigh about 200 grams, shafts are usually 60 grams and a. It is why the wheelhouse for driver shaft weights on the pga tour is in the mid 60gram range, with some players having tried shafts as light as 43 grams. Iron shafts can be as light as 55 grams in graphite, and grams in steel. It is only a relationship of the weight below the 14.
What are the benefits of heavier golf shafts in golf, there is often a distanceaccuracy tradeoff when selecting equipment. So if a golfer were used to a swingweight of say d1 in a 45. A lightweight, plastic, juvenile club does even more poorly than does the weighted, training club. Driver and fairway wood shaft weight game improvement golf. There have been other shafts super light weights, for example that shouldn. What happens when golf shafts are not right for your swing d. But, the thing is, even if a shaft is heavier, it may not feel like it if the swing weight isnt any higher. I had a rocketballz driver that i averaged 230250 stiff flex stock shaft.
Mar 31, 2018 driver shaft length is shorter better than standard length. Switching to an ultralight driver shaft may boost swing speeds, but for a select group of players on tour, going heavier has been produced the best results. Choosing the best shaft for your game the golfworks. Since you need to make sure the club face is square with the ball at. I have a set of dg 120 x100s and im going to test that in my 7 iron this weekend for a comparison. In 1997, more than 20 tour players averaged 75% or better in driving accuracy fairwayshit. I have seen fair number of driver shafts with labels implying light weights, but i have only seen one shaft that was labeled with a number that actually was the weight of the raw 46.
Accuracy, feel explain why some pga tour players have gone. We started testing with 65 gram driver shafts, and with these his club path was about 10 to 12 degrees to the left. The importance of shaft weight in fitting golf clubs cannot be overstated. It also has a wight in the bottom of the head that you can change to make it heavier or lighter. The higher the swing speed, the stiffer the shaft flex should be. There is no governing body for shaft flex that says a regular shaft or a stiff. Many golfers believe they can add yards to their drive by making their driver golf club longer and lighter. Oct 30, 2012 i had a rocketballz driver that i averaged 230250 stiff flex stock shaft. Getting the correct weight of your shaft is an important factor to consider as well. Choosing the wrong shaft will make it much harder to access the center of the face more consistently on the course, and the last thing we want you to do is to make golf harder on yourself. The common sense counterpoint to the idea that light equals long is that heavy shafts lead to straighter shots. Now lets check back in with that company line about lighter shafts for slower swingers and heavier shafts for stronger players.
The shaft of the golf club is often ignored when it comes to performance, but it is the engine of the golf club. This edition of golf tips relates to driver accuracy. Rick vs pete the match in las vegas 1 of 2 duration. Graphite golf shafts are lighter than steel shafts, resulting in an increase in swing speed and distance. A lot of golf talk is always about stiff vs regular but maybe the bigger. Shaft sales and marketing created a letter system, larsx, ladies, amateur, regular, stiff, xstiff. With apologies to the hollies, it aint heavy, its my driver. Im thinking of getting a cheap driver on ebay with a heavy shaft and see how it goes before i reshaft my driver with an expensive shaft. Picking out the proper golf shaft is very important as it will impact several components of your golf swing. Im 44, 510, 160lbs with a driver ss of 105mph, youd think id be starting to consider something lighter. Should i use regular or stiff shafts in my golf clubs.
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft australian english, propeller shaft prop shaft, or cardan shaft after girolamo cardano is a mechanical component for transmitting torque and rotation, usually used to connect other components of a drive train that cannot be connected directly because of distance or the need to allow for relative movement between them. Swingweight or feel is why we use golf shafts with varying weights. Swingweight the ideal swing reference point wishon golf. I now have a cobra bio cell driver with a seemingly really heavy xstiff shaft of 66g. Lights right for many pros, but heavy shafts still work. The driver that produces the greatest distance may also be more difficult to control, leading to errant shots. The new ultralight grand bassara metalwood shafts from mitsubishi rayon are aimed at amateurs looking for increased club speed along with a definitive shaft kick in the impact zone. So, whether youre aware of it or not, you have a preferred swing weight. Jan 28, 2014 accuracy, feel explain why some pga tour players have gone to heavier driver shafts. Used to also have slightly heavy shafts in my irons. The length, flex, torque, kickpoint, weight and alignment of the shaft all have an effect on the performance of your golf club. However, at the northwestern mutual world challenge in december, woods went heavy again. Golf club shafts come in five flexes and both graphite and steel shafts use the same system for determining flex. Anyone who every played a set of hogan irons will know that hogan used light weight shaft because mr.
