Heavy shafts

[808nation]

Do you need to be physically fit to use heavy shafts or could it be all technique/skill? Are there any advantages to using heavier iron shafts?

 

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[Shankster]

Do you need to be physically fit to use heavy shafts or could it be all technique/skill? Are there any advantages to using heavier iron shafts?

 

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I'm pretty scrawny and I prefer a heavier weight shaft, higher swing weight anyways. Too light and I lose the club head.

 

 

- Alan

[dadivots]

I'm pretty scrawny and I prefer a heavier weight shaft, higher swing weight anyways. Too light and I lose the club head.

 

 

- Alan

At the end of the day 'feeling' the club head has helped more than alot of other things. But its a hard idea to get across. Mass marketing sells 'light" and fitting seems to go to the more 'standard' D weights but heavier can be a real eye opener... and knowing where that clubhead is throughout makes can make alot of difference. Especially with swing changes taking hold. Orange whip is all about this at the end of the day too.

 

Talked before of a guy with all the distance and nary a fairway wood he could use off the shelf or from the fitter he goes to. Couldnt even pull them out of the bag.

Got him into a much heavier club with some prodding and 240-50 from the fairway is on the green if not right there now. Drat! But its what works and he asked me yesterday where to get some good lead tape as he wants to turn his driver into another heavy beast. Drat again!!

But hes finally found the distance his swing was capable of, always a good thing. With the caveat that yours truly see's that its finally time to move up to the old fart tee's with the rest of the old farts. When all around you find 20 or even 30 more than you got a mans got face the music. Beware the terror of the geritol tees!   

[dadivots]

Do you need to be physically fit to use heavy shafts or could it be all technique/skill? Are there any advantages to using heavier iron shafts?

 

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In short. No, I have not seen being fit or not a factor in heavier shafts or not. And Yes, a slight difference in iron shaft weight can be a big change for the better. As with all things it depends what you need and what really works in the end. IF... you can find a fitter who will let you take several heavier, albeit correctly fitted, irons and hit them for a week or so you will find the difference that might work for you. Ususally there not going to be there off the rack for you to experiment with. People that liked heavier in a baseball bat or other sticks seem to do quite well with them in golf where as others can find it quite eye opening to realize the possible benefits that were not known to them. It goes against standard thought of lighter = speed = distance and all that.

Again, "feeling the clubhead" as maybe never before can be a good thing.

[yungkory]

To continue the conversation, is there any general trend? Like how shaft stiffness is, as a general rule, certain mph swing speeds will demand a certain stiffness?

 

I'm wondering how I would do if I went up to xp105s like the shaft fit website suggests. Like dadivots mentioned I don't think I can get ahold of a set to try for a week.

 

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[Kor.A.Door]

I was using XP95 shafts stiff and my miss mes were all over, one left, one right, and so on, no consistency at all, I wanted to try heavier shafts but didn't want to spend a lot of money in case it didn't work. So I did some research and found a shaft that so far has worked excellent. Apollo Black Steel, they are much heavier in the 128-130 range now my miss is much smaller, and it is typically left, the only time I go right is when I really hit a hard pull, so knowing that my miss will almost always go left I at least have an idea where the ball is going. The shafts were about $7 each, so I only have about 60 dollars in them, and to be honest I am so glad I switched to a heavier shaft, and these shaft as far as I'm concerned are as good as any I have used. So, no you don't have to be physically fit to use heavy shafts, and you don't have to spend a fortune to do it.

[downlowkey]

Some swings may benefit from heavier clubs but in general, the heavier the shaft, the less feel you will have for the actual clubhead.

 

 

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[revkev]

We really seem to be talking past ourselves here. A heavier shaft does not necessarily mean a heavier swing weight. We have a couple of professional fitters on this sight. We also have some guys who are quite adept at home club building projects and very knowledgeable. It might be well if one of them could "weigh" in. I know that's who I would want to hear from if I were asking this question.

 

I agree with Kor a dor that this has everything to do with the players swing characteristics and much less to do with his fitness. It also doesn't require a huge investment but it would be at least the cost of a fitting. Why not get the fitting?

 

 

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[chisag]

... Kinda, but it depends on what is meant by heavier. I am 64 and coming off a bacterial infection and lost 25 lbs. So I have not regained all my strength back, but pretty close. I have 110 shafts some might consider heavier, and they fit me well and are all the weight I need. Trying to hit my sons 130gm DGX100 shafts tipped 1/2" and 1/2" long for a D4 swing weight feels like a literal sledgehammer. He is 6'3" 235 and still trains like he is playing DE in college so crazy strong and fast and he just kills these irons. No way I could play 18 with them and keep my normal tempo as I just don't have the strength to swing something that heavy effectively.
 

[808nation]

I was using XP95 shafts stiff and my miss mes were all over, one left, one right, and so on, no consistency at all, I wanted to try heavier shafts but didn't want to spend a lot of money in case it didn't work. So I did some research and found a shaft that so far has worked excellent. Apollo Black Steel, they are much heavier in the 128-130 range now my miss is much smaller, and it is typically left, the only time I go right is when I really hit a hard pull, so knowing that my miss will almost always go left I at least have an idea where the ball is going. The shafts were about $7 each, so I only have about 60 dollars in them, and to be honest I am so glad I switched to a heavier shaft, and these shaft as far as I'm concerned are as good as any I have used. So, no you don't have to be physically fit to use heavy shafts, and you don't have to spend a fortune to do it.

