Trueing shafts? Is it necessary?

[RyanGi]

Just like the title says, is it necessary to have shafts trued when clubs are built? I notice it an offering when ordering some DTC clubs…

 

I’m now to this, so what’s the consensus? Especially if someone wanted to build their own clubs. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Well this is a polarizing topic... Grab your !

[GolfSpy_BNG]

Is trueing similar to pureing? If so in my opinion it’s a waste of money. 
 

But as Jamie said, it’s a topic that can and will go off the rails quick as there are people that think it’s pointless and some that think it’s the holy grail of golf. 

[NM01]

Another topic that gets brought up every few months. 
 

shafts flow on a weak and a strong axis.

They also don’t bend in a single plane during the swing. See the posted chart 

Theres proponents of doing it and proponents for not doing it, but because of what’s stated above it more than likely has little to no benefit to do it unless you’re doing it yourself and you want some kind of piece of mind. Accra has shown it has no benefit, txg had a video or two showing no real benefit. 
 

 

[RyanGi]

Yay! A popcorn thread!!  

So, is the  theory that there’s a stronger axis along some aspect of the shaft, and that aligning that insures even stress along the swing path?

If so, I’m guessing the opposing theory states there just isn’t enough difference to matter?

Does that about cover it?

I’m always interested in learning, if someone has something they want to teach…

[NM01]

http://www.tutelman.com/golf/shafts/allAboutSpines.php

[RyanGi]

Thanks for the article! What he’s saying makes sense to me, although I’m such a golf newb that my experience-based opinion is totally null. I guess the next question is how often does a spine that effects performance show up in shafts? 1:100, 1:1000? What are the odds of getting a ‘bad’ shaft from a random purchase?

 

[Hacker60521]

For what it’s worth, a guy I know at a custom fitting company doesn’t push puring club shafts. But he will often suggest to pure the driver shaft since it’s the longest. So presumably imperfections are magnified. 
 

Personally, I just like the demos they do showing the club oscillating.

[NM01]

36 minutes ago, RyanGi said:

Thanks for the article! What he’s saying makes sense to me, although I’m such a golf newb that my experience-based opinion is totally null. I guess the next question is how often does a spine that effects performance show up in shafts? 1:100, 1:1000? What are the odds of getting a ‘bad’ shaft from a random purchase?

 

Dont think then OEMs publish that information. 

[NM01]

7 minutes ago, Hacker60521 said:

For what it’s worth, a guy I know at a custom fitting company doesn’t push puring club shafts. But he will often suggest to pure the driver shaft since it’s the longest. So presumably imperfections are magnified. 
 

Personally, I just like the demos they do showing the club oscillating.

Accra did a testing with a bunch of shafts and everytime they all came out the same.

For wood shafts play the label down and you’ll be fine. Which is what every shaft company recommends

[PJVicary]

I am a proponent of puring and have been for probably 15 years. Phil Talamonti, the person who came up with the theory convinced me there is indeed a difference in both feel and distance. Some shafts are certainly built better than others but the oscillation certainly show a difference to support this. I order my clubs directly from the manufacturer and pure the shaft prior to build. If I buy a club already assembled, I will remove the head and go through the process before putting it into play. 

[toncol]

Went down this rabbit hole a few years back when I was down to low single digits and looking for incremental improvements.  Spent more money than I like to think about getting my shafts "Pured".  Came to the conclusion that it offered no noticeable difference in performance.  The variations in my swing, how my body felt, the weather, yada yada were waayyy more influential in my scores than microscopic differences in the way shafts flexed.  All the cool stuff I saw in the lab on the oscillator didn't seem to translate to the course.  If only I played indoors, under controlled conditions, with exactly the same swing every time....I could get to be decent at this game

[lydell54]

I would have to defer to someone who is testing currently.  The 2006 article is certainly interesting, but I have to believe that manufacturing quality has increased tremendously over the past 18 years to reduce the spine effect and greatly reduce the issue. Then you will always have the potential issue with any clubs that have adjustable loft as you are rotating the shaft anyway that you need to rely that the symmetry of the shaft is very tight in it's build.

Great subject to bring up by the way.

[lydell54]

FYI, there is this fun YouTube regarding puring golf shafts under this title: SST PURE Steel Shaft Test / SHOULD YOU PAY FOR THIS??

I am not attaching the actual link because I don't know if it is proper to do so.

[cnosil]

36 minutes ago, lydell54 said:

FYI, there is this fun YouTube regarding puring golf shafts under this title: SST PURE Steel Shaft Test / SHOULD YOU PAY FOR THIS??

I am not attaching the actual link because I don't know if it is proper to do so.

We attached links to YouTube content all the time.  Better than having to make everyone search. 

[DG_NP]

I put my vote in the column that it is the equivalent of snake oil.

[RetiredBoomer]

1 hour ago, DG_NP said:

I put my vote in the column that it is the equivalent of snake oil.

I'm no expert, but I strongly suspect that you're right.

[Bob Pegram]

On 7/20/2024 at 4:05 PM, RickyBobby_PR said:

http://www.tutelman.com/golf/shafts/allAboutSpines.php

Dave Tutelman's website is the best source in the world of golf technical information. He thoroughly addresses every possible technical question in golf.

[NM01]

15 minutes ago, Bob Pegram said:

Dave Tutelman's website is the best source in the world of golf technical information. He thoroughly addresses every possible technical question in golf.

Yeah too bad more golfers into equipment don’t read what he’s put out or guys like Wishon and Howard jones over the years. 
 

A lot of the talk about shafts and clubs we see on all forums, Facebook groups and individual oem community groups would change 

[cmart0219]

Maybe someone like Bryson could do something with this and his endless experiments and tinkering, but the average player I believe would be wasting their time. 

[Berg Ryman]

So my current irons are pured, and I don't think it's helped much to be honest, or at least not in a qualitative way. Same with my woods and the like, although those were free with the fitting from CC, and because I've been a good custom they did the irons free as well.

Admittedly, I don't think my next set will be pured, but for those who want to make sure every potential variable to your equipment is taken care of for mental reasons, I see the benefit.

Edited July 23 by Berg Ryman

[StrokerAce]

when I get good enough to need to have my irons pured I'll be retiring from my day-to-day job and preparing to join the tour...

[Marty2Shanks]

For me, PUREing the shafts is the last 10 miles on a 1000 mile journey.  If you get the right length, lie, loft, bounce, flex, total weight, swing weight, grip size, etc all correct, and want to put the final touches by PUREing the shaft, then have at it.  But it has been my experience that the majority of golfers don't get the the more fundamentals of the gear correct.  I am firmly in the camp that most golfers play clubs that are too long, too flat, too little loft with shaft flex that is too soft, shaft weight and total weight too lite, swing weight that is too low, and grips that are too small.  PUREing a shaft isn't gonna matter to a 15 handicap if those other details aren't correct. 

[Dr Strangelove]

Both Tom Wishon and Barney Adams said no. That's good enough for me.