What Happens If Your Driver Shaft Is Too Stiff?

What Happens If Your Driver Shaft Is Too Stiff?

Playing with the correct shaft in your driver is incredibly important. With the correct shaft flex you will be able to deliver the club at optimum speeds, and produce the correct numbers in terms of launch and spin on the golf ball.

What golfers don’t realise is that playing the correct shaft can actually make you swing faster, ultimately making you hit it further.

Let’s dive into the importance of Driver shafts and what happens if you have the incorrect flex.

 

What is Shaft Flex, And Why Is It Important In Drivers

Shaft flex is how much the shaft bends while you swing the club, if you swing it slowly you will need a more flexible shaft, while if you swing it fast you will need a stiffer shaft.

You get Ladies, Senior, Regular, Stiff and X-Stiff shafts in Woods and Irons.

Your swing speed will determine what shaft you will need, however there are a few other aspects to consider like, your ability, age and personal preference.

Most shafts will have different weights, kick points(bend points) and torques, we will discuss these things later on.

Distance and accuracy can be directly impacted from what shaft you play.

 

What Are The Signs Your Driver Shaft Is Too Stiff

There are a few tell tale signs that your shafts are too stiff, firstly you will lose the ball to the right, because the shaft is to stiff it will be hard to square up at impact, causing the face to be open when you hit the ball, this is going to produce a fade or slice shot, generally ending up on the right side of the course.

Secondly your shots will be quite low, when the shaft is too stiff the face angle at impact will also be delofted, causing the ball to come out lower than it should.

Lastly your shots might not have enough spin on it if the shaft is too stiff, your shots will look like they are falling out of the sky, and lose distance.

 

Will You Adapt Your Swing To The Incorrect Shaft Flex

Yes you will, if your shaft is too stiff you will adapt your swing in more ways than one.

The first major mistake you will make is start to come over the top, the reason why you will do this is, because the most common result for a shaft that is too stiff is a slice.

To prevent yourself from slicing it you will come over the top to try start the ball left, this actually makes you slice it more, and lose loads of distance.

The second big mistake is you will start to hit the ball off the back foot to try lift the ball up.

When the shaft is too stiff you will also hit it low, to help with this you will lean back to try get the ball up in the air, this is another fault and is not recommended. 

 

How Does Weight, Kick Point And Torque Affect Shaft Flex

90% of the time shaft flex is impacted by weight, the heavier the shaft is the stiffer it is, and the lighter the shaft is the more flexible it is.

There are a few cases where shaft manufactures have managed to use special materials that are lightweight to make a stiff shaft that is lighter than normal.

To make a shaft stiffer you need to make the walls of the shaft thicker, by making the walls thicker the shaft becomes heavier, and vice versa for making it lighter. 

The kick point of the shaft is the specific point where the shaft starts to bend, a high kick point shaft produces low spin and low launch characteristics, and a low kick point produces high spin and high launch characteristics.

A stiff shaft will generally have a high kick point, if the shaft is too stiff, and you are losing your ball to the right, going with a shaft that has a lower kick point can help straighten out your shape.

The torque of the shaft is how much it twists during the swing, stiffer shafts usually have a lower torque, and more flexible shafts have a higher torque.

Players that don’t swing it too fast need a little help squaring up the face, while players that swing it faster have the speed to square the face up. If the shaft is too stiff for you, make sure you try a shaft with higher torque than what you have, this can really benefit your game.

 

How Does Swing Speed Affect What Shaft Flex You Should Use?

Swing speed is the main influencer in what shaft you should use. The faster you swing the more the shaft will bend, so the more you need to control it.

The stiffer shaft allows the shaft to bend correctly and allow the club head to return to a square impact position.

If you are swinging with a shaft that is too stiff for you, you will lose clubhead speed, because you don’t swing it fast enough to generate enough speed, and the same if it is too light, you will actually slow down your swing, so you can control the club.

I like to use this as an example, think about swinging a pool noodle with a clubhead on the end, you will be able to create a lot of speed but the head will be all over the place, and the opposite if you swing a broomstick with a club head on the end, the head will be really stable, but you won’t be able to create a lot of speed.

You need to find the middle ground between the pool noodle and broomstick. This will give you the most control and distance.

 

How To Discover Your Swing Speed?

By using a very fancy piece of machinery called a launch monitor, you are able to track how fast your swing speed is. The most popular companies are Trackman, Flightscope and GC Quad. 

Your local Pro or any Certified Fitter should have one, but you can also buy your own, the top of the range models are very expensive, but there are some cheaper alternatives that get the job done too.

 

What Swing Speed Requires A Stiff Shaft?

Have a look at the table below, you’ll be able to see what shaft flex is recommended with which club head speed.

• Under 75 mph – Ladies
• 75 – 85 mph – Senior
• 85 – 95 mph – Regular
• 95 – 110 mph – Stiff
• 110+ mph – X-Stiff

These are just references, and a good starting point.

 

Best Stiff Driver Shafts 2021

 

Fujikura Ventus Series

The Ventus Series by Fujikura is one of the best shafts on the market at the moment. There are 3 different versions; Black – (low launch and low spin), Blue – (mid launch and mid spin) and Red – (high launch and high spin).

All 3 of these versions come in different flexes, ranging from Senior to X-Stiff, all with different weight and torque options. 

The big selling point to this shaft is the VeloCore technology, it is a multi-material Bias Core construction, which delivers unbelievable stability through transition and impact, ultimately maximizing clubhead MOI.

The multi-material core is crafted with full-length, ultra-high modulus Pitch 70 Ton Carbon Fiber, the 40 Ton bias layers ensure incredible feel. For more info click here

 

Overall Score: 94/100

Check Out More Reviews Here:

 

HZRDUS Smoke RDX Series

The HZRDUS Smoke series is for your aggressive swingers of the golf club. There are two shafts in this series, the Blue and Black both have Low Launch and Low Spin characteristics.

The Black is for your super aggressive player, where the Blue is for someone that likes to have a little more feel in the shaft.

True Temper and Project X teamed up with a company called Hexcel, they are an aerospace and military operations company. The HZRDUS shaft has HexTow® carbon fibers in them. Hexcel’s HexTow® carbon fiber is the highest quality aerospace-grade carbon fiber you can get, giving you unprecedented performance. Learn more here.

Overall Score: 91/100

Check Out More Reviews Here:

 

UST Helium

Remember I mentioned you get some manufacturers that make lightweight stiff shafts, well these are the guys.

The UST Helium shafts are a lightweight design, they use materials in innovative ways to give you great feel and stability never seen before in lightweight shafts.

They are able to make lightweight shafts even in X-Stiff shaft flex, their range of shafts come from Ladies all the way to X-Stiff, with a weight range from 50g to 60g.

This is unheard of, the torque on these clubs are really high, so if you are a slicer and need some help squaring the club up, the UST Helium range could be your answer. Click here to learn more

Overall Score: 92/100

Check Out More Reviews Here:

 

Conclusion

Playing with a shaft that is too stiff for you can really compromise your game, and the same goes for a shaft that is too flexible. Signs that your shaft is too stiff are, fades or slices, too low of a ball flight and not enough spin on your ball.

A shaft that is too stiff can also affect your swing, causing you to start bad habits. Getting a shaft that is right for you can increase your club head speed which in turn will increase your distance and accuracy.

We highly recommend getting fitted for the right shaft or at least finding out your club head speed to make sure you are playing the right flex.