106-109 driver swing speed - I have regular flex irons

[Red1117]

Context = I’m 6’1”, generally shoot in the mid to high 80s and recently got refitted for my driver. Ended up testing all the brands on the sim and the g425 LST was the winner. Have loved playing with it since (generally drive about 270-290). However I still have my set of tried and true ping g5 irons I got when I was 16yo in regular flex. I play them well enough but now that I’m older, swing much harder, and club tech has advanced… am I hurting myself significantly by keeping them in the bag? Should I consider reshafting or just purchasing a new set? 

[Billfitz]

Are you spraying them? That's the usual reason to go to a stiffer flex, and then only if said stiffer flex has lower torque. You may benefit from changing other shaft characteristics, like the bend point, it would take a proper fitting session to predict if that's the case. The same applies to new heads. With your length shooting in the mid to high 80s tells me your approach accuracy might not be what it could be. I still manage that at age 71, and not on the strength of my long game by any means.

[Stuart_G]

17 hours ago, Red1117 said:

Context = I’m 6’1”, generally shoot in the mid to high 80s and recently got refitted for my driver. Ended up testing all the brands on the sim and the g425 LST was the winner. Have loved playing with it since (generally drive about 270-290). However I still have my set of tried and true ping g5 irons I got when I was 16yo in regular flex. I play them well enough but now that I’m older, swing much harder, and club tech has advanced… am I hurting myself significantly by keeping them in the bag? Should I consider reshafting or just purchasing a new set? 

 

Furyk plays Reg flex iron shafts.   It's not common for that swing speed but it's not unheard of either.  Especially if that's what you've become used to swinging.

 

Shaft weight is generally much more important.

 

And there is no standard for stiffness/flex.  So there could very well be stiff flex shafts out there that are softer than your reg flex.  Never look at flex labels blindly.  You have to look at the specific make/model shaft to understand what the flex label really means in terms of stiffness.

 

There is no automatic or inherent disadvantage to playing softer shafts - or automatic improvements for going up in flex.   For some the softer flex might even help keep the transition smooth.   How good or bad a fit it is or how it might effect the ball fight results is really ALL about how the feel effects your swing - which makes it completely subjective.   Some can still do very will with the softer flexes, some may struggle quite a bit.

 

The ONLY way to know - is to go test/try other (stiffer) options and compare the results side-by-side with your current clubs.

 

Unless you do the work yourself, it's usually more cost effective to get a used set with the appropriate shafts than it is to reshaft.   BUT as I said above, you will never know what the better fitting shaft will be until you try them first.  Don't just blindly buy any set just because the flex label says "stiff".  That would just be a random roll of the dice as to whether you end up with a better fit or a worse fit.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Stuart_G

[jomatty]

I’m not quite as fast as you but I still have enough speed that “stiff” shafts would be the obvious choice.  That’s what I use now, but for the year prior I used regular flex recoil graphite shafts and had n9 issues with them at all.  I actually prefer the feel of them but the dispersion of the stiff steelfibers is a little better.  
Personally I think it has a lot to do with your swing characteristics.  It is hard for me to envision someone like Rahm using a softer flex but someone like  oosthuizen might get by just fine.  My tempo is definitely on the smoother side, which I think is why flex isn’t a big deal for me.  Like Stuart said, weight is a much bigger ideal.
Also like Stuart said, it is probably not worth it to reshaft the clubs unless you do the work yourself.  If you do then you could always buy a set pulls and switch them out for not too much.  If you are going to have to pay someone to do the work I would just find a nice set of used irons.

[ShortGolfer]

I have ladies flex irons and have swung them really hard.  The ball flight is really nice. 

Straight and on line.  I just need to play more to dial in the distances.

 

I plan to stick with ladies flex clubs until the ball flight suggests I need something else.

 

As I play a half set anyway, I've bought single clubs on the  used market just to try them out.

 

I would keep the old gamers so you can  go back to them if the new clubs aren't for you.

