Which shaft?

unattendedbag

I'm in the process of looking for a new driver but I don't know which type of shaft I should be using. Flex, regular, stiff?, etc...

Curently I have a Dunlop driver which I got for £15 in sports direct. It was grand for starting out but now after a few lessons and now that I can now hit it about 220yds, what type of driver should I be looking to upgrade to? And which shaft would suit me?

Thanks for any suggestions.

irish bloke

unattendedbag wrote: »

I'm in the process of looking for a new driver but I don't know which type of shaft I should be using. Flex, regular, stiff?, etc...

Curently I have a Dunlop driver which I got for £15 in sports direct. It was grand for starting out but now after a few lessons and now that I can now hit it about 220yds, what type of driver should I be looking to upgrade to? And which shaft would suit me?

Thanks for any suggestions.

It would be foolish for anyone to recommend a driver shaft for you.

At a very minimum we would have to know your swing speed and even that's just an indicator.

If your serious get fitted, if you just fancy playing some casual stuff then try a launch monitor with a couple of drivers in some golf shop. There usually free.

Doc Daneeka

Well to be foolish... if you are just starting out and hitting it roughly 220yrds on a straight one then 'regular' should cover it for you. Also, if you are getting lessons why not ask the pro for his opinion.

When you're playing to single figures you might consider a fitting but this is a whole other ball game to regular v stiff.

Doc Daneeka

Regards what type of driver well that all comes down to budget. R11s are nice...

To get something decent the second hand market is great place to look and has plenty of supply as the manufacturers have convinced the masses they need to upgrade every year. Try googling for best driver reviews from a few years ago. You most likely will want a 'game improvement' club. I have always found TaylorMade very good.

Plenty places online selling second hand. I like golfbidder.co.uk.

Doc

irish bloke

What would be really foolish would be to buy a driver off the net without hitting one. Especially one like an expensive R11.
Do yourself a favour and go out and hit a few to see how they feel to you.

unattendedbag

Fair enough, I think I worded the question wrong. What does the different type of shafts mean? ie. flex, regular, stiff. I see lots of adverts for drivers stating the type of shaft. Does it really make a difference what type of shaft a beginner has? Is one type generally more forgiving than another with accuracy?

dines08

unattendedbag wrote: »

Fair enough, I think I worded the question wrong. What does the different type of shafts mean? ie. flex, regular, stiff. I see lots of adverts for drivers stating the type of shaft. Does it really make a difference what type of shaft a beginner has? Is one type generally more forgiving than another with accuracy?

The simplest way to describe it would be to say all shafts are different in terms of how they affect the launch of the ball with your individual swing. Some launch low, some launch high, some have high spin, some have low spin and everything in between. As an example I tend to hit a low ball so I need a shaft that will help me hit the ball higher for a greater carry. The flex depends on the shaft make and the speed of your swing. That's why fitting helps, basically you get to try out different shafts and the pro doing the fitting can tell by the feedback of numbers on the monitor which shaft suits you the best. I'm sure someone can explain it better

soundsham

You may as well ask which colour to get

elberry

Try to get a good used driver with a regular flex shaft would be good to start, something forgiving and easy to hit perhaps, like a Ping G15 or similar. The thing to watch for is the length of the shaft, drivers sold on the shelves are longer than what the pros generally tend to use, so if they are too long a shaft for the pros to control consistently what are we doing with them??? Most driver shafts on sale are over 45 inches in lenght. I would suggest 45 be the max length, 44 likely being better for you to hit on the sweetspot more often, if its 45 or over just grip down, no need to cut and regrip it but it will make a considerable difference to the number of fairways hit, which is why pros tend to prefer shafts under 45 inches long.

You don't really need to pay much attention to shafts until you are hitting the ball better, but as a guide, the faster you swing the stiffer the flex that is required, although the weight of the clubhead has an impact also. If you get a chance to play with someone with a stiff or x-stiff driver you should try to hit a shot with it just to know what it feels like, you will probably find the club feels stiff and its much harder to get the ball airborne because your swingspeed won't be high enough to flex the clubhead. Also try swinging a ladies or senior flex, you might find the ladies club feels too soft, or you may even find it feels good at your swingspeed, although if buying a club online without trying it I would think getting a regular flex would be best advice and getting something easy to get airborne.

