Stiff shaft vs Regular shaft

Hi,

Was wondering if anybody can tell me why I would go for a set of clubs with Stiff shafts over Regular shafts?

Shaft stiffness is based mostly on your swing speed. The faster your swing the stiffer shaft you want. You can imagine why this is because the faster your swing the more the club is going to flex and so stiffness helps control the flexing. If you haven't had you swing speed checked ever you can get that done at most golf stores that have a hitting area. Whoever does the swing check at the store can tell you what kind of shafts you should be using. Pros swing the fastest. If you are somewhat a beginner you probably should stick to normal flex shafts.

Really as a beginner your swing will be slow, so you would be beta off with reg shafts, but when you swing gets quick alot quicker, get stiff shafts.

Staylo,

Always go for the most flexible shaft you can control. Regular shafts give you increased distance and height (and we can all use more of that) at the cost of control. Essentially its a matter of feel, I switched between stiff and regular for a while and I dont really mind which I play now, although in terms of feel I prefer the regulars, especially when the swing is a little worse for wear. That said, I have an X-100 fitted to my 6 Wood for accuracy since it isnt an out and out distance club like the other woods.

Basically it breaks down like this for the most common fitments (very rough comparisons)

R300 give approx 5-10 yards a club more distance than S300 which give 5-10 yards more distance than X100. The relative accuracy works in the opposite direction.

More important (so I'm told) is the weight of the shaft. Again, you should always play the lightest shaft you can control. This is especially important for graphite shafts. A heavier shaft apparently helps with control as well, so if you find you have trouble with control of an R300 shaft try the heavier shaft before the stiffer one.

D.

As always, Darryl and I are on the same page. I know very few people who swing fast enough for the stiff flex, yet almost everyone has a stiff shaft. I think it's an ego thing. People who use equipment closer to what the pros do think that everyone else will think they are better. The thing is about shafts is that unless they have your club in their hands and look at the shaft band, no one will even know the flex, so stick with the shaft that best suits your swing, as recommended by someone who is trained to do that. Most golf shops will ahve someone to help you out.

__________________
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

Another thing to keep in mind is the ability of the golfer to "load" the shaft. The more flexible the shaft, the easier to "load" the shaft. I use S-300 shafts eventhough my swing speeds indicate that I should be X stiff. I might change to X-100s for my 6 iron - wedges. I am considering this only for control as distance is not my foremost concern.

Keep in mind that I am a major headcase.