This is measured by applying a weight perpendicular to the tip of the shaft at a set distance and measuring the number of degrees the shaft twists. When the golf shaft is too stiff, it doesnt unload properly at impact. Draw right to left for righthanded golfer with too much spin. The torque is the shafts ability to turn around its own axis. Shaft flex and torque are probably the most important features that a golfer would be concerned with when considering a driver selection for power. I marked the grips so that i would know which shaft was which. Too much torque will produce excessive twisting of the clubface and wildly off line shots. Now that you know what you should be looking for in a driver shaft, lets consider some of the most popular and effective shafts on the market. What you are probably noticing is that the shaft is too light or the shaft has too much torque. Golf torque wrench tool, lightweight replace adjustment torque wrench tool for golf club driver shaft adapter. Lots of guys have shafts that are too stiff, loft that is too low and clubs that are too. Jan 03, 2017 nippon suggested that a player should be able to tell largely by feel. I have seen fair number of driver shafts with labels implying light weights, but i have only seen one shaft that was labeled with a number that actually was the weight of the raw 46. Torque should match golf swing speed by now, most golfers are aware that the shaft is the so called engine of the golf club.
What many players describe as a shaft feeling too soft or too stiff may not be related to flex as much as its. Nov 24, 2009 driver shaft fitting is arguably the most important part of the clubfitting process. Additionally, the shafts torque will affect how it feels on mishits. Why rory mcilroy made a midtournament driver shaft change golf. Torque is the measure of how much the shaft twists during the golf swing. A shaft thats too light will hurt your ability to make solid contact.
See more about what happens when shafts are not correct in our previous post. Shaft torque affects performance a little bit, but not nearly as much as does the. A lot of golfers that have never been through our fitting process, think that the majority of their misshits are caused by their swing. Check out this index for easy access to all of our coverage of golf news, instruction, equipment and courses.
In fact, a completely different swing technique was required to prevent wooden shafts from twisting too much during the swing. One of the areas that seems to have developed momentum on golfwrx is how many golfers react to a backspin measurement on a launch monitor. If its a driver shaft and you dont have too deep of a hosel, you can save it to try and use in a fairway, otherwise, you now have an alignment stick. Aug 17, 2007 players who hit the ball too high should look for a tip stiff shaft which does not add so much loft, which produces a lower and more penetrating trajectory. It is a term commonly associated with composite or graphite shafts, but steel shafts have a certain degree of torque. Jan 11, 20 it is a great education as a clubhead and shaft designer to scan through golfwrx forum posts to listen to what golfers think about their equipment. Shaft properties such as shaft flex, shaft torque, flex point kick or bend point, shaft length and weight, influence playability by impacting on trajectory, accuracy, balance, consistency and feel.
Become a free subscriber to rick shiels now official apparel and footwear partne. I came on here for advice on purchasing a new driver shaft. The driver has always been one of the biggest weapons in rory mcilroys bag. Torque should match swing speed golf video by pete styles when youre looking at choosing golf clubs, in particular when youre looking at choosing a driver, one of the factors that often people would talk about would be the loft on the. I am a scratch golfer with a passion for playing as much as i can. Too much torque will produce excessive twisting of the clubface and wildly offline shots. Torque is a prime reason for golfers displaying a wide shot dispersion when they use clubs with too much or too little flex.
What many players describe as a shaft feeling too soft or too stiff may not be related to flex as much as its related to torque. As a result, the first composite shafts possessed far less resistance to torque. Best driver for 90 mph swing speed in 2020 golf sidekick. Torque is a measurement of how much a shaft resists twisting during the swing. It is a term commonly associated with composite or graphite shafts, but steel shafts have a certain degree of torque too. Swinging with a weak shaft flex can hurt you in both windy and wet conditions. In modern shafts a major effect of torque is on feel. Shaftsgolf shaft weightgolf shaft torquegolf shaft kick. Torque is defined as a force that produces or tends to produce rotation or torsion. A shaft thats too heavy will cause a labored golf swing. Choosing the best golf shaft is essential for getting the most distance and accuracy from each shot on the course.
Oct 17, 2016 when a shaft has higher torque is more able to twist, it will feel smoother and softer. Club champion told us that weight is the first thing they look at when fitting a shaft, and nippon said, if a golfer cant feel a shaft thats properly weighted, the other factors flex, torque, bend profile are moot. Why too many golfers are using the wrong golf shafts. I have a torque wrench i can use, but want to know how much to tighten.
Driver shaft length is shorter better than standard length. It should be noted that a shaft can only add a maximum of about 3 of loft and only when a golf swing has a late release but this still amounts to yards lost or gained. But at the end of the day, the majority of golfers with swing speeds of 100 mph and lower are going to do far more harm for their game by choosing a shaft that is a little too stiff rather than a shaft that ends up being a little too flexible. For this test, we had golfers test drivers with low v, mid, and high torque shafts. Having conducted testing on shaft torque, we know that it affects both feel and performance. Too much flex can cause the face to close violently through impact, resulting in a low, screaming hook. A comparison of shaft torque key wordsphrases for understanding the information in chapter 5. Driver shaft torque is the ability of the clubs shaft to twist during the swing which will ultimately translate into power as the club makes contact with the ball. Picking out the proper golf shaft is very important as it will impact several components of your golf swing. The majority of our panel agreed that shaft weight is very important. I say this because players will say shafts with too much torque, say 5 degrees or more, slice the.
