WHY IS IT THE PRO'S CAN PLAY SUCH STIFF SHAFTS??

[scratch67]

I was watching the Shark Shootout and heard the sound bite about Rocco's iron shafts. He changed from a 7.5 to a 6.5 shaft because he was "getting a little older." I guess if I was hitting a 1,000 balls a day I would be using shafts on steriods!

 

Mark

[jimmyjames]

I think it's more for accuracy and ball control. Every PGA Tour event I have been to I noticed players love to work the ball and keep the ball DOWN with their irons. The stiffer the shaft the easier it is to do this.

[alwaysupanddown]

Jimmyjames is dead on. I am a mini tour player trying to live the dream and i finally went to 6.5 project x to really work the ball. Most better players work there irons with hand action you dont need allot of shaft loading with good hand action. Your driver you shape with your big muscles

[thattigga]

What about X or XX shafts in driver? Its not to keep the ball down and like "alwaysupanddown" "Your driver you shape with your big muscles." I have actually heard that people here in the states play way too stiff shafts; not just the pros.

[BDLz]

I was watching the Shark Shootout and heard the sound bite about Rocco's iron shafts. He changed from a 7.5 to a 6.5 shaft because he was "getting a little older." I guess if I was hitting a 1,000 balls a day I would be using shafts on steriods!

 

Mark

 

 

He actually changed from a 7.3 to a 6.5....not that it really matters.

 

BDLz

[whatshannenin]

Feel. A lot of guys just prefer stiffer shafts as it feels like they have more control. A lot of pros actually play combos in their woods that aren't good "fits" but like the feel. Feel is way more important than anything else in golf.

[racingdc9]

Will an average golfer loose distance if he goes to a stiffer shaft? If so, would it because of weight or b/c lack of kick? Or am I totally off?

[christianreg]

Look at it this way all the good players can hit any flex of shaft sraight but when you get to that point you try to get your spin rates ideal. I went through this a couple of months ago, i actually got stiffer shafts and swing slower now to control shot shape and spin rates.

[golfernut78]

what do you mean - control shot shapes? how does a stiffer shaft help that? i can understand trajectory, but not fading/drawing. i know when i play a shaft that is stiff i only have 3 shots: slice, push and pull. i don't think thats the kind of "working" the pros are looking for.

[Lefty Cat]

They fear the hook plain and simple. I've recently been looking on the V1 to see what some of the best players in the world look like at parallel. Face is slightly closed more often than open. Stiffer shafts help compensate.

[slicktry]

They fear the hook plain and simple. I've recently been looking on the V1 to see what some of the best players in the world look like at parallel. Face is slightly closed more often than open. Stiffer shafts help compensate.

 

I agree. I had the chance to hit a tour players personal driver and it was the stiffest board I have ever seen. FWIW, the player was in the top 5 in FW's hit for several years. His SS was 10-15 mph LESS than mine at the time. It is all based on control and eliminating one side!

 

God Bless

Jer

[christianreg]

what I meant by shot shape is that with a shaft that is stiff its easier to hit fades and draws for with the less bend a little hand action or setup goes a long way. First you have to be able to hit that stiff shaft straight not slice push and pull in that compensating order, if those are your three shots then you have no right to be playing those shafts. Think about this with more bend in the club it takes longer for the ball to be struck then with a pole if your hands are at the impact position, we all know that clubface comes from hand position witch then results in shot shape, so yes I do think that stiffer shafts are easier to shape and to control trajectory

[ekin]

Im a touring pro in europe,but I spend about 2 months a year in orlando every year.

I also think people in the US play to stiff shafts(dont know why) maybe a macho thing.

Its all about haveing the right shaft. My swing speed is around 120mph,and i use a stiff

[the_krulatz]

Im a touring pro in europe,but I spend about 2 months a year in orlando every year.

I also think people in the US play to stiff shafts(dont know why) maybe a macho thing.

Its all about haveing the right shaft. My swing speed is around 120mph,and i use a stiff

 

Is your preferred ball flight a draw?

[thattigga]

Im a touring pro in europe,but I spend about 2 months a year in orlando every year.

I also think people in the US play to stiff shafts(dont know why) maybe a macho thing.

Its all about haveing the right shaft. My swing speed is around 120mph,and i use a stiff

 

 

I think almost every player in the States who has a SS around 120mph plays X or X tipped. Im from the USA and see many player with the same speed or a little higher than mine playing X. I dont know what my exact swing speed is currently, but I play stiff...I think my swing speed is around 105mph and play stiff and all of my clubs are stiff. Over in Europe, if a player had a 105 SS, what would they play?

