The dreaded driver many of us dream of hitting our driver long and straight consistently but the truth is that for many of us, hitting a driver is our worst nightmare. The total weight of a golf club is the sum of the head weight, weight of shaft and grip weight. There are players on the pga tour using lighter driver shafts with swing speeds upwards of 115120 mph. Add weight to your driver golf club for more distance pga. So, yes, golf shaft weight is important in that it is the major factor in differences in overall club weight. Many golfers believe they can add yards to their drive by making their driver golf club longer and lighter. They do this because a stiff shaft gives them more control over the clubhead throughout the swing. I have a ping g 15 60s driver and the matching 3 wood with a 75s which is the standard configurationsfor these clubs. Although those using heavy driver shafts are in the minority, if a player is struggling with a lightweight shaft in the driver, its not a bad idea to go for something heavier. Let us take a look whether you could swing faster with a heavier club. Ive been doing a bit of experimenting with golf clubs since 2006 and constructed a set of irons snake eyes q3i 5sw, a wedge 600w lob, a couple hybrids q3a 38 and q4a 39 and a couple fairway woods toski target t6 7 and 9 woods.
Explaining the effect of wrong shaft flex in golf clubs. Your finding on shot dispersion was a bit of a surprise in that the lighter shaft resulted in straighter shots 35s of the time, especially with regard to faster swing speeds. Stronger players with faster swings typically elect to use stiffer shafts, for example. A heavier shaft can help you execute a long, slow takeaway more conducive to a wellstruck golf shot. How to change the swing weight of a golf club golfweek. But control always seems to take a back seat to potential distance. Golfers can gain distance through a proper shaft weight fitting, but it might be at the expense of dispersion, or vice versa. The faster the club is moving, the farther the ball goes. Heavier shafts also have less torque, which is the resistance to twisting on impact, so. The average swing speed, ball speed and distance numbers are pretty similar, regardless of weight or flex. We take a callaway rogue sub zero and try a light weight 50.
Jan 28, 2014 the lighter the shaft, the faster the club can be swung. What difference would i expect from a heavier shaft. Shafts arent the first thing most club golfers think of when trotting off to buy a new driver or set of irons. I would think if the fw shaft weight could be lighter, same or heavier than the driver and should be determined based on which one gives the best results off the deck. Woods was one of the last to forego a steel shaft for graphite. Oct 16, 2018 the best thing to do is make sure your shaft flex is wellmatched to your swing by meeting with a clubfitter or at least a teaching pro in a hitting bay when buying new clubs. Some testers did have their lowest launch and spin with the heavier, stiffer shafts, but one player spun the heaviest shaft the most and three players spun the stiffest shaft the most.
It is easy to understand why drivers with lighter shafts became popular. My swing is fairly sensitive to weight changes in shafts. It is not a standard measurement parameter but a ratio of weight distribution. Pluggedin golf does shaft weight matter more than shaft flex. Jul 17, 2017 there is a common motion that a lighter club weight automatically makes your swing faster. Golfers with very fast speeds and tempo should play heavier shafts. I like d4 so even though my driver has a 60 gram shaft in it i have enough lead tape on it to get me to a heavier swing weight. As you might expect at this point, there are always exceptions. The best thing to do is make sure your shaft flex is wellmatched to your swing by meeting with a clubfitter or at least a teaching pro in a hitting bay when buying new clubs.
The most popular graphite driver shafts are in the 65g range, although the industry is trending toward 55g models. Heavier driver driver shafts for high handicaps clubs. Shouldnt the fw shaft weight be determined independently of the driver shaft. Adding a few extra grams to both head and grip might be the answer.
Used to also have slightly heavy shafts in my irons. My clubs are lighter than they used to be by 10g or so, but still relatively heavy. Interesting results, and im glad the shaft worked for you. Lights right for many pros, but heavy shafts still work for some. Spin can kill distance and heavier shafts typically do a better job of reducing it. Iron shafts can be as light as 55 grams in graphite, and grams in steel. But if you go lighter to chase more distance, just remember to consider swing weight, too. Golf week just published a list of the golfers that averaged over 300 yards on the pga tour in 2016. A shorter shaft doesnt necessarily mean that you will lose any distance like someone mentioned. Lighter shafts may be exactly what a strong player does not need if they already have a tendency to swing outsidetoinside.
Standard is d2, so if you shortened the shaft, the had to have added weight to the head. In general, golfers with slower swing speed and tempo can and should play a lighter shaft. Importance of shaft weight in fitting dlance golfd. Dec 21, 2019 the swing speed is the main consideration in selecting a driver shaft. Generally it is thought a lighter shaft leads to higher swing speed and more distance. There is a common motion that a lighter club weight automatically makes your swing faster.
