Shaft to Head combinations

[cyberious]

Does anyone have a good reference for shaft to head combinations? For instance what effect would putting a different kick point shaft in a driver have? Let's say I have a 10.5 degree driver with a Low kick shaft if I put a mid kick in it would it play more like 9.5? Would a high kick shaft make it play like 8.5? Or does it not make much difference.

[cyberious]

Nevermind I found it. Appearantly Golfsmith tested nearly 1000 shafts and found that the kick point on them was only about 1 1/4 inch between the highest and the lowest shafts also it only made 1 degree of difference between the highest and lowest kick point on the launch monitor.

[Rockford35]

I personally think it makes a huge difference.

The launch angle of your shaft/head combo can be positively and adversely affected by changing either combination. Especially with a driver. But, that being said, your swing plane can also promote differing action on that specific combo.

Example. A friend and I were at the range one day. We both average 280-285 off the tee with the occasional bomb over 300 yards. I had grabbed a Fusion 9.5 degree with a Grafalloy Prolanch stiff shaft in it. I play a 8.5* GBBII with a Graf Blue in Stiff, while he plays a Hawkeye VFT Pro Series 8.5* with the stock OEM stiff shaft in it.

We both had cracks at the Fusion with extremely varying results. I usually hit the ball extremely high with my driver, even with the 8.5* loft. My friend hits a low, peircing shot, but still gets it out there. With the Fusion/ProL combo, he was hitting huge high draws that mimicked my shot with the GBBII. With the Fusion in my hands, my ball height was half what it normally is. My friend has a very loopy swing, slow and methodical. Mine is alot smoother, hard, but not fast. At the end of the day, we both were putting them out there 300ish, but both of us hated the thing. The launch just didn't match up to our swings.

The shaft/head combo can be a powerful thing. But, it's really, really tough to know how it will react to your personal swing without trying it.

As for going between 9.5 to 10.5, it's not going to change the effect on the ball as much as a shaft will. A lower kick shaft will get it airborne quicker and promote a higher ball flight, which means more carry. Mid-low kick is about medium and high kick makes it more difficult to get the ball airborne, which makes it ideal for high ball guys.

Now it would then make sense to try and match the best loft with the best shaft. The highest launch angle that gives you the most carry, but at the same time still hitting the ball with some distance, without sacrificing control. Sounds easy, right?

I really think that feel plays more into how you hit a club in terms of distance and control rather than how the launch monitor tells you that you have "optimal" launch with a head and shaft combo. If you hit the ball well enough with the driver to hit 90% of your fairways while still hitting it 300 yards, you could then tinker with launch angles to tweak another 10 yards out of your swing. However, if you have trouble hitting 14 of 16 fairways in a round, get a shaft that has good control and decent distance rather than focusing so much on distance.

Long story short, go hit some drivers. Do some homework beforehand and write down some bend points for common shafts. Then you'll know how each should react to your personal swing. Then, make a decision on upgrading a shaft for your club or buying the one you are cranking out there 275 everytime.

For 99% of guys out there, this isn't rocket science.

R35

[Don]

Golfsmith did their testing on a robot, and we're not robots. Like Rock35, I've seen a big difference in how a driver launches the ball with different shafts. I had a 10.5* driver with a high kick point shaft, and didn't like it much. I installed a mid kick point shaft in that head, and my ball flight came way up and so did my carry distance. My 8.5* Cleveland 330 Launcher with the OEM low kick point shaft gives me about the same launch angle as the 10.5* driver with the high kick point shaft did. So, yes, if can make a big difference. My testing shows that kick point can mean a lot more than loft angle. A different shaft could completely change the way your driver works for you. Test some other drivers with different shafts and loft angles and see what works best for you.