Driver: High loft/Stiffer shaft vs Low loft/Softer shaft?

[Pigems]

What’s the best way to get higher launch with less spin? Here’s why I ask, I have a 9.5* Cobra Amp Driver with a 55g Aldila RIP shaft that I get like 12-16* launchnout of but 3000-3500rpm BS and I also have an Alpha 815 I play at 12.5* with a KK TiNi 60x that only sees 8-10* if launch with the same 3000-3500 rpm of BS. Ball speeds are typically in the 160-165 range. I’m trying to find a way to get the spin down and launch up. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas here? What are your thoughts on the subject? Thanks very much, any input would be great :)

 

Do I go stiffer shaft in the Cobra or softer shaft in the Alpha? I’m so confused lol

[nochct1]

What’s the best way to get higher launch with less spin? Here’s why I ask, I have a 9.5* Cobra Amp Driver with a 55g Aldila RIP shaft that I get like 12-16* launchnout of but 3000-3500rpm BS and I also have an Alpha 815 I play at 12.5* with a KK TiNi 60x that only sees 8-10* if launch with the same 3000-3500 rpm of BS. Ball speeds are typically in the 160-165 range. I’m trying to find a way to get the spin down and launch up. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas here? What are your thoughts on the subject? Thanks very much, any input would be great :)

 

Do I go stiffer shaft in the Cobra or softer shaft in the Alpha? I’m so confused lol

 

Is the goal to hit it longer with less spin? If so, I would suggest a lesson. You can bring spin down by fixing swing flaws.

Once you do that, then I would get fitted for the correct Shaft/head combo.

[Boricua Golf]

Looking at your HCP you can hit the ball well, get a proper fitting, maybe a lesson, like I tell my friends swing within yourself and play to your strengths and most importantly have fun, after all it is a game...I play a 10.5 Ping G LST with the stock Alta 55 X Flex tipped 1" at 44.5", I get from 14.3 to 15* launch with 2200-2300 rpm, I was fitted by the Ping reps, tried a plethora of great shafts but to my surprise the stock Alta gave me the best overall results (I own a Rogue Silver 125 MSI 60 Tour X, Diamana WB D+ 72x and a AD DI 7x)....

[Pigems]

I am planning a lesson soon, was hoping to be able to fix it on my own if possible(wishful thinking). I hit all my other clubs well but lose distance on my driver from incorrect spin/launch. Thanks for the input :)

[bobcat]

After trying many shafts over the years, I have learned that those shafts with a firm tip, medium mid-section, and a soft butt section work the best for me, (woods and irons). Those are the shaft characteristics that give me the distance and control I need along with a very nice feel to the hands!

 

Note: I always tip my driver and 3-wood shafts 1/2" even when the shaft manufacturer does not recommend it.

 

Of course YMMV will apply here, but that is my personal experience!

 

:golfer:

[Pigems]

Oh and yes, the goal is to find a few more yards with the driver. Flight scope optimizer says I should be hitting it approx. 300y(carry of 280ish) or so and I typically top out around 265/270y carry and 280/285y total.

[manima1]

You should not try to change spin/trajectory with the shaft. Rather, find a shaft you like and hit consistently and pair it with the correct head/loft that fits the spin and launch characteristics you are looking for.

[Jagpilotohio]

You should not try to change spin/trajectory with the shaft. Rather, find a shaft you like and hit consistently and pair it with the correct head/loft that fits the spin and launch characteristics you are looking for.

 

Huh?? I hope you’re joking.

[Roadking_6]

I struggle with the same thing as you. and through experimenting with many many different head/shaft/tipping experiments I have come to the following conclusion with what works best for me.

 

I am going to get the heaviest low/low shaft I can handle and tip it to get the spin and launch down and play I higher lofted driver or strong 3.

 

I have around 120 SS and launch with driver is around 10 with 3000rpm spin. I know it's a swing flaw, and I am working on it. But until then I have found awesome results with a setup.

 

Was in the SIM getting around 9* and 3000 spin with my 10* driver KKDC70TX untipped right at 45".

