Advantages/disadvantages of a heavier shaft

[mallrat]

I have been thinking about some new heads and was curious how they compared to what I’m playing now. Went to my fitter and basically what I am playing now is just about right for me (718 cb’s) and was fit into either p7mc or 620 cb’s, but not really a point as numbers were extremely close. 
 

Now I’ve been playing Modus 120 stiff and love the feel and I was fit into either Modus’ or a Steelfiber if I wanted to spend the $. Yesterday at the range I hit some with our pro’s clubs and loved the feel of the weight in the shafts he plays. He plays the DG Gold tour issue x100. With my swing speed in the fitting (84-88 6 iron) we never looked at heavier shafts.

 

What are some of the advantages/disadvantages of a heavier shaft? Should I look at the same shaft family just a heavier version (tour 130)? also I hit a friends clubs with the $ taper in stiff and really liked the feel.

Edited January 23, 2021 by mallrat

[Stuart_G]

11 hours ago, mallrat said:

What are some of the advantages/disadvantages of a heavier shaft? Should I look at the same shaft family just a heavier version (tour 130)? also I hit a friends clubs with the $ taper in stiff and really liked the feel.

 

There are no automatic advantages or disadvantages either way.   There are a few generalizations that people will throw out but there are always lots of exceptions to those so they are very unreliable. e.g. lighter is faster or heavier is more stable.  Sometimes that's true but sometimes it's the opposite.  It's really just too subjective a response by the player.

 

Shaft weight is really mainly about matching the club weight feel to the players natural sense of rhythm and timing.

 

Get some lead tape and play around with adding it to the shaft.   Add it in 5 gm or even 10 gm increments. Wrap around the shaft about 3-5" below the bottom of the grip.  Go to the range and see what happens as you change the amount of weight.   Ideally an LM to track the change in numbers would be good but it's not required.   Feel is important and just watch the consistency of the ball flight as well look for any changes in accuracy or left/right ball flight control.

 

This tests the issue of weight without changing the stiffness profile which can happen when testing different make/model shafts.

 

[NorthStar7]

On 1/23/2021 at 5:31 PM, mallrat said:

Now I’ve been playing Modus 120 stiff and love the feel and I was fit into either Modus’ or a Steelfiber if I wanted to spend the $.

 

Should I look at the same shaft family just a heavier version (tour 130)? also I hit a friends clubs with the $ taper in stiff and really liked the feel.

 

The 130 has a different bend profile than the 120....very different.  The 120 is pretty unique.  I am not aware of a heavier shaft with a similar profile as the 120S, other than stepping up to X or TX. 

 

I play 120S, too. I am considering going to SteelFiber due to elbow issues.  What SteelFiber shaft fit you best?

 

I also found the PX LZ to work for me.  You may try that in a 6.0 to gain about 6 grams. 

 

Also, Ping Cushin inserts weight 10 grams. They are placed to not change the swing weight, but the 10 grams is in the shaft somewhere. 

 

[goaliedad30]

Hit them both. Measure the data on a launch monitor. Data is your friend.

[Nebraska]

Last season I migrated to heavier shafts in my driver, 3 wood and 3 hybrid.  This started when replacing a broken 60g shaft in my driver with and 85g Aerotech shaft a friend had laying around unused. This was supposed to be a temporary fix.  It feels like it slows down that first move in the downswing.  The effect on my tempo drastically improved my consistency.  The trend continued as I followed suit with the 3 wood and hybrid.  Not suggesting this is the answer for anyone else but it’s worth consideration. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Nebraska

[lefthack]

I went with a heavier shaft for two main reasons.

 

1) after I shortened my shaft, my swing weight was wonky and had to add a bunch of head weight to get it useable. The heavier shaft allowed me to drop the additional head weight. 

 

2) the swing weight felt better being in the shaft vs being in the head at the same swing weight.

 

[Seattlegolfnut]

On 2/27/2021 at 10:05 AM, Nebraska said:

Last season I migrated to heavier shafts in my driver, 3 wood and 3 hybrid.  This started when replacing a broken 60g shaft in my driver with and 85g Aerotech shaft a friend had laying around unused. This was supposed to be a temporary fix.  It feels like it slows down that first move in the downswing.  The effect on my tempo drastically improved my consistency.  The trend continued as I followed suit with the 3 wood and hybrid.  Not suggesting this is the answer for anyone else but it’s worth consideration. 

This is exactly what works for me too! When I play too light I get all out of sorts in the transition at the top. Heavier shafts cause me to pause slightly and drop the club on plane better.