130!? OMG! I'd be exhausted after a few holes and here I thought 110 was heavy, you're a beast. I had KBS C taper lights @ 105 grams and they felt good, now I switched to 110 grams to experiment, but these really feel so much heavier even though the difference is only 5 grams. Could it be the midsize grips with couple more layers of tape vs standard?

 

 

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[The Dansome]

I have to play heavy shafts because of my quick transition.

 

I'm 44, 5'10", 160lbs with a driver SS of 105mph, you'd think I'd be starting to consider something lighter, but my swing characteristics demand 120g+

[yungkory]

I have to play heavy shafts because of my quick transition.

 

I'm 44, 5'10", 160lbs with a driver SS of 105mph, you'd think I'd be starting to consider something lighter, but my swing characteristics demand 120g+

 

Hmmmm, I might have to do some testing. I'm a similar build with same SS and sometimes I feel like my shafts are too light. The online fittings I've done fit me into xp105 s300 and kbs tour s which are both heavier than my current shafts.

[Kor.A.Door]

130!? OMG! I'd be exhausted after a few holes and here I thought 110 was heavy, you're a beast. I had KBS C taper lights @ 105 grams and they felt good, now I switched to 110 grams to experiment, but these really feel so much heavier even though the difference is only 5 grams. Could it be the midsize grips with couple more layers of tape vs standard?

 

 

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They do feel heavier, but it has pretty much eliminated the 2 way misses. With the 95's I felt like I had a really good strike on the ball, but I had no idea if was going to miss left or right, usually I can tell if pull it or hang it out, but I was striking it good and it was all over the place. I took a chance on the really heavy shafts, but it's what I could find for cheap, and if it did t work I was only out a few dollars compared to what it could have cost, I do all my own club work, so it didn't cost anything for that. I am really happy with the change, the shafts probably play slightly weaker to the flex compared to S300. I may have gotten lucky with the choice, but I knew I had to change something, and I knew what I wanted to accomplish. as for grips I use standard grips, with 2 wraps now and it seems to be just right for me.

[Thatginger96]

I had a 120 KBS C-Taper in my old irons and in my new ones are XP 95s. I miss those 120s so much. I really did love the heavier shaft. It made me feel like I could control the club more in my swing and that I could get the right impact point. I also found that my dispersion was much tighter with the KBS shaft vs the XP shaft

 

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[stage1350]

Considering I used to play 116g graphite in my driver, no.  There are no disadvantages to playing heavy shafts.  

 

The old rule was play the lightest shaft you can control for maximum distance.  I have always subscribed to "play the heaviest shaft that doesn't cost you significant distance."  I'd rather lose 3-5 yards and be in the fairway guaranteed than gain 20 yards for 1 shot and have the next 9 in the heavy rough. 

 

Considering I'm in my mid 40s and still play TX graphite and DG Tour X7 in my irons, I suspect I'll be playing heavy shafts for quite a long time.  

[PAgolfer2017]

I'm 29 and swing mid 90's and play 110 in my irons and 75g stiff shaft in my driver. For me it's all about feel. I like the feel of heavier drivers and feel like I can control it better.

 

 

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[Rtracymog]

I'm able to launch the ball pretty high and need to reduce spin a little. I've got C-Taper 130s in my irons and I simply love the feel of them. I've had the opportunity to try many different weight shafts and I don't mind something in the 120s (Oban, PX LZ, etc.). I just prefer the weight and stability of the shaft.

 

 

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[Jmikecpa]

I have always been a fan of heavier shafts until recently. I am now playing the lighted driver shaft I have ever played at 65g and iron shafts at 110g. Driver swing speed went from 116 to 118 to over 120 consistently and I don't feel like I have to smash my irons to get them to fly the distances that I am expecting. The change was hard to get over mentally but can't argue with the results.

 

 

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[yungkory]

I thought that I was going to lose a lot of club head speed with a heavier shaft, but to my surprise I didn't lose any with the same effort. I only went up 10g in my fitting today after we came to a conclusion on the best shaft for me, distances were all about the same between the two clubs (same loft) but the dispersion is much better.

[Fireinthehole]

Just reiterate what others have said. Don't need to be fit or be skilled to use them, but you should get what fits your swing the best.

 

I use px7.0s which are 130g vs a x100 which is also 130g but the two don't feel anything alike nor do they react the same for me. With the 7.0 I get a feeling that is stable and with a smooth kick (probably never mentioned in the same sentence with the px7.0) where as the x100 is squirrelly under the hands and lifeless at impact.

 

With my tempo/ speed, lighter shafts and I don't get along!

 

 

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[chershey]

I have always been a fan of heavier shafts until recently. I am now playing the lighted driver shaft I have ever played at 65g and iron shafts at 110g. Driver swing speed went from 116 to 118 to over 120 consistently and I don't feel like I have to smash my irons to get them to fly the distances that I am expecting. The change was hard to get over mentally but can't argue with the results.

 

 

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I did something similar as well. I switched from 120 gram iron shafts to Steelfiber 95 gram shafts and from a 76 gram driver shaft to a 68 gram. I'm hitting the ball as solid as I ever have with more distance. I always thought I needed heavier, because of my strength, but my results prove that I was wrong.

 

 

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