Driver Shafts - Need advice and experiences regarding light shafts (40g-50g)

[19Putter]

Like everyone else, I am seeking an extra 15-20 yards with my driver. Spoke to a golfer who switched to a 40g shaft and he added 25-30 yards. I am leery of a shaft of 40 or 45 grams; afraid I'll lose accuracy.

 

My driver is a Titleist 917D3 with a 60g regular flex shaft. 

 

What I'd like to know is what are the best 40g-50g shafts out there? What is your experience with lighter shafts? Gain distance without sacrificing accuracy?

[hammergolf]

I can tell you it’s been a great move for me. I preface this by saying I’m everything that would not be a good candidate for a sub 50gm driver shaft. I have a fast swing tempo and quick transition that makes my miss left (rh player). I went in for a driver fit 3yrs ago because I was losing distance with my g400 max. I’m a club fitter myself with over 30yrs experience in the golf business. However, I went to a guy I trust and knows my game. I told him to just forget about any pre conceived ideas and just fit to what the numbers said. After a few combinations he put something in my hand I would NEVER tried. He gave me a TM Sim Max 9* with an Aldila Quaranta 45 Reg flex. My ballspeed immediately jumped up 3mph. However, launch and spin were a bit high so he adjusted it down to 7*. Ballspeed jumped another 2mph, (so total of 5mph vs g400 Max) and it’s been in the bag ever since. It’s longer, as straight, and has really fixed my left miss.  

Edited January 27, 2023 by hammergolf

[jarediogolf]

I had a very flat swing and a left to right miss with the occasional slice out of no where. Started going to a heavier shaft which helped. 
 

Changed my swing… Keep clubhead outside my hands. Hands low through impact. Higher hands in backswing. Seems like a repeatable lower spin fade. No two way miss so far. 

 

Found my old Fujikura Pro 51 working better than my 6F4 UST Proforce  but didn’t like reg flex. 
 

Went to an evenflow riptide 50 stiff and been hitting it better than ever. 
 

I went with the riptide 50 bc it was soooo cheap. Happened to work great. 
 

Short version: at one point a lighter shaft would be bad for me. Right now… lighter is better. I would go lighter if I could find a stable stiff flex 40s gram shaft for a decent price. 
 

I’d take suggestions 😎

 

[Ri_Redneck]

A lighter more flexible shaft CAN give you a speed boost..... BUT, the club needs to be balanced for your swing and you MAY (some don't) suffer a loss of accuracy with the increase in speed. It's definitely worth a try.

 

BT

[WristySwing]

11 hours ago, hammergolf said:

I can tell you it’s been a great move for me. I preface this by saying I’m everything that would not be a good candidate for a sub 50gm driver shaft. I have a fast swing tempo and quick transition that makes my miss left (rh player). I went in for a driver fit 3yrs ago because I was losing distance with my g400 max. I’m a club fitter myself with over 30yrs experience in the golf business. However, I went to a guy I trust and knows my game. I told him to just forget about any pre conceived ideas and just fit to what the numbers said. After a few combinations he put something in my hand I would NEVER tried. He gave me a TM Sim Max 9* with an Aldila Quaranta 45 Reg flex. My ballspeed immediately jumped up 3mph. However, launch and spin were a bit high so he adjusted it down to 7*. Ballspeed jumped another 2mph, (so total of 5mph vs g400 Max) and it’s been in the bag ever since. It’s longer, as straight, and has really fixed my left miss.  

 

An older associate of mine was a Scotsman who was trained by some of the old guard.  He was of the thought that softer shafts help people with overzealous draws a lot more than they hurt because they stay in that deflected position (if you believe in that and its not just your hands/arms controlling face rotation) for a little longer.  It was something I have kept in my toolbelt and bring it out on occasion.  It works more often than it doesn't.  Another old school guy I take lessons with moves his clubs at a good clip still despite being in his late 50s or early 60s now.  Driver probably around 105mph, 6i is 90-91.  He uses R flex in the driver and goes down to X100 in the irons, progressively getting stiffer.  

[jholz]

I've been playing in the 50g range for about four seasons now. First with a Miyazaki C Kua 5s, now with a Project X Cypher 6.0.

 

The C Kua was stout. The Cypher feels flex-y. Both have been playable - although the Cypher has been looser than the Miyazaki.

 

I think these days, they can make a very stiff lightweight shaft, or a softer one. As long as you find a bend profile that works for you, I'd say go for it.

[ode]

Likely get some decent feedback on the $50 Autoflex thread🙃

[DLeightonReid]

An inexpensive shaft to experiment with is the Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue 45.  

[Howard_Jones]

impact position is the most important for distance, and a lightwgt shaft itself cant do much about that, so if you feel you loose distance, start by looking on where your impact on the face is.

Sligthly above the centerline and 2-3/8" toside is what delivers max distance, so if yours is below the centerline and a tad heel side, thats where you loose 15-20 yards or more

[19Putter]

9 hours ago, Howard_Jones said:

impact position is the most important for distance, and a lightwgt shaft itself cant do much about that, so if you feel you loose distance, start by looking on where your impact on the face is.