Edited October 14, 2021 by ShortGolfer

[oz dee cee]

Same swing speed here with driver. I use an x flex in driver, regular or stiff iron shafts depending on the set I’m gaming at the time. No difference in ball flight or scoring.

 

I was actually fitted to reg by a reputable fitting co using trackman. Use what works I guess…  Can’t hurt to try others if you have an itch…

[Billfitz]

2 hours ago, jomatty said:

 I still have enough speed that “stiff” shafts would be the obvious choice.

Why? As already mentioned there is no standard for what flex ratings mean, so one shaft in S can be the same as another in A or X. Swing speed alone doesn't indicate what flex one should use any more than it indicates what shaft on should use.

[jomatty]

1 hour ago, Billfitz said:

Why? As already mentioned there is no standard for what flex ratings mean, so one shaft in S can be the same as another in A or X. Swing speed alone doesn't indicate what flex one should use any more than it indicates what shaft on should use.

That was kind of my point…perhaps I wasn’t obvious enough about what I was trying to say.  My speed (which is relatively low especially by golfwrx standards) would usually be squarely in the zone of “stiff” not “regular” or “xstiff”.  My point is that I’ve found that shafts other than “stiff” work just fine, based on specific shafts characteristics coupled with my swing characteristics.  

[Billfitz]

That's my point too. One should not automatically assume that flex should be arrived at via swing speed alone. It's far more complicated than that.

[jayhawkeye]

I am 115 mph driver.  92 mph 7 iron.  TX driver shaft.  “Regular” iron shafts.  Fitted for both.  Love both.  
 

Let the fitter fit.  That being said, not all fitters are created equal.

 

(I will note that my irons shafts don’t list flex only weight.  I appreciate them looking out for my ego.)

[PuffyC]

Like what many said already, stated flex means little, plus speed doesn’t really matter, it’s way more about tempo. High speed and a smooth tempo is very different from the same speed but all herky jerky. But that’s academic, if you’re hitting your irons well now I doubt you’ll see much difference with another shaft. If you talk to fitter and they say you need a <whatever> flex shaft solely based on club head speed, I’d respectfully say they’re doing it wrong.

[bellview17]

X or Stiff driver and R flex everything else. Feel for me seems right with this setup...

[jimb]

I have Project X IO shafts, 5.5 flex in my Srixon Zx7 irons and love them.  My 3 and 4 hybrids in stiff.  My 3 wood is stiff.  My driver has a GD XC in S/R flex.  My wedges are S200 shafts.  All work for me.  Personally, weight is more than flex.

 

[Thayneil]

On 10/14/2021 at 4:34 PM, Stuart_G said:

 

Furyk plays Reg flex iron shafts.   It's not common for that swing speed but it's not unheard of either.  Especially if that's what you've become used to swinging.

 

Shaft weight is generally much more important.

 

And there is no standard for stiffness/flex.  So there could very well be stiff flex shafts out there that are softer than your reg flex.  Never look at flex labels blindly.  You have to look at the specific make/model shaft to understand what the flex label really means in terms of stiffness.

 

There is no automatic or inherent disadvantage to playing softer shafts - or automatic improvements for going up in flex.   For some the softer flex might even help keep the transition smooth.   How good or bad a fit it is or how it might effect the ball fight results is really ALL about how the feel effects your swing - which makes it completely subjective.   Some can still do very will with the softer flexes, some may struggle quite a bit.

 

The ONLY way to know - is to go test/try other (stiffer) options and compare the results side-by-side with your current clubs.

 

Unless you do the work yourself, it's usually more cost effective to get a used set with the appropriate shafts than it is to reshaft.   BUT as I said above, you will never know what the better fitting shaft will be until you try them first.  Don't just blindly buy any set just because the flex label says "stiff".  That would just be a random roll of the dice as to whether you end up with a better fit or a worse fit.