 

 

Did I mention, I am NOT a pro or no where near one.

[rymail00]

I am 27, 11 handiacap with ss around 105 give or take and just this year went to stiff in my woods. I played regular shafts for all my life in every club. Now i'm wondering about switching my irons to stiff, i play thw i10's 1 step strong from regular, and was wondering if i should make the jump to stiff. (project x 5.5, or project x 5.0 HL stepped once or twice) Any one with any suggestions would be a huge help.

 

I know i should get fitted but all we have is Dicks sporting good, no LM there. No other golf shops besides one that is privately owned and no LM either. So what i am trying to say is i cant demo anything on a LM.

[coachemup]

As stated already in this thread, stiffer shafts are basically for control reasons.

 

I am a firm believer in blind fitting. The guy running the tests basically gives you test clubs and you have no idea of what you are hitting. Then after hitting several combos, you look at both the data and your likes/dislikes and move on from there. I have seen a number of big hitters get perfectly for regular flex shafts and when asked, they told the fitter that the shaft felt like a board and did not have enough kick to it for them. By doing it this way, your brain cannot manipulate the club to fit what the shaft has written on it.

 

Also, unless you test out all the shafts, you really have no idea what you are hitting anyway. Some shafts with X on them are not really X and some that say R are stiff. You get the picture. This is why the work of someone like Joe Kwok is very important. A phone interview may help, but there is nothing like being fit by a qualified person live and in person.

[jdhallissey]

It also has to do with lag in your swing. I am in the 110 range on normal swings but my hand lag is where I went with a XX diamana. I release so late and hard a softer shaft can not keep up with the quickness. I play x's in my irons but will be changin to a little stronger for the fact of working the ball a little more with less spin. I am a +2.5, I am trying to turn pro but how do you putt! haha

[Lefty Cat]

Aim it right at the hole, and hit it hard.

[Golfjdm]

+1 for taking the left out of play

 

I hit PX 6.0 flighted (swing speed alone i believe i should play a 5.0-5.5) and the only time they go left is when i really pull it i have had much better results than when i used regular flex irons.

 

As far as stiff(er) in the driver, I like one I can crank on in the downswing (If its a wide fairway or have my driver going well) and not have it breakdown. My stock "stiff" still gets a little whipy on the real aggressive ones. I think the big hitters (a lot of them on tour) may think this way also.

[forgedforever]

As stated already in this thread, stiffer shafts are basically for control reasons.

 

I am a firm believer in blind fitting. The guy running the tests basically gives you test clubs and you have no idea of what you are hitting. Then after hitting several combos, you look at both the data and your likes/dislikes and move on from there. I have seen a number of big hitters get perfectly for regular flex shafts and when asked, they told the fitter that the shaft felt like a board and did not have enough kick to it for them. By doing it this way, your brain cannot manipulate the club to fit what the shaft has written on it.

 

Also, unless you test out all the shafts, you really have no idea what you are hitting anyway. Some shafts with X on them are not really X and some that say R are stiff. You get the picture. This is why the work of someone like Joe Kwok is very important. A phone interview may help, but there is nothing like being fit by a qualified person live and in person.

 

 

I really like coachemup's idea of blind fitting. In all the years I've read and discussed golf, I've not heard it mentioned before. Makes perfect sense! Thanks!

 

Note: edited to correct name of "coachemup"

[playIVkeeps]

what do you mean - control shot shapes? how does a stiffer shaft help that? i can understand trajectory, but not fading/drawing. i know when i play a shaft that is stiff i only have 3 shots: slice, push and pull. i don't think thats the kind of "working" the pros are looking for.

 

your 3 shots with the stiff shafts indicates you don't have enough swing speed to use them properly.

[golfernut78]

what do you mean - control shot shapes? how does a stiffer shaft help that? i can understand trajectory, but not fading/drawing. i know when i play a shaft that is stiff i only have 3 shots: slice, push and pull. i don't think thats the kind of "working" the pros are looking for.

 

your 3 shots with the stiff shafts indicates you don't have enough swing speed to use them properly.

 

i didn't mean i play a stiff shaft, but ment a shaft that is too stiff as an example, if i hit x-100. it just doesn't work for my 100-105 swing speed.

