Need suggestions for new driver shaft (don’t have access to custom fitting)

[RobbyN]

Hi all. I currently have an M4 driver with 10.5 degrees of loft and the Fujikura Atmos 5 regular flex 55 gram shaft. I have around 105-110 swing speed and consistently get 3000+ spin and extremely high launching balls so I feel I’m losing a ton of distance due to launch being too high and far too much spin. I also don’t think I make good contact as consistently as I should and I’ve heard finding the right shaft can improve this and help improve dispersion. Can I get shaft suggestions to potentially replace the atmos red 5? I’m assuming I probably need a stiff flex shaft but beyond that don’t know where I need to go. Would a stiff HZRDUS smoke black be too low launch and low spin for me? Or any just general suggestions that I could try to go test some place? Thanks. 

[EDT501]

I think you definitely have a mis-fit shaft here. On the other hand it’s difficult to find the best option without a lot of trial and error or access to a fitting studio. That said, someone who knows their swing, tendencies, and shaft preferences can usually find something that is good (though probably not the absolute best) without needing to hit it first.

 

A few questions that will help everyone here help you. have you hit any other shafts that you like? Could be in a fairway or irons, just something to help triangulate your general preferences. Is your tempo/transition aggressive or smooth? 

[nsxguy]

17 minutes ago, RobbyN said:

Hi all. I currently have an M4 driver with 10.5 degrees of loft and the Fujikura Atmos 5 regular flex 55 gram shaft. I have around 105-110 swing speed and consistently get 3000+ spin and extremely high launching balls so I feel I’m losing a ton of distance due to launch being too high and far too much spin. I also don’t think I make good contact as consistently as I should and I’ve heard finding the right shaft can improve this and help improve dispersion. Can I get shaft suggestions to potentially replace the atmos red 5? I’m assuming I probably need a stiff flex shaft but beyond that don’t know where I need to go. Would a stiff HZRDUS smoke black be too low launch and low spin for me? Or any just general suggestions that I could try to go test some place? Thanks. 

 

Not sure how you got yourself into a lightweight regular shaft in the first place but that in itself sounds fishy.

 

At 105-110 you're easily in S range and possibly in X. And I'm fairly sure you're Atmos Red is a higher launching and spinning shaft.

 

How do you know you hit it too high ? You seem to know your spin. What's your launch angle ? Tempo ? Transition ?

 

IF you have a PGA Tour SS near you, if you merely want to try different shafts in your M4 rather than test out the current drivers, you can get into one of their practice bays with their launch monitor.

 

I'm sure they'll allow you to try some of their current TM shaft offerings in your M4, assuming the adapters are the same (which I believe they are). Of course this limits your testing to TM's current shafts so there may be other shafts that are better for you but that you have no way of trying out first.

 

Hzrdus Black would certainly be a candidate.

 

 

 

 

[RobbyN]

10 minutes ago, EDT501 said:

I think you definitely have a mis-fit shaft here. On the other hand it’s difficult to find the best option without a lot of trial and error or access to a fitting studio. That said, someone who knows their swing, tendencies, and shaft preferences can usually find something that is good (though probably not the absolute best) without needing to hit it first.

 

A few questions that will help everyone here help you. have you hit any other shafts that you like? Could be in a fairway or irons, just something to help triangulate your general preferences. Is your tempo/transition aggressive or smooth? 

My 3 wood shaft that I hit pretty well is a stiff Tensei Blue. My transition is pretty average but I’d say slightly more on the aggressive side than not but when I’m actually on the course I’d say it’s much less aggressive (mostly do to the fear of sending one out of bounds or onto the next hole over). Realistically if I had confidence in hitting it straight and at least not slicing one extremely to the side I think I’d be able to swing much more like I normally do when I’m practicing. 

[RobbyN]

6 minutes ago, nsxguy said:

 

Not sure how you got yourself into a lightweight regular shaft in the first place but that in itself sounds fishy.

 

At 105-110 you're easily in S range and possibly in X. And I'm fairly sure you're Atmos Red is a higher launching and spinning shaft.

 

How do you know you hit it too high ? You seem to know your spin. What's your launch angle ? Tempo ? Transition ?

 

IF you have a PGA Tour SS near you, if you merely want to try different shafts in your M4 rather than test out the current drivers, you can get into one of their practice bays with their launch monitor.

 

I'm sure they'll allow you to try some of their current TM shaft offerings in your M4, assuming the adapters are the same (which I believe they are). Of course this limits your testing to TM's current shafts so there may be other shafts that are better for you but that you have no way of trying out first.

 

Hzrdus Black would certainly be a candidate.

 

 

 

 

I bought the club used before I really knew a whole lot about flexes and different types of shafts. I guess that’s how the stock M4’s came from taylormade that year. My only fear with getting something low launch, low spin is having the transition from lightweight, regular to stiff flex correcting the launch and spin problems on their own and then having something like a smoke black giving me too low spin and too low launch. 
 

I know I hit it too high just from ball flight. Sometimes I can get it at “normal” but most of the time it’s clearly just way too high and almost falls out of the air rather than having a piercing ball flight. I also tend to sky my drives on a relatively consistent basis and have balls that go nearly straight up in the air occasionally (maybe 1-2 times per round). I don’t have specific launch angle but I think my transition is slightly above average in terms of aggressiveness. 