 

 

 

 

Furyks shafts arr kbs tour r hard stepprd play to 5.5 flex so not really regular more soft stiff

[Righty to Lefty]

On 10/13/2021 at 8:01 PM, Red1117 said:

Context = I’m 6’1”, generally shoot in the mid to high 80s and recently got refitted for my driver. Ended up testing all the brands on the sim and the g425 LST was the winner. Have loved playing with it since (generally drive about 270-290). However I still have my set of tried and true ping g5 irons I got when I was 16yo in regular flex. I play them well enough but now that I’m older, swing much harder, and club tech has advanced… am I hurting myself significantly by keeping them in the bag? Should I consider reshafting or just purchasing a new set? 

Play what you like...of course go out and test clubs and if there is a better option you should consider it but so much of it is up to your personal preference so go out and test and find out what you like. 

 

[jafstar]

I'm in the mirror camp, I play xstiff in irons and fairways but have recently switched to a regular and glued shafted driver (Gloire M) 

 

I picked up my old driver (Sim Max) and it feels dead to me. Also the Gloire has a heel weight which helps to draw it, but shaft wise I think I found something to help with tempo in a club that can cost a lot of strokes.

[Pastit]

On 10/13/2021 at 6:01 PM, Red1117 said:

Context = I’m 6’1”, generally shoot in the mid to high 80s and recently got refitted for my driver. Ended up testing all the brands on the sim and the g425 LST was the winner. Have loved playing with it since (generally drive about 270-290). However I still have my set of tried and true ping g5 irons I got when I was 16yo in regular flex. I play them well enough but now that I’m older, swing much harder, and club tech has advanced… am I hurting myself significantly by keeping them in the bag? Should I consider reshafting or just purchasing a new set? 

 

Let sleeping dogs lie might well apply.

 

If you change heads then I’d go for something post the 2010 Groove Rule.

 

There’s a photo below of the Ping standard shaft I believe. If yours are the same, a tech savvy might confirm these weigh in the 90grm category ? I’m c 74 and have gone down to c the flex of the AWT in R from PX 6.
 

The AWT R is likely a bit light for you now as I reckon you’re in your 30’s. I’ve been through this and found Project X 5.5 Flighted shafts are a good compromise since they were composed of varying shaft weights ( and thus flex ) in long, mid and short irons. They’re obsolete so I’d take care going the same flex through your clubs unless you use hybrids above 6i. 
 

So I agree with the reply above on shaft weight being vital. Perhaps about 110grm and you could soft-step your long irons. I’d try demo clubs, on the course if possible.

Edited December 28, 2021 by Pastit

[Stuart_G]

On 12/26/2021 at 11:39 PM, Thayneil said:

Furyks shafts arr kbs tour r hard stepprd play to 5.5 flex so not really regular more soft stiff

 

Well as I said before there is no one standard for flex so any question or concerns based on flex is meaningless.  That also means there are always going to be ways to manipulate the data to fit them into a standard that will make them seem like a different flex. 

 

However, hard stepping twice would be needed just to get them close to KBS's Tour R+.  Whether you want to call that a firm regular or a soft stiff is irrelevant.   He's still playing shafts that are noticeably softer than the majority of other tour players with similar swing characteristics.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Stuart_G

[Pastit]

18 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

 

Well as I said before there is no one standard for flex so any question or concerns based on flex is meaningless.  That also means there are always going to be ways to manipulate the data to fit them into a standard that will make them seem like a different flex. 

 

However, hard stepping twice would be needed just to get them close to KBS's Tour R+.  Whether you want to call that a firm regular or a soft stiff is irrelevant.   He's still playing shafts that are noticeably softer than the majority of other tour players with similar swing characteristics.

 

 

“ Similar “ - Is there any other tour player who picks his own pocket on the downswing ? 

[Stuart_G]

39 minutes ago, Pastit said:

“ Similar “ - Is there any other tour player who picks his own pocket on the downswing ? 

 

You have to understand the context of the discussion.  I'm talking only about the characteristics that the shaft cares about.  The only thing that matters is how much and when it loads/unloads, not the path it takes or where it is in relationship to his body.