All in the head, or all in the shaft?

ShivasIrons · 02-05-2014 12:19AM

GreeBo wrote: »

Surely this is only true for off centre hits though?
(Barring the ball being launched a little higher/lower depending on weight distribution)

Technically yes, but when the weight is moved around in the head, the center of the head isn't in front of the center of gravity any more and centered strikes behave like off centered strikes.

So with extra weight in the heel, centered strikes draw more because they essentially are toe strikes. Toe weighted clubs will yield more fades etc.

The reason why the SLDR is so low spinning is because the center of gravity is forward in the club and closer to the bottom, essentially meaning hitting the center of the face is like hitting higher up on most other clubs and taking spin off, hence the need to launch it higher and the whole loft up campaign.

Different heads perform very differently, if it was only that shaft that mattered the major players in the club business would be shaft manufacturers but they're not, the major players differ themselves by offering different heads.

Dolph Starbeam · 02-05-2014 09:11AM

Just read about this on GolfWRX last night, interesting results.

http://www.golfwrx.com/205923/member-shootout-2014-driver-testing/

GreeBo · 02-05-2014 11:50AM

ShivasIrons wrote: »

Technically yes, but when the weight is moved around in the head, the center of the head isn't in front of the center of gravity any more and centered strikes behave like off centered strikes.

So with extra weight in the heel, centered strikes draw more because they essentially are toe strikes. Toe weighted clubs will yield more fades etc.

The reason why the SLDR is so low spinning is because the center of gravity is forward in the club and closer to the bottom, essentially meaning hitting the center of the face is like hitting higher up on most other clubs and taking spin off, hence the need to launch it higher and the whole loft up campaign.

Different heads perform very differently, if it was only that shaft that mattered the major players in the club business would be shaft manufacturers but they're not, the major players differ themselves by offering different heads.

Right, but you are talking about adjustable heads that have been adjusted.
Other than this (or offset heads) a different head isn't going to make you suddenly hook or slice the ball, whereas a different shaft could.

ShivasIrons · 02-05-2014 09:46PM

GreeBo wrote: »

Right, but you are talking about adjustable heads that have been adjusted.
Other than this (or offset heads) a different head isn't going to make you suddenly hook or slice the ball, whereas a different shaft could.

How does a shaft make the ball hook or slice?

If we use last year's Callaway models as examples it can be easily shown that the head makes a big difference. The X-Hot was heel weighted and had a draw bias. The X-Hot Pro was toe weighted and had a fade bias, The Razr Fit Extreme was neutral.

So the same shaft in each head coupled with the the same swing put on each club would yield different results. This even with the same loft and before any adjusting done to the head.

A swing which yielded a straight shot, medium trajectory, with the Razr Extreme would have a higher right to left shot with the X Hot and a lower left to right shot with the X-Hot Pro. Further more the head weight in the X Hot and X Hot Pro is lighter then the Razr Fit which would mean higher swing speeds with the X Hot and X Hot Pro then the Razr Fit.

The Golf WRX quoted earlier article also illustrates this, the golfer got different results with the same shaft in different heads. It's neither all in the head nor all in the shaft it's the whole club that makes the difference.

GreeBo · 04-05-2014 03:55PM

Again you are talking about clubs deliberately setup to move the ball, I don't think that's a fair comparison.

Different shafts react differently to force, too stiff and it doesn't unload at impact and you get a fade or slice, too flexible and you get draw or hook. You don't buy a draw shaft, but depending on the swing the ball will draw. You don't get that with (neutral) heads.

hades · 08-05-2014 09:35PM

Just after having my lesson.

Of course it's my swing as you all predicted, but it's not an over the top move...... The plot thickens.

It's actually an "in to out" move, I'd worked so much on eliminating my OTT swing I developed the exact opposite. So now my I'm getting trapped on the inside, my hands can't release thru the club quick enough, so they're stuck in front of the club head at the point if impact and the club face is wide open.

I got a few drills to work on, one if them is very weird. You set up as normal and then turn your back to the target while keeping the club behind the ball, then swing. That's one sure way of stopping your hands getting stuck in front of the ball. Feels awkward but seemed to work.

All in the head, or all in the shaft?

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