Golf shaft questions

SB919 · October 24, 2021

Currently playing a TS3 9 degree with a 55g Tensei AV Blue Stiff shaft. Swing speed of 91 and I have a 14 Index. Thinking about 1) a heavier shaft 65g or thereabouts and 2) possibly dropping down to a Regular flex. My current flight is high (higher than anyone I play with) with a fade. Want to know some thoughts on switching shafts and recommendations on shafts to demo. TIA

Edited October 25, 2021 by SB919
Added content

Billfitz · October 25, 2021

Dropping down one flex isn't going to do all that much. My SS is 90MPH and senior flex works well for me. A heavier shaft might reduce your swing speed. A high fade indicates an open face. The easiest cure for that is to close it a smidge at address. You can also try moving the ball up in your stance an inch, which gives the club time to close more before impact, or taking the club back more to the inside on takeaway. Your shaft is mid launch, so I wouldn't blame it for a high flight.

Edited October 25, 2021 by Billfitz

mcounci2 · October 25, 2021

Make sure you're hitting up on the ball as well! That head should spin and launch fairly low

grochol17 · October 26, 2021

Hi SB919 and welcome to golfwrx. If you're interested in learning more about shafts, this is a good place to start:

https://www.golfwrx.com/6419/tom-wishon-talking-to-wrx-readers-10-myths-about-shafts-factual-info-about-shafts-to-help-you-all/

As Tom notes in #4, unless a golfer has a high swing speed and/or a very late release on the downswing, the shaft isn't really doing much at impact... it is basically going to be straight from clubhead to grip, so the shaft isn't flexing forward at impact, thus it isn't contributing to the effective loft at impact. Based on your swing speed, you're probably in this boat.

What to do next? Well, you might have a swing flaw that needs the attention of an instructor to fix. It is also possible that something about the specs of your driver (length, total weight, swing weight, shaft stiffness or flex profile, etc) is causing the problem and so a driver adjustment is the way to go. In this case visiting a trusted fitter would probably be the best way to go. If you like to tinker, Howard_Jones has a nice write up of how to do a DIY driver fitting:

https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/960350-diy-driver-tune-up-diy-fitting/

Obviously this DIY doesn't give you the option of trying out different shafts, but it would give you a good starting point for things like length and weight so that you can head over to the classifieds or ebay to look for a different shaft for your driver (one thing I like about Titleist is they've been using the same driver adapter since the 910 line, so there are a ton of shafts floating around that you can pick up for cheap).

There are a lot of people on here with good knowledge of clubs, shafts, and whatnot, so don't hesitate to ask more questions if you have them. One note, though, the "avg joe" subforum that you posted this in tends to be a little quieter than the general club tech forum, so future questions posted to there might get more responses.