Getting the shaft - part 2-ish or "Giving the Indian a crooked arrow"

I posted a couple weeks ago about OEMs and their shaft offerings when getting fit for a club. With all the shafts out there and most of them for no upgrade charge "I'll just get the most expensive because it's the best, right?"  Seems to be a common occurrence.  Well, yes - and no.  Recently, a client of mine - we'll call him Smashy -  was having troubles with his driver. He bought it, and hits it good sometimes but remains very inconsistent so he gave me a ring to see if there was something in the equipment. "Chris, it's not the arrow, it's the Indian"  ----- Native American, please Dude. Still, i don't care if you're Robin Hood:  If your arrow isn't right, you're not hitting a damn thing.

Well, Smashy is kind of a big dude. The kind I wouldn't like to meet in any sort of alley, let alone a dark one. Big hands, oversize grips, taller than me (not hard to do, but still), and when he takes a cut at the ball he can exceed 121 mph.  Smashy is currently gaming a Stiff flex in his driver.  But Chris, you said flex isn't standard over all manufacturers, that could be ok right?  Yes, thanks for paying attention!! Still, when something is very very wrong, it's good to check it out to pinpoint the issue.

Well, we put Smashy on the Flightscope and found out some things about his swing. Overall, it's very repeatable and VERY hard. Gosh it makes my back hurt thinking about it.  So we warmed him up, and put some good swings on his current driver to get the numbers. Spin was high at 3100+, launch was OK, but AOA at -3 and AOD at 56 degrees was a real issue.  I checked out the flex profile and saw that he was FAR out-swinging the current shaft and the tip was way too active.



Note the squiggly lines on the left side. Layman's terms, this is how the shaft is loading and accelerating the head before impact (0). Orange is the current shot at screen grab, but all the shots are represented in gray. Take note at how some of the lines start high and then decelerate, then accelerate again. This is common in every shaft. It doesn't just bow and unload at one point. The bad news here is that while it kicks HARD, it can't handle the energy store for his particular swing and while it was kicking hard relative to the flex, it wasn't hard enough - note 107mph swing. In addition, the lines are not relatively close to each other or at the same shape - indicating that it's loading faster or slower by quite a bit, and sometimes it even decelerates before impact because of how aggressively loaded the shaft is.  Not a terrible shaft - but not at all a good fit. We want everything going in the same direction and consistently.  Smashy - being a fade/slice player - needed something that would accelerate quickly and help close the face, but be able to handle his aggressive transition and even give him a little bit better of an attack angle.  So, we put him in the budget-friendly Vista Pro 75  X flex.

A little about the Vista Pro - it's the basic end of Fujikura's offerings. It was originally released about 3 decades ago (?) and dominated then - so they re-engineered the materials and tech to re-release this year, replacing their EXS line of shafts.  FYI it has the same bend profile as the Tour AD DI shaft - for $280 less....



10 shots with the Vpro shaft, and notice how much more evenly the lines mirror each other. A few outliers on awkward swings, but the shaft helps out and loads/ unloads much more consistently for Smashy than his original shaft. This X flex and lower torque rating is much more able to handle his aggressive nature and perform consistently so that he can hit drives in a repeatable fashion.  Only one swing failed to produce good acceleration in this instance.  Taking this information - there was nothing else at this pricepoint that could take the kind of swing he had, so for fun I pulled out the HZRDUS black 6.0 (6.5) which active flex rates between stiff and X... Just for fun, to see if we could squeeze a little more consistency... Remember, this shaft is rated LESS flex than this X.....



As you can see - experiment failed.  While he could load the shaft well sometimes and it performed fairly consistently for him - it was just not a good fit for the swing. HZRDUS is TOO aggressive and TOO STIFF for the way Smashy swings, so could not effectively load and unload for him consistently..... We even hit the LZ, with the same results.... just not as good as the Vpro for Smashy Smashworth. Two high-end shafts knocked out due to fit. Now he has a great fit and saved a boatload to spend on lessons if he needs!!

But wait --- H Black is more expensive than the Vpro!!! It should be better!  Truth is that yes, it is "better" in it's numbers - lowering spin and launch - but it is not better for this player because it doesn't fit his swing. When he hit it, he bombed it but the consistency is not there and we all know in golf it's less about how good your good shots are and more about how bad your bad shots are. I've had fittings already where this scenario was 100% reversed! Fitting needs to happen properly!

The moral of this story - don't buy something because it's expensive or "included". Pros use stuff because they have a team of people that sit and stare at every ball hit, analyze it and build them a new golf club in between each bucket. The shaft they have fits them, and know what --- manufacturers will paint whatever they want on it for them. There is nothing "stock" about a club if you see a pro playing what you see on the rack, trust me.

