taylor-made R580XD.. what shaft?

Thinking of getting a Taylor Made R580XD driver..but which shaft option should I get?

My swing speed with driver is round about 95MPH & I tend to have a highish ball flight (Callaway BB Hawkeye 11 deg regular flex)

I have the option of 9.5 deg or 10.5 deg with either regular or stiff shaft.

Thanks

Your swing speed is WAY to low to get a stiff shaft. Don't take that the wrong way - almost everyone who has stiff shafts already have too slow of a swing speed to actually benefit from it. Being that you have a slow swing speed, it's best to go with a higher loft on your driver. Anywhere from a 10* - 11* should be good, according to the info you gave. The reason being for this is that the optimal ball launch angle for your driver is 15*. A faster swing speed will launch a ball higher than a slow swing speed,given the same impact angle and club face degree. Therefor, someone with a 105 MPH swing speed could use a 9*- 10* driver, 115 MPH could use a 8.5 - 9.5* driver, etc.

__________________
Gord

Quote of the month:
"It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification." ~Bruce McCall

gord962


Thanks for the prompt reply..thats excellent information just what I was looking for...now to order the beast!!

Just to add a little complexity to Gord's excellent advice.

It's worth checking the shaft options too as you might find 3 or 4 different regular flex shafts available. Depending on how the shaft is designed it's possible to vary the pivot point so that the launch angle varies for the same loft. If you go for a higher loft (say 10.5 deg) then just check that it's not mated with a shaft for a high launch angle. You might find that this combination causes the ball to balloon of the face losing considerable distance.

Ok..thought it was all getting too simple!!

Ok then...I suppose this leads me to a couple more questions..

What is a low/mid/high kick-point...stiff/soft tipped shaft etc.. what should I be looking for?

I don't really have the oppurtunity to go try them.. probably wouldn't be able to tell that much myself unless I hit them back to back even then I'm only around a 14 handicap & would probably be hard pushed to choose.

my local pro shops would just give me a couple to try.."go hit a few balls" & see what you think..MMM then giving me whatever they have on the shelf at that time...
Then most likely try & flog you the latest & greatest at the highest price they can get away with.... this regardless of whether it's really the best option for you..sorry for sounding so negative

Ok, here we go on the techy stuff

First kick-point (of flex-point). This is the point point in the shaft where the degree of bending is greatest and determines the ball's launch angle. A lower flex point creates more loft because the "kick" is nearer the clubhead.

Tip stiffness is very similar and simply describes the behaviour of the tip of the shaft where it meets the hosel. A softer tip with launch the ball higher than a stiffer tip.

In the end it's a bit of a trade-off. A higher flex-point and a higher tip-stiffness will mean more accuracy but less distance (in general).

It's difficult to make a recommendation as there's a combination of so many factors to consider. At the end of the day the best decision making tool is how you hit the darn thing so, if you can, spend some time trying out various combinations.

Hope this helps...a little

The best advice I can give you if you are still not sure is get your swing analyzed by a professional club maker. Anyone who builds clubs for a living will tell you exactly what type of shaft you need by watching you swing 3 times. You may want to talk to them first and see if the can custom build you a club before going to your local pro shop.

That would work out well.. hopefully I'm getting my clubs checked out in the next couple of days or so ...reference my thread a couple weeks ago about vertically challenged golfers..5' 6"

As a matter of interest i wonder what kind of swing speed I could potentially work towards..afterall..Ian Woosnam is only 5'4"!!!

I DID say potentially...

thanks

Yea sounds like regular is the way to go. Always play the lightest shaft you can though. Taylor Made's shafts arent the best but they are ok, it might be worth trying to find one with a custom shaft.

Dont get hung up on sheer length tho. If you find a shaft that gives you great accuracy thats the best thing you can buy.

D