Recommended swing speed shaft question

[Clugnut]

I'm going to be real honest here. I have no idea what shaft flex is for. Call me what you will, I can take it.

Especially when it come to steel shafts. The way I figure it, the stiffer the flex in steel, the lower the launch and spin will be. Is this correct? Does it affect shot shape?

Here is why. The RSS (recommended swing speed) for iron shafts would put me very very firmly into the X100 category. But I consider my ballflight very good with the mid kick stiff actionlites in my irons. High sometimes, but not too bad. I'm not looking to change, I'm just curious.

So could someone explain to me what stiffness is for, and how its different from graphite to steel. Thanks

 

[Rockford35]

Flex is just a generalized, unstandardized measure of bend or feel of a shaft. There is no guarantee that a stiff flex from manufacturer A is the same as manufacturer B.

You're recommended SS is a much better way of selecting shafts blindly. I say that because without being able to test those shafts, you're just shooting blindly in the dark, hoping to find something that works for your particular swing. Those numbers are just recommendations, but really mean nothing.

I play S+ in my driver, S in my fairway woods, and R+ in my irons. My wedges are S and S+, so as you can see, it's not just like looking up the corresponding number in a chart.

Have a look through this. It is alot to swallow, but it basically puts feel and flex into a quantitative number that should make it easier to understand. Find the shafts you're looking at, and what you're playing and you can at least get a feel for what they may or may not play like.

Cheers,

R35

 

[Clugnut]

Wow, thats a lot of info. So my short, mimimal wrist cock backswing coupled with my 105-108 mph swing speed means I should be using a really stiff shaft, according to that. Will stiffening shafts make me more accurate without lowering ballflight considerably?

 

[Rockford35]

Depends on the shaft. If it's softer tip, low bend, then it'll be higher launch, even in stiff flex.

Are you a low ball hitter? Need help getting it up?

That's pretty common. Hence why there are so many low kick iron shafts.

R35

 

[Clugnut]

Depends on the shaft. If it's softer tip, low bend, then it'll be higher launch, even in stiff flex.

Are you a low ball hitter? Need help getting it up?

That's pretty common. Hence why there are so many low kick iron shafts.

R35

I'm not a low ball hitter with my irons. The reason I'm asking is b/c there is a set of irons out there in cyberspace that have x100's in them, and I don't know if I could hit them

 

[Rockford35]

My SS with a driver is around 110-112. I can't hit X100 irons - no chance.

R35

 

[chemboy2]

Hey Rock, thanks for posting that guide again! I didn't save it the last time it was posted and I've been too lazy to go search for it.

 

[Rockford35]

You got it, Pontiac!



R35

 

[Clugnut]

My SS with a driver is around 110-112. I can't hit X100 irons - no chance.

R35

Thanks, Rock. You just saved me a bunch of $$$

 

[warbirdlover]

Wow, thats a lot of info. So my short, mimimal wrist cock backswing coupled with my 105-108 mph swing speed means I should be using a really stiff shaft, according to that. Will stiffening shafts make me more accurate without lowering ballflight considerably?

Clugnut

We have the same ss and short backswing. I play 251 frequency (stiff NVS) in my driver and (stiff GD YS-7+fw) in my FW and reg in everything else. sssmokin plays reg flex ProLaunch in his SQ which has a 249 or 250 frequency. Both the NVS 65 stiff and ProLaunch 65 reg have a 92 DSFI.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Great guide Rock, Thanks!!!
Just curious, I see that is Chapter 4. What book, guide, or website did that come from?

It looks like a fitters guide, is the rest of it an online resource or one you can find somewhere else?