Made for shafts, again

[MaddMaxx]

I understand made for may not be the same quality or have the same specs as the real OEM shaft.

 

The amount I play and my ability does not justify the added cost of "real" shafts and I doubt they would do much for me anyway.

 

My question is how consistent is modern shaft manufacturing?

Would made for shaft have a reasonable range of specs around the advertised numbers?

Would "real" oem shafts have a tighter range of specs compared to made for or is manufacturing so consistent that it is irrelevant?

 

Any testing for real world numbers for each group?

 

Thanks

[apprenti23]

OEMs can't even hit the lofts and lies correctly, you really think that the shafts they pay $3 for are consistent?

[Titleist_242]

I understand made for may not be the same quality or have the same specs as the real OEM shaft.

 

The amount I play and my ability does not justify the added cost of "real" shafts and I doubt they would do much for me anyway.

 

My question is how consistent is modern shaft manufacturing?

Would made for shaft have a reasonable range of specs around the advertised numbers?

Would "real" oem shafts have a tighter range of specs compared to made for or is manufacturing so consistent that it is irrelevant?

 

Any testing for real world numbers for each group?

 

Thanks

 

Do you really want to be thinking about this while you're on the tee?

 

What do "advertised numbers" mean to you anyway?? Will you know if shaft actually CPMs at 230 instead of 225?

 

Why don't you stop worrying about manufacturing tolerances and pick a shaft that works for you. If the numbers are good with a "made for" shaft then who cares what high quality material or tolerances their shafts are??

 

I think loft and lie tolerances probably a lot more important that whether some Chinese shop uses "diamond weave laser cut gloss painted" for their shaft.

[Stuart_G]

My question is how consistent is modern shaft manufacturing?

Would made for shaft have a reasonable range of specs around the advertised numbers?

Would "real" oem shafts have a tighter range of specs compared to made for or is manufacturing so consistent that it is irrelevant?

 

Any testing for real world numbers for each group?

 

Thanks

 

Tom Wishon has sampled large number of shafts in the context of preparing data for his shaft profiling software. He has frequently posted that there is no correlation between the consistency of the shafts and the cost of the shafts. Some very high end shafts have had large amounts of variations while others have been fairly tight. Same is true for the much less expensive shafts, some are very tight while others are not.

 

However, tolerances really don't matter as long as you follow one simple rule. Buy the club/shaft combination that you demo and test out (or always test out the one you buy). If the shaft you test out works well for you and gives you good results, it doesn't really matter how close to the design specs it is or not. The fact that there might be some deviation in the specs doesn't make it more prone to failure. It's even possible that the deviation turned it into a better fit than intended design would have been.

[MaddMaxx]

I understand made for may not be the same quality or have the same specs as the real OEM shaft.

 

The amount I play and my ability does not justify the added cost of "real" shafts and I doubt they would do much for me anyway.

 

My question is how consistent is modern shaft manufacturing?

Would made for shaft have a reasonable range of specs around the advertised numbers?

Would "real" oem shafts have a tighter range of specs compared to made for or is manufacturing so consistent that it is irrelevant?

 

Any testing for real world numbers for each group?

 

Thanks

 

Do you really want to be thinking about this while you're on the tee?

 

What do "advertised numbers" mean to you anyway?? Will you know if shaft actually CPMs at 230 instead of 225?

 

Why don't you stop worrying about manufacturing tolerances and pick a shaft that works for you. If the numbers are good with a "made for" shaft then who cares what high quality material or tolerances their shafts are??

 

I think loft and lie tolerances probably a lot more important that whether some Chinese shop uses "diamond weave laser cut gloss painted" for their shaft.

 

Believe it or not I think about golf when I am not on the tee.

How would you suggest I pick a shaft that works for me.

You say that the advertised numbers mean nothing so I have to try a club and see if it fits me?

Sounds very expensive.

[Typhoon92]

I saw your other thread where u don't want anyone to tell u to go to a fitter but.....

 

You weren't actually thinking of buying all kinds of Clubs to see what works were u?

[Titleist_242]

I understand made for may not be the same quality or have the same specs as the real OEM shaft.

 

The amount I play and my ability does not justify the added cost of "real" shafts and I doubt they would do much for me anyway.

 

My question is how consistent is modern shaft manufacturing?

Would made for shaft have a reasonable range of specs around the advertised numbers?

