Stiff shaft to extra stiff

SuperSpurs106 · May 23, 2022

Hi

When I played golf casually, years ago, I used a regular shaft and it seemed to be ok.

However, when I took the game up seriously I found I snap hooked a lot of drives. My swing speed had increased and the shaft was a bit too whippy so I went to a stiff shaft and all was well.

I feel like I’ve moved forward again as a player and have started to hook some drives.

Should I be looking at an extra stiff shaft? My index is 6.4 and I’m 39 years old so I’m by no means a young scratch golfer who’s smashing it 320 but I feel like I am more aggressive at the ball now.

Anyone else had/done this?

TIA

Valtiel · May 23, 2022

If the feel of the shaft is upsetting your timing/delivery then you should keep going stiffer until it doesn't, yeah. The shaft itself can't cause a snap hook but your reaction to it's feel can. Experiment with something stiffer and if the hooke don't go away then you know its a mechanical issue (it likely is to a certain extent regardless).

PEI_Golfer · May 23, 2022

If you have no knowledge or baseline numbers to go off of, go for a fitting. You'll learn more and have an idea of what profiles work for you.

Red4282 · May 23, 2022

Also remember that flex designation is very very relative. You can certainly find a stiff flex in one brand/profile that actually is stiffer than an extra stiff in another brand/profile. Weight and feel should be priority number one with shafts and then optimization/dispersion should come right after (and the right feel/weight will likely give you that).

Edited May 23, 2022 by Red4282

justcuz · May 23, 2022

I'm your age and have been playing DG s300 shafts for over 20 years. I used to be about your handicap as well, but have steadily crept up over the years as I have played less and less over the past years. I recently was re-fitted and purchased some new clubs. Iron control and spin control has been a major issue as of late for me, particularly since I have been playing less.

Fitter put me into a Project X x-stiff. Feels like a board compared to what I'm used to. They're very much on the heavier/stiffer end of the world compared to what I'm used to. Might be overkill and the fitter and I waffled back and forth about that. But the reality is, as long as I'm making good contact there is less dispersion and less spin, both of which I'm good with.

Guess I have no suggestions other than don't be afraid of an x-stiff if someone suggests it.

mantan · May 23, 2022

This the WRX thread if there ever was one. 🙂

Agree with the comment above. I'd get fit for a shaft and let the flex fall out of the fitting. Great videos from TXG and Crossfield on the subject and both prove the common perceptions about shaft flex don't show up in the actual swing data. Weight and how you load/feel the club and what your swing responds to are best. A shaft with a soft midsection like the Smoke HZRDUS yellow is going to have a totally different feel than the Smoke Black in every flex. Both videos talk about how a shaft feels and even the perception of 'what it's going to feel like' during fitting impact the results. If your current shaft isn't working for you, I'd get fit with an open mind of what would be best. It could be an X-flex. It could be a stiff in a different shaft profile.

Edited May 23, 2022 by mantan

Stuart_G · May 23, 2022

18 minutes ago, mantan said:

I'd get fit for a shaft and let the flex fall out of the fitting.

Yes, always a good approach.

18 minutes ago, mantan said:

Great videos from TXG and Crossfield on the subject and both prove the common perceptions about shaft flex don't show up in the actual swing data.

IF they are the ones I'm thinking of, the deficiencies of those vids have been discussed in great detail here in the forum. Do a search if you want to learn more. But the short version is that it only showed it didn't occur for their swings. Not something that's generally applicable to all golfers. Some will be very sensitive, some will not be sensitive at all, but most will fall somewhere between those two extremes.

18 minutes ago, mantan said:

I'd get fit with an open mind of what would be best.

But yes, there are also still a lot of misconceptions out there (in and out of the vids) about the part the shaft plays in the swing and with the results. It's always best to ignore all of them and keep an open mind.

Edited May 23, 2022 by Stuart_G

Duffer222 · May 23, 2022

7 hours ago, SuperSpurs106 said:

Hi

When I played golf casually, years ago, I used a regular shaft and it seemed to be ok.

However, when I took the game up seriously I found I snap hooked a lot of drives. My swing speed had increased and the shaft was a bit too whippy so I went to a stiff shaft and all was well.

I feel like I’ve moved forward again as a player and have started to hook some drives.

Should I be looking at an extra stiff shaft? My index is 6.4 and I’m 39 years old so I’m by no means a young scratch golfer who’s smashing it 320 but I feel like I am more aggressive at the ball now.

Anyone else had/done this?

TIA

Play the softest flex you can control.

justcuz · May 23, 2022

57 minutes ago, Duffer222 said:

Play the softest flex you can control.

Why (asking for a friend)?

phizzy30 · May 23, 2022

1 hour ago, justcuz said:

Why (asking for a friend)?

It's better to err on the side of something a little soft than too stiff IMO. With something too stiff, the ball won't spin enough so you will be hitting knuckle balls in the air that don't get enough spin which puts you in a bad spot from the get go.