I dont see a d3d4 swingweight change being noticeably heavier or even noticeable to most players, and 65 grams is still pretty light for a driver shaft. In the end its the swing weight thats more important. Head weights, shaft weights and balance points oh my. Mar 17, 2017 lighter shaft weight doesnt equal faster speeds. They are the ones who should experiment with added weight. Tour experience golf custom golf club fitting studio toronto. But as i noted drivers have also gotten lighter and longer than ever and for me, i cant swing these clubs consistently. I have used a 72g diamana for the last 4 years and have done pretty well with it.
One rule of thumb that i cannot understand is the fw shaft being about 10 grams heavier than the driver shaft. Take a look at heavier graphite shafts hireko custom. Some golfers find that they like using a lighter wedge shaft. The first driver would come in with a swingweight of d3. Driver shafts typically weigh 5560 grams for men and 4550 grams for ladies. There are players on the pga tour using lighter driver shafts with swing. On the other hand, golfers with very fast tempo swings under 1. This video discusses the differences between heavy and light weight golf shafts. Each player went through two different testing sessions one with a driver, one with an iron.
A shorter shaft was probably suggested to help you with more consistent contact with the sweet spot which will lead to more distance and more consistent drives. Fitting a driver with a ultralight shaft can be tricky, and many golfers like the feel of a slightly heavier shaft. I dont really have the swing speed these days to load many of the heavier shafts so i have a little extra head weight and a backweight usually. The result was hitting it sideways as i lost any feel of where the clubhead was. Strong muscular golfers do have ample strength endurance, however. The only two people who improved club head speed and distance with the 40 or 50gram options were very good ball strikers with grooved swings who consistently.
Nov 27, 2012 but control always seems to take a back seat to potential distance. Take your clubs to a club repair professional and ask him put in a different type of shaft. Which shaft weight gives the most consistently centred strike often using a shorter driver shaft can help with this, the most clubball speed and which gives the best dispersion. Same thing with me with irons, playing a 120g shaft. The truth about golf shafts that every golfer should know. I was on a monitor and the fitter said i hit the ball high with a lot of spin and tended to pull it. Which, if youre not a golf gearhead, probably means a trip to a clubfitter would be beneficial when selecting new shafts or clubs.
For this test, we had golfers test drivers with shafts weighing 55 grams and 75 grams. Add 10 yards to every iron by switching to a heavier or lighter shaft. We take a callaway rogue sub zero and try a light weight 50 gram and heavy 76 gram weighted shaft on the gc2 to see. Opt for a heavier shaft if you have a tendency to overswing or try to kill the ball. This driver would weigh 284 grams, 59g lighter than the first example.
This is not an exact science but it can be useful in helping golfers determine how much they can feel the weight in the club head during a swing. While its probable youd notice a nearly 60g difference, youll definitely notice the second driver feels heavier. I recently bought a g25 with a 60g shaft and have found myself spraying the ball all over the place. Need a shaft to get the ball up in the air with control. One of my drivers was e4 sw and you could feel that it was heavier in the swing. Almost all driver heads are weighing continue reading what are the benefits of heavier graphite. The three wood has a shorter shaft, which by definition makes it stiffer and compensates for the extra weight in the head. I love the look, but it feels heavier than everything else in the bag. A heavier shaft will give you a bit more control and a lighter shaft will give you more distance club head speed generally. I just dont make a very good swing with light clubs. The lighter grip makes it feel heavier even though it may be physically lighter. Using a 45 g shaft wont automatically lead to longer shots, and a 165 g shaft may not be accurate.
Picking a driver can be a golfers most difficult yet most important decision. How important a factor is shaft weight in golf clubs. However, the rest of my imperfect shots would suffer accuracy issues, whereas my heavier shaft would allow me a more consistent face contact and greater average distance. As the swing changes so do the clubs part 1 the heavier and stiffer club setup update part 2. My 910 hybrids have heavier 80g shafts and i love the way they feel. Your finding on shot dispersion was a bit of a surprise in that the lighter shaft resulted in straighter shots 35s of. Take a look at heavier graphite shafts hireko custom golf. However, if you are looking to upgrade to a lighter shaft or a different model, you may want to reconsider the length if you want to maintain a standard swingweight and shaft flex. A heavier driver shaft does wonders for my tempo and consistency through the swing. Golf clubs have evolved dramatically in the last 20 years.
The following chart will provide some difference scenarios based on the common shafts weights and balance points using the modern 460cc driver weighing 200g and. The lighter the shaft, the faster the club can be swung. Lighter shafts can promote a more outsidetoinside club path, and heavier shafts can promote a more insidetooutside club path at impact. Therefore a heavier shaft offers a slower swing speed but more accuracy and consistency. Golf swing dynamics that affect shaft selection true fit. Our article gives an indepth discussion about golf shafts. As clubs get shorter from driver to fairway woods to hybrids, the shaft weights will get progressively heavier. Aug 01, 2010 this driver would weigh 284 grams, 59g lighter than the first example.
