Do shafts make a difference? Any shaft nuts present?

[CB Lobo 4 Life]

Hey All, 

My driver shaft broke yesterday so I am needing a new one. Looking at the Project X Riptide LX Proto Tour Extra Stiff shaft 70g. I do not know a lot about shafts other than that I need Extra stiff (Driver swing speed >=115, Avg carry = 315). Obviously, I have heard a lot about the Ventus shafts with velocore but I am not about to spend that much. So, in a nutshell, is the shaft option above a good one? Other suggestions on a shaft for my setup? Or does anyone want to unload their knowledge for me?

[GolfSpy_APH]

4 minutes ago, CB Lobo 4 Life said:

Hey All, 

My driver shaft broke yesterday so I am needing a new one. Looking at the Project X Riptide LX Proto Tour Extra Stiff shaft 70g. I do not know a lot about shafts other than that I need Extra stiff (Driver swing speed >=115, Avg carry = 315). Obviously, I have heard a lot about the Ventus shafts with velocore but I am not about to spend that much. So, in a nutshell, is the shaft option above a good one? Other suggestions on a shaft for my setup? Or does anyone want to unload their knowledge for me?

So many options! 

This is pandoras box if there ever was one. 

What driver do you have? If you can get to a shop that has some shafts for you to try and demo. They can make a big difference and with so man options out there it isnt the easier to just pick and choose. Speed and carry are one thing, but tempo, aoa, face to path and all the other factors can play a part in seeing if one will work for you or not. 

What did you have before and what did you like or not like about it?

[IndyBonzo]

If you did not like your old shaft, and don't intend to change your driver head, then a fitting is a good place to start.

If you don't want to get a fitting, then you could try this.  I have not tried it myself but I trust the folks at Golfworks/Maltby.

https://www.golfworks.com/find-a-golf-shaft-to-match-your-game/

Good luck to you!

[RickyBobby_PR]

13 minutes ago, CB Lobo 4 Life said:

do not know a lot about shafts other than that I need Extra stiff (Driver swing speed >=115, Avg carry = 315).

This isn’t true. Swing speed and shaft flex have minimal correlation. First there is no standard for flex in the industry so to say X swing speed = Y flex is impossible. Some regular flex shafts play stiffer than some brands X stiff. Ping tour 75g x stiff is softer than the 65g stiff version as one example.

As to your question about the shaft in the picture nobody here can say if that shaft is a good shaft for you. All shafts are good shafts. What makes a shaft bad is if it doesn’t fit the golfer. Shafts provide weight and feel. The weight of the shaft, the stiffness profile will have a role in now the shaft feels and also how it feels with the head of choice. If the feel Is off then it’s probably going to produce bad results, because it’s going to cause some change in swing mechanics.

Theres only a couple ways to find the right shaft. One is thru trial and error. Which can get expensive. The other is to get fit. 
 

You could simply find a used shaft for the one you were playing or find one with a similar profile. Typically all blue designed shafts will have the same profile with the difference being how stiff each section of the shaft is, same with black designs.

[Javs]

15 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

So many options! 

This is pandoras box if there ever was one. 

What driver do you have? If you can get to a shop that has some shafts for you to try and demo. They can make a big difference and with so man options out there it isnt the easier to just pick and choose. Speed and carry are one thing, but tempo, aoa, face to path and all the other factors can play a part in seeing if one will work for you or not. 

What did you have before and what did you like or not like about it?

I use either the PXG Proto 0811 X or the Ping LST both with hazrd smoke yellow 60 and I have stiff 6.0 or in spring/summer I put in the extra stiff 6.5. I also use the 6.5 in my 3 wood. I love those shafts! Lower launch and spin in a counter balance.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Javs

[CB Lobo 4 Life]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

So many options! 

This is pandoras box if there ever was one. 

What driver do you have? If you can get to a shop that has some shafts for you to try and demo. They can make a big difference and with so man options out there it isnt the easier to just pick and choose. Speed and carry are one thing, but tempo, aoa, face to path and all the other factors can play a part in seeing if one will work for you or not. 

