Driver flex match iron flex?

[thegolfclubdoc]

Should you driver, woods/hybrids, and irons have the same flex? For some reason, I tend to hit better drives with a stiff shaft and better iron shots with a regular shaft. Is this uncommon?


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[limpalong]

My irons and wedges all have "S" flex shafts. My driver, fairways, and hybrids... "R" flex. Why? I have no idea other than it works. Went through a set of irons with regular shafts and one with "SR" flex shafts. Saw some dramatic inconsistency in both distance dispersion. Went back to "S" flex and the consistency is so much better. Now if I could just fix the nut on the end of the shaft!

 

[thegolfclubdoc]

My irons and wedges all have "S" flex shafts. My driver, fairways, and hybrids... "R" flex. Why? I have no idea other than it works. Went through a set of irons with regular shafts and one with "SR" flex shafts. Saw some dramatic inconsistency in both distance dispersion. Went back to "S" flex and the consistency is so much better. Now if I could just fix the nut on the end of the shaft!

Wow. That’s the exact opposite of me.


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[limpalong]

Wow. That’s the exact opposite of me.


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Yet another instance of where there is no "one size fits all" in golf. Too many golf instructors, in my opinion, try to instill a picturesque swing in their students... everyone the same. In our "geezer group", it is amazing the difference in each of our swings. And, we all get the job done... while enjoying a great game. Could we all benefit from lessons? In some cases... yes. As long as the instructor didn't try to get each and every one of us to be clones of each other's swing.
One of our group has a beautiful swing. His entire set is matched Pings and all have "R" flex graphite shafts. He is one of the longest drivers in the group and is seldom far from center cut fairway. He's not infinitely longer and some of us will be there with him. Still... he is consistent with that driver. Irons... I am always hitting at least one club less than he is with my "S" flex vs. him and his "R" flex. Wouldn't you think that if he is as long or longer with the driver, he would be as long or longer with the irons? Nope.
I have always loved the Karsten story and have played Pings for the most of the time I've played golf. I have three sets of Ping irons. Karsten sold how many thousands of sets of irons fitted to his "dot" system? Each dot represented 1 degree of lie difference. Today's color code is reduced to 3/4 degree of difference. Wait!! How many of we recreational players can repeat a swing within one degree of difference... week after week... day after day... round after round... swing after swing? Few if any. But, we believe that if we were fitted to a blue dot on one given day in one fitting session with one specific fitter that our swings are consistent enough to repeat that session on the course.
Sheesh! Now, I'm too long-winded... again.

 

[thegolfclubdoc]

Yet another instance of where there is no "one size fits all" in golf. Too many golf instructors, in my opinion, try to instill a picturesque swing in their students... everyone the same. In our "geezer group", it is amazing the difference in each of our swings. And, we all get the job done... while enjoying a great game. Could we all benefit from lessons? In some cases... yes. As long as the instructor didn't try to get each and every one of us to be clones of each other's swing.
One of our group has a beautiful swing. His entire set is matched Pings and all have "R" flex graphite shafts. He is one of the longest drivers in the group and is seldom far from center cut fairway. He's not infinitely longer and some of us will be there with him. Still... he is consistent with that driver. Irons... I am always hitting at least one club less than he is with my "S" flex vs. him and his "R" flex. Wouldn't you think that if he is as long or longer with the driver, he would be as long or longer with the irons? Nope.
I have always loved the Karsten story and have played Pings for the most of the time I've played golf. I have three sets of Ping irons. Karsten sold how many thousands of sets of irons fitted to his "dot" system? Each dot represented 1 degree of lie difference. Today's color code is reduced to 3/4 degree of difference. Wait!! How many of we recreational players can repeat a swing within one degree of difference... week after week... day after day... round after round... swing after swing? Few if any. But, we believe that if we were fitted to a blue dot on one given day in one fitting session with one specific fitter that our swings are consistent enough to repeat that session on the course.
Sheesh! Now, I'm too long-winded... again.