The ratio is the bottom 23 weight to the of a golf driver or golf club. Learn which weight categories might be suitable for your swing and how your delivery can be changed with a shaft choice. For the driver test, they hit seven drives each with a 50, 60, and 70 gram shaft, all using the same. Oct 30, 2012 i have found, however, that slower swingers tend to deloft a lighter driver at impact more often than they do a heavier driver. Hi guys, if you have a hook and are using a 65gram shaft and you change to 75 gram of the same shaft would the extra weight myabe stop it from hooking as much and vice versa if you were using a heavier shaft and were leaving it out the the right right handed and changed to a lighter shaft is it possible the face. Driver shaft, lighter or heavier, more flex or less. Why you should be playing heavier equipment golfwrx. Because a heavier shaft is usually shorter than a lighter shaft, the club should be easier to control and the end result is cleaner contact with the ball. The swing speed is the main consideration in selecting a driver shaft. The logic of putting a heavier shaft in a three wood than a driver is completely confused. Im sure i could pick up 10peak yards on a perfectly struck shot with a lighter driver shaft. Jan 10, 2017 my swing is fairly sensitive to weight changes in shafts. I feel like the extra weight helps me keep my tempo down and feel the club through the swing. They are the ones who should try heavier shafts, heavier heads and heavier grips.
It is why the most popular weight for driver shaftweights on the pga tour is. Players with slower swings typically choose shafts with progressively more flex, which. May 28, 2018 typically the rule of thumb is that a golfer with a slower swing speed will benefit from using a lighter shaft, and you would add weight as swing speed increases. But, the thing is, even if a shaft is heavier, it may not feel like it if the swing weight isnt any higher. A lighter golf shaft wont necessarily help you swing your driver faster. Tiger woods is also back to using a heavier shaft in his nike driver. Almost all driver heads are weighing continue reading what are the benefits of heavier graphite shafts. In summary, be very careful when selecting a lightweight shaft for your driver. A heavier shaft may help smooth smooth out your tempo and hit the ball better. If youre looking for a higher swingweight, for example, you can have your heavier steel shafts replaced by shafts made with a lighter material, such as. This leaves us the shaft and why it is important to look at its weight you are using or deciding to purchase as this most often makes a club lighter or heavier. Theyll buy a new driver without once considering if the new shaft is markedly heavier or lighter. Since its a rogue, ill bet the put a heavier than normal weight in it. Golfers also like heavier wedge shafts because they feel that they can keep their club face at its original angle much easier than a lighter wedge shaft.
I am thinking about switching my driver shaft to a heavier model. Driver and fairway wood shaft weight game improvement golf. That should be obvious from the numbered items above, some of which in the too flexible. In this lesson, we teach you a simple method you can utilize to make your driver golf club a little heavier to locate the center of your club face and hit the golf ball farther. But when in doubt, always err on the side of more flexibility in the shaft. When i was getting fit for my present driver i was interested is seeing if a lighter shaft would give a little extra yardage through increased clubhead speed. Later in the session, he started suggesting a shorter shaft. Golf teachers federation, improved accuracy may come at the cost of distance. I have gone for heavier shafts in my driver for years. Typically the rule of thumb is that a golfer with a slower swing speed will benefit from using a lighter shaft, and you would add weight as swing speed increases. Jan 03, 2017 shouldnt the fw shaft weight be determined independently of the driver shaft.
This varies based upon your strength and swing profile tempo, transition and release but in general, hybrid shafts will be 10 to. If youre looking for a higher swingweight, for example, you can have your heavier steel shafts replaced by shafts made with a lighter material, such as lightweight steel or graphite. A light shaft may lead you to overswing, causing you to rush your backswing and throw off your timing. Nov 03, 2018 this video discusses the differences between heavy and light weight golf shafts. Lights right for many pros, but heavy shafts still work. Will a lighter shaft make the head feel lighter or heavier.
Senior golfers are leading the lightweight driver campaign. Sep 17, 2018 learn which weight categories might be suitable for your swing and how your delivery can be changed with a shaft choice. I have found, however, that slower swingers tend to deloft a lighter driver at impact more often than they do a heavier driver. Driver and fairway wood shaft weight game improvement. I have a titleist 910d2 with a stock ahina shaft that is 58g. Results 35 testers created more swing speed with the lighter shaft, but 35 created more ball speed with the heavier shaft 45 testers got more carry distance with the lighter shaft, but 35 got more total distance with the heavier shaft. One lesson i have learned from using lightweight driver shafts.
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