Senior Vs. Regular Flex Golf Shafts – Which One Should You Be Using?
When it comes time to replace or upgrade the shafts in your golf clubs, it is essential to choose the proper flex. Golf clubs for men come in four basic flexes, extra stiff, stiff, regular and senior. The regular and senior flex shafts are for the slower swinging player. Some golfers have a hard time deciding if the regular or the senior is going to be the better fit for their game.
We have put together some great information about senior and regular flex golf shafts so you can choose an option that will work well for your golf game.
How Important Is Flex In A Golf Shaft
The flex of a golf shaft is probably just as important, if not more important than the clubhead itself. Flex is what will make or break a golfer. Even if your golf swing is near perfect, you won’t be able to perform correctly with the wrong flex in the shaft.
If you told a golf professional that they had to play with new clubs, but they could keep the clubhead or the shaft the same, ninety-nine percent would choose to keep the shaft the same. With all of the variables in the game of golf, it is so essential to make sure that your golf shaft is appropriately fitted to your swing.
How Does It Effect Performance
Without the proper golf shaft in place, you will notice that you have trouble controlling the flight of the golf ball, the distance of your shots, and the path of the ball as well. The proper golf shaft will help to keep you hitting the ball straight with just the right amount of ball flight as well.
How To Know If You Need Regular Or Senior Flex
Knowing which golf shaft that you should put in your golf club can be a little tough. There are a few ways to figure out which golf shaft is going to be the right option for you.
Swing Speed
Some golfers will decide which shaft they need based on swing speed alone. If your swing speed is between 75 and 85 miles per hour, then you will need a senior shaft. If you are between 85 and 95 miles per hour, then the regular shaft will be the best choice.
You can get your swing speed measured at a local golf fitting center. If you don’t have something around you that has capabilities to measure swing speed, there are ways you can do this yourself. Some personal golf swing trackers and apps can measure swing speed.
When you measure your swing speed, you are going to want to use your driver speed. Although there are ways to do club fittings using the speed of the irons, the driver speed is the most common way to do this.
Distance
Another way to determine which golf shaft flex you need is based on your current distances. If you are hitting your driver 180-200 yards, then you need a senior golf shaft. If you hit your driver 200-240 yards, the regular is going to be a better choice.
The one problem with using distance as the only determining factor is that if you are currently playing with the wrong golf shaft than your distances may not be accurate. You can also take into consideration how far you hit your irons as well.
If you can’t hit your seven iron more than 135 yards, the senior flex shaft is going to be the way to go. Some seniors find that when they play a regular steel shaft, they can only hit it 130, and then switching to senior graphite allows them to hit the ball 140.
Custom Fitting
The only real way to know precisely the shaft that you need for your golf game is to go for a custom fitting. Not every golfer needs to spend the money on a custom fitting. Although they are sometimes very helpful, custom fittings are best for the player who is genuinely undecided about a senior or a regular shaft.
If you know you are well within the range of senior or regular shaft, then the custom fitting will likely not be quite as helpful.
During a custom fitting, you will be put on a launch monitor. The launch monitor will give very specific data related to ball speed, launch, distance, and spin as well. This data will be compiled in a computer system that will provide you with results as to what shaft will work best for your golf swing.
For many golfers, this is going to end up being a stock shaft like the one they already have in their club, and for others, the shaft that the computer system chooses will be a very specific and sometimes costly upgrade.
Do I Need The Same Flex On All Clubs Or Different On Irons And Driver?
Golfers naturally tend to swing their driver a bit faster than the other golf clubs in their bag. The driver is most often lighter in weight, and it is a bit longer as well. When players step up to hit a driver, they know it is a power shot, and they will often swing with quite a bit of speed.
When it comes to the irons, golfers will try and establish some better tempo and rhythm, and this will very likely cause them to lose a bit of their clubhead speed. This is not a bad thing, but it could affect the golf shaft that you should be using in your golf clubs.
If you are a senior golfer that has very low swing speeds than the senior shaft will need to be in all of your golf clubs. However, if you are a senior golfer that still likes to get some speed and can hit the driver a long way, you may want to consider a regular shaft in the driver and senior in the irons.
Irons are a little harder to launch and to hit consistently than the driver can be. If you have just started transitioning into the senior shaft in your clubs, it is usually ok to keep regular in the driver for a little longer.
