Shafts
Today there are two basic materials used for shaft construction these are the conventional seemless drawn steel and other being reinforced plastics resins with graphite strands known as GRAPHITE SHAFTS. These newer shafts are generally much lighter and are constructed from both hand laid and filament wound techniques. Modern technology also offers now matched sets of shafts where the characteristics of each shaft are very near the same and processe call Spine Aligning and Puring.
Kickpoint, torque, bend profile, frequency, length, and weight are all important factors in the design of a golf shaft. But let’s go back to the basic and most important parameter - shaft flex.
The right flexibility of a golf shaft for you depends on your swing speed and swing tempo. You can measure your swing tempo on how smooth your transition is from backswing to downswing, as well as the smoothness of acceleration from the beginning of downswing to the point of impact.
Let’s first examine swing speed. This chart from GolfSmith is a good rule-of-thumb to map swing speed to flex. But beware - one shaft company’s regular flex is another’s stiff flex. There is no standard out there the only true way of measurement being by “Cycles Per Minute” using a electronic measurement machine with both the head and the grip fitted.
Swing Speed Conversion Chart When a swing speed device is not availble, this chart may be used to approximate swing speed, based on drive carry distance or the club used to approach the green from 150 yards. (Based on average club lengths and lofts.) Shaft Flex Driver Swing Speed (MPH) Driver Carry Distance (Yds.) Club from 150 Yds. Exrta Stiff 105-Plus 260+ 8 or 9 Iron Stiff 90-105 240-264 6 or 8 Iron Regular 80-95 210-240 5 or 6 Iron Flexible (A-Flex) 70-85 180-210 4 Iron Ladies Less than 70 Less than 180 3 Iron / Lofted Wood
What happens when your shaft is too soft for you?
- The ball will launch higher than it should due to a lagging kick point.
- The ball will hook left since most golfers have closed club head faces during
- the backswing and the head will remain closed at impact
- With inaccurate trajectory and direction, the ball will not travel as far.
What happens when your shaft is too stiff for you?
- lt will launch lower than it should due to a stiff kick point
- The ball will slice right (if your right handed and vice versa for left handed golfers) since most golfers since the clubface will be open at impact
- With inaccurate trajectory and direction, the ball will not travel as far.
Most golfers pick a shaft flex that is too stiff for their swing. When in doubt, flexibility should be the point to remember instead of rigidity. The best person to advise on this point is your certified professional club maker.
"Flex" refers to the ability of a golf shaft to bend as forces are applied to it during the golf swing. Those forces are generated by the type of swing that you have - fast or slow, smooth or jerky. There are five generally used ratings for shaft flex: Extra Stiff, Stiff, Regular, Senior and Ladies, usually denoted by the letters X, S, R, A and L ("A" is used for Senior’s because this flex was originally called "amateur"). But as already mentioned these are very basic as no two shafts at random offer the same specification.Having a flex that doesn't match the needs of your swing will result in the club face being misaligned at impact, causing your shots to go off-target.
What Flex Impacts
As the shaft flexes throughout the swing, the position of the club head changes. And the face of the club must be square (perfectly straight) at impact to get the most out of the shot. If you have the wrong flex for your swing, there is less chance that you'll make contact with the ball with a square clubface.