a couple more questions...

[Shooterboy]

so now that im going to start buying clubs, i need some help understanding stuff.

first whats the difference between regular and stiff....i believe its on shafts, but i may be wrong, but whats the difference?

second is steel and graphite shafts...what advantages do they have over eachother, or which do you prefer....

finally, is there any other basic things i should know about golfclubs, related club heads, and shafts?

thanks in advance...

[Davebud]

My summary of what seems to be the general consensus around here.

1) Cavity Backs for heads

2)Steel for Shafts

3)Get Fitted and you will know what flex to buy

Good Luck.

[Adam Pettman]

This is what I know so take this information to be very basic
Regular and Stiff refers to how much the shaft flexes during the swing, chances are that you should be using a regular shaft if your just starting to buy golf clubs.
Graphite is slightly lighter than steel and therefore graphite shafts are slightly longer than steel to make them a similar weight. Steel shafts are cheaper normally than graphite.
I prefer graphite because I feel it is more forgiving than steel.
There are lots of people on here that know alot more about shafts than me so I'd wait for more people to post before taking my advice.

[twogreen]

Stiff and regular refers to the flex of the shaft and your needs are dependant upon your swing speed and tempo. Graphite shafts still have a bad rep among some old timers; because the early versions had some problems. Graphite shaft technology has moved into the 21st century now and the choice between graphite and steel is largely a matter of personal preference.

I would agree with the earlier poster who recommended that you go and get fitted for clubs before you buy anything. If you don't do that, chances are that you will end up like many of us with a garage full of "mistakes".

[ManchesterGolfer]

Yep, get custom fit with launch monitor for your irons and driver that way they'll recommend the best style of head and correct flex shafts for where your swing is at.

I would say steel shafts for irons, Graphite for driver and either for fairway woods. Graphite goes futher (genrally) and steel is more acurate (genrally) IMO so depends on what your after with each individual part of your game.

[Davebud]

Stiff and regular refers to the flex of the shaft and your needs are dependant upon your swing speed and tempo. Graphite shafts still have a bad rep among some old timers; because the early versions had some problems. Graphite shaft technology has moved into the 21st century now and the choice between graphite and steel is largely a matter of personal preference.

I would agree with the earlier poster who recommended that you go and get fitted for clubs before you buy anything. If you don't do that, chances are that you will end up like many of us with a garage full of "mistakes".

That's a garage full of "projects" not mistakes.

[twogreen]

That's a garage full of "projects" not mistakes.

I have some "projects" that were clearly mistakes.

[ezra76]

When I went to buy a driver the sales guy handed me a stiff flex driver and had me hit it. The speed was measured with one of those cheesy digital "swing mate" deals. I registed a consistant 105 or so and he said go stiff. My irons came from my dad and he got them for $10 at a yard sale (Mizuno MRX cast cavity backs). They had stiff shafts also.