Another factor when it comes to golf shafts is torque. Mar 27, 20 yes i find that shaft torque is an important factor when fitting a golf shaft. Sasho mackenzie, is entitled the influence of golf shaft stiffness on grip and clubhead kinematics 1. From my experience a golfer that will average 90 mph driver clubhead speed should look for a shaft of 3. When you find the right shaft weight, youll experience a high energy swing with uniform contact. This is particularly true for graphite shafts as some variables are only of importance in graphite shafts.
Why rory mcilroy made a midtournament driver shaft. The golf industrys first experience with shaft torque came way back before the early 1900s when hickory was the predominant shaft material. If all this seems much too detailed and overwhelming, read this. But it is not the only factor to look atmany golfers tend to relate torque to feel and performance. Dec 21, 2019 as the clubhead descends, the toe catches up to the heel, passing it through impact. Torque is how much a shaft resists twisting during the golf swing. Oct 16, 2018 thus each golfer must take a look at his or her natural swing tendencies before selecting the shaft flex best for their overall game. Whether a golfer has too much backspin for his clubhead speed and angle of attack depends on the ball flight shape as the ball flies through the air. Heres why he recently decided to make a midtournament driver shaft change. More serious, higher ball speed golfers need to learn how to visually identify what a shot hit with too much spin looks like rather than to make conclusions based only on a launch monitor measurement. Graphite golf shafts are lighter than steel shafts, resulting in an increase in swing speed and distance.
In my case, the shaft had been too weak, and thus i had gotten too much spin according to the clubmaker. Identify too stiff shaft flex by doing these handara. Apr 17, 2018 torque is a property of golf shafts that describes how much the shaft is prone to twisting during the golf swing. Fujikura and mrc agreed that weight needs to be considered along with those other factors to. Well sir, because at around 90 mph, your swing fits most of the drivers you see in golf shops anywhere. The prevailing theory among most golfers is that a stiff shaft tip section lowers ball flight and reduces spin. The practical facts about spin and shaft design golfwrx. Ultimately golfers want something in the middle, a club shaft offering impressive distance on their drives, giving them control over where the ball. Golf club shaft flex guide everything you need to know. I will make some predictions for misses based upon a righthanded golfer. The results may vary by swing profile, but in general, shots will be inconsistent in contact and direction, and there may be a wide variation in distancesometimes really long, and other times quite short.
The higher the swing speed, the stiffer the shaft flex should be. A shaft that is too flexible for the golfer with a later release will cause the shaft to bend forward more which increases the dynamic loft on the head to bring about more spin. And it makes it very simple to pick the right shaft which is even more important than the club head. If the shaft is too weak it has too much flex and by the time the shaft unloads you are through the ball with a closed face leading to a hook. Shaftsgolf shaft weightgolf shaft torque golf shaft kick. Jun 22, 2016 an informative academic paper that exemplifies this phenomenon, written by dr.
Too stiff of tip section can actually rob you of distance especially on your driver. Explaining the effect of wrong shaft flex in golf clubs. I play a 75 gram shaft in my driver, 85 gram shaft in my 3wood, and a 90 gram shaft in my hybrid, which gives me a good balance of mass and speed in each. I know there are alot of variables maybe it has less offset than my other drivers, but can someone verify in general terms if this is a common symptom of using a shaft that is too stiff thx. Wooden shafts had very little resistance to twisting. The torque of steel shafts does not vary much and is situated around 3 degrees, while graphite shafts can range from 1 degree to 7 or 8 degrees.
Torque is not considered a fitting factor unless the shaft is considerably high say 4. Jun 29, 2011 golf shaft flex distortion bogushavis. What happens when golf shafts are not right for your swing. Your swing speed and transition are key factors in how low the torque rating the shaft. Shafts can have the same flex but different weight, bend profile, or torque. On the contrary, a golfer using a shaft that is too stiff will experience ball flight trajectory that is too low, golf balls that do not spin as much as desired, andor a lack of distance potential. Your swing speed and transition are key factors in how low the torque rating the shaft can have and still feel good. Golf club shaft flex guide everything you need to know about. Driver shaft fitting is arguably the most important part of the clubfitting process.
In my opinion, shaft weight has a lot to do with the strength of a golfer as well as personal preference. All shafts, steel and graphite, exhibit torque, which is measured in degrees. Golfers with slower swing speeds less than 90 mph typically need. They have a basic understanding of how length, weight and flex affect ball flight and shot distance. Torque is a property of golf shafts that describes how much the shaft is prone to twisting during the golf swing.
