Shaft flex and age

[HighlandLaird]

I am 76 and was persuaded to change from the stiff shafts I always previously used, because my swing speed had diminished with my increasing age. However, I have found myself hitting rotten shots, with all types of faults, including fats, thins and even shanks!! I recently pulled out some clubs with stiff shafts I used years ago, and immediately found that all these poor shots disappeared as if by magic. No competent club fitter would advise someone like me with low swing speed and average drive carry of only 220 yards to use stiff, heavy shafts, but I am finding that they work. Why do I seem to get away with DG S300 shafts in the irons and heavy graphite stiff shafts in the woods? Far from losing distance, I'm actually hitting both woods and irons further.

 

Have any of you experienced similar unexpected outcomes and why do you think this happens?

[ian-500]

Maybe the older clubs you're used to are at the right swing weight for you, or you're just used to using them....

[Golf64]

If you like DG S300s, maybe try the DG105s?

[Cpm881]

I'm opposite. Give me a ladies flex and I flush it every time. Doesn't go anywhere but it feels nice.

 

Something to be said for clubs that are trackman heros but don't perform in wild. It happens. I have had better luck fitting outdoors as opposed to indoors.

[dpb5031]

It's not all about swing speed. Weight and the way you load the shaft in transition are major factors.

 

Many times as we get older even though we no longer create a ton of speed, we still put a decent load on the shaft in transition as our swing becomes shorter. The way a shaft flexes can really influence your transition.

 

It's likely that you are more comfortable with the weight and the feeling of flex in the transition with the stiffer shafts. Unless you're hitting the ball lower than optimal and having trouble with launch or carry distance, I'd stick with the stiff flex since it's working.

[tsecor]

I think club "fitting" is very over rated for amateurs and seniors. Hit what works for you regardless of what a fitter THINKS may work.

[Adam C]

Differences in shaft flex can change the feel of the club. More flex in the shaft itself can also promote an increase in loft and closing of the face, although at your speeds this would be minimal. I think it just come down to you being used to the heavier, stiffer shafts. Maybe that is what you need for your timing or maybe it's just a matter of putting in the reps to get your body used to the new weights and flexes.

[dalehead]

I think club "fitting" is very over rated for amateurs and seniors. Hit what works for you regardless of what a fitter THINKS may work.

 

I think you might be on the right track, especially with irons. Unless you're at an extreme high or low on some parameter like height, swing speed, etc. an off the rack set of irons in an R or S should perform just fine.

[Ri_Redneck]

I am 76 and was persuaded to change from the stiff shafts I always previously used, because my swing speed had diminished with my increasing age. However, I have found myself hitting rotten shots, with all types of faults, including fats, thins and even shanks!! I recently pulled out some clubs with stiff shafts I used years ago, and immediately found that all these poor shots disappeared as if by magic. No competent club fitter would advise someone like me with low swing speed and average drive carry of only 220 yards to use stiff, heavy shafts, but I am finding that they work. Why do I seem to get away with DG S300 shafts in the irons and heavy graphite stiff shafts in the woods? Far from losing distance, I'm actually hitting both woods and irons further.

 

Have any of you experienced similar unexpected outcomes and why do you think this happens?

 

I am the same way. If I go overly light, it screws up my tempo.

 

If I suggested anything, it would be to try the R300 (maybe soft stepped) to see if it gives you better ball flight and distance. You could also try SLIGHTLY lighter graphite in your woods being VERY careful to balance them to give you the same feel you have with your current clubs.

 

BT

[DaveMac]

OP, it would be interesting to know the makeup of the newer iron set that doesn’t work plus that of the set that does work.

 

Swing speed alone doesn’t dictate shaft flex, the nature of the swing generating the speed is more important. There is also that old chestnut, what is shaft flex, as many know, flex labels lie, how a shaft bends, can be more important than it’s flex label and even more impotent the weight of the shaft, has to match the golfer’s swing aggression.

