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Do shafts wear out?


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I golfed with a gentleman today who claimed that golf shafts "wear out" and need to be replaced every 4 years (assuming 50 rounds per year).

 

Can anyone (equipment junkies, club builders, club fitters, etc.) please chime in with your thoughts on this?

 

Is this a valid claim?

--WITB--

Ping i15 Driver 9.5° Stiff

Ping i25 Fairway 15° Stiff

Kasco k2k 44 Utility 19° Stiff

Kasco k2k 55 Utility 22° Stiff

Miura CB-501 Irons 5-9 KBS Tour Stiff

Scratch 8620 d/d grind PW 47°

Scratch 8620 d/d grind GW 53°

Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 SW 58° 2 dot

Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 LW 60° 1 dot

Never Compromise Putter Sub 30 Type-50

Snell MTB

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I think he might be full of ....

In the bag:
Driver: :titelist-small: TSR2 Project X HZRDUS Black 5.5
Fairway: :callaway-small: Apex UW 19° & 21° Project X HZRDUS Smoke RDX Black 5.5

Irons: :mizuno-small: JPX 923 HMP 5-PW UST Mamiya Recoil 95 F4
Wedges: :mizuno-small: T-22 Denim Copper 48°, 52° & 56° UST Mamiya Recoil 95 F4
Putter :Sub70: Sycamore 005 Wide Blade
Bag: 
:Ogio: Alpha Convoy 514
Balls: :callaway-small: Chrome Soft X

Cart: :CaddyTek: CaddyLite ONE Ver. 8


God Bless America🇺🇸, God save the King🇬🇧, God defend New Zealand🇳🇿 and thank Christ for Australia🇦🇺!

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Tell him to stop playing hickory shafts and to start using today's graphite and steel shafts.

 

I am not an expert and have never evaluated the playing characteristics of shafts after x number of round but I am pretty confident that and amateur player will not notice any difference in performance

Driver:  :ping-small: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven
Fairway: :titelist-small: TS3 15*  w/Project X Hzardous Smoke
Hybrids:  :titelist-small: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype
                :titelist-small: 915H  24*  w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype        
Irons:      :honma:TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite
Wedge:  :titleist-small: 54/12D, 60/8M w/:Accra iWedge 90 Graphite
Putter:   :taylormade-small:TM-180

Testing:   SPGC_logo.jpg

Backups:  :odyssey-small: Milled Collection RSX 2, :seemore-small: mFGP2, :cameron-small: Futura 5W

Member:  MGS Hitsquad since 2017697979773_DSCN2368(Custom).JPG.a1a25f5e430d9eebae93c5d652cbd4b9.JPG

 

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It was my understanding that a shaft will only wear out from cracks and if it has been stored at a freezing cold temperature.

 

I certainly don't claim to be any sort of expert on the subject though and am curious to see what others have to say.

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Graphite does break down from being repeatedly flexed. Steel, no. But graphite absolutely does. Same as composite equipment in other sports. That's why Rory changes his shafts at least once a year. Lots of tour pros do their graphite with the same shaft.

In The Bag
Driver: TaylorMade M2 (2017) w/ Project X T1100 HZRDUS Handcrafted 65x 
Strong 3 wood: Taylormade M1 15* w/ ProjectX T1100 HZRDUS handcrafted 75x
3 Hybrid: Adams PRO 18* w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4 Hybrid: Adams PRO 20* (bent to 21*) w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4-AW: TaylorMade P770 w/ Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Black Onyx S400

SW: 56* Scratch Tour Dept(CC grooves) w/ Dynamic Gold Spinner
LW: 60* Scratch Tour Department (CC grooves) w/ Dynamic Gold Spinner
XW: 64* Cally XForged Vintage w/ DG X100 8 iron tiger stepped
Putter: Nike Method Prototype 006 at 34"

Have a ton of back-ups in all categories, but there are always 14 clubs in the bag that differ depending on the course and set-up. Bomb and gouge. Yes, I'm a club gigolo.