Grabbed a Ping Rapture 13* and put a KKDC80TX in it tipped 1" Playing around 44" Getting 12-13* Launch and about 2600 RPM of spin.

 

Saw results on the course to hold true. I nuked one with Driver that was about as good as I could hope for in the cold weather, So I retee with the Rapture. Here is a side view. 1 yard of separation between them, leaving myself 50 yards out on a 360 yard par 4. I am only really chasing consistency and for what I have now, I am finding that killing my spin as much as possible with shaft stiffness but increasing my launch with the loft on the club has given me the best results. I know someone will say X,Y,Z is causing this and it's all quality of strike. I agree, but as someone who has lost their way with driver and was a good player at one time, this is what is working for me current time. YMMV.

 

 

[manima1]

You should not try to change spin/trajectory with the shaft. Rather, find a shaft you like and hit consistently and pair it with the correct head/loft that fits the spin and launch characteristics you are looking for.

 

Huh?? I hope you’re joking.

 

Not at all. Finding a shaft that fits the swing is MUCH more important.

 

Launch and spin are much more easily be manipulated with loft and head design. If you find a shaft that fits your swing that is the most important step in this process.

 

I'm not ignorant to the benefits of shaft design. I'm playing the same shaft you are and the spin reduction I'm seeing is not insignificant. I need as much spin reduction as I can get. Changing the head/loft is just a much more sound way to go about this if you are starting from scratch.

[Z1ggy16]

The best way is to swing a shaft you feel very comfortable in, with a positive AoA and a relatively low loft, depending on swing speed. Also, you NEED to strike the center of the face or even slightly high and ever to slightly toward the toe. No matter what you do, a low heel strike will never net you a low spin shot. Shaft is going to make a small difference, but strike and AoA will have a much bigger difference on your flight and overall distance.

 

In my experience, swinging a really stiff low/low shaft is not the way to get low spin unless you really feel comfortable swinging that type of shaft. I don't like that type of feeling of having the shaft bending closer to my hands, so in order to get launch I tend to flip and/or raise the hand. When I swing shafts which bend closer to the middle, or even middle low part of the shaft, I know the shaft is doing the work and I swing more naturally and maintain more lag which results in better strikes and ultimately more distance which is a combo of higher ball speeds and lower spin... all due to strike.

[grochol17]

The best way to get high launch and low spin is to hit above center on the face of your driver. The roll (curvature of the face from top to bottom) is such that, a ball hit above center will launch higher than one hit in the middle of the face (due to higher effective loft), but with lower spin than a ball hit in the center of the face (due to the vertical gear effect).

 

Switching shafts may or may not help you. Tom Wishon has posted on here about it, but the short version is that if you don't have a high swing speed and late release, you aren't likely to see any difference in your launch conditions due to the shaft flex profile. The caveat to that is that the *feel* of the shaft (due to many possible factors) may change the way you swing the club, which can obviously change your launch conditions.

[magnito1969]

Yup as the few posters mention just before me, Angle of Attack makes a huge difference... and high face helps too but AOA is more important IMHO.

[Pigems]

The best way to get high launch and low spin is to hit above center on the face of your driver. The roll (curvature of the face from top to bottom) is such that, a ball hit above center will launch higher than one hit in the middle of the face (due to higher effective loft), but with lower spin than a ball hit in the center of the face (due to the vertical gear effect).

 

Switching shafts may or may not help you. Tom Wishon has posted on here about it, but the short version is that if you don't have a high swing speed and late release, you aren't likely to see any difference in your launch conditions due to the shaft flex profile. The caveat to that is that the *feel* of the shaft (due to many possible factors) may change the way you swing the club, which can obviously change your launch conditions.

 

Thanks for the info, it’s much appreciated. I’ll read into Toms writings on the subject. For me Swing speed isn’t really an issue, my SS is around 110-115 on average and I couldn’t release early if I wanted to right now, my hands are ahead of the club head at impact. I did get to a point this summer where I was was releasing the club earlier(and getting a higher ball flight on good days) but it relied too much on timing and if my timing was off I would get all kinds of crazy misses from big hooks to slices. I’ve now gone back to my old release where I (for lack of better words) just plow through the ball at impact. Dispersion is better, the right side of the course is nearly eliminated(I’m a Lefty) and I am hitting many more (simulated right now) fairways. I just can’t seem to get the ball up or the swing down, and I want those last 20 yards lol.

