Which shaft and loft to use for driver?

Hi everyone - I'm in the market to get fitted for my first set of clubs despite playing for 10-12 years. I'll upgrade my Ping G15s that I've had for 6 or 7 years as well as my driver, which is a 10.5* stiff shaft Callaway X Hot with a neutral head adjustment I found on eBay.

When the driver is on, I feel like I can do anything (keep in mind I'm still a 14 index, so take that with a grain of salt). When it's off, it's 20-40 yards off line. It makes or breaks a round for me. I can feel the shaft bending down at the top of my swing, so I'm thinking I might need an X-Stiff and lower loft, but not sure. Swing speed is usually anywhere from 120-126mph, so distance isn't an issue. Really looking for consistency.

Can anyone provide suggestions as to what to look for in a new driver? I don't know much about the differences between certain models. Any help is seriously appreciated! Quarantine is a killer, so trying to learn as much as I can while stuck chipping and putting in my basement. Thank you!

You're going to have to wait until you hit some balls for loft and shaft recommendations. That being said if you club head speed is actually over 120 you need and xstiff and probably need to tip trim it an extra .5-1 inch to make it stiff enough.

I appreciate the reply, Jc0. I play in a 9-hole simulator league every few weeks, so the simulator is where I get the swing speed numbers from. Not sure the accuracy, but my distances seem to be pretty close to outdoors.

I could see how trimming the shaft would help with consistency as well, thanks for that suggestion. Understanding I'll have a much better idea when I can actually hit balls, how does loft typically play into all of this? I believe I read that reducing loft increases sidespin, but couldn't that be problematic for me? Curious, in theory, how loft would impact flight coupled with a stiffer, shorter shaft. I'm not a physics major, and I know this is all hypothetical. Thanks again for the help.

Honestly, at that speed and handicap, I’d consider getting a short, heavy shaft... basically a tipped three wood shaft around 90-100 grams depending on feel for you.

at this point, you need to sacrifice 10-25 yards and gain as much control as possible. Find something that keeps you in play even on bad days and go with that...

then work on your under 150 yard game, get confident with a wedge in hand and start putting balls close to the pin...

id also highly recommend figuring out how to get to a one way miss. I’m working on a fade, so my driver miss is always right. Allows me to aim left and swing at it and I have doubled my bailout area.

if you can keep the ball in play at 120 mph, you will be a single digit handicap in no time... unless your short game is awful... but that is fixable too.

Thanks for that, Myherobobhope. I never contemplated the shaft weight (probably shows how naive I am to club specs). It's interesting, my X Hot came with a Project X 6.0 Pvx shaft, which apparently was designed to be super light (between 39-52g is what I'm reading). It definitely feels ultra light when I swing, but I can see how having a shaft at double the weight could bring my swing some more control.

Solid advice outside of that as well. Dialing in the wedges is high priority. Single digit index is the goal for the season for sure!

The loft thing is a myth. The actual reduction is side spin between lofts is nothing. The only reason you notice it is because the ball may be flying furthur and has more time to curve. Shorter/stiffer gives you more club head control while reducing club head speed. The control should improve contact so hopefully less curve, and the reduction in speed reduces curve because you have less ball speed.

If you want a starting point go for a 70g x flex shaft at 45.5 and see how that feels. If it feels to long you can make it shorter and if it feels to heavy you can get a lighter shaft. 45.5 is probably the longest you want to go.

Thanks, Jc0! Much appreciated!

off the top, understand that 120 mph swing is insanely fast... headed towards long drive champion fast with the right gear. Also note that you probably have never heard of the long drive champion...

you are past the point of diminishing returns on driver distance. Adding 20 yards to your game with no improvement to accuracy won’t change your score.

adding control is the next step. Best way to do that is a heavier, shorter shaft... most modern woods from the same brand have interchangeable tips... and most three woods have heavier shafts. Grab the heaviest three wood shaft you can find, toss it in a driver head and see how it feels.

there is plenty to be said about getting fit and everything else, but at your club speed, you need to find the right fitter. The guy at golf galaxy is going to hand you a Ventus black and tell you to tip it... he won’t be wrong, but I’m willing to bet you can find a better, cheaper fit.

id recommend looking at how pros hit the ball, as they routinely sacrifice distance for control... they mostly have negative angles of attack, which changes the loft they need...

course management is going to be your friend to improving your score. Distance is a huge tool in your bag, but remember that distance carries across your entire bag... a 7 iron 180 yards from the fairway is better than a wedge in the woods... figure out when you need to play smart and when you need to play aggressively...

I mostly play the same course and I’m working on improving my strategy on each hole. The first hole, a three wood puts me to 150-125 and keeps me out of trouble... driver allows me to cut a corner and can put me ten yards off the green. It can also block me out due to a large tree by the green... I’m still figuring out the risk reward, and honestly, I play it differently if I play the back nine first... if I’m driving the ball well, I’ll go for it... if im starting a round, I’ll more likely play it safe and go for par to start the day. There are a few others factors in play, but I have two distinct strategies and I decide one one before teeing it up... That’s one of my big focus points this year with fixing my short game as the other...

good luck! Feel free to reach out or hop on the monthly motivation thread... it’s a place created to talk about focus to actually improve at golf. It’s stolen from the chasing scratch podcast.

info dump complete.

This is great - thank you! I’ve always had speed and power, most likely from playing every sport under the sun growing up, and I’ve always been more of a “fast-twitch” athlete. Probably a good problem to have, but it’s been both a blessing and a curse. It’s been difficult figuring out how to throttle it back, but your suggestions sound like they should work. I have no issue sacrificing some distance for consistency. I’m tired of only hitting 2-4 fairways and 4-6 greens per round.

Love the course strategy insight as well. I’m still figuring that out, as wide open courses are my friend and tight courses give me indigestion haha my goal is to have the ability and knowledge to step onto any kind of course and be able to trust my swing - the result that particular day will be whatever it will be.

I’ll absolutely check out that thread and podcast. Thank you again!!