When you see a decrease in the distances, you can hit your driver or your notice that you can’t hit it as straight, then it may be time to switch to the senior shaft.
One club that golfers forget about when it comes to the shaft is the wedge. Most wedges come with a standard steel wedge flex. If you play a regular or a senior shaft, you should consider the shaft that you are getting in your wedge. The wedge flex shaft tends to be a bit more like a stiff steel shaft. Golfers that need a senior shaft in their clubs will struggle with the wedge flex.
What Will happen if My Shaft Is Too Stiff?
If a golf shaft is too stiff for a player, there could be a decrease in distance and accuracy as well. The most common miss with a shaft that is too stiff is a slice. If you have tried everything to learn how to fix your slice, it could just be that the equipment you are using does not fit you properly.
If your golf shaft is too stiff for your swing, you may also struggle with launching the golf ball. Although you want your driver to roll a long way, it needs to fly a long way first. Make sure that you choose a driver that allows you to keep the ball in the air for a very long time.
Will I Lose Distance Switching To Senior Flex?
Golfers are always concerned about losing distance when switching golf shafts. If you are playing with a regular shaft currently and it is not the right fit for you, the senior flex shaft could help you increase distance.
Switching to a senior shaft is not going to cause a problem when it comes to distance unless your swing is just too fast for the senior shaft, and you would be better off with a regular. This is a rare occurrence in the game of golf. Most golfers wait considerably longer than they should to switch to the senior or lite flex.
Can I Get New Shafts On My Clubs Or Do I Need New Clubs
You can always get your golf clubs re shafted, but it makes sense to consider if this is worth it. Sometimes reshafting golf clubs can get a bit costly. When you calculate everything, it may be better off purchasing a new set of golf clubs.
Find out how much it is to reshaft and also find out how much your used set of clubs would sell for. If you have something more than five or six years old, it may not make sense to put new shafts in the club. Start looking for newer equipment with the proper shaft in place.
Sometimes a brand new golf club that is last year’s model or design is going to make more financial sense than replacing a shaft in an old golf club. Always consider the cost of labor in addition to the cost of the shaft.
Graphite Or Steel Shafts?
The good news for senior golfers is that there are not steel shaft options to choose from. Senior golf shafts are almost always going to be graphite. The graphite is lighter and helps seniors get the ball flight and distance that they need.
For the golfer that is still swinging regular shafts, they will need to consider what their preferences are in their golf game.
Graphite shafts tend to travel further, but they are not entirely as accurate. Steel shafts may cost you a few yards (because they are heavier), but they will be easier to control. If you are a player that struggles with distance, go with the graphite shafts. If you are a player that struggles with control, go with steel.
Best Senior Flex Driver Shafts:
Mitsubishi Rayon Graphite Wood Driver Shaft – Senior Flex – 57g
When it comes to senior flex drivers, the Mitsubishi Rayon are some of the lightest and most forgiving. This is a 57gram shaft, which is a perfect weight for a senior golfer. Anything under 60 grams is going to help golfers get more clubhead and ball speed. Some of the lightest shafts you will see for seniors are around 40grams.
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Best Regular Flex Driver Shaft:
Project X LZ Regular Flex Driver Shaft with Taylormade M1 M2 Adapter and Grip
Project X makes high-end golf shafts that usually have mid kick points and mid-spin. They have been used in top of the line drivers for many years. This driver comes with an adapter so you can put it directly in the golf club you are already playing, and it has a grip installed as well.
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What’s The Difference Between Ladies And Senior Flex?
There is not much difference at all between ladies and senior flex. Most of the time, the only difference between a senior flex shaft and a ladies flex shaft will be the length of the shaft. The senior flex shaft can sometimes be a few grams heavier than the ladies, but this all depends on the manufacturer.
Is Light Flex The Same As Senior Flex?
Yes, a light flex and a senior flex are the same things. Some golf companies will put an A on the golf club to indicate that it is the senior flex.
Conclusion
Hopefully, our senior vs. regular flex golf shaft guide has helped you determine which shaft is going to be the best match for your game. If you are looking for recommendations on the best senior or regular flex golf clubs on the market, take a look at our buyers’ guides. We have tested all of the current equipment and give you our honest opinions.