This is what a competent fitter brings to the table. Find your local guy - NOT someone on a sim at a box store but someone who does building and fitting. Someone who has no one else besides you at your appointment and isn't going to leave you or hurry you so he can go sell some girl a new golf skirt in the next department over. There are plenty of small shops and guys squinting at fulcrum scales, agonizing over the last few grains of lead to put into a club head to make it exactly what they need for their client. Sit down, have a beer, and discuss - you'll make a friend and have a great guy just like the pros do, and lift your game up another level.

Are you getting the "shaft" when you buy a club? - Part 1, sorta

A little on shafts ... just a little

There has been a lot of things circulating lately about shafts and how they affect performance.  One noted reviewer did a small study where he hit an X flex and senior (A) flex of shaft and noted that on the monitor there was no difference between the performance of the shaft, only the feel between the two.   Another is adamant that the performance of the golf club comes primarily from the shaft. Both are very well known and have massive followings - but who is correct?

The only way to settle this, unfortunately, is to draw your own conclusions. Good thing is, I can give you the knowledge and steer you in the right direction to do so.  I can tell you without a doubt that shafts absolutely make a difference. Why then, when you go to the box stores and try all the different clubs from different manufacturers, with different shafts do they all go about the same for you. Well, that's the rub. The shaft has to be a match for the swing and head that is being used. We've all heard big OEMs say "high launch and low spin is optimal for maximum distance".  That is true, in a vacuum, which is why there are so many shafts out there - what's good for one person to get high launch and low spin is not good for others!




Case A:  I took a tip-stiff shaft -  very little action, high kick point and low spin/launch. Put that in a low spinning head with a low loft and hit it. I put the best move I could on it, hit it in the dead center of the face. This was my ball flight.  Note the carry distance, total, and spin number.



I took the same shaft, in a lighter flex, which had higher launching properties than the original, and a slightly softer tip. This is pretty standard across the board, as shafts get lighter in flex, the launch properties change.  This is what the result was:



Note how higher spin and higher launch got me more distance - not an incredible amount...but that goes against the High/Low that is "optimal". The reason is because everyone swings differently. I have a slightly negative attack angle so i put a little more spin on the ball than usual and the effective loft that I deliver is low, which is why I launch a 10.5 driver at 10 degrees and less... Now, what happens if i put the 2nd shaft on the first head? Glad you asked:



In this scenario, the higher launch, but lower spin head really negated the more active tip section but my total distance still fell short by a yard or so. Carry distance suffered 4 yards. Not a huge deal, and i'd take either one of these two combinations, but it does show - if not slightly - that high launch and low spin aren't universally better depending on what you want. On a standard surface it's less roll, but if i'm trying to carry a creek or get over a hill, i want to maximize carry. Hard pan will roll just fine. Know this - if one of these shafts was included in the build and the other was $200 more? which one do you think I'm getting? So what does this mean?

It means that shaft absolutely matters. Flex absolutely matters. Is one shaft better than the other? That's subjective, but if you're getting the same numbers and performance with two different flexes, there's something about your swing that's changing to compensate - wether it's tempo, release, or speed -- and honestly a shaft that's a good fit for you should complement how you swing and you shouldn't have to change for it or any piece of equipment for that matter.  The other side of that coin is that shaft type and flex doesn't necessarily matter as much as some people think.  Barring COMPLETELY improper flex (having a super stiff low launching X when an Lflex is needed), I've never had a fitting where someone increased distance 40 yards just by changing shaft brand or flexes.  You can easily gain 5 to 15 yards, but that's about max on average. More important is the DISPERSION benefit from the proper shaft ..... and a GOOD shaft at that. Distance doesn't matter when you're hitting out of the trees.

What makes a shaft good... and why are some so expensive... and WHICH SHOULD I CHOOSE?

Shafts, when swinging, are under a pretty hefty load sometimes. Even if you're not a big swinger and have a light flex, that sucker is still going to flex a good 5 or more inches off it's base line. This stores the energy of the swing and releases it (hopefully) at the right moment to power that ball down the fairway (or into the woods, depending on who you are).  Shafts have areas of stiffness, areas of flex, and different torque - all dependent on how they are wound and layered by the manufacturer. With new technologies and materials, shaft makers can even change flex properties according to where and how much heat/pressure is applied to the fibers. It's really amazing!!! 