Man I really like what you wrote. I also believe that there is too much stock placed in golf instruction and equipment for that matter. The clubs that people keep telling me are impossible to hit, I’ve been hitting just fine. Go figure.


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[IrishGolfer]

One of the guys in our club has been club champion several times. He plays woods in stiff and irons in regular. I guess a few points:

• Lots of men simply go straight to the X-flex rack to pick irons off the shelf. They get their man card stamped at the cash register and then discover they can't hit their new irons for squat. On the other side of the equation, you get the son-in-law who gets some hand me down irons from the father in law with soft as soap regular flex shafts. The dude has 120mph clubhead speed, and the ball is flying everywhere on the course.
• All shaft manufacturers have different definitions of stiff and regular. In fact, how do you actually define stiff?
• For some reason most woods these days have graphite shafts. In the past, lighter tended to equal whippy. Not so much now, but regular graphite always feels a little more whippy to me than steel. IMO.
• Fitters tend to go on swing speed (club and ball) to determine what stiffness to recommend. I guess that is a good start, as you can't give a guy swinging 70mph an extra stiff shaft. But there are more factors, depending on load/transition and multiple other variables.
• I think you use some common sense and read some reviews to narrow down your choice of shaft and then just go and try them out on a simulator where you are getting some numbers. Spin, height, dispersion and distance all need to be taken into account.
• There is a great video doing the rounds from TXG, who fit a low handicap lady golfer with new irons, with lots of shaft options on a TM head. She had an excellent and very repeatable swing. The results were amazing, she was getting an extra 15 yards on a 7 iron once the clubfitter narrowed everything down. We can't all afford to go to a clubfitter and drop serious cash to get an in-depth fitting, but some common sense and some numbers will help.
• Don't sweat it too much and don't overanalyze. Unless you are a top amateur/pro, you are not going to see a huge amount of difference. Bottom line, try 'em, like 'em, buy 'em and have fun with 'em.

 

[limpalong]

I still so often refer to a Golf Digest article from the mid-80's. They sent five players to a number of different fitters. Scratch golfer... mid handicap... high handicap... lady low handicap... lady high handicap. IIRC, they went to Titlest, Callaway, Henry Griffiths, and a couple of fitters who represented multiple lines. The results were amazing. A player could be fitted for extremely different lie angles and completely different shaft flex from fitter to fitter. There was zero consistency. Now, was it the players different swings from fitter to fitter? Or, was it each fitter had a different "opinion" as to what that player needed?

 

[ualtim]

I am the same way, woods stiff flex shafts, irons reg flex shafts. For me, I find most graphite shafts to play a little softer than flex so I usually go up a flex. For irons, I play my best golf and get better feel with steel regular flex.

 

[titaniummd]

There is no universal standard of shaft stiffness. It varies from one maker to another.

In general the stiffness used should be based upon swing speed. There’s more physics involved than most people care to learn.

From my understanding the only way to find out is to test clubs using a launch monitor to quantify parameters. For the causal golfer it probably doesn’t matter as much given the inconsistency when compared to a professional.

In the end, if it works, then do it.


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[thegolfclubdoc]

There is no universal standard of shaft stiffness. It varies from one maker to another.

In general the stiffness used should be based upon swing speed. There’s more physics involved than most people care to learn.

From my understanding the only way to find out is to test clubs using a launch monitor to quantify parameters. For the causal golfer it probably doesn’t matter as much given the inconsistency when compared to a professional.

In the end, if it works, then do it.


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I wonder why this is? Wouldn’t it make sense and be a lot more accommodating for consumers if there were standards to shaft flexes.


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[ualtim]

I wonder why this is? Wouldn’t it make sense and be a lot more accommodating for consumers if there were standards to shaft flexes.


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Vanity. Just like vanishing loft syndrome in irons, most folks want to appear to be better than they are. They want to hit their 7 iron with a x stiff shaft 180 yards like the pros. Of course, that 7 iron has the same loft of an old school 5 iron and the shaft flex is probably a flex or two weaker now a days.