Edited December 6, 2020 by RobbyN

[EDT501]

If you like the feel of the Tensei blue in a stiff I’d maybe start there for the driver. If you feel like you want something a little tighter then maybe try a Tensei white in a stiff but in the weight class lower than what is in your three wood. If you have access to a golf store I’d just go and hit a wide range of shafts and see what feels right to you. If you can try some stuff in your head, great, if not, oh well it’s still better than nothing. There are lots of good options these days so it’s just finding something that feels right in flex profile and weight. 

[RobbyN]

1 minute ago, EDT501 said:

If you like the feel of the Tensei blue in a stiff I’d maybe start there for the driver. If you feel like you want something a little tighter then maybe try a Tensei white in a stiff but in the weight class lower than what is in your three wood. If you have access to a golf store I’d just go and hit a wide range of shafts and see what feels right to you. If you can try some stuff in your head, great, if not, oh well it’s still better than nothing. There are lots of good options these days so it’s just finding something that feels right in flex profile and weight. 

Do you have any store recommendations that will let me hit different shafts for “free” aka not make me pay for a driver fitting? 

[EDT501]

Most of the big chains allow it. Think PGA SS, Golf Galaxy, Edwin Watts, Dicks, etc...

[nsxguy]

14 hours ago, RobbyN said:

Do you have any store recommendations that will let me hit different shafts for “free” aka not make me pay for a driver fitting? 

 

You can take a look at TM's website and find the stock shaft offerings. The stores will usually have all of them in differing weights and flexes.

 

Also, if you have a PGATSS near you, they often(?) have a fitter who, for a fee (currently it's about $50) will fit you into a head an shaft and take up to 90 minutes to do so.

 

That said I don't know if he would fit a shaft for you into YOUR M4 head. After all, even if you're paying for that fitting, it's not a terrific money maker for them. They still want you to buy what you try. Difference is there's less "selling" going on there - the accent is on getting the right fit.

 

Note though that he will want you to bring your club in to the fitting to get a baseline so who knows, you might get tot try shafts in your M4 head. 

 

But even if you have to use the current SIM head you would still get a feeling for the "feel", stiffness and weight of different shafts and while they might not perform exactly the same as in your M4 head, at least you have something to go on rather than everyone here saying "Get the XXXXX XXXX shaft, it's a killer"

 

A second benefit(?) is that he'll generally have a lot more shafts for you to try including a number of exotic shafts that sell aftermarket for ~$300.

 

 

14 hours ago, EDT501 said:

Most of the big chains allow it. Think PGA SS, Golf Galaxy, Edwin Watts, Dicks, etc...

 

Not sure about "most chains" as most of them (that I've seen) have between 2 and 5 fitting bays but no "practice" bays as PGATSS has.

 

And those fitting bays are for salespeople to let golfers try current drivers and sell them the new club; as opposed to bringing in your own driver and trying shafts. I expect shaft sales are only a tiny fraction of a store's sales stream, especially stock shafts.

Edited December 6, 2020 by nsxguy

[nsxguy]

14 hours ago, RobbyN said:

I bought the club used before I really knew a whole lot about flexes and different types of shafts. I guess that’s how the stock M4’s came from taylormade that year. My only fear with getting something low launch, low spin is having the transition from lightweight, regular to stiff flex correcting the launch and spin problems on their own and then having something like a smoke black giving me too low spin and too low launch. 
 

I know I hit it too high just from ball flight. Sometimes I can get it at “normal” but most of the time it’s clearly just way too high and almost falls out of the air rather than having a piercing ball flight. I also tend to sky my drives on a relatively consistent basis and have balls that go nearly straight up in the air occasionally (maybe 1-2 times per round). I don’t have specific launch angle but I think my transition is slightly above average in terms of aggressiveness. 

 

You might be surprised to see how high a ball can fly. If you watch the Pros on TV many of them are hitting it higher than ever.

 

High launch and low spin is the key to distance.

 

Transition being on the aggressive side will tell a fitter how to narrow down your selection. e.g. Hzrdus. The Black is for more aggressive swingers while the Yellow is for smoother transitions. That's from the company's suggestion. 

 

That said, sounds like you're teeing the ball too high. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[phizzy30]

It's worth the 50 dollar fee for a driver fitting at a big box store.  That way, at least you have a general idea of what you should be looking for head/shaft wise.  Places like club champion charge 150 for per driver fitting albeit their fittings are way more comprehensive and use trackman whereas most big box stores only have cheaper more basic launch monitors.  Look at it this way.  50 bucks for a fitting is way cheaper than buying a bunch of aftermarket shafts and trying to see what fits. 

[EDT501]

6 hours ago, nsxguy said:

Not sure about "most chains" as most of them (that I've seen) have between 2 and 5 fitting bays but no "practice" bays as PGATSS has.

 

And those fitting bays are for salespeople to let golfers try current drivers and sell them the new club; as opposed to bringing in your own driver and trying shafts. I expect shaft sales are only a tiny fraction of a store's sales stream, especially stock shafts.

Fair enough. But if they aren’t busy, I don’t feel bad asking to hit certain products, even if I know the likelihood of me buying them is low to nonexistent. So long as I’m not actively taking away from their ability to earn revenue from someone else (eg - I’m 1 of 2 customers and there are 3 bays and 3+ sales people) I don’t see any issue with that.

[Go Horns!]

OP - That head is probably not a good fit for you as well. Loft and head has more to do with spin than the shaft. Changing the shaft may knock down the spin by a few 100 rpm. You will get better results by going to a low spin head and lower loft.