Tour golf shaft

Gin77

I bought a driver shaft upgrade last Sat.
I tested it against my own stock RBZ shaft in my R11s.

Same balls (3 of each), same head, same stiff flex. The only difference is my stock shaft is 1.5 inches shorter.
I know I didn't need a shaft upgrade but I did it anyway just to be tinkering.
Results were surprising
Average drive with my stock shaft was 250m and with the upgrade it was 243m.
Either way theres not much difference.

levitronix

Gin77 wrote: »

I bought a driver shaft upgrade last Sat.
I tested it against my own stock RBZ shaft in my R11s.

Same balls (3 of each), same head, same stiff flex. The only difference is my stock shaft is 1.5 inches shorter.
I know I didn't need a shaft upgrade but I did it anyway just to be tinkering.
Results were surprising
Average drive with my stock shaft was 250m and with the upgrade it was 243m.
Either way theres not much difference.

if your loosing distance your not loading the shaft if flight is similair

Senna

Did you get fitted for the upgraded shaft? Just because its a more expensive shaft doesn't mean it will suit you better. Also you really need a lot of side by side testing or a trackman to see results, 3 balls with each driver will tell you nothing. You can hit 6 balls with the same driver shaft and have 6 different results.

Gin77

Senna wrote: »

Did you get fitted for the upgraded shaft? Just because its a more expensive shaft doesn't mean it will suit you better. Also you really need a lot of side by side testing or a trackman to see results, 3 balls with each driver will tell you nothing. You can hit 6 balls with the same driver shaft and have 6 different results.

No I just bought it on the net. It feels a stiffer that my stock shaft. I have my stock shaft loft set at the lowest setting. I tried both low and neutral on the new shaft. The low setting lost way too much distance so for the test I set the NS on neutral.
So sounds like Im not loading the shaft as the previous poster said.
I used a golf buddy voice for distance measurement. Can I really expect much more distance as a casual golfer?

neckedit

Gin77 wrote: »

No I just bought it on the net. It feels a stiffer that my stock shaft. I have my stock shaft loft set at the lowest setting. I tried both low and neutral on the new shaft. The low setting lost way too much distance so for the test I set the NS on neutral.
So sounds like Im not loading the shaft as the previous poster said.
I used a golf buddy voice for distance measurement. Can I really expect much more distance as a casual golfer?

The shaft sounds like its a little too stiff. After market/ tour van shaft in alot of cases will play stiffer than the stock shafts. Leading to lower launch and spin achieving less overall distance.

Gin77

neckedit wrote: »

The shaft sounds like its a little too stiff. After market/ tour van shaft in alot of cases will play stiffer than the stock shafts. Leading to lower launch and spin achieving less overall distance.

It definitely feels stiffer and a little heaver I suppose its for better control.
I heard once that you should use the lightest most flexible shaft you can handle.
Might try shortening the shaft

Derek Zoolander

Gin77 wrote: »

It definitely feels stiffer and a little heaver I suppose its for better control.
I heard once that you should use the lightest most flexible shaft you can handle.
Might try shortening the shaft

Be very carefully shortening the shaft - its not something that's easily done on graphite swafts without completely changing the shaft. You'll be messing with the swingweight of the club - if you cut from the tip you'll be significantly stiffening up the shaft.

Nerdstrom

Shortening the shaft will make the shaft play stiffer, so if it is too stiff this could present problems. IMO three balls is not enough of a sample set. That 7 metre difference could easily switch around if you tried the test again, because there are several other factors involved in the distance the ball goes- angle of attack, clubhead speed, impact position on the face. Not to mention wind gusts, hard bounces, and imperfect balls.

Seeing as you have the shaft now it might be worth tying a few more times, but for most casual golfers, a stock stiff shaft should be stiff enough

mike12

Hi,
In general stock shafts are not as stiff as a after market shaft simply because most guys go i need a stiff shaft and thats what they buy where they really need something around regular.
I have 2 after market shafts for my R11 one a stiff and one extra stiff. One is low launch and the other mid i hit them both around the same distance but get more run on the low launch so prefer it in windy conditions.
The lighter the shaft the more distance but a heavier shaft will give you more accuracy.
The longer shaft should be going way further as well.

Mike

ShivasIrons

mike12 wrote: »

Hi,
In general stock shafts are not as stiff as a after market shaft simply because most guys go i need a stiff shaft and thats what they buy where they really need something around regular.
I have 2 after market shafts for my R11 one a stiff and one extra stiff. One is low launch and the other mid i hit them both around the same distance but get more run on the low launch so prefer it in windy conditions.
The lighter the shaft the more distance but a heavier shaft will give you more accuracy.
The longer shaft should be going way further as well.

Mike

Why should the longer shaft be going way further?

newport2

ShivasIrons wrote: »

Why should the longer shaft be going way further?

Wider arc, higher clubhead speed

DuckSlice

newport2 wrote: »

Wider arc, higher clubhead speed

In a perfect world, but a longer shaft can also exaggerate flaws in your swing IMO.
I think if you are changing shafts in clubs you really need to be custom fitted on a launch monitor.

newport2

etxp wrote: »

In a perfect world, but a longer shaft can also exaggerate flaws in your swing IMO.
I think if you are changing shafts in clubs you really need to be custom fitted on a launch monitor.

Fully agree, but was asked why it should be going further. All other things aside, that's why it should.

IMO, most people will make better contact with a shorter shaft and thus will probably hit it further on average anyway.

Buying a shaft without getting fitted - or at least trying it for a while - is a bit of a shot in the dark.

Gin77

etxp wrote: »

In a perfect world, but a longer shaft can also exaggerate flaws in your swing IMO.
I think if you are changing shafts in clubs you really need to be custom fitted on a launch monitor.

I have to agree, thats why I took an inch and a half off my original shaft. I ended up driving the ball about 20m more simplely because I had more control of the club and I could hit the sweet spot more. The average driver length on tour is 44", in general stock shafts are 45.5"
Used the new shaft today in the wind felt better in control with it, so all is not lost.