[Lefty Cat]

Too many people associate swing speed alone on the flex needed on a shaft. Its how you load the shaft during the transition from the top to the downswing as well.

[thattigga]

It also has to do with lag in your swing. I am in the 110 range on normal swings but my hand lag is where I went with a XX diamana. I release so late and hard a softer shaft can not keep up with the quickness. I play x's in my irons but will be changin to a little stronger for the fact of working the ball a little more with less spin. I am a +2.5, I am trying to turn pro but how do you putt! haha

 

 

Too many people associate swing speed alone on the flex needed on a shaft. Its how you load the shaft during the transition from the top to the downswing as well.

 

I see that I really need to get fit. I love the feel of my irons and they are stiff, but are light (around 100 grams) and I love the overall feel of my driver shaft, but I have a quick hands at impact so my misses are left. I wonder if its the shaft or the quick hand action, when I lag my hands more, I hit is pretty on target-- I think its more my hand action.

 

I really need to get fit!!!

[307golf]

I'm about to go through this experiment myself... Picked up Nickent 3dx Pro's with PX 7.0 satins. I've hit 6.5's before with no problems and X100s don't feel very stiff. I like stiff and boardy characteristics so I guess we'll see. I'm half expecting to have my a** handed to me...

[Lefty Cat]

I thought I saw somewhere on this site the frequency equalizer on shafts. X100's were 7.2 or 7.3, Hardstepped 7.0's were 7.2 and regular 7.0's were at about 6.7.

[Golfjdm]

I thought I saw somewhere on this site the frequency equalizer on shafts. X100's were 7.2 or 7.3, Hardstepped 7.0's were 7.2 and regular 7.0's were at about 6.7.

 

That is amazing if it exist, I think all shafts should use the frequency system like royal precision. It takes out all the guesswork of is this stiff really stiff or just like a regular in brand x etc, etc. If it was just a number I could just start at 6.0 like my irons and go from there.

[Asleep]

I thought I saw somewhere on this site the frequency equalizer on shafts. X100's were 7.2 or 7.3, Hardstepped 7.0's were 7.2 and regular 7.0's were at about 6.7.

Dynamic Gold vs Project X

[thattigga]

I thought I saw somewhere on this site the frequency equalizer on shafts. X100's were 7.2 or 7.3, Hardstepped 7.0's were 7.2 and regular 7.0's were at about 6.7.

Dynamic Gold vs Project X

 

 

DGS300ss = 5.5FCM

DGS300 = 5.8FCM

DGS300hs = 6.1FCM

 

PX5.5ss = 5.8FCM

PX5.5 = 6.0FCM

PX5.5hs = 6.2FCM

 

PX6.0ss = 6.3FCM

PX6.0 = 6.5FCM

PX6.0hs = 6.7FCM

 

DGX100ssx2 = 6.2FCM

DGX100ss = 6.5FCM

DGX100 = 6.8FCM

DGX100hs = 7.1FCM

 

ss=soft-stepped

ssx2=soft-stepped twice

hs=hard-stepped

 

 

Assumptions: using Joe's numbers & given that stepping shafts adjusts flex by 1/3.

 

DGS400 will flex virtually the same as DGS300, but weigh a few grams heavier.

 

 

From: TrueTemper Sports/Fitting Works

 

What are the differences in performance characteristics between the Project X and Dynamic Gold shafts?

 

Project X will launch slightly higher (0.5°) and with slightly less spin (200 rpm) than Dynamic Gold due to its slightly softer tip section and firmer mid section. The firmer mid section of Project X will give the player a slightly stiffer feel compared to Dynamic Gold. Both shafts are designed for the better player or stronger swinger seeking shot control with their irons and a lower, penetrating ball flight. Players with quicker tempos may prefer the heavier weight of Dynamic Gold.

 

We have seen several Tour players switch back and forth between the two models (Davis Love III & Camilo Villegas are two that come to mind). At The Players Championship this year, there were 66 sets of Dynamic Gold in play and 23 sets of Project X.

 

...if a player is currently playing Dynamic Gold S300 and wanted to try Project X, we would suggest that he start with the 5.5 as it would be the closest comparison to S300 (and vice versa).

 

 

 

..................Project X 5.5.......... Dynamic Gold S300

Weight........... 118g........................... 130g

Torque............ 1.7°............................ 1.7°

Flex Point..... mid/high...................... high

 

more coming...

 

This post has been edited by Asleep: Jul 7 2008, 01:53 PM

 

 

Good Info