In my world, a shaft is "good" if it flexes predictably in all rotations. Or at least fairly so. Just last night i showed a client of mine what happens when you horizontally load a shaft and release it. We did it first with a high end OBAN Devotion.  Rotating the shaft, it was noticeably better and more consistent in one area than it was in all others - Good enough to get some performance out of but not absolutely necessary. We then did it with a $15 budget stick. We aligned the spine and it flexed just as repeatably as the Oban, but when we turned it off that axis..... oh lord. Like a drunk etch-a-sketch, that tip was all over the place, flexing and oscillating. How is that supposed to deliver the club to the ball consistently? No way i would install that shaft without FLO - and i don't. But that's the point.  At a price point over 10x what the budget shaft was, the Oban was much more suited to a driver where the adjustable hosel will be rotated and changed. The performance won't necessarily suffer if settings are changed. Put the budget one in a club like that and good luck, pal.  That is why when you buy an OEM driver, they have a BUNCH of high end shafts available - some for an upcharge and some not.... The upcharge are (normally) more consistent in their manufacture. The tolerances are tighter and it will perform better in just about any orientation. Making these shafts costs $$$$$ so that's why there are $1000 shafts out there. Believe me, you'll feel the difference.  The question is - do you need it? Unless your name is on the leader board every weekend, probably not. And no, having a $1000 shaft isn't going to put you there either. 

So what am I supposed to do!! 

Supposed to do? See a pro about your game. Get better.  What SHOULD you do?  Take better care of your equipment. When you buy that club, it's got a great shaft in it. Don't abuse it, don't break it - because to get one that's as good, it's going to cost you.  There are great shafts from yester-year out there. Old designs that were good in the day and can be had for a fraction of what a new one costs. Remember this though --- there are no caps on shaft performance. While heads are limited and new ones come out every year with a new gimmick, there's no way they can "out perform" a head that has been maxxed to USGA specs. There are NO SUCH SPECS for shafts. They need only be straight (except putter flanges) and of a certain length. Energy transfer, torque, flex, materials, diameter and the like are not regulated by the USGA. Look at the DG spinner wedge shaft... Weird right? It may very well bring your wedge game where it's never been before - all because of the design.  Manufacturers make shafts to do good things. This tech is growing and becoming better understood each year. Fujikura has taken millions of data points to create it's XLR8 line with specific properties to maximize loading and energy transfer. Same with Project X and their LZ series and HZRDUS line. Matrix improves on their designs (and graphics) each year and a number of boutique manufacturers are coming up like Veylox and OBAN.  Be aware as well when getting a high end "free" upgrade from an OEM. Make sure it's the version you think you're paying for. I know for certain that some big names are "giving" the HZRDUS black as a no upgrade. It is different than the "Handcrafted" version you see on tour and available for aftermarket purchase. Due diligence.

If you have the chance - get fit for a shaft. You'll be glad you did.  Hit everything they have to offer if you need to go to a box store, and for goodness sake - if you break a shaft don't just put any old crap in there. Make sure to go to a competent repair and fitting shop and talk through it with them. Don't skimp out on the price either. You get what you pay for. If you use an adjustable driver, you need to put that money back into the club if it breaks - look for someone selling their shaft, or get a proper quality one put in. 

Magazine advice, social media and bad tips...

I spend a lot of time on social media. I enjoy helping people, it's what I do. When i'm asked about a shaft or a swing or a thought, generally speaking i don't offer advice. I offer information.  Information as to what should be happening to get the best out of the equipment or make the ball do what you want, NOT what they're doing or not doing in their swing.  I offer ball flight laws and the effect shafts have on different swings. Why? Because 99.99999% of the time there is little to no information about what is going on with that golfer and I have little to no time to have an at length conversation with the subject to gain the information needed. 

Watch this video:

What's wrong with this swing? It's very flat, the club is in a decent position, but not perfect at address, head dips a little low on the swing, and the hips clear pretty fast.  Far from picture perfect. Probably most of what i wrote above would be exactly what you would see written or would write yourself if this was posted and said "any help, i would be grateful".   Heres the thing.. what you don't know is that this person has no L5/S1 disk in their spine. Their shoulder locks on a spur if it goes higher or any different position farther forward than what you see here, and the grass is wet, and they aren't wearing spikes. They also average 10/14 fairways per round and hit the ball over 250 yards consistently.  All those things considered - i think it's a pretty darn good swing.  Mostly because it's mine - at an impromptu demo day for Ping where i wanted to try the new offerings they had.  Still, that didn't stop the advice on ball position and where to get my hands and how to angle the club and how i was wrong wrong wrong wrong.  Some of them were even Local Pros in different states!  Here's my advice to you - the only real advice i give.... Be very very very VERY wary of what you read and post online. Especially coming from "Pros" or "Teachers". They're very often the real deal, but no coach worth the dirt in your divot will give you any advice based on your description or a single video. They would want at least 2 different angles, head on and Down the line of the same swing, and to have a lengthy conversation about what you do and don't do.  