 

This is an example of my typical impact. Now for another question, does the club head “have” to be ahead of the hands at impact in order to achieve a positive AoA? Thanks again for the info :)

[jasonp87]

Get a lesson. Ull gain a lot.

 

Ur hanging back

Weight shift is off

 

Other things are hard to tell because its a still image not an actual swing. And the cage is in the way.

[Pigems]

Get a lesson. Ull gain a lot.

 

Ur hanging back

Weight shift is off

 

Other things are hard to tell because its a still image not an actual swing. And the cage is in the way.

 

A lesson seems to be the consensus. It’s in the works, I’ve been talking to my guy since starting this thread earlier and will be seeing him on the weekend. Thanks for the advise :)

 

Here’s the entire video. It’s from June though and I have made a few slight changes since then. Nothing major though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[manima1]

The best way to get high launch and low spin is to hit above center on the face of your driver. The roll (curvature of the face from top to bottom) is such that, a ball hit above center will launch higher than one hit in the middle of the face (due to higher effective loft), but with lower spin than a ball hit in the center of the face (due to the vertical gear effect).

 

Switching shafts may or may not help you. Tom Wishon has posted on here about it, but the short version is that if you don't have a high swing speed and late release, you aren't likely to see any difference in your launch conditions due to the shaft flex profile. The caveat to that is that the *feel* of the shaft (due to many possible factors) may change the way you swing the club, which can obviously change your launch conditions.

 

Thanks for the info, it's much appreciated. I'll read into Toms writings on the subject. For me Swing speed isn't really an issue, my SS is around 110-115 on average and I couldn't release early if I wanted to right now, my hands are ahead of the club head at impact. I did get to a point this summer where I was was releasing the club earlier(and getting a higher ball flight on good days) but it relied too much on timing and if my timing was off I would get all kinds of crazy misses from big hooks to slices. I've now gone back to my old release where I (for lack of better words) just plow through the ball at impact. Dispersion is better, the right side of the course is nearly eliminated(I'm a Lefty) and I am hitting many more (simulated right now) fairways. I just can't seem to get the ball up or the swing down, and I want those last 20 yards lol.

 

This is an example of my typical impact. Now for another question, does the club head "have" to be ahead of the hands at impact in order to achieve a positive AoA? Thanks again for the info :)

 

Not going to pretend I know enough to analyze your swing, but if you're just looking for a higher flight, loft up. Hands in front of the ball is definitely preferred to the opposite, no good ball strikers let the club get ahead of the hands on any shot except certain sand shots.

 

No shame in lofting up to get the better launch, DJ is at 10.5 in his driver, plenty of pros are higher than you'd expect.

[Pigems]

Lofting up didn’t really work the way I expected it too. My 10.5*(lofted up to 12.5*) Alpha 815 launched around 8-10* with a TiNi 60x shaft. My Cobra Amp 9.5* launches at 14-16* with an Aldila RIP 55 Stiff shaft. Both get too much spin though, the Alpha spins less than the Cobra but neither are ideal. I’d have to go to 13-14* Driver for lofting up to get launch where I want it but that would probably put spin through the roof. It’s gonna be a swing change most likely and after doing a lot for reading last night on the subject after posting this thread I realized I’m actually not losing as many yards as I thought I was either. 5-10 yards of carry is all I’m really losing, I thought it was closer to 20. Thanks again to everyone who replied here for the help and pointing me in the right direction :)

[jasonp87]

Yah lofting up will increase spin

[twogophers]

Getting older I recently experimented with the Sim2 set at 6* with a standard S flex.  Numbers were almost perfect and I didn't have to make the X flex swing.  Just nice and smooth with speed.  Currently I'm playing the TSi 3 set at 8* with the low launch Tensei shaft in S flex.  SS is 110, closer to 115 when outside playing real golf. Funny thing is, I'm the only one out of my group that can hit that setup.  I'm a natural high launch player so it just works for me.