Switching shafts

[Somethingfun]

I have a regular shaft for my driver and a stiff shaft for my 3 wood. I’ve slicing the ball with the driver but not with the fairway wood. They’re bot cobra f9 clubs and i was wondering if i could simply switch shaft to see if it help lessening the slice. 
Is switching shaft a good approximation of having a stiff shaft for a driver?

 

thanks

[RickyBobby_PR]

If the adapter works in the driver they could be swapped but the swingweight is going to change due to the shorter shaft, this could negatively impact the feeling of the driver but that’s player dependent.

Now let’s talk the shafts and particulars. Flex has no industry standard so unless the shafts are the same exact model and in the same weight class, comparing flex isn’t a good comparison. So what shaft model and weight is in the driver and what is in the 3w.

Second we need to look at swing. Driver swing is typically a neutral to upward strike where a 3w is a neutral to slight down strike. It’s possible that something in your swing is impacting how you deliver the driver that causes the face and/or face to path relationship to cause a slice ball flight. With no video of swing this may or may not be the case.

So with all that said there’s no way to of swapping shafts will work or if moving the 3w shaft is a good evaluation of having that same shaft in stiff flex in the driver or any flex of shaft in your driver.

Your course of actions are to try and test it yourself, get a fitting to see if it’s the shaft in your driver that’s the issue or not 

 

[Kansas King]

Agree with @RickyBobby_PR. Theoretically, if you swing too hard/fast for a regular flex shaft it will cause a fade/slice. If the ball is always starting and staying right, then that probably could be more shaft related. If the ball is starting left and slicing back to the right, it may be more swing related. Lots of variables at play here and it's unlikely you're going to get it figured out online. If you want to try a stiff shaft, I would sift through eBay and see if you can find the same shaft as what's in your 3W but at the stock driver length. Most stock shafts with the adaptor (make sure it has the adaptor!) sell for $60 - $100. Not a certainty a stiff shaft will fix your ills but worst case scenario you can always resell your shaft without losing too much. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

44 minutes ago, Kansas King said:

Theoretically, if you swing too hard/fast for a regular flex shaft it will cause a fade/slice.

To better clarify it should be a shaft that is too soft and not an actual a stamped flex of regular. There are some companies x flex shafts that play as soft as others Regular flex. Even within some brands shafts of different weights in the same flex will play differently. Example the Ping tour 75g x flex plays softer than the 65 x

[drb1956]

On 5/16/2022 at 1:50 PM, RickyBobby_PR said:

To better clarify it should be a shaft that is too soft and not an actual a stamped flex of regular. There are some companies x flex shafts that play as soft as others Regular flex. Even within some brands shafts of different weights in the same flex will play differently. Example the Ping tour 75g x flex plays softer than the 65 x

I would try a heavier shaft, as in 75 gram, because as you get a heavier shaft, it tends to get "firmer". So you would not have to go to a stiff persay, as a lot of them really don't have any feel. What I mean is, I have tried a stiff flex shaft, and it felt like I was swinging a 2x4, with just about as much feel. I know a driver should not have to have feel, but for me it is a deal breaker. I have an 80 mph swing, and a stiff might keep me in the fairway, but I would lose distance, by a lot. I play a g410 SFT driver, with a 65g shaft(55g was stock), and I spend a lot of time in the fairway, 210-230. I would like to play the 55g, but its so light, I get out of tempo, and I don't have feel for where the clubhead is in my swing. It does give me good distance, just sometimes don't know where its going. Still have the shaft, cause I figure as I get older, might need a little more whip in my swing.

[RickyBobby_PR]

9 hours ago, drb1956 said:

I would try a heavier shaft, as in 75 gram, because as you get a heavier shaft, it tends to get "firmer". So you would not have to go to a stiff persay, as a lot of them really don't have any feel. What I mean is, I have tried a stiff flex shaft, and it felt like I was swinging a 2x4, with just about as much feel. I know a driver should not have to have feel, but for me it is a deal breaker. I have an 80 mph swing, and a stiff might keep me in the fairway, but I would lose distance, by a lot. I play a g410 SFT driver, with a 65g shaft(55g was stock), and I spend a lot of time in the fairway, 210-230. I would like to play the 55g, but its so light, I get out of tempo, and I don't have feel for where the clubhead is in my swing. It does give me good distance, just sometimes don't know where its going. Still have the shaft, cause I figure as I get older, might need a little more whip in my swing.

People really need to understand that flex really means nothing unless talking about shafts from the same shaft line in the same weight class. Once you choose a different weight class the stiff is only relative to that weight class and not the lighter version of the same shaft.  Example PX hzrdus smoke rdx blue 60, all shafts in this line flex will be relative to each other but one you go to the 70 then flex is only relative to this line and a 6.0 in the 60 is not the same 6.0 in 70. 
 

Amongst even other PX shafts you can’t compare flex. The hzrdus black 6.0 plays stiffer than the green for some and the yellow and so on.

Theres no industry standard so you can’t compare flexes across companies either. 
 

When you say a shaft feels like a 2x4 that is typically the EI profile and not the flex that you are talking about, and is usually a lower torque shaft since torque is predominantly about feel in shafts these days so you have to say what shaft you were playing that felt that way and also which shaft at 55g felt light. Also have to see if it a counterbalanced shaft, more of a linear profile or something in between.
 

With graphite manufacturers can do a lot of things with shaft design and can make a 39g shaft be stiffer than a 65g shaft.

So when comparing shafts knowing what shafts are being talked about is important to a discussion. There are some 76g shafts that play softer than their 65g version like the Ping tour shaft. Some 55g shafts like the diamina lineup can be better for a golfer than a 60+g from another brand. 
 

