Golf Shaft Basics: How to get properly fitted for a golf shaft.

Chris Mitson, RhodyGolf.com Technical Editor

There are a multitude of shaft manufacturers as well as shafts on the market today. With so many options available, the process of choosing a shaft sometimes becomes overly complex, and often shafts are chosen for the wrong reasons. Either due to a marketing campaign, or a player’s pride (i.e. I must have a stiff shaft since everyone else in my weekend foursome has a stiff shaft) the wrong shaft is purchased, installed into a club, and before you can use the new club more than two rounds, the player is on the quest for a new driver.

I wrote this article to help educate readers how some time-proven basics to help insure that you can find the best shaft for your swing. First, what not to do when looking for a shaft…

Ok, first I need to share what not to do when shopping for a new golf shaft. As human beings, we all have the desire to be accepted by our fellow human beings. This is also true in the world of golf. Many golfers like to have the respect of our peers when it comes to our insightful golf swing tips, our knowledge of the golf swing as well as our understanding of technology.I can immediately tell when a golfer does not understand the technology employed in golf shafts when I see one of the following:

• THE WIGGLE TEST: The Wiggle Test involves shaking the club violently from side to side to see how stiff/ whippy the club is.

• THE NOTORIOUS LEAN AND BEND: This is when a player puts all his or her weight on the shaft and bends or bows the shaft. This is also usually done to test for stiffness.
  

These are just 2 examples of WHAT NOT TO DO! THESE 2 EXAMPLES HELP DETERMINE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING (except provide a good chuckle for people like me)!!!!!!

What you should do first to insure that you get fitted properly for a shaft, you should start by:·

• Testing different shaft flexes. Shafts primarily are manufactured in the following flexes: Light, Regular, Stiff and Extra Stiff.

• Testing different shaft weights. Shaft weights are measured in grams.
  

Then what you should do is…Consult a local club fitter/technician for the appropriate fit. If possible, you should try to locate a golf professional who has access to a Launch Monitor. A launch monitor is high tech piece of equipment that allows professional club-fitters and club makers to measure key swing measures such as:Launch Angle- The launch angle is the apex of a golf shot regardless of the club used. The ideal launch is somewhere between 10-15 degrees (basically any launch above 10 and bellow 20 degrees is okay because it is in relation to a players spin rate). The reason for so much disparity is because of the many different factors involved, mainly spin rate and club head speed.

• Spin Rate- Spin rate is the number of revolutions that are created when speed is added to the golf swing.

• Ball Speed- Ball speed is the rate at which the golf ball leaves the clubface 
  Loft- Loft is the he angle or degrees that a club has been designed. Typically, the best ‘loft’ is one that allows the golf ball to achieve optimum height so that the HIGH LINE DRIVE TRAJECTORY CAN BE CREATED AND MAINTAINED!!!!!!!!How can a shaft help me then???

Ok Chris, you can stop now…you are making my head spin. How can a shaft possibly help me?As I discussed earlier, launch angle is a key determinant in how optimal your shot consistency and distance will be. To this end, shafts are designed with launch angles in mind (and not all are the same, as many people). They have unique traits those being-

• FLEX- ladies, senior (or light), regular, stiff, and extra stiff (some vendors offer double, triple and even 4x)

• WEIGHT – anywhere from 45grams- 120grams plus3. KICK POINT (or bend point)- low, mid, and high (that’s great but what does this mean to the Joe or Jane?)

• LOW KICK SHAFTS: Aids players that may have a low lofted driver or are naturally low ball hitter, this shaft acts like a pinball flipper and helps kick the ball up in the air.
  

• MID-KICK: This shaft will bend/kick from approx. the middle of the shaft down. This type of shaft helps a player either raise or lower his/her launch. This style of shaft is usually used to replace a stock (low kick) shaft.
  
• HIGH-KICK This shaft will bend/kick from approx. the grip down.
  Designed for a player that is a high ball hitter or an individual that has a high lofted driver. Designed to help a player lower their launch angle
  

Now that this information has been gathered the fitter can apply this knowledge to pick a shaft that has characteristics that are going to benefit and aid a player as opposed to penalizing the player. Considering that today’s focus is on distance and accuracy.

Now for some real life examples…As a professional club fitter you can imagine that I have had several opportunities to work with golfers just like yourself. Example of that can occur with an improper club fitting.

A. The player’s trajectory is extremely high (modified pop up) or to low (worm burner)

B. Inconsistent distance

C. Lack of control (shot will go left or right)

I have provided some real-life examples (I have purposely omitted names to protect the guilty) to illustrate issues that often arise during shaft selection.

Player chooses improper shaft weight and/or flexibility: If a player has a shaft with the wrong flex characteristics (i.e. the player chooses a stiff shaft due to their ego) and/or with the wrong weight characteristics (too heavy or too light) it is likely that the player will have an inconsistent shot pattern. More importantly, however, it is likely that they will also have inconsistent and non-optimal LAUNCH ANGLE. A player who by their own equipment choosing, helps create a poor launch angle has done him or herself a great disservice since it is detrimental to the goal of most players is consistent and accurate shots and controlled distance.

Shaft Basics, page 2