Driver Shaft Fitting Help

[mwilkins25]

Let me start by saying I am going to get a true fitting in the near future. Just hard to get in with COVID.

For the past 6 months, I have been gaming a Tour AD DI 6S shaft in my F9 (set to 8*). My SS was around 102 and I was hitting it pretty well. Launch was a bit too high (17) as was spin (2550) but overall, not too bad.

I started a new golf specific workout plan (FitForGolf) and my SS is up to 104/105. I am also just starting swing speed training so I would hope it will go a bit higher.

Of recent, my shot shape has gone from a reliable straight/fade to a somewhat frequent hook that is spinning even more (2700). Figuring that it clearly can't be my swing that is the problem, I picked up a HZRDUS smoke black 6S shaft which should be lower launch/spin to see how it felt. With that shaft, I am leaving everything out right but the spin/launch is better (12/2100). I was at the range today switching between shafts and I would hit decent with the ADDI (albeit high and more spin than I'd like) but I just couldn't get comfortable with the smoke shaft.

Is there any info conclusion to draw from this? ie. any idea of what shaft to try next or what profile I should be looking for? I haven't been able to find the make up of the smoke shaft but I know the AD DI profile is medium in butt and mid and stiff in the tip.

edit: should also add that contact was pretty consistent with both, usually slightly above center and slightly towards toe.

[hagimihale]

Many others (Monte?) are much more qualified than I to give an opinion. And the default answers (post a video, get a lesson) always apply. Now that that's out of the way...

Your hook may have shown up b/c you increased your swing speed and/or now have a more aggressive transition. So you might be overpowering that Tour AD if you go after it.

I am gaming a HZRDUS Smoke Black 60S in one of my drivers, so I know this shaft. If I get too smooth on it, it can leak right. I don't tend to hook it, but when I really go after one it will turn over. And typically when I've set up for a fade (i.e. bad timing) so that slight miss left puts me in the left rough.

So if I had to guess, I'd say that you have a comfort zone with the Tour AD and are still figuring out the Smoke Black. As a result, you are limiting swings to about 80%, and perhaps the Smoke Black is a better match if you stay aggressive with it.

Again, hard to tell without video etc. And its probably worthwhile to contact Monte or others about a video lesson to get a more qualified opinion than mine. But having dealt with similar symptoms and results that you are seeing, that's my take.

Hope this helps and good luck!

[Stuart_G]

IF you couldn't get comfortable with the shaft, that means it's not the shaft for you. Despite the belief of many, you don't pick a shaft to try and control launch and spin, that's an extremely unreliable way to do it. That's not to say that the shaft can't effect launch and spin, it's just that there can be a wide range of very subjective side effects to that approach. It's much better to pick a shaft that has a feel that will give you the most consistent and repeatable swing. If you need to adjust launch and spin, use the head loft if possible. Or get lessons to help you change the dynamic loft you deliver (amount of shaft lean at impact).

And FWIW, you're not loosing any significant distance with those numbers. Most ams would jump at the chance to get them :-)

But that's also assuming the problem of the high spin isn't from poor face impact location (use foot powder spray to test). Face impact location is the #1 factor in what you'll get for launch and spin. So always check that first and address it if it's a problem before worrying about the specific launch and spin numbers you may be getting.

 

[mwilkins25]

Thanks for the info. I do have a positive angle of attack but I think I flip a bit at impact which increases loft and spin. I use foot spray pretty regularly so contact isn't the issue (at the moment).

If I like the AD DI 6S but have started to have a bit of a hook with higher SS, do you think I should look into an X flex version? Totally unrelated, would you have any input on how the feel of the Ventus Blue Velcore compares to these two? I have wanted to try it but none of the fitters around me are open yet.

[mwilkins25]

I am going to try out the smoke again tomorrow and just try to go after it. I'll see what happens! Thanks for the input.

[Stuart_G]

The hook tendencies could be an indication that the feel is getting a bit soft for you, although that's not the only possibility. Whether than means going up in flex or changing to a stiffer profile like the smoke black (or more likely a profile somewhere in between the smoke black and the DI). Is hard to say since there are no standards. Only getting out and finding different options to test will give you that answer - especially to the question of if the shaft profile is contributing to the hook or not. It's also possible that the hook's coming from how you've been increasing the swing speed e.g. possibly not syncing the different parts of your swing as well as you did with the lower swing speed.

And sorry, no, not familiar with the Ventus.

BTW, with respect to getting a little flippy - sometimes trying to get a positive angle of attack can cause that type of flip. You might play around with trying to get a more neutral AoA and see what that does to the numbers. Positive AoA can be nice - but only if you can also keep the dynamic loft down. There are good ways and bad ways to increase AoA. The good way is to do it in a way that doesn't also increase the dynamic loft, or not by very much. Dynamic loft has to be pretty high to get 17* of launch.

[mwilkins25]

Very good insight again. I am almost positive that my positive AoA comes from increased dynamic loft. I am going to go back to the drawing board and work on my swing with the shaft I know worked for me!

[hagimihale]

"If I like the AD DI 6S but have started to have a bit of a hook with higher SS, do you think I should look into an X flex version?"

Regarding this question - for many manufacturers, moving up in stiffness within the same weight class (i.e. from 60S to 60X) doesn't necessarily increase the stiffness (lower torque etc). It often means a slightly heavier shaft (by a few grams) but the same torque.

I did a quick search on the Tour AD DI shaft line. It looks like for both the DI Orange and DI Black, moving from 60S to 60X has no change on torque (3.3) and adds some weight (65g to 66.5G).

Of course, a shaft's stiffness and feel is not as simple as just considering weight + torque, but this is a good simple way in which to look at such a change.

So yes, that can help offset the miss left without substantially changing the overall profile and feel.

[Stuart_G]

Sorry but you're reading way more into what the torque numbers mean than you should. The feeling of a shaft loading and unloading comes from the longitudinal stiffness profiles, not the torsional stiffness. Torsional stiffness generally only plays a part in how the shaft feels at impact - and even then mostly for off-center impact. But regardless of how much it influences the feel of the shaft, torsional stiffness is not any kind of accurate indication of what the longitudinal stiffness profile of the shaft is doing. Going up in flex, for any shaft model, does give a stiffer shaft. Here is the data for the longitudinal stiffness of the two DI shafts in question.