Bill, I'm still willing to wager that the shafts are spotty on those G10's that don't fit as good as they could.
That said, even with
Callaway's Opti-Fit system and the one Nike has, I still think
Ping is more on track for fitting of all the big OEMs.
Neil, you're not way off base. You may have taken a bigger leadoff than your coach may have liked, but you're not too far off. All manufacturers are going to point you to the things about their product that they think are going to sell. It's like the launch monitor tech when you're trying drivers. If you're spraying it, he calls attention to your distance. If you're fairway finding but not really long, he talks about how accurate that combo is.
Now, that said, A PCS guy by the name of Jerry Hoefling Sr. has developed a system where we look at your swing (and swing numbers) and use them in correlation with shaft profiles to determine what driver shaft should work for you. His success rate is a little better than 85%.
There's certainly something to the bend profiles, and they generally do correlate to the 'word of mouth' that you hear - that rifles feel better than dynamic golds, that the NVS is softer than the NV, that the Evolution is a stiff mutha.
The best driver combo I've played to date had an Evolution in it. According to Jerry's system, it's too tip-stiff for me, and I certainly don't send the ball right with it. So I've got a VS Proto By-You standing by for insertion, which is pretty much spot on according to Jerry's system. Look for my review once the snow melts (or once my new laptop gets here and I can get some Vector numbers).
So I'll argue that the R&D done is useful. If it wasn't, all shafts would feel (and bend) the same.