Shaft flex

I am putting this thread under golf swing instruction, rather than clubs, customising etc.

The reason is to warn fellow GTO members to be aware of the differences in club manufacturer's definitions of their shaft flexes. This is particularly important when considering buying a driver. I have tried a few different drivers over the past few weeks.

At present I use a Yonex 400 SE+, regular graphite, which I love. I have been considering buying a new driver. Unfortunately, I will have to put the beloved Yonex in the cupboard, after 1st Jan 2008, as the COR is over the legal limit.

As I am now generating greater clubhead speed, I decided to test out a few drivers with a "stiff" shaft. This experiment has been a waste of time, due to the fact that some manufacturer's "stiff" flex had more bend in them than my "regular" flex. In one case I went up to an XS and this still had more flex than my "regular". I can only assume that this shaft must have been faulty.

Damn these PGA rules makers.

You are correct - there is no standard for flex definitions across brands, but worse yet, even within a brand. If you were to test 20 regular flex shafts - same manufacturer, even the same model, you would find at least one shaft would be equivelant to a senior flex and one would be a equivilent to a stiff flex. There definitely needs to be some standards set within the industry.