help choosing a shaft

[rsandoval]

Need some help.

 

I have a avg to slow swing speed. low 80's. I have a new-ish driver with a stiff shaft and decided I want to go down to a regular shaft.

 

The shaft on my driver is

Stiff, 63 grams, 45 inches long, and the torque is 3.8 (not sure if this matters...I'm not up on what minor differences in torque mean exactly). The weight of it seems fine. When struck well I tend to have a slight fade and on mishits a push.

 

I've decide to go to a Regular shaft and in addition I have decided to cut it down to 44 or maybe even 43.5 inches. I have been choking down recently and feel like I have much better control.

 

So I'm trying to decide on these 2 shafts

 

Regular, 59gram, torque 4.3

Regular, 68gr, torque 3.8

 

I actually ordered the first one before thinking about it too much.

 

Now I'm reconsidering and leaning toward the 2nd one for a couple of reasons.

 

1. cutting down the 68 gram one will bring it more to the weight of my current driver which is fine. I'm concerned if I cut down the 59 gram one it will feel too light. 2. the torque rating is less on the second one. The only reason this I think would make a difference is a lower torque setting would be a bit more consistent as far as getting square at impact. In other words it won't twist as much. I'm not very consistent as is so I don't necessarily want to add something to aid errant shots.

 

I know I should get fitted properly and I may end up doing it but I just wanted to get some opinions. Should I cancel my order and go with option 2 or am I reading to much into these minor differences.

 

 

 

Thanks

[HighlandLaird]

Tom Wishon is of the opinion that shaft torque matters little unless very high swing speeds.
With your swing speed, a regular flex seems the way to go, but if you reduce shaft length to 44 0r 43.5", you will need to increase the head weight, with lead tape in order to retain 'feel'.
Again, with your swing speed, you probably need quite high loft (12+ degrees) on the driver.

Best to get properly fitted by an experienced club fitter, as there are so many variables it is easy to confuse cause and effect.

[Stuart_G]

Yes - don't worry about the higher torque causing more twisting and possible accuracy/control issues. That will not be the case for you.

Weight could be an issue but the only way to tell if the weight will be an issue is to try it. You already bought it so give it a try and continue to choke up (don't cut it down yet in case you can return it or want to sell it). If your concerned about it being too light, it's actually better that you got the lighter one. You can get some lead tape and wrap it around the shaft (about 14" from the butt end of the club) to simulate how a heavier shaft would feel for comparison (while you can not use a heavier shaft to simulate how a lighter shaft would feel).

The one thing you are not considering is the comparative bend profiles of the two shafts and the fact that one companies or shaft model 'reg' is in no way guarantied to have the same flex or bend profile of another companies. They could feel completely different and depending on the swing, possibly result in some changes to the launch conditions. Again, the only way to tell which would be better (or if other possibilities need to be considered) is to actually try them out. That's why most folks recommend seeing an reputable fitter. They will have a larger selection of shafts you can actually try out (without the need for you to purchase a shaft to try it) before deciding what's best.