New Shaft for 44" Big Bertha Alpha

[Kletus]

I'm currently playing a Big Bertha Alpha with stock Fubuki Stiff Shaft. I've been hitting it all over the place, so I went to the course today and played a practice round where I was choking down close to the bottom of the grip. I loved the increased accuracy, but I don't really feel like I'm loading the club correctly. I feel like if I cut this shaft down to 44" then it surely be too stiff for me.

 

I think I would like to order a new shaft to be cut down to around 44". I don't mind paying for quality, but as a 14 handicap I'm not sure I need to pay a ton either.

 

Background:

 

1. I play rifle 5.5's in my irons, and I usually fit somewhere between regular and stiff in my clubs depending on the shaft. I've typically played stiff in the driver, but regular in my irons and woods.

 

2. I absolutely love the way my X-hot 3 wood with the regular flex Pv shaft feels. If I could get my driver to feel like my 3-wood then I'd be in heaven.

 

3. My old faithful backup is an FT-5 Tour Neutral with the stock Stiff E-360 shaft. This has been the most consistent driver ever for me but I get too much backspin on the 10 degree. If there is any wind at all then my ball balloons like crazy and I've even seen it where my pitch mark is ahead of where my drive ended up.

 

4. Currently playing the Alpha as Neutral and 11 Degree. I feel like my launch with 11 degree is a little high, but 10 degree is a little low.

 

 

So here are my questions:

 

1. I feel like a regular shaft cut down to 44" will stiffen up a little and put me in the sweet spot between regular and stiff. I'm assuming I want to cut 1.5" from the butt, and that 1.5" from the tip would probably make it too stiff?

 

2. I understand that cutting 1.5" from the butt will require extra weight on the head. I have a 7 pc optifit kit coming which should give me the ability to add up to 20 grams more than what I'm currently playing (7g and 1g, kit comes with up to 13g and 15g). I'm guessing this should be enough.

 

3. If I go to a heavier shaft, will this result in a more balanced club when I cut it down? I just feel like adding weight only to the head will change the feel?

 

4. Last, but not least... what are some good shafts that I should consider trying? I feel like a regular flex shaft with a mid-high to high kickpoint will probably be the ticket, but I really don't know where to start.

 

Thanks for all your help. I know that I will get asked for swing speed and launch monitor numbers, but I don't have either at the moment. My guessed swing speed is around 90, (a typical drive is 210, but I can hit 230 if I nail the sweet spot). I've gone twice for indoor launch monitor sessions in the last couple of years and both times my swing completely changed when I got on the inside bay. I went from a high fade on the course to a low duck hook in the monitor, so I have zero trust for the numbers I got.

[Kletus]

We'll, bit the bullet and ordered the new whiteboard in regular flex today. Will try it at normal length first, but I think I'll be shortening it to 44.5" in the near future.

[deck]

I'm a very smooth swinger. Play a driver at 44.5. Actually the alpha. Same as you. Cannot load it properly all the time. I have the atx green coming in this week because I love it in hybrid and it fits into what I'm looking for according to my fitting Will let you know the results with it bud if it helps you at all. I have it coming in stiff and no tip trimming.

[Kletus]

Got the new Whiteboard in Regular flex in yesterday and threw it in the driver head. I didn't get a chance to practice any before I played this morning. To be on the safe side I went ahead and dropped the loft back to 10 degrees (down from 11) and set the weights to a fairly neutral 3g in the heal and 5g in the toe. The correct shaft makes all the difference in the world! The duck hooks were back off the table. I hit a consistent straight to slight high fade. Ball flight on 10 degrees was actually higher than the stock stiff shaft on 11 degrees. I will most likely do some testing at 9 vs. 10 degrees to see which one gives me the best total results. Best part of all, there is a wide open par 4 on our course where you can just let go with the driver. I had been hitting around 215 with the old setup with the occasional shot of 220 ish. Today my drive measured 235 yards total as measured with my laser back to the group standing on the tee box.

I think I can get a little more roll by playing around with the loft a little, but I can't tell you how comforting it is to spend an entire day where the phantom duck hook just never materialized.

[AmazinBlue]

I just picked up a BBA on ebay two weeks ago, I have been hitting the stock Fubuki ZT 60 stiff and I hit it very straight, but I seem to have lost 10-15 yards off the PING G25 I was playing. I have a RIP Alpha stiff in the PING and couldn't find the fairway but it was fairly long, 270-275. I have A tour Green shaft that I am putting a callaway adapter on to try in the BBA. Not sure why I've lost 15 yards of distance. I am using a 5g in the heel and a 1g in the toe and the Gravity core weight is in the 'down' (low spin position).

Any thoughts?

[craniac76]

OP, when you butt trim a shaft, it won't make it stiffer. Basically all new shaft has a length of 46 inches. So if you don't butt trim a shaft, the finished length would around 48". Too long right? So we have to cut it the shaft to around 43.75" so the finished length is around 45-45.5 inches.

However, if you cut the tip half an inch, it will make it stiffer half-flex. So tip trimming 1.5" is not recommended. Except if you want a really low ball flight and a boardy feeling shaft.

My driver is also around 44". To get to D2 swing weight, I usually add tip weight so the head weight will be around 206-207g.

[golfschnell]

i play my alpha at 44 inches with a stiff fubuki tour 55, with stock weights in head to get to my preferred driver swing weight of D3. The alpha head is very heavy in stock form with a fubuki zt with a different balance point to compensate. So very easy to switch to a play a normal balance point shaft, make it shorter, and maintain swing weight. You can also add heavier head weights if needed with kits available on Ebay.