We always advise you on what happens when golf shafts are not right for your swing. Shafts with lower torque will feel harsher and more punishing on mishits. They are even made to resist it more or less, depending on your swing and what kind of results you are looking for. Shafts dont change launch and spin much at all, provided the strike location on the face is the same. Golfsmith tests show 50% of golfers show a less than 6% increase in swing speed. However, when it gets to waist level, it is still skewed. Definition of shaft flex and shaft torque and how they affect your golf game. I have been playing golf since i was ten and am only 55 tall. Cobra adjustable driver, how tight should the screw be. I dont think that the shaft flex would cause a severe push like the one you describe.
Regular or stiff shafts for driver distance must read. I am 60, 175 lbs, and i swing the club just shy of 115 mph. It may be hard to imagine this even happening, but shafts are made with that particular fact in mind. For example, picking the wrong golf shaft flex can cause you to hook or slice the golf ball. Deflection the deviation of the tip from the butt centerline of a shaft after a known unit of force is applied to the tip to.
The weight of your shaft can have obvious effects like clubhead speed usually the lighter the shaft the faster you can swing it, but it can also have an effect on something called torque. Pulling graphite shaft disaster golf forum golf blog. When torque is too low the shaft feels boardy and stiff and can induce you to work harder in your swing to get the club to perform. This flex is directly correlated with torque, in that the more a club can flex the better it can rotate around its axis which, in essence, is the definition of torque. Equipment wise, higher spin can only come from a higher loft on the face and slightly from a shaft that is too soft in flex or too tip flexible for the golfers swing. A high torque number means that the shaft can torque easily and is less forgiving of offcenter shots as it will allow the head to twist, causing pulls and pushes.
Shaft flex has a very pronounced effect on the power and accuracy of a driver. I told you that this was a complex issue, we are really just touching the surface too. This paper presents a study conducted using a motioncapture system where participants hit drives with an rflex driver shaft and a more rigid xflex shaft. Golf geeks how the shaft affects performance mygolfspy. Cut shaft any shaft that has been trimmed according to manufacturers directions for installation into a clubhead. Nov 14, 2018 the driver has always been one of the biggest weapons in rory mcilroys bag. Additionally, the shaft s torque will affect how it feels on mishits. Thus each golfer must take a look at his or her natural swing tendencies before selecting the shaft flex best for their overall game. What i found was the opposite, cutting down the shaft gave me more distance when the club was hit on center. Recognized as one of asias most iconic course, it was ranked among the top 50 greatest golf courses in the world. The following table shows degrees of torque for the shaft only, then the shaft with a grip assembled, and finally, the shaft with a grip assembled and the players grip.
Torque is the simply the amount a golf shaft shown in blue twists when subjected to a known amount of force usually one footpound of force is applied and the torque value is always expressed in degrees. Using the accra tourz series shafts, we isolated shaft weight and torque as. Deflection the deviation of the tip from the butt centerline of a shaft after a known unit of force is applied to the tip to create a bend. For the purpose of this article, i will use that long drive shaft of joe bianchis. These are shafts for the golf driver club, but there should be. Referring again to the diagram, if a ball is struck off the toe of the driver, the clubhead will rotate more, putting sidespin on the ball resulting in off target shots.
All golf shafts exhibit the property known as torque, and torque ratings of. What happens if your driver shaft has too much torque. A golf shaft that is too weak will flex excessively throughout the golf swing, creating an inconsistent release point. Mar 17, 2017 add 10 yards to every iron by switching to a heavier or lighter shaft. Select from regular, firm, stiff, ladies or seniors flex constructed from graphite or steel. The flex of a golf club shaft is the energy stored during the downswing, upon which it is released at the point of impact. Of course, choosing the right head, loft, clubface angle and grip is important too, but how the shaft functions during your swing is, in our opinion, what matters the most. A high torque shaft will twist more than a low torque shaft. Your swing speed fits a regular driver shaft perfectly and with a regular shaft, your tee shots will fly straighter and longer more often. In reality, there is no such thing as an improper shaft. New driver shafts are made as long as 46 inches, requiring them to be cut down to size for most players.
If you switched to a shaft with too much flex you would lose yardage for the reason you stated. One of the clearest insights from testing is that shafts with lower torque feel stiffer and shafts with higher torque feel softer, even when the ei profiles stiffness are pretty much the same. True temper project x pxv 39 driver shaft by russ ryden, a golf digest americas 100 best clubfitter fit2score, dallas fort worth, texas. Im only 5 foot 6 inches and have played a 46 inch r flex driver for the past. Jun 24, 2010 most people use a shaft thats too stiff, and too little loft. When you swing the club, the head twists around the shaft.
Also, the players tempo has a big impact on how they load the shaft. If a club is too stiff it will be less likely to turn over leading to a left to right shot because of open club face. What is shaft torque hireko custom golf clubs and components. If you think of a golf shaft as an axis, the heel of the head is centered on that axis, but the toe as well as most of the clubheads weight is offcenter. How to purchase a custom golf shaft the diy golfer. A steelshafted club imparts more vibrations up the shaft to your hands. A player with a slower swing and aggressive tempo may bend the shaft just as much as a player with a faster swing and slower tempo.