Would "real" oem shafts have a tighter range of specs compared to made for or is manufacturing so consistent that it is irrelevant?

 

Any testing for real world numbers for each group?

 

Thanks

 

Do you really want to be thinking about this while you're on the tee?

 

What do "advertised numbers" mean to you anyway?? Will you know if shaft actually CPMs at 230 instead of 225?

 

Why don't you stop worrying about manufacturing tolerances and pick a shaft that works for you. If the numbers are good with a "made for" shaft then who cares what high quality material or tolerances their shafts are??

 

I think loft and lie tolerances probably a lot more important that whether some Chinese shop uses "diamond weave laser cut gloss painted" for their shaft.

 

Believe it or not I think about golf when I am not on the tee.

How would you suggest I pick a shaft that works for me.

You say that the advertised numbers mean nothing so I have to try a club and see if it fits me?

Sounds very expensive.

 

Hmm the idea of trying a club to see if it works...... that's what 99% of us here do bud.

[MaddMaxx]

I guess I live in an area that doesn't have retailers that will let you take a club on a course, use it for a round or two, and return it.

Wish I did but they do not exist here.

 

The question was, are the numbers published, accurate to any degree. Are they more accurate on an OEM than a made for.

If anyone has any information on the question I would appreciate it.

The answers so far seem to indicate the numbers are pulled out of their a**, I mean air.

 

I have been buying shafts and trying them. That is why made for are attractive.

if I did get fitted and found the ideal shaft, bought the club I was fitted with that would be great for that club.

if the published specs are not accurate at all and I want to try a shaft that has different spin, launch etc. I would need to go to a fitter again.

 

If the numbers are accurate to a degree it would be easier to narrow down my purchases and I would not have to be fitted every time I want to experiment.

 

Thanks again to anyone who can answer the question.

[Stuart_G]

The question was, are the numbers published, accurate to any degree. Are they more accurate on an OEM than a made for.

 

What "published numbers" are you referring to? The only fitting related numbers generally published for shafts is weight and torque.

 

Weight is pretty straight forward and is going to be accurate enough. The only problem with the proprietary shafts is we may not know the uncut length like we do with the aftermarket shafts so converting uncut weight to cut weight may be a bit more difficult.

 

Torque is pointless to compare. There is no standard for measuring it and each shaft company can have completely different methods so it's pointless to compare the numbers even if they could be guaranteed 100% accurate.

 

Other numbers tend to be proprietary as well - such as Miyazaki's "International flex code" so also useless when comparing shafts from different companies - and therefor also making the accuracy a moot point.

[MaddMaxx]

The question was, are the numbers published, accurate to any degree. Are they more accurate on an OEM than a made for.

 

What "published numbers" are you referring to? The only fitting related numbers generally published for shafts is weight and torque.

 

Weight is pretty straight forward and is going to be accurate enough. The only problem with the proprietary shafts is we may not know the uncut length like we do with the aftermarket shafts so converting uncut weight to cut weight may be a bit more difficult.

 

Torque is pointless to compare. There is no standard for measuring it and each shaft company can have completely different methods so it's pointless to compare the numbers even if they could be guaranteed 100% accurate.

 

Other numbers tend to be proprietary as well - such as Miyazaki's "International flex code" so also useless when comparing shafts from different companies - and therefor also making the accuracy a moot point.

 

Thank you

It looks like each manufacturer uses their own way to measure specs.

That makes me think that I could try different shafts from the same company and use the numbers as a guide.

Launch profile is something I am looking at and I think they would be similar between manufacturers if they say high launch.

Bend profile, kick point, stiffness and feel is another thing I want to experiment with. Since they dont really publish exact measurements on these things I need to try and find the ones I like best.

Good point about tip trimming on made for shafts.

[MaddMaxx]

Looks like I am not the first to ask these questions and got the same answers.

Tom Wishon has been on the hunt for over 15 years.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/40557/taking-the-guesswork-out-of-selecting-shafts-part-1/

[Stuart_G]

Yes, it usually does come down to trying them to find the ones you like and work for you the best.

 

Launch characterizations aren't as similar as you may think and are not really all that reliable anyways. So it's only a very rough guideline at best. Keep in mind that only those players with faster swing speeds and (more importantly) later releases will see much change in launch directly due to the profile. And the indirect changes (swing changing because of different feels from different profiles) is way to subjective to predict. That goes back to finding a feel that you like or can work with.