What did you have before and what did you like or not like about it?

Hey @GolfSpy_APH, so my driver is the Taylormade SIM 9*, the prior shaft I had was the EvenFlow white 70-gram, and I really liked it. I feel like my tempo is definitely greater than medium so I thought that this shaft would be a good option since that is the case. Unfortunately I do not have the means to test so thought I would come here haha

 

[CB Lobo 4 Life]

1 hour ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

This isn’t true. Swing speed and shaft flex have minimal correlation. First there is no standard for flex in the industry so to say X swing speed = Y flex is impossible. Some regular flex shafts play stiffer than some brands X stiff. Ping tour 75g x stiff is softer than the 65g stiff version as one example.

As to your question about the shaft in the picture nobody here can say if that shaft is a good shaft for you. All shafts are good shafts. What makes a shaft bad is if it doesn’t fit the golfer. Shafts provide weight and feel. The weight of the shaft, the stiffness profile will have a role in now the shaft feels and also how it feels with the head of choice. If the feel Is off then it’s probably going to produce bad results, because it’s going to cause some change in swing mechanics.

Theres only a couple ways to find the right shaft. One is thru trial and error. Which can get expensive. The other is to get fit. 
 

You could simply find a used shaft for the one you were playing or find one with a similar profile. Typically all blue designed shafts will have the same profile with the difference being how stiff each section of the shaft is, same with black designs.

It is definitely confusing then for those of us who don't have the convenience to get fit or test to look up what flex I need and the general golf populous all at once says ">105 speed = XS" and so on for other flexes and speeds. Shafts are such an unfamiliar landscape to me haha. I did like the Even Flow White shaft that I had but at the same time, I did feel it was inconsistent. I am thinking the torque was too high. I am not sure, but I love the input!

[RickyBobby_PR]

16 minutes ago, CB Lobo 4 Life said:

It is definitely confusing then for those of us who don't have the convenience to get fit or test to look up what flex I need and the general golf populous all at once says ">105 speed = XS" and so on for other flexes and speeds. Shafts are such an unfamiliar landscape to me haha. I did like the Even Flow White shaft that I had but at the same time, I did feel it was inconsistent. I am thinking the torque was too high. I am not sure, but I love the input!

Understand and agree to an extent. But just like flex there’s lots of things not standard in the industry and what each brand defines as things like low launch or low spin as examples really doesn’t mean much either, because one player may get high launch and spin with the shaft while someone else may get low launch and spin. Not to mention there’s no clear definition for what’s low or high launch, it’s all what the golfer needs to optimize ball flight.

Torque is another measurement that isn’t industry standard. Different machines used by different companies, different ways to measure torque. These days torque is more about feel than anything.

What inconsistencies did you have with the evenflow white?

[CB Lobo 4 Life]

1 hour ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Understand and agree to an extent. But just like flex there’s lots of things not standard in the industry and what each brand defines as things like low launch or low spin as examples really doesn’t mean much either, because one player may get high launch and spin with the shaft while someone else may get low launch and spin. Not to mention there’s no clear definition for what’s low or high launch, it’s all what the golfer needs to optimize ball flight.

Torque is another measurement that isn’t industry standard. Different machines used by different companies, different ways to measure torque. These days torque is more about feel than anything.

What inconsistencies did you have with the evenflow white?

To answer your question the best way I can I felt like the flight was actually the weird thing and even control seem weird at times. For Instance, There are back-to-back driving holes that I played recently and I swear that my swing was exactly the same, and yet on one hole, it had a great rising flight and about mid-height, the very next hole it was a low hook. I pride myself in my consistent driving abilities, and yet sometimes I would just hit some weird shots. Not sure if the shaft was not fit right, or maybe it was going bad. I don't know. Hopefully, that helps. My ultimate preferred drive is a rising ball flight that is about medium height with about 2500 RPM spin. 