If you get a used driver at a fair price you won't have lost much if you don't like it. Probably worth getting something with 10 degrees loft or higher too, the more loft the easier it is to hit straight. Getting an expensive new driver would be a bit of a waste at this stage, and when you start hitting the ball better you will likely want to change drivers or shafts anyway. One option to look at is the adjustable drivers, an advantage of those is it is very easy to change shafts later and keep the clubhead if you had one you liked.

irish bloke

Could someone recommend what size shoes I should get, normally walk about 1 to 1.5k a day. Thanks..

unattendedbag

elberry wrote: »

Try to get a good used driver with a regular flex shaft would be good to start, something forgiving and easy to hit perhaps, like a Ping G15 or similar. The thing to watch for is the length of the shaft, drivers sold on the shelves are longer than what the pros generally tend to use, so if they are too long a shaft for the pros to control consistently what are we doing with them??? Most driver shafts on sale are over 45 inches in lenght. I would suggest 45 be the max length, 44 likely being better for you to hit on the sweetspot more often, if its 45 or over just grip down, no need to cut and regrip it but it will make a considerable difference to the number of fairways hit, which is why pros tend to prefer shafts under 45 inches long.

You don't really need to pay much attention to shafts until you are hitting the ball better, but as a guide, the faster you swing the stiffer the flex that is required, although the weight of the clubhead has an impact also. If you get a chance to play with someone with a stiff or x-stiff driver you should try to hit a shot with it just to know what it feels like, you will probably find the club feels stiff and its much harder to get the ball airborne because your swingspeed won't be high enough to flex the clubhead. Also try swinging a ladies or senior flex, you might find the ladies club feels too soft, or you may even find it feels good at your swingspeed, although if buying a club online without trying it I would think getting a regular flex would be best advice and getting something easy to get airborne.

If you get a used driver at a fair price you won't have lost much if you don't like it. Probably worth getting something with 10 degrees loft or higher too, the more loft the easier it is to hit straight. Getting an expensive new driver would be a bit of a waste at this stage, and when you start hitting the ball better you will likely want to change drivers or shafts anyway. One option to look at is the adjustable drivers, an advantage of those is it is very easy to change shafts later and keep the clubhead if you had one you liked.

Excellent reply, thanks. Unlike the some other clowns around here.

irish bloke

Listen, I'm trying to point out to you how redecilous ur question is. For all we know you could have a 15 degree driver with an x stiff shaft and no one knows ur swing speed, spin rate, launch angle etc.

No one here can recommend a shaft for you with the data you have put forward, and anyone that is is only guessing.

If you want to take a gamble on a club or shaft it doesn't bother me in the slightest ,but I wouldn't recommend you one based on what you have said because I would only be filling you with s.hit....

Doc Daneeka

Some of the responses here... WTF! Can people not see the OPs question for what it was?! He just wanted a bit of info on shaft flexes and what might suit. Who ever went out and got their swing speed, launch angle, etc, etc measured before buying their first half decent driver?! If you did you're an idiot cause you probably can't swing any way near consistently for it to make a damn difference!

Thankfully one or two posters have tried to help as oppose to sneer.

irish bloke

Doc Daneeka wrote: »

Some of the responses here... WTF! Can people not see the OPs question for what it was?! He just wanted a bit of info on shaft flexes and what might suit. Who ever went out and got their swing speed, launch angle, etc, etc measured before buying their first half decent driver?! If you did you're an idiot cause you probably can't swing any way near consistently for it to make a damn difference!

Thankfully one or two posters have tried to help as oppose to sneer.

My initial point Doctor Dan, was for the OP to go try a few drivers before buying one off the net. That's the best way to find out what suits you. I wouldnt buy something without trying it out.
If your happy to feed him ****e and he's happy to listen then who am I to say different. Good day.

opinionated3

Op I am just going through what you are attempting to do at the moment. Suffered from a constant fade/slice for years when using my woods. Had a lesson with a pro who thought that a change to stiff shaft might help. Purchased a titleist 910 d and the results were immediate. Previous to that I had the rbz regular but had to slow down swing to hit it straight. fantastic distance but just could not hit consistently straight. I am about to change my three and five woods now to stiff. Not saying this would sort out any issues you have but it certainly helped me

newport2

unattendedbag wrote: »

I'm in the process of looking for a new driver but I don't know which type of shaft I should be using. Flex, regular, stiff?, etc...

Curently I have a Dunlop driver which I got for £15 in sports direct. It was grand for starting out but now after a few lessons and now that I can now hit it about 220yds, what type of driver should I be looking to upgrade to? And which shaft would suit me?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Like guys said here, you've really got to try out a variety to choose.

There is no industry standard for flex, so regular in one brand can be similar to stiff in another, etc. There's also the kick-point, weight, etc to take into account. Either get fitted or try out a load - and I mean a load - of drivers and pick the one you hit best.

Just don't get caught up in the concept that the stiffer a shaft you use, the cooler you are. You should use the most flexible shaft that you can control as you'll get more distance from it.

Some decent info here in "Shaft Terminology" section
http://www.golfalot.com/Equipment/BuyingGuides/Shafts.aspx

Google will find you a lot more.