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Graphite does break down from being repeatedly flexed. Steel, no. But graphite absolutely does. Same as composite equipment in other sports. That's why Rory changes his shafts at least once a year. Lots of tour pros do their graphite with the same shaft.

 

Graphite will degrade eventually (mostly due to UV radiation) but the amount of stress needed to cause the plys to break down is generally a lot more than the average swing. I've got some graphite shafts that are over 10 years old and still perfectly playable.

I don't dispute that many pros change out their shafts on a regular basis, but they are probably paying zilch for the privilege and even if they aren't, they normally have enough coin not to worry about the cost.

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I golfed with a gentleman today who claimed that golf shafts "wear out" and need to be replaced every 4 years (assuming 50 rounds per year).

 

Can anyone (equipment junkies, club builders, club fitters, etc.) please chime in with your thoughts on this?

 

Is this a valid claim?

Sounds he's full of shafts

 

 

Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

Left Hand orientation

:taylormade-small:SIM 2 D Max with Fujikura Air Speeder Shaft 

Cobra  Radspeed 3W/RIptide Shaft
:ping-small:  410  Hybrids 22*, 26*

Cobra Speed Zone 6-GP/Recoil ESX 460 F3 Shafts 

:titelist-small: SM7 54* Wedge

:ping-small: Glide 3.0  60* Wedge

:odyssey-small: O Works putter

:ShotScope: V3
:918457628_PrecisionPro:NX9-HD

:CaddyTek: - 4 Wheel 

EZGO TXT 48v cart
:footjoy-small: - too many shoes to list and so many to buy

:1590477705_SunMountain: And  BAG Boy

Golf Balls: Vice Pro Plus 

2020 Official Teste:SuperSpeed: Beginning Driver Speed  - 78

2019 Official Tester :ping-small:  410 Driver

2018 Official Tester :wilson-small: C300

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  • 3 weeks later...

over time yes a shaft will start to become more flex then it used to be. tour players change out there shafts like every six months. normal golfers who don't swing as fast ware out in year or two. we don't need shaft changes that much or if u buy new clubs each year. tour players swing there clubs 2-3x more then we do in a whole year. grips always replaced every 4-3months. some of my grips already need replacing and had em for a couple

months

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over time yes a shaft will start to become more flex then it used to be. tour players change out there shafts like every six months. normal golfers who don't swing as fast ware out in year or two. we don't need shaft changes that much or if u buy new clubs each year. tour players swing there clubs 2-3x more then we do in a whole year. grips always replaced every 4-3months. some of my grips already need replacing and had em for a couple

months

Do you have a source for any of the information you just provided? Because I've read plenty of stories about just the opposite in regards to tour players changing shafts
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Deleted

Left Hand orientation

:taylormade-small:SIM 2 D Max with Fujikura Air Speeder Shaft 

Cobra  Radspeed 3W/RIptide Shaft
:ping-small:  410  Hybrids 22*, 26*

Cobra Speed Zone 6-GP/Recoil ESX 460 F3 Shafts 

:titelist-small: SM7 54* Wedge

:ping-small: Glide 3.0  60* Wedge

:odyssey-small: O Works putter

:ShotScope: V3
:918457628_PrecisionPro:NX9-HD

:CaddyTek: - 4 Wheel 

EZGO TXT 48v cart
:footjoy-small: - too many shoes to list and so many to buy

:1590477705_SunMountain: And  BAG Boy

Golf Balls: Vice Pro Plus 

2020 Official Teste:SuperSpeed: Beginning Driver Speed  - 78

2019 Official Tester :ping-small:  410 Driver

2018 Official Tester :wilson-small: C300

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Deleted - sorry it was a duplicate

 

Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

Left Hand orientation

:taylormade-small:SIM 2 D Max with Fujikura Air Speeder Shaft 

Cobra  Radspeed 3W/RIptide Shaft
:ping-small:  410  Hybrids 22*, 26*

Cobra Speed Zone 6-GP/Recoil ESX 460 F3 Shafts 

:titelist-small: SM7 54* Wedge

:ping-small: Glide 3.0  60* Wedge

:odyssey-small: O Works putter

:ShotScope: V3
:918457628_PrecisionPro:NX9-HD

:CaddyTek: - 4 Wheel 

EZGO TXT 48v cart
:footjoy-small: - too many shoes to list and so many to buy

:1590477705_SunMountain: And  BAG Boy

Golf Balls: Vice Pro Plus 

2020 Official Teste:SuperSpeed: Beginning Driver Speed  - 78

2019 Official Tester :ping-small:  410 Driver

2018 Official Tester :wilson-small: C300

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I had a set of dynamic gold x100 in play for about 15 years. They where in 3 different sets of heads and played great in all 3 sets. Personally it's the heads on the short irons that wear out hence the need to change clubs. Today's manufacturing process means that shafts last longer than the shafts of yesteryear. That being said I had an interesting test recently with an assistant pro who hit an old hickory mashie the same distance as his callaway 6 iron and said it felt great.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

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I've never heard this and often the opposite that the shafts have a much longer life than the heads.  The "experts" I've talked to say the part that wears out are grooves and if you hit a lot off of mats that the lie angles of the heads can drift over time, especially with forged heads.

Alpine, UT

 

In the bag:

Driver: Callaway GBB Epic, Diamana M+ 50g Stiff Shaft

3W: Cleveland FL3W, Miyasaki 43g Stiff Shaft

4 Hybrid: Taylormade SLDR Fujikura? Stiff Shaft

4i: Mizuno MP-H5, KBS Tour C-Taper Lite 110 S Shaft 

5i-PW: Mizuno MP-25, KBS Tour C-Taper Lite 110 S Shaft

Wedges: 50, 54, 58 degree Mizuno T7 Blue Anodized, Dynamic Gold Wedge Flex Shaft

Putter: EVNROLL ER7, Custom Fit 35", 71 degree lie angle and 1 degree of loft

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  • 4 weeks later...

Why do you have a club that long to begin with?!?!

 

Club Ho is life!

 

If you have a driver over two years, you're missing out on at least 1.7 yards. Time to sack up and buy a new driver! Shafts wearing out? Sounds like a personal problem to me. I have no idea if a shaft can wear out because I haven't had a club in my bag for over two years. 

Cobra Connect 5 Competitor - Team Chad

  • :cobra-small: King Radspeed 10.5* w/ Hzrdus RDX Blue 60 6.5 tipped 1/2" - Peacoat/Red
  • :cobra-small: King Radspeed Big Tour 3 Wood w/ Hzrdus RDX Blue 70 6.5 Tipped 1/2"
  • :cobra-small: King Radspeed Tour 5 Wood w/ Motore X F1 70 X Flex 
  • :cobra-small: King Utility 4 21* w/ Tensei Pro White 100 X Flex
  • :cobra-small: King Tour MIM Copper Irons 5-G w/ AMT White X100 Onyx
  • :cobra-small: King MIM Black Wedges 55* & 60* w/ AMT White X100 Onyx
  • :taylormade-small: Spider SR
  • :titelist-small: Pro V1x Left Dash
  • Lefty
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  • 3 years later...
11 minutes ago, Dave Cunningham said:

I've had a set of Ping G10 irons, with graphite shafts, for about 10 years, but only played occasionally (c. 10-15 times a year). In 2019 the head came off my Lob Wedge on the downswing, and yesterday the 6 iron shaft broke. From the comments on here it seems that i'm just unlucky?

 

Yup.  Could have broke for any number of reasons.  There are people that have brand new graphite or steel shafts break randomly.  Not common, but it happens

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Without empirical evidence it is hard to prove either point however I have seen a graphite shaft under a constant strain for a short period of time and the shaft remained in the same bend profile when the strain was removed. Does that mean the shaft will wear out? eh.