 

There is a chance one or more of other build parameters may wrong with your new set rather than simply the flex label (total weight, swing weight/balance, shaft bend profile, length, lie, grip)

 

Just to add 220 yards carry equates to a around the low to mid 90’s driver clubhead speed, putting your 6 iron in the low 80’s definitely not real world slow. Throw in a bit of aggression and Dynamic Gold S300 might be the recommendation.

[95124hacker]

There are no "absolutes" in golf.

Just pay attention to how much spin you're getting on irons.

If balls just fall out of the sky, you're probably not loading the shafts correctly and may need to go softer or a different profile.

I find that graphite shafts give you more choices of bend profiles than steel (how they are engineered).

[grochol17]

I am 76 and was persuaded to change from the stiff shafts I always previously used, because my swing speed had diminished with my increasing age. However, I have found myself hitting rotten shots, with all types of faults, including fats, thins and even shanks!! I recently pulled out some clubs with stiff shafts I used years ago, and immediately found that all these poor shots disappeared as if by magic. No competent club fitter would advise someone like me with low swing speed and average drive carry of only 220 yards to use stiff, heavy shafts, but I am finding that they work. Why do I seem to get away with DG S300 shafts in the irons and heavy graphite stiff shafts in the woods? Far from losing distance, I'm actually hitting both woods and irons further.

 

Have any of you experienced similar unexpected outcomes and why do you think this happens?

 

A competent clubfitter would help you find what works for you, not put you into a set of clubs because of some preconceived notion of what you should be using based solely on your age or swing speed.

[ChipNRun]

... Why do I seem to get away with DG S300 shafts in the irons and heavy graphite stiff shafts in the woods? Far from losing distance, I'm actually hitting both woods and irons further.

 

Have any of you experienced similar unexpected outcomes and why do you think this happens?

 

Club designer Tom Wishon notes that when older golfers decide to go lighter on their club shafts, they often go too light the first time.

 

At age 64, I had my old X20 Tours reshafted from PX 5.0 (115 grams) to NS Pro 8950 - Reg. flex. I was fortunate to have a X20T demo 6i along with my main set, so I had tested out different shafts side-by-side before going with reshaft. The change helped stabilize my distance between clubs, but not a super jump in yardage.

 

In the interim, I had both rough demo-day and more formal fittings for irons. I was generally recommended to get the KBS Tour 105 or the Ping AWT 2.0 (both in regular flex). KBS slightly heavier than the 8950, the Ping AWT the same. One time I got recommended for the KBS Tour 105 in Stiff - softstepped.

 

For my current irons, I got the Tour Edge CB Pro Tungsten irons, a model that went out of production a few months ago. I had hit the irons twice at different demo days and really liked them. The golf shop where I finally bought them had two sets of clubs in KBS Tour 90 shafts, one Regular and one Stiff flex. I was able to do a side-by-side of the two sets. The R-flex gave me a much tighter range dispersion (possibly I tried to help the heavier Stiff flex?) so I went with the R-flex. Incidentally, it weighs same as NS Pro 8905, it just feels livelier during swing.

 

I would say that for seniors, you use fitting recommendations as a starting point, but then see what really works. Probably good advice for all ages.

[GSDriver]

How much distance do you expect R vs S shafts to provide? If you have a mental block using R flex, maybe just stick with what you're comfortable with and take an extra club? Just a thought, fitting is another option which should instill confidence in whatever shaft type/flex you're fitted to.

[HighlandLaird]

Many thanks for your replies----they are greatly appreciated. I'm sure you're all correct in that being used to clubs is probably vitally important. It also has made me think about what exactly I was anticipating from more flexible shafts in terms of distance----the better contact I'm getting with stiff shafts is probably making up for any possible theoretical distance advantages of more flexible ones?! I also do accept the point that there are no industry standards for shaft flex.

Thank you all for taking the time to let this old codger know your thoughts!!