Still, every day I read comments from Pros and hacks alike - stuff they read in a golfing magazine once. Something that works for Adam Scott - former #1 player in the world - is a crapshoot for a middle aged bogey shooter who has trouble walking 18 holes. It's just the way it is.  Looking for advice online from forums and social media is only going to hurt your game and maybe even your body - trying to do something that it's physically unable to do. While you may be able to glean some moves off it, remember to sort out the information from the advice. There will be different and opposing opinions and as we know on the internet - everyone has to be right.  

In my area, you can get a great swing evaluation from a real teaching professional for less than the cost of a round of golf. That is absolutely invaluable. When  you decide to change equipment or swing characteristics without factual information about what you're already doing, you're throwing money away or chancing that you're going to make your game even worse - and with no way of going back. Practice makes PERMANENT, only perfect practice makes perfect. If you practice something that is incorrect, it's going to stick with you and will be harder to get rid of. Good advice CAN be found in a magazine, but figuring out if it applies to you is not your job. Go to your local PGA or LPGA pro and start a conversation. One lesson can go a long long way. 

Take things with a grain of salt - especially things written on social media. It's a forum where any keyboard warrior feels invincible and will waste no time in ruining others just because they can. 

While they're young.....

I am not yet a father. One of these days, Marie and I will have another little golf nut in the family (hopefully) and that suits me just fine. I'd love for them to take to the game like I did and to really enjoy it so I've already thought about and read up on the best ways to go about teaching them.  The thing is, even I never thought about equipment.

I played a lot of golf this weekend and I saw a lot more than a handful of junior golfers. It was great. These 8-13 year olds heading out with dad and mom to tee it forward and chase the little white ball around.  I even saw a guy teaching his boy on the range during an event. One thing I couldn't help but notice though - they all looked like they were struggling to swing the club. The more I thought about it, the clearer it became. Upon closer inspection of bags, most of them were playing with cut down versions of adult clubs. Even the ones that had "junior clubs" felt like sledgehammers to me when I picked them up. The time honored tradition about moving more weight low to help get the ball up doesn't apply to children and juniors. While it's a good idea, what good is it to have a club so heavy that the player can't swing it properly or even that the club swings them?  It would do nothing but engrain bad habits and wear-and-tear on their young body. Sure, it might be a good way to save some money in the short term because they'll grow into them right?....if they continue to play golf and have fun.

Let's take a look at a couple of photos - I'll expound upon them when I do my video. The first, on the right, is my first ever putter, ca. 1985, next to my current putter. It was long for me back then. There wasn't much in the way of different materials, so basically I got a men's putter cut down. It was (and still is) really heavy, even at this size that it is. Plus it was 24 inches long! That was more than half my height! (I was and still am a little short). Could you imagine swinging a putter that came up to your sternum - remember this is before the days of belly putters. I have really never been a good putter but seriously, that wasn't going to help teach me anything. Something I CAN do is hit the ball a long way and on line. I'm convinced the reason is because I got started early with the proper technique. Take a look at the second picture -  that's me swinging a 5 iron. A cut down, gripped, ground to remove a ton of material and weight 5 iron. I also had a 5 wood with about 1/3 of the head cut off in the back. Why did my grandfather do this? So that I was able to learn the proper takeaway and swing the club rather than having it swing me. It's tough to judge by a photo but believe me when I tell you that I didn't get thrown around by that club and because of that, I spent hours and hours hitting balls up and down the back yard at my grandparents' house -- and less time in front of the TV!! I make no apologies for the outfit.

To be frank, I see a good many parents/ grandparents/ aunts & uncles trying to get their future tour pro to "swing right".  Good teachers always mention that you shouldn't do this and should let them swing how they want to swing - moving feet, digging into the turf and whatnot. The reason children do this is because they somehow have to get this huge mass of metal moving when they themselves weigh about as much as a Neato Burrito! OF COURSE they're going to step into it.

Truth be told, it's absolutely impossible for someone of that size to swing properly if they don't have a club that's proportionally weighted for them. This  is why I have lightweight junior club heads. It allows me to build a club that is lighter than most any junior set out there, but still retains proper swing weight to promote good tempo and stroke.  You see, swing weight is largely dictated by your strength. What "feels" heavy to you may not be heavy to someone else. It's all a relative and personal thing.  Kids are sponges. They WANT to learn things and they will retain it very well. Anyone who's ever slipped a dirty word around their youngins can tell you that one. Why not give your little golfer the best start at the game. There will be less frustration, less "I'm tired can we go in?", and more fun to be had.