Yes I do believe the shaft will wear out. 200 rounds is pretty short imo. The would have to depend on the golfer. 1) how fast was the golfer swinging 2) how aggressive was the golfer swinging, 3) did the golfer make consistent strike not hitting the ground , you get where this heads. Obviously the more strain and shock placed on the club the more frequently it will need replaced. on the contrary, if the same number of rounds where played by a more relaxed player then the equipment wold last far longer. 4 years imo is too short but yes it can wear out. 

steel to can wear out but that is more from the affect of mother nature, sitting the garage of the winter and golf tendencies etc. again this is a very very long time

Driver - 44.5" 5.0 flex 10.5 deg Graphite Design XC 6S GP MCC4+ 1 deg closed

Irons - 5-pw, GW stnd length 5.0 flex same grip 1 deg flat. Type low medium offset cavity back, no diggers

Wedges - 56 and 60 tour grind wedge spinner and mcc4+ grip 2 flat 10 and 8 in bounce

Putter - Makefield VS LH

Ball - truvis

Carried in a Sun Mountain C-130 USA bag - BE PROUD.

HC - LH but 85 is a good number, playing in Ohio.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think the shaft on my ball retriever is wearing out.

14 of the following:

Ping G430 Max 10.5 degree

Callaway 2023 Big Bertha 3 wood set to 17 degrees

Cobra F9 Speedback 7/8 wood set at 23.5 degrees

Callaway Epic Max 11 wood

Ping Eye 2 BeCu 2-SW

Mizuno 923 JPX HM HL 6-GW

Hogan sand wedge 56 degree bent to 53

Maltby M Series+ 54 degree

Ping Glide 3.0 Eye2 58 degree

Ping Glide 3.0 60 degree

Evnroll ER2

Ping Sigma 2 Anser

Cheap Top Flite mallet putter from Dick's, currently holding down first place in the bag

TaylorMade Mini Spider

Bridgestone XS

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On 5/4/2017 at 9:15 PM, Stillnumber1 said:

I golfed with a gentleman today who claimed that golf shafts "wear out" and need to be replaced every 4 years (assuming 50 rounds per year).

 

Can anyone (equipment junkies, club builders, club fitters, etc.) please chime in with your thoughts on this?

 

Is this a valid claim?

I think his claim is off by at least one order of magnitude. I am still double hulling 40 year old gen 1 graphite fly rods that effectively use the same basic build technology and, see much higher duty cycles.

The double haul cast

:ping-small: G410 Plus, 9 Degree Driver 

:ping-small: G400 SFT, 16 Degree 3w

:ping-small: G400 SFT, 19 Degree 5w

:srixon-small:  ZX5 Irons 4-AW 

:ping-small: Glide 2.0 56 Degree SW   (removed from double secret probation 😍)

:EVNROLL: ER5v Putter  (Evnroll ER5v Official Review)

:odyssey-small: AI-One Milled Seven T CH (Currently Under Product Test)

 

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

Well, Bernhard Langer may disagree since he transferred the same Hogan Apex shafts into many sets over the years. He played a lot with them and very well!

Driver Titleist 910 with KuroKage R or Cleveland Classic

3 wd Titleist 910 with Diamana

7 wd Snake eyes with Irod

23 and 28 Adams Idea Pro Gold Hybrids with nv protos

Irons either Adams Idea Pro Gold chrome or smoke, or wishon 555 with KK 70

TM wedges

Putters - Snake eyes (4), Cleveland (8), Cameron (6), or others.

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I don't think they wear out but have seen many sets of steel that develop quite a warp to them.

Driver Titleist 910 with KuroKage R or Cleveland Classic

3 wd Titleist 910 with Diamana

7 wd Snake eyes with Irod

23 and 28 Adams Idea Pro Gold Hybrids with nv protos

Irons either Adams Idea Pro Gold chrome or smoke, or wishon 555 with KK 70

TM wedges

Putters - Snake eyes (4), Cleveland (8), Cameron (6), or others.

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I have never seen a graphite shaft "wear out" from normal play going back at least 30yrs. I have had to reshaft numerous steel, aluminum Easton -( anyone remember those? )due to getting bent/warped.

Now where I do caution my friends that like to reshaft alot is with the graphite shafts as the shaft tips can change size/diameter if one does not properly pull & prep the shaft tip. Can't count how many times I get asked to fix an improperly pulled/damaged graphite shaft. Many times I can't the damage is so bad.

Sent from my SM-N960U using MyGolfSpy mobile app

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