It’s the shaft that essentially transfers the energy and direction you put into your golf swing to the clubhead.
That role is, of course, important and explains why a shaft’s underlying mechanical properties can make a big difference to how you perform on the golf course.
The main shaft characteristics you need to know about are material, flex, torque, weight, bendpoint, length and feel.
Materials
Early golf clubs used wooden shafts - traditionally hickory - but most modern versions are either graphite or steel.
A graphite shaft is generally lighter than a steel one (which we’ll see later tends to be a good thing) and more shock absorbent. It’s better at dampening vibrations caused through the swing, which means less stress on your joints and a “smoother” feel.
But graphite is also more expensive. On a set of top-of-the-range irons, for example, graphite shafts might mean the set costs US$200 more than it would with steel ones.
Flex
Flex is a measure of how much a shaft bends during the swing. The more flex it has, the more it bends while moving through the air. The less flex it has (the stiffer the shaft), the less it bends as it moves.
It may seem odd to talk about bending in reference to steel and graphite rods, which you’d think wouldn’t flex at all. But a lot of energy can be involved in a golf swing, and shafts really do bend under the pressures exerted on them.
The higher the flex, the harder it is to control the movement of the shaft while you swing it, i.e. the harder it is to hit the ball accurately. You can see this if you consider the extreme - try hitting a golf ball with a long piece of rope (lots of flex), as opposed to a wooden stick (stiffer).
But this doesn’t mean shafts should always be as stiff as possible.
Within reason, a higher shaft flex also adds whiplike energy to your swing, increasing the power with which you hit the ball - meaning it goes further.
Straightaway we see that choosing the right shaft is a tradeoff - we’re just considering one characteristic, and already we have to weigh up pros and cons. A “flexible” shaft means the ball goes further but with less accuracy. A stiff shaft means the ball is hit more accurately, but travels less far.
In general, those who swing the club hard and fast have enough power to take care of distance, but need to be careful about accuracy - they’d probably go for a stiff shaft.
Those with slower swings have a little more control, and so can afford a little more flex in their shafts, for greater distance. That’s why you’ll often find ladies and seniors using shafts with higher flexes.
In summary - you usually need to find the most flexible shaft that you can accurately control.
Manufacturers mark their shafts according to flex, based on their own in-house grading system. Unfortunately, each manufacturer follows his own system, meaning each one has a different opinion about what constitutes a stiff shaft, and what doesn’t.
Typical designations of flex are Ladies (L), Regular (R), Stiff (S) and Extra Stiff (X). But you’ll find other designations, too. Firm (F), for example, might be used both as a synonym for Stiff as well as an additional designation of its own. Confusing? Yep.
Here’s an example of flex designations from True Temper, a leading shaft manufacturer (in order of increasing stiffness):
J (Junior)
L (Ladies)
A (Action)
R (Regular)
S (Stiff)
X (Extra stiff)
Torque
Torque is the measure of a shaft’s resistance to twisting (twisting here in the sense of wringing out a dishcloth). Again, it might seem odd to imagine a steel shaft “twisting”, but it happens.
Torque is usually expressed in degrees of rotation, so the lower the “torque”, the less a shaft twists. As with flex, different manufacturers have different ways of measuring this, so it’s difficult to compare torque values between different brands.
The main impact of torque is on feel - a lower torque shaft will feel stiffer than a higher torque one (another reason why graphite shafts tend to feel softer than steel ones, since the former have higher torques than the latter).
The jury is still out on the physical impact of torque on what happens when the club hits the ball. Obviously if a shaft is twisting, then that means the clubhead will twist too. So that influences the angle at which this clubhead meets the ball. Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on your swing.
Regardless, nobody is claiming that torque is making a crucial difference in this respect - the feel aspect is likely to be more important.
Weight
A shaft’s weight is also important. A lighter shaft is easier to swing faster and means your ball will likely go further. Lighter clubs are also less tiring to use or carry over the course of a round.
But a light shaft is less easy to control than a heavier shaft, with implications for accuracy.
In general, then, it’s best to find the lightest shaft that you can still reasonably control.
Bend point
This is the point on the shaft where it bends the most when you swing it.
The closer the bending point is to the clubhead, the more angle you get on the golf ball, and the higher it goes. And vice versa.
Is this important? Not really.
The distance between the bend points on two shafts is never more than around an inch and a half (3-4 cms). And the difference it makes to the trajectory of the golf ball is insignificant compared to other aspects of the club, particularly the design of the clubhead.
The only role it really plays is in contributing to a club’s feel; the lower the bend point, the softer (more flexible) the club feels.
Length
Shaft length is another classic tradeoff. A short length means it’s easier to hit the ball accurately, but you have less power - meaning less distance on your shots. A longer length makes it more difficult to meet the ball properly, but you have more power.
Think of a hammer with a 2 yard handle - plenty of power to knock in the nail, but hard to hit the nail in the first place.
So the right length in theory depends on which is more important to you - power or accuracy.
However, shaft length can really only vary within a short range of lengths determined by the nature of the club and your physical characteristics.
Think of it like this…clubheads are designed to meet the ball in a certain way and at a certain angle.
The longer the shaft, the further away you have to stand from the ball and the lower the angle of the shaft to the ground. And vice versa. Which means the clubhead angle is changing too. So depending on your height and swing style, there’s only a limited range of club lengths you can use without messing up the way the club designers intended the clubhead should meet the golf ball.
Feel
Feel is exactly that - how the club feels in your hands as you swing it and hit the ball. All the various shaft properties above contribute to this feel.
In general, you get a “better” feel with graphite shafts, higher flexes and higher torques - mainly because these properties help the club feel “softer” and “smoother.” But feel is an individual thing and needs to be counterbalanced against the shotmaking impacts of these different shaft properties.
Getting the right shaft
We can say that a light, flexible, long, graphite shaft is good for distance at the expense of accuracy. And a heavy, short, stiff, steel shaft is good for accuracy at the expense of distance.
Weight, flex, torque etc. interact so that each combination has its own unique properties. The “right shaft” then depends on you, your swing and the other parts of the club. For example, a shaft’s flexibility also depends on the weight hanging off the end (i.e. the weight of the clubhead).
If that all seems too complicated…relax! When you buy a club online or in a store,the answers to a few simple questions will ensure you get the right kind of shaft for your needs. Online fitting tools at online retailer, for example, check your height, swing speed etc. to recommend the ideal shaft for the club you want to buy.
Clone shafts?
As with grips, most clone clubs actually come with a top brand shaft attached. So your nicely-priced generic driver or iron will probably have a shaft made by True Temper, UST, Grafalloy or some other well-known brand.
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