Too light or too heavy and the golfer struggles to maintain a consistent swing tempo, timing and rhythm. Whether youve been fit or not, you have a certain shaft weight in your current clubs. Why the ping g400 max driver is the most forgiving for seniors. Accuracy, feel explain why some pga tour players have gone to. In past tests, like our shaft weight study, weve shown mixed results for the theory. Ultra light driver shafts mitsubishi grand bassara by jim achenbach. Therefore, as i understand swingweight, they have a higher swingweight. Others believe the driver should have the lowest swing weight, with the short irons and wedges having slightly heavier swing weights. Swingweight is not an absolute measurement of weight as are grams or ounces. Driver shafts typically weigh 5560 grams for men and 4550 grams for ladies. In simple terms, swing weight is how heavy the club head feels when you swing it. Michael johnson there was some heavy lifting happening at the. This may not seem like much but weight can dramatically change your performance. To further cement this case, two players had their worst dispersion range with the heaviest shaft, and three had the largest distance to target with it.
Golf is all about making the best impact and creating optimal smash factor. Because golf shafts bend during a swing based on how fast your club speed is, the faster your swing, the stiffer the flex you need. Buying the right golf shaft for your swing is no easy task. One of the most difficult aspects of fitting today is choosing the best shaft for a player. They must therefore be strong enough to bear the stress, while avoiding too much additional weight as that would in turn. Whether you go to your favorite local store or an online shop, the number of distinctive driver shafts available. As the swing changes so do the clubs part 1 the heavier and stiffer club setup update part 2. One of the most important choices you have to make when buying golf clubs is which shaft flex to use, with 80% of golfers being suited to. Wonderfully consistent with strong flexibility for better compression at impact. Accuracy, feel explain why some pga tour players have gone to heavier driver shafts. Our iron testing leaned a little more towards lightweight shafts, but not enough.
Mark crossfield tests some nippon golf shafts and talks about what happens with different weights and how it might affect your golf game. More than 25 players had driver shafts of 75 grams or more at the farmers insurance open. One of my drivers was e4 sw and you could feel that it was heavier in the swing. Heres the best driver shafts you can buy 2020 guide. Current driver is d5 and it would be nice if it was closer to e. So many long and light drivers these days so back to the question why many average golfers struggle with making good square contact with the driver. The truth about golf shafts that every golfer should know.
Just looking at the four biggest wood brands callaway, taylormade, ping and cobra there are 34 different driver shaft weight options in 2018, and thats before you even start looking at custom or upgrade options. In general, golfers with slower swing speed and tempo can and should play a lighter shaft. Feel factor of club fitting dlance golfdlance golf. Driver shaft length is shorter better than standard length. It is why the most popular weight for driver shaftweights on the pga tour is still in the mid60gram. Driver and fairway wood shaft weight a major clubfitting parameter. Lightweight shaft provides exceptional swing speed, great upgrade shaft if. Hogan thought it was important to feel the head during the swing. That is one reason why some of the heavy training clubs have. In our iron test, we routinely saw a 10 or 20 gram change in shaft weight. A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft australian english, propeller shaft prop shaft, or.
Then, this past weekend, i did a driver fitting with a player. There are so many variables, that club fitters and players alike almost have to have a 6th sense to determine what is. For example, picking the wrong golf shaft flex can cause you to hook or slice the golf ball. What kind of players need a light shaft, what kind need a heavier one. There is no governing body for shaft flex that says a regular shaft or a. May 28, 2018 choosing the wrong shaft will make it much harder to access the center of the face more consistently on the course, and the last thing we want you to do is to make golf harder on yourself. We always advise you on what happens when golf shafts are not right for your swing. Player 5 is the shortest player and 7 is the longest. Because of the weight, steel shafts are traditionally shorter than graphite shafts, making them easier to control. Brunswick shaft company patented a numbering system 4.
That enables them to be swung at great speed, but to little avail, if the weight falls below a certain amount. Select from regular, firm, stiff, ladies or seniors flex constructed from graphite or steel. Jan 07, 2020 best golf drivers for distance and accuracy in 2020. I will eventually switch to a 65 or 75 gram driver shaft for more club head speed.
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