Should i be swinging an extra stiff shaft?

[BREWHAMID]

With driver im swinging at 115 mph club speed average with a little less than 2500 backspin average. Maybe 90% -95% my max swing speed but what i try to replicate on every full swing shot. Should i be using an xstiff shaft on my driver and woods/hybrids. Using 60g stiff rn and have always struggled squaring the club face with driver would an x stiff maybe lighter weigh shaft be best? What should i be using?

[Billfitz]

The general rule of thumb is to use the softest shaft that still delivers control. The shaft weight is mainly a matter of feel. But always keep in mind that there is no flex standard, so the only way to know what works best is via fitting, hopefully with a large enough selection of shafts to make it worthwhile.

[Stuart_G]

8 hours ago, Billfitz said:

The general rule of thumb is to use the softest shaft that still delivers control.

 

That's "a" general rule of thumb.  Not "the" general rule of thumb.   You can find just as many people who think one should play the stiffest shaft you can get away with.  IMO - both approaches are bad advice.   There really is no inherent universal advantage for either a shaft being softer or stiffer.   Certainly each might be a good approach and worked well for certain individuals but neither will be a good approach and work best for everyone.

 

So the (really "my") short answer is that you should ignore any and all "rule(s) of thumb".   Instead go test as many different shafts and stiffness profiles and flexes as you can get your hands on and use the one that gives you the best feel and the best results.

 

 

12 hours ago, BREWHAMID said:

Should i be using an xstiff shaft on my driver and woods/hybrids.

 

You should never blindly use any shaft just based on swing speed and to pick a flex label.    As @Billfitz mentioned, there is no standard for what that flex label means. That means there are some stiff shafts out there that are stiffer than some x-flex shafts.  And there are some x-flex shafts that are close to some other reg flex shafts. 

 

Also there is much more to finding the right stiffness than swing speed.  

 

Now, at that swing speed, x-flex is a good place to start the fitting process.  So you certainly should be testing out some x-flex shafts and a high percentage of players at that speed will end up a that flex.   But it's not a guarantee that you'll end up there too.

 

12 hours ago, BREWHAMID said:

Using 60g stiff rn and have always struggled squaring the club face with driver would an x stiff maybe lighter weigh shaft be best? What should i be using?

 

It's possible that too soft of a shaft can cause that kind of miss IF the feel is causing you to stop loading the shaft mid swing because it feels like it's loading too much.  That can inadvertently delay the release and makes it seem harder to close the face.   The concept that a shaft that's too soft will not unload and stay loaded and therefore open at impact is a fallacy.  It can't happen.  A shaft will always unload before impact.    It's just as common that too soft will cause the opposite result.  And when feel doesn't have any influence on the swing, a softer shafts will generally have more forward bend at impact and therefore a more closed club face, not more open. 

 

Of course there are also many other aspects of the fit that can cause that type of problem - poor fit for shaft weight, playing length and/or swing weight.  Even poor fit for grip size. 

 

So there is really no way anyone here can tell you what you should be playing.  Picking a shaft is just way too subjective.   Only you can figure that out through testing different aspects of the build and seeing how it effects the results.   That's the who point of a fitting - whether you do it yourself or have a fitter help you.

 

Edited April 26, 2022 by Stuart_G

[BREWHAMID]

Awesome advice thanks