[Shlax]

3 hours ago, CB Lobo 4 Life said:

Hey All, 

My driver shaft broke yesterday so I am needing a new one. Looking at the Project X Riptide LX Proto Tour Extra Stiff shaft 70g. I do not know a lot about shafts other than that I need Extra stiff (Driver swing speed >=115, Avg carry = 315). Obviously, I have heard a lot about the Ventus shafts with velocore but I am not about to spend that much. So, in a nutshell, is the shaft option above a good one? Other suggestions on a shaft for my setup? Or does anyone want to unload their knowledge for me?

From what I quickly read about the Project X EvenFlow Riptide LX, it seems that it would suit the needs of someone with your very high swing speed (i.e., focus on low spin). I don't know what you typical drive trajectory looks like, but with such a swing speed, I would say focus on shafts with stiffer tip profiles (i.e., low/mid launch) and torque below 3.3 for example: The Project X EvenFlow Riptide LX does meet these requirements.

That being said, nothing beats trying them out. Irrespective of swing speed and shaft flex, your swing may be more suited to a stouter shaft (e.g., Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX) or smoother shaft (e.g., I heard that the Mitsubishi Tensei White and Blue are some of those options but I haven't tried them myself) because of your tempo or "how you load the shaft in transition".

If a fitting session is not available to you, you could still go to your local golf store and try different stock shaft options without any consideration for the make and model of the shaft and the driver head and try shafts that have various flex profiles to see which one you like the most in terms of feel. Of course this is not an ideal testing setup as there would be many variables, but according more importance to feel and less importance to the number betweens different shafts and heads (considering that the launch parameters remain somewhat decent) would be a good start to guide you in your choice of flex profile.

[RickyBobby_PR]

35 minutes ago, CB Lobo 4 Life said:

To answer your question the best way I can I felt like the flight was actually the weird thing and even control seem weird at times. For Instance, There are back-to-back driving holes that I played recently and I swear that my swing was exactly the same, and yet on one hole, it had a great rising flight and about mid-height, the very next hole it was a low hook. I pride myself in my consistent driving abilities, and yet sometimes I would just hit some weird shots. Not sure if the shaft was not fit right, or maybe it was going bad. I don't know. Hopefully, that helps. My ultimate preferred drive is a rising ball flight that is about medium height with about 2500 RPM spin. 

The swing may have felt the same but based on the flights your face angle. Swing path or both were different.

Could that be the shaft? There’s a chance. It could be affecting how you swing and causing a shift in one of those variables from time to time. Could it be alignment or something else? Also possible. 
 

It’s possible the design of the evenflow white just doesn’t match with your swing or maybe the pairing with your driver is a bad fit for that combo.

Its possible that then design of the riptide lx could work for you. I haven’t see the profile of the shaft but the evenflow white is a pretty stiff shaft. It’s possible if you could find one the evenflow blue is a better fit.

Do you have a 2ndswing or pga superstore or similar store near you where you can test clubs?

Heres why comparing flexes based on swing speed doesn’t work. Someone could say try hzrdus black 6.5 which is x flex on that line. The shaft design of the hzrdus black is going to be stiffer than then ef white and have a completely different design and the 6.5 could be the wrong fit but the 6.0 could be the right fit.

What nobody can say especially without video or numbers of those two swings what went wrong, and because feel is different from golfer golfer you could get 15 different shaft recommendations that are cheaper than the ventus velocore shafts and some may work and some may not but which ones fall into which category your guess would be as a good as anyone on here.

 

[CB Lobo 4 Life]

1 hour ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

The swing may have felt the same but based on the flights your face angle. Swing path or both were different.

Could that be the shaft? There’s a chance. It could be affecting how you swing and causing a shift in one of those variables from time to time. Could it be alignment or something else? Also possible. 
 

It’s possible the design of the evenflow white just doesn’t match with your swing or maybe the pairing with your driver is a bad fit for that combo.

Its possible that then design of the riptide lx could work for you. I haven’t see the profile of the shaft but the evenflow white is a pretty stiff shaft. It’s possible if you could find one the evenflow blue is a better fit.

