Understanding shaft specs

[jmwils81]

so I have been researching new shafts and have a short list to try out for next season. I am wondering if anyone can easily explain how the weight of the shaft effects things and also the torque. Kick point is another spec Im not used to seeing. I always see weight, torque, launch & spin. I know launch and spin but the other two ???

[JBones]

There are much more knowledgeable people than me here, but I will take a stab at it.  For me, shaft weight is just a preference to a point; you can gain MAYBE 1-2 mph of swing speed with a lighter shaft, so its all about feel.  A 50g shaft feels like a noodle to me, above 75g feels like a board, so I tend to go in the 65-75 range.  Torque is how much the clubhead can/will make the shaft twist.  Too much torque with a fast aggressive swing can cause big hooks/fades, too little torque with a smoother slower swing will make the shaft feel like a board.  So, while they can be important aspects for a fitting, I think it is mostly a feel thing....for me.

[markb]

Bones's summary is a good one.   I'll add a couple of other bits.

 

First, remember there is little standard from manufacturer to manufacturer.   What is stiff and high launch in one, may be mid and regular in another.   I'm trying out Aldila's Rogues right now.   Very stable and consistent, very good feel, but danged if I don't think they are higher launching and softer to flex than I'm used to with Fujikura.

 

Second, remember that independent lab tests have revealed that many manufacturers fudge their torque numbers.  Expect actual torque to be more than stated torque.   I find that torque in the 3's is fine, torque in the 4's can get frisky, torque in the 5's I stay away from.   It's all about feel, just like it is with flex, but I'd say that if you are seeing both left and right big curvy misses with little predictability, you're swinging a stick with too much torque (or flex or both) and it's twisting on you.

 

The trend is towards lighter shafts among the unwashed plebes such as ourselves in an effort to give us more clubhead speed and more distance.   I agree that when I get down to those 50 gram shafts (or heaven forfend -- those ultralight Miyazakis) they just go all over the place.  As a general rule of thumb, if you add weight you get less torque and stiffer flex.   That's because extra layers of carbon fiber are added at keys points to stiffen the shaft and in so doing they also make it twist less.   It's very difficult and expensive to find a shaft with soft flex and low torque, but then few people want such a shaft anyway.  

 

It's hard to point you to a rule of thumb that you can use reliably because so much of this is subjective.   In general, I aim for shafts in the 60s or 70s because they'll feel about the right weight for me.   Then I pay attention to the launch angle they produce.   I'll play a R, S, or X depending on how it feels.  Some are stiff, others are whippy.  I just moved from a very low torque 75 g high launching R in a 9.5 head to a low launching, low-mid torque 70 gram S in a 10.5 head, and I'm looking to try an X in the same shaft cause it still feels a little soft.

[jmwils81]

Thanks for the information guys! Makes a lot of sense. I really never thought about each company beefing a tad different. I just ordered a prolaunch red / stiff for my SLDR l. I had that shaft in my titleist a few years back so I'm going to give that a shot on the flightscope to see the difference in the speeder and the prolaunch.

[markb]

You can always use the various charts made by manufacturers to compare many shafts.   Here's the one from Titleist that I use.