The first element of the shaft to address is its weight. Matching shaft weight to player ability is essential to maximise performance.
Drivers and fairway woods
Let's look at metals fitted with graphite first as it brings plenty of great options to custom fitting. Graphite is manufactured in weights varying from 30 grams up to weights that match steel shafts at around 125 grams. The lighter the shaft the further golfers can hit the ball, as swing speed will normally be increased.
Lighter shafts also give the option to play a longer shaft, which again can increase swing speed, and as the shaft is a major factor in the swing weight of the assembled club, lighter shafts allow for the increase in shaft length without upping the swing weight too much. The general rule is that more swing speed equals more distance.
Lighter weighted shafts also bring the benefit to players looking for an increase in distance using the increased torque that is usually found in these shafts. This second dimension flex does give additional clubhead speed, again increasing distance.
So if your customer is looking for an increase in distance with the driver, investigate shaft weight as a major custom tool that can enable increased swing speed.
There is always a trade off in custom fitting, as too light a shaft can prove to be a little less stable, working well for slower swingers and always increasing distance, but often leading to a wide shot dispersion for faster swings. Therefore custom fitting for accuracy using shaft weight, as opposed to distance, requires the reverse approach. Golfers seeking greater accuracy might need a heavier shaft that will be more stable, play with less torque and take away wild shot dispersion.
Again there are trade offs! Remembering that shaft weight is a major factor in swing weight, playing a heavier shaft will take the swing weight of the assembled club up about 1.5 swing weights for each increase of 10 grams in shaft weight. Playing heavier shaft weight generally means using a shorter finished shaft to keep the swing weight realistic, unless of course counter balancing is used.
Fitting steel shafts into drivers and fairways can prove valuable for powerful swing speeds, over the 115mph mark for example, but shaft lengths are again reduced to around 431¼2 to 44 inches to keep swing weight down to a reasonable level. There is little benefit in fitting steel shafts to drivers as overall, fitting heavier high quality graphite shafts can do the job for almost all players.
Irons
Let's look at fitting graphite shafts into irons. For many slow swing speeds this is the best option to maximise a golfer's game. Generally, graphite is in the weight range of 55 to 75 grams, although it can go as high as 120 grams for faster swing speeds. The torque factor should be taken into account as graphite will give a torque range between 2 to 7 degrees, whereas steel is always around 1.9 degrees. Due to the lighter shaft, the longer the finished playing length of the graphite iron, the greater the swing speed and ultimately, the longer the shot. As a result, graphite irons sets are generally 1¼2 to 3¼4 inch longer per club than steel sets.
The final category is fitting steel in irons. Until fairly recently the weight of steel shafts had been between 115 to 125-plus grams. This made favourites of the Dynamic Gold and more recently the Project X. These are ideal for powerful swing speeds, but quite often the performance for slower swingers can be improved by using lighter steel shafts. The Dynamic Gold SL weighs in at around 105 grams and the latest TT steel, the GS75, has an uncut weight of around 86 grams, depending on flex. Nippon Shafts provide an excellent range of steel shaft through their NS PRO models, going from 75 grams and increasing by 10 grams a model up to 115.
Most steel irons shafts do not have the increased torque that affects graphite shafts, but as they become lighter the swing weight issue should be monitored and generally, the lighter the shaft the more flexible it will perform. So the issue of weight to dispersion becomes an important matter to consider.
Information and investigation
It is key that the club fitter gets as much relevant information from the golfer as possible, in order to recommend the best shaft specifications, so the customer needs to be asked searching questions, such as:
- What is the biggest weakness in your game?
- What are your playing goals?
The final message to club fitters is as follows: always remember to check out shaft weight.
The famous Aldila NV Green comes in varying weights for example, and because shaft weight really affects performance, don't buy in shafts just by colour - buy by weight!
