A question of the more seasoned members

[mddubya]

I am faced with a delimina, my Clubs all have stiff shafts in them. Buy between my age, and sadly the weakness brought on by my illness, I know my swing speed has dropped. To be honest, I haven't been on a monitor out of fear of finding out just how much swing spped I have lost. My question is, other than some distance am I giving up anything else playing a shaft that is to strong? I have high hopes of regaining my strength from the illness, my question is, seeing as how I turn 52 in a few days, will I ever regain enough swing speed to play a stiff shaft, or would I be better off trying to do some horse trading and dropping down to a regular shaft?

 

[SilverUberXeno]

Shaft stiffness is kind of like having lie angles perfectly adjusted for you, or using the best possible ball for your game. It really won't make a significant difference unless your swing is very good and very consistent. Slower swingers shouldn't use triple X shafts, and lumber jacks shouldn't use ladies' flex, but if you're putting a decent swing on the ball, any shaft will give you a reasonable result.

Within a flex, I think we all exaggerate the necessity of perfectly fitted shafts. There is a point where it will make a difference, but I wouldn't go changing your bag over it. Aren't the nippons pretty smooth shafts anyway?

I think 80% of a shot is swing, if not more. The remaining 20% (probably significantly less) is equipment. Shaft flex is probably about 2% of what goes into the swing. So, if you hit a good shot with the wrong flex shaft, it might have been 2% better with the perfect shaft.

That's not to say you should piss away that two percent, but recognize that if you're in the vicinity of reasonable shaft flex, you don't have a LOT to gain. Better off just playing the game until the 20% or less of your results that is equipment driven is really hurting you.

 

[mddubya]

Thanks SUX, thats kinda what I was thinking. Hopefully my strength will retun, at least to the extent I won't be that far off anyway. And yes, the Nippons are a very smooth shaft and play a bit soft to flex. I've got a set with Rifle 6.0 and I can tell a big difference, they are WAY to stif for me now.

 

[SiberianDVM]

Flex is more about how the shaft FEELS, than how it PLAYS, IMHO. I've got a lot of clubs stashed here and there, everything from S to L, and I can put a decent swing on all of them, SOMETIMES.

That said, I feel more comfortable swinging graphite R flex these days.

 

[BigJim13]

I've played TT DGS300's, Apex 3 & 4's and Rifle 5.5, 6.0, FST 125 S flex and Project X 6.5. None of the made a huge difference in my game, I may have lost a yard or two with the 6.5's but other than that it was mostly about feel. Get the shafts that FEEL the best and you will be happy. For what its worth, when I get my next set of clubs they will have softer shafts.

 

[limpalong]

BJ says it pretty well. I've been told for the last 10 years that, at my age, I need "R" flex shafts. Had one of the 'no nothing kids' at Golf Galaxy, a few years ago, "fit" me on their simulator. Said I needed a Senior flex or Regular flex. I bought a Regular flex and lost about 10 yards. Went back to "S" flex and get along fine.

I go back to Karsten Solheim. Genius!! Sold millions of Ping irons, never offering them in anything but "S" flex. He recommended his ZZ Lite shaft for everyone from ladies to old farts to college athletes to pros. His contention was that consistency was a far more desirable attribute than distance.

Today's group... 2 loooonnng hitters and 2 of us seniors. My 80 was the lowest carded score of any in the group. And, the two young flat-bellies would hit it by me 75 yards off the tee. I've lost a few yards in the past 5 years. I attribute that to going through a number of POS drivers and not being able to find one I feel comfortable with.

If I had a couple grand burning a hole in my pocket, I'd probably pick up a set of GI irons with "R" graphite for 'when I get old'. In the meantime, I'll keep my "S" flex set. The only club I may continue to experiment with re shaft flex is the driver.

 

[IrishGolfer]

I'm at this point too Dub. I have lost distance in my irons. One of my playing partners is playing the Mizuno JPX Pro irons. We were on a par three and I had a 6 iron, he had a 7 iron. When I held his club beside mine it looked all the world like a 6. False lofts mean nothing other than bragging rights. We both hit it about the same distance with the big dog, but he has been consistently 1 iron longer than me. I now know why. We still score about the same.

As for shaft stiffness I agree on the flex v. return scenario. Unless they are super stiff or supernoodle, then it is just down to <2%. I'm going to focus on strengthening my legs over the next few months and will see my distance return in my irons. 100% sure of that.
IG

 

[mddubya]

Thanks for the advice guys. I really like my Srixon's with the Nippon shafts. They don't feel like I'm swinging a piece of rebar or anything so for the time being, I'll be sticking with what I have.

 

[wirehair]

Play what feel comfortable, but (to paraphrase) don,t let your alligator ego overload your old and feeble hummingbird ass