Driver shaft flex

[gmbtempe]

So wanted to get some input from people smarter than me. I have a friend, my boss actually, who I play a lot of golf with and we are the same handicap so we play for money. He is 51 and a former baseball player who can really hit it. Last week we were at PGA tour superstore when he was getting a new wedge I asked him to see what he swung his driver speed at, no warm ups, 118. He reguraly will hit it 330+ and is always around 290 min.

The problem is his misses are so extreme that they hook are cut 40 yards. So I am looking at his current driver and its a TM 07' Burner which I think is the best driver TM has made. It has a stock Mits S flex shaft.

I explained to him that they really softened this up and its like a regular-stiff shaft and that part of his problem is that when he makes an off plane swing that the shaft should cant resist the torgue and the miss is exaggerated. This is evidenced by his iron play which is equally long but not nearly as much curve. Is this accurate thinking?

I told him to get a premium x shaft and while he wont uncork some of the super bomber drivers (I have seen him hit it 350+ many times) he will be a lot more accurate. He has a scratch type game other than the driver accuracy.

Good advice? He has a quick tempo with massive snap of the hips, slight leftward path. I was thinking something like a Diamana White or Blue board?

[Richie3Jack]

I'm far from an expert, but I think at his clubhead speed he can certainly go with X-Stiff and probably not lose much distance. He may not get one of those super duper long drives.

All of the RE-Max guys use super stiff shafts and have no issue bombing in 400 yards, they just have the clubhead speed to get the shaft to flex and kick for them. Your boss should as well.




3JACK

[kamandi]

I'm thinking that he could benefit from a shaft with a high kick point. whether he goes with S or X or XX. A high kickpoint shaft will lower the ball flight, but more importantly, it will be much less whippy. Also, the lower the torque, the less twisting. High kickpoint means the tip is real stiff, while the butt end is real soft. Sheesh, lots of stuff in golf sounds dirty, LOL.

Ofcourse, with these kinds of shafts, some feel they're too stiff, as a lot of people like the feeling of the huge kick and extra distance from low kick-point shafts.

For me, the shaft flex is important, but I look at the kick point more. Besides, many manufacturers have different ideas of what S or X is. The clubfitter will be able to tell you the more reliable cpm.

My favorite is the Accuflex VS-339, which is still being sold at e-bay. I plan on buying one on January, after the Christmas rush.

On cheap ones, I've heard good things about Graman. Don't know much about the pricier ones, but I heard they're pretty good.

Let your friend demo some high kick-point shafted clubs, and see if he likes the feel and ball flight.

[kamandi]

Another thing you might consider is swing weight. Some people, like me, prefer clubs with heavier feeling heads. Since all the new driver heads are super light, my clubfitter added tungsten powder closer to the tip to get the weight heavier. Ofcourse, that makes the shaft softer and will wear it out faster. I'm thinking next time, I'll go with a lighter shaft and lighter grip, to make the head feel heavier naturally.

[gmbtempe]

Oct 27, 2010 1:39:14 GMT -5 kamandi said:

I'm thinking that he could benefit from a shaft with a high kick point. whether he goes with S or X or XX. A high kickpoint shaft will lower the ball flight, but more importantly, it will be much less whippy. Also, the lower the torque, the less twisting. High kickpoint means the tip is real stiff, while the butt end is real soft. Sheesh, lots of stuff in golf sounds dirty, LOL.

Ofcourse, with these kinds of shafts, some feel they're too stiff, as a lot of people like the feeling of the huge kick and extra distance from low kick-point shafts.

For me, the shaft flex is important, but I look at the kick point more. Besides, many manufacturers have different ideas of what S or X is. The clubfitter will be able to tell you the more reliable cpm.

My favorite is the Accuflex VS-339, which is still being sold at e-bay. I plan on buying one on January, after the Christmas rush.

On cheap ones, I've heard good things about Graman. Don't know much about the pricier ones, but I heard they're pretty good.

Let your friend demo some high kick-point shafted clubs, and see if he likes the feel and ball flight.

good stuff.