This is why saying one should play X shaft, Y weight, or whatever is hard to say online because the feel effects each person differently. 

[vandyland]

On 6/28/2022 at 6:47 AM, RickyBobby_PR said:

When you say a shaft feels like a 2x4 that is typically the EI profile and not the flex that you are talking about, and is usually a lower torque shaft since torque is predominantly about feel in shafts these days so you have to say what shaft you were playing that felt that way and also which shaft at 55g felt light. Also have to see if it a counterbalanced shaft, more of a linear profile or something in between.

It took me a long time to understand this. I feel like I (and maybe many others) have been tricked into thinking that low torque means smaller dispersion but, in my experience, it merely ends up being "feel". I have a 6.0 (I know torque isn't consistent across manufacturers but let's just say "higher torque) torque shaft that I always come back to because it feels so smooth and easy. I swing 103-105 mph with a driver so I have been seduced into the Hzrdus Series (most recently a yellow which was so bad for my feel) and the results are always disastrous. Tonight I am going to the range and I have the Hzrdus Yellow (3.5 torque), a 4.0 low kick and a 6.0 low kick shafts that I am going to switch in and out of my Cobra head. I am almost certain the Hzrdus is going to be the big loser but we will just have to see. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

13 minutes ago, vandyland said:

It took me a long time to understand this. I feel like I (and maybe many others) have been tricked into thinking that low torque means smaller dispersion but, in my experience, it merely ends up being "feel". I have a 6.0 (I know torque isn't consistent across manufacturers but let's just say "higher torque) torque shaft that I always come back to because it feels so smooth and easy. I swing 103-105 mph with a driver so I have been seduced into the Hzrdus Series (most recently a yellow which was so bad for my feel) and the results are always disastrous. Tonight I am going to the range and I have the Hzrdus Yellow (3.5 torque), a 4.0 low kick and a 6.0 low kick shafts that I am going to switch in and out of my Cobra head. I am almost certain the Hzrdus is going to be the big loser but we will just have to see. 

There was a time where there was a low torque race and every shaft manufacturer was trying to see how low they can go. Also lots of “theories” that have been around the internet for awhile that promoted it but had no supportive data.
 

There has been a shift in shaft design since and with newer type of materials out there they can do lot of things with the design to make them feel better. Hzrdus line is a perfect example. The original black and the original yellow in the 65 6.0 shaft had a .1 difference in torque but alot of people will say the yellow feels better. 
 

Someone that hates stiff handle more than likely won’t like any shaft regardless of torque that has that type of stiffness in the handle.

but you touch on a key point. Shafts are about feel. Once you get a good feel stick with it. Also shafts that feel the same won’t produce different results 

[RickyBobby_PR]

39 minutes ago, vandyland said:

It took me a long time to understand this. I feel like I (and maybe many others) have been tricked into thinking that low torque means smaller dispersion but, in my experience, it merely ends up being "feel". I have a 6.0 (I know torque isn't consistent across manufacturers but let's just say "higher torque) torque shaft that I always come back to because it feels so smooth and easy. I swing 103-105 mph with a driver so I have been seduced into the Hzrdus Series (most recently a yellow which was so bad for my feel) and the results are always disastrous. Tonight I am going to the range and I have the Hzrdus Yellow (3.5 torque), a 4.0 low kick and a 6.0 low kick shafts that I am going to switch in and out of my Cobra head. I am almost certain the Hzrdus is going to be the big loser but we will just have to see. 

Just so happens there’s a thread started on wrx about high torque shafts started by dlow that has some good discussion about torque and what benefits other than feel there is. Some good posts in there from Stuart that dispell some mights that are still around

[vandyland]

Played this weekend and had another good experience with the high torque shaft. So much so that I am debating going back into a 9* head (always the tinkerer over here). I know that many smarter men than me have noted shafts don't have that much impact on launch angle but I just feel like I deliver this shaft so much better than the Hzrdus I have some knock on effect of a higher launch. Anyway, will go to the range this week and try out the 9* head with the whippy, torquey (currently) magical shaft. Golf is fun when you're hitting the ball well!

[RickyBobby_PR]

40 minutes ago, vandyland said:

I know that many smarter men than me have noted shafts don't have that much impact on launch angle but I just feel like I deliver this shaft so much better than the Hzrdus I have some knock on effect of a higher launch.

The feel of the shaft and how it influences your swing and thus delivery of the club is what influences the launch characteristics. So if a shaft doenst feel right or it alters your swing then that will alter how you deliver the club and the launch characteristics.

I don’t recall where I read it but there was testing done by one or two oems on a robot using light weigh soft flex shafts up thru shafts the long drive guys use and the results between them were minimal. It’s the human element and how is humans react and swing that changes the results. It’s also why two people with same swing speed but different swing mechanics could see different results with the same shaft even in the same head. The hzrdus yellow as an example is one that doesn’t have much feel but is a shaft I’ve been fit into several times and have no problem playing and will sacrifice the feel for the results. 

[fixyurdivot]

On 5/16/2022 at 10:34 AM, Somethingfun said:

I have a regular shaft for my driver and a stiff shaft for my 3 wood. I’ve slicing the ball with the driver but not with the fairway wood. They’re bot cobra f9 clubs and i was wondering if i could simply switch shaft to see if it help lessening the slice. 
Is switching shaft a good approximation of having a stiff shaft for a driver?

 

thanks

You've already gotten some great feedback.  I can only add that my two fittings and testing of shafts, in both R and S, for irons and woods surprised me. The lack of industry standard is real.  Further, if your swing speed and/or tempo has you sitting on the fence between flex and profile (my situation), it's all the more important to get a competent fitter involved.