Do you have a 2ndswing or pga superstore or similar store near you where you can test clubs?

Heres why comparing flexes based on swing speed doesn’t work. Someone could say try hzrdus black 6.5 which is x flex on that line. The shaft design of the hzrdus black is going to be stiffer than then ef white and have a completely different design and the 6.5 could be the wrong fit but the 6.0 could be the right fit.

What nobody can say especially without video or numbers of those two swings what went wrong, and because feel is different from golfer golfer you could get 15 different shaft recommendations that are cheaper than the ventus velocore shafts and some may work and some may not but which ones fall into which category your guess would be as a good as anyone on here.

 

I really appreciate what your saying and it makes a lot of sense. I think with all this knowledge I am gaining just from this thread I now know what to research more. The only downside is the testing. The nearest 2nd swing or superstore is 3 hours away. So, the likelihood I will get to test is pretty low. I am almost wondering about narrowing the options down to 3, purchase all of them and then send the other two back after trying them haha.

[RickyBobby_PR]

2 hours ago, CB Lobo 4 Life said:

I really appreciate what your saying and it makes a lot of sense. I think with all this knowledge I am gaining just from this thread I now know what to research more. The only downside is the testing. The nearest 2nd swing or superstore is 3 hours away. So, the likelihood I will get to test is pretty low. I am almost wondering about narrowing the options down to 3, purchase all of them and then send the other two back after trying them haha.

Anytime. You can find some good deals on golf forums buy/sell/trade along with places Ike ebay. 

[CudaKota66]

On 5/23/2023 at 4:43 PM, CB Lobo 4 Life said:

I really appreciate what your saying and it makes a lot of sense. I think with all this knowledge I am gaining just from this thread I now know what to research more. The only downside is the testing. The nearest 2nd swing or superstore is 3 hours away. So, the likelihood I will get to test is pretty low. I am almost wondering about narrowing the options down to 3, purchase all of them and then send the other two back after trying them haha.

I am on the 'get fit' bandwagon...with a short story to validate it.

A couple of years ago - when Callaway first broke the $500 driver barrier with Epic Flash - I needed wanted a new driver. Being a Cobra-guy at the time, my heart was set on a Cobra F8. Drove to a PGASS. Hit the F8....no better than the Cobra I brought to trade-in   The asst manager said, "Have you tried the Callaway Epic?" I said, "No...I'm not spending $500 on a driver!"  Alas, I tried it with the stock shaft & hit it a little better than either Cobra. After watching ~ 10 swings, she wanted to change the shaft. Okay.

A gain of 7 MPH ball speed, a drop of 500 RPM backspin, and 22-yard gain in distance later, I walked out with a new Callaway driver fitted with an EvenFlow shaft 

[ballhawk]

 

[MacTourney]

No, no difference whatsoever.  <sarc>

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by MacTourney

[CB Lobo 4 Life]

On 5/28/2023 at 6:06 AM, CudaKota66 said:

I am on the 'get fit' bandwagon...with a short story to validate it.

A couple of years ago - when Callaway first broke the $500 driver barrier with Epic Flash - I needed wanted a new driver. Being a Cobra-guy at the time, my heart was set on a Cobra F8. Drove to a PGASS. Hit the F8....no better than the Cobra I brought to trade-in   The asst manager said, "Have you tried the Callaway Epic?" I said, "No...I'm not spending $500 on a driver!"  Alas, I tried it with the stock shaft & hit it a little better than either Cobra. After watching ~ 10 swings, she wanted to change the shaft. Okay.

A gain of 7 MPH ball speed, a drop of 500 RPM backspin, and 22-yard gain in distance later, I walked out with a new Callaway driver fitted with an EvenFlow shaft 

That is a pretty cool story! Yeah I am currently testing two shafts that I got the EvenFlow Riptide LX and the Mitsubishi Tensei Raw AV Blue. Both are fantastic, however, the EvenFlow is edging out as I feel it is just a little more responsive and "Poppy."