Recommended Fairway shafts 2020?

[wildcatden]

So it is time for my 9YO boy to get some new fairway wood shafts. Currently, he was using the Flynn (UST) shaft in JR1 flex. He has this shaft on two clubs:

Cobra F9 5/6 wood (set at 20*)

Cobra Fly-Z+ 3/4 wood (set at 16*)

 

I would probably lean towards picking up some used Recoil's off of eBay. What's been a successful fairway shaft for your young (age 8-11 range) junior?

[leezer99]

A lot of juniors play that shaft but my son at that age was using the Diamana M+ line in his driver, 3w and hybrids.

[MikekiM]

Very happy so far with the Aldila Quaranta 40 Currently playing it in all the wodds, Driver, 3w, 5w, and 7w.

[Kcct82]

My 7.5 YO kid is happy with his Grand Bassara 39’s in L Flex. He’s using them in his driver and fairway wood. Performance wise it’s the same as Recoils, but the feel is much better. The GB’s feel fast and silky smooth.

[hangontight]

9 year old son plays Recoil ES440 F1 in his fairway. Went to this after going to same in his Driver a few years ago (Driver is now F2 , Senior, A, whatever). Really have not done any other testing in fairways but went through a 3-4 options in the Driver a few years ago , including a few diff Flynn options. At that time the Recoil was far better than other options in Driver so went with same in fairway. Getting close to getting new woods so curious to see what others say. Just got a prodi-G hybrid in stiff. Have yet to test but by his swings in back yard net it seems well balanced and weighted for him.

[darter79]

Honestly any ladies lightweight shaft will work. I've had the recoil, kuro kage I don't think you could eyeball a difference nor could i tell the difference on the mevo. If you are changing shafts get what you can get a good deal on, if you are buying the stock ladies will work in that age range from my experience.

[ncalgolf]

Isnt' the grand bassara a $400 shaft? Im all in if it gets her driving it from 150 to 175 (maybe even 170) but im not sure i am willing to invest in a shaft that she will grow out of quickly once i chop it.

[Kcct82]

Yeah, the GB retails for $400, but you can find them used for $150 or so. My kid is really weak so I wanted to build him something as light as possible. Save your money and get a Recoil for $40-50 bucks if you wanna experiment, you might get a few extra yards and possibly better “feel”.

[MB19]

I've got two Bassara 42g Lite shafts coming for my son and daughter to put on their Drivers.

Found a deal on ebay that made it worth trying, so we'll see how it works out dropping 7g from the stock Cobra jr shaft.

[ncalgolf]

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts after u try it out. I wasn’t a fan of the recoil shaft or the stock cobra junior shaft either.

[MB19]

I can maybe see popping the Cobra shaft back in when the kids get stronger (maybe?) and bigger, but the 39.25" and 41.25" shafts are just too big (and probably heavy) for their 53" and 55" bodies.

My son's 37" Bassara Lite came in the mail just now, so headed to the shop to get it installed in a bit... range after we give it an hour for the grip to dry. I'm expecting my daughter's to get here in a couple of days.

Will definitely report back.

Picked them up for big savings as demos, and the 37" looks the part. Let's see how it goes!

[MB19]

I took the shaft into the local shop to get it fitted to the F9 head, take the protective cover off the ends of the shaft at the counter, and find that it is cracked about 3" down the thick end of the shaft. Guy behind the counter, "That's busted, you need to send that back."

No argument there.

Got a full refund from the seller, and on further investigation I see the box it was shipped in was creased right where the crack was made.

Now I play the waiting game for the shaft that will go on my daughter's driver... and think about if my son actually needs that Bassara after showing out with his driver today at the range. I know it will give him length, but his driver was the most consistent club in his bag Sunday. Probably going to let the market dictate that future purchase.

[wildcatden]

 

The rule in junior golf equipment is that if you intend to change your junior's driver shaft that they will bomb the old one perfectly as the replacement date approaches. After which, when you make the switch or switch back to the old shaft, neither will be hit as well again for at least 6 months.

[MB19]

I knew it!!!

[Kcct82]

Yup, so true lol

[Kcct82]

Going off topic for a second here. Wanted to show you guys in case anyone is interested. I’m almost done tinkering with my 7 YO’s clubs (again). I rebuilt his Flynn irons with recoil es f1 shafts. I went with a smaller club length increment and MOI matched them. I got an extra 7 iron head so we did a side by side comparison between the new (recoil + Winn jr grip) and the old (Flynn velocity + golf pride jr grip). Initial impression is pretty good. He doesn’t swing any worse or slower with the new club. In fact, his first swing with the new club was 2mph faster than his average. Interestingly, he said the recoil feels softer, but I know for a fact flex wise it is stiffer. So far he likes the feel a lot and seems to be boosting his confidence.

[Golfingdawg19]

I bought a UST Helium shaft for my daughter’s driver and it has worked well for her. Very light weight. I have recoil shafts in her other woods and hybrids

[MB19]

Those are some nice grips, my daughter has one on her lob wedge.

[Kcct82]

Yeah they’re grippy and one of the lightest out there. Too bad they don’t last very long and is kinda expensive.

[MB19]

I was lucky enough to find the club with the grip already on it and in good shape. Someone in CA had ported a 60* ladies S7 and cut it down to 32"--it was too interesting to pass up!

[frankie]

MB19, that would be me. Glad it worked out. Was an expensive experiment, my daughter wanted a matching wedge set so had to go a different direction.

[MB19]

Frankie, thanks for chiming in! Thank you for putting all that effort in.

She loves your daughter's old club so much that she was giving the club all the credit whenever she would make a great shot with it. "It's just that the club is really good, dad."

What wedges did you end up going with, out of curiosity?

[frankie]

I got a great deal on a set of new older stock Callaway MD4's 52,56,60 we bent them 1 degree strong and did the grinding to take off some weight.

[mws82]

So what length was the shaft originally and what did you cut it down to? Always scared to cut a shaft down to much and make it to stiff

[GoDeacs]

Can someone educate me on how to properly cut down a shaft for a Jr? Say I get a full length ladies recoil f1 would I just cut it on the grip end to size?

My daughter is a small 8 YO and currently hitting a 51” TS3. She hits pretty straight but think we’d get more out of an oem

[wildcatden]

 

Yes, you trim the tip for the club and then butt cut to length. Example: UST Recoil ES440 wood shaft has tip trimming recommendations as below:

[MB19]

Reporting back on replacing the 41.25" F9 stock shaft with a 40" Bassara 42e Lite... The ball launches higher, high enough to take loft down from 14* back to stock 12.5*. It is hard to speak to dispersion, as her mechanics are still a work in progress, but she carries 100-105 when she hits it on the screws.

[hangontight]

I d not have it with me to measure but it was cut down to the USKG spec length for 54" player height. Original length was stock ladies, whatever that is. When we moved to the F2, the club length now matches USKG spec for 57" player. Didnt experience any issues with it being overly stiff. For him, both were far and away better than both the light and medium flex shafts from flynn golf.

[mws82]

That’s the exact info I wanted. Thank you

[GoDeacs]

Thank you.