Sligthly above the centerline and 2-3/8" toside is what delivers max distance, so if yours is below the centerline and a tad heel side, thats where you loose 15-20 yards or more

My ball position is too often a tad too high on the face. I feel like if I can hit it a little lower on the face, I'd hit it about 10 yards farther. Your thoughts?

[19Putter]

21 hours ago, hammergolf said:

I can tell you it’s been a great move for me. I preface this by saying I’m everything that would not be a good candidate for a sub 50gm driver shaft. I have a fast swing tempo and quick transition that makes my miss left (rh player). I went in for a driver fit 3yrs ago because I was losing distance with my g400 max. I’m a club fitter myself with over 30yrs experience in the golf business. However, I went to a guy I trust and knows my game. I told him to just forget about any pre conceived ideas and just fit to what the numbers said. After a few combinations he put something in my hand I would NEVER tried. He gave me a TM Sim Max 9* with an Aldila Quaranta 45 Reg flex. My ballspeed immediately jumped up 3mph. However, launch and spin were a bit high so he adjusted it down to 7*. Ballspeed jumped another 2mph, (so total of 5mph vs g400 Max) and it’s been in the bag ever since. It’s longer, as straight, and has really fixed my left miss.  

Great information. My miss is often left; sometimes I don't finish my backswing or my transition is too fast and the results end up going left. I am afraid a 40g or 45g shaft though would be too "whippy." Do you think going with a 40 or 45g stiff shaft would help that - even though my current driver shaft is 60g regular flex?

[19Putter]

9 hours ago, DLeightonReid said:

An inexpensive shaft to experiment with is the Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue 45.  

I'll keep that in mind. I need a shaft with a .335 tip to fit the Titleist 917D2 driver.

[hammergolf]

3 minutes ago, 19Putter said:

Great information. My miss is often left; sometimes I don't finish my backswing or my transition is too fast and the results end up going left. I am afraid a 40g or 45g shaft though would be too "whippy." Do you think going with a 40 or 45g stiff shaft would help that - even though my current driver shaft is 60g regular flex?

Before my fitting I would have thought a lighter shaft would make my left miss worse, but that certainly hasn’t been the case. In fact I miss it left less now than I ever have.

[19Putter]

1 minute ago, hammergolf said:

Before my fitting I would have thought a lighter shaft would make my left miss worse, but that certainly hasn’t been the case. In fact I miss it left less now than I ever have.

Do you believe the stiff flex can keep the club head more controlled? My buddy suggested if I was afraid of a 40 or 45 gram shaft being too whippy to try a stiff flex.

[hammergolf]

10 minutes ago, 19Putter said:

Do you believe the stiff flex can keep the club head more controlled? My buddy suggested if I was afraid of a 40 or 45 gram shaft being too whippy to try a stiff flex.

Based on my experience I would say no. I’m playing a softer, lighter shaft and hitting it straighter. You’re results may be different.

[19Putter]

21 hours ago, jarediogolf said:

I had a very flat swing and a left to right miss with the occasional slice out of no where. Started going to a heavier shaft which helped. 
 

Changed my swing… Keep clubhead outside my hands. Hands low through impact. Higher hands in backswing. Seems like a repeatable lower spin fade. No two way miss so far. 

 

Found my old Fujikura Pro 51 working better than my 6F4 UST Proforce  but didn’t like reg flex. 
 

Went to an evenflow riptide 50 stiff and been hitting it better than ever. 
 

I went with the riptide 50 bc it was soooo cheap. Happened to work great. 
 

Short version: at one point a lighter shaft would be bad for me. Right now… lighter is better. I would go lighter if I could find a stable stiff flex 40s gram shaft for a decent price. 
 

I’d take suggestions 😎

 

I saw a bunch of 40-45g stiff flex shafts on 2nd. Swing. Check out their website.

[19Putter]

16 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

Based on my experience I would say no. I’m playing a softer, lighter shaft and hitting it straighter. You’re results may be different.

How much increased distance did you get from going lighter?

[hammergolf]

3 minutes ago, 19Putter said:

How much increased distance did you get from going lighter?

10 - 15

[Howard_Jones]

4 hours ago, 19Putter said:

My ball position is too often a tad too high on the face. I feel like if I can hit it a little lower on the face, I'd hit it about 10 yards farther. Your thoughts?

post a photo of impact position

[Howard_Jones]

7 hours ago, 19Putter said:

Do you believe the stiff flex can keep the club head more controlled? My buddy suggested if I was afraid of a 40 or 45 gram shaft being too whippy to try a stiff flex.

 

Try a bargain option like ProLaunch BLUE 45S, if you are in doubt.

its 48 grams uncut.

 

I had players up to 105 mph clubspeed who found their all time favorite in that shaft.

 

it might be the longest production time a graphite wood shaft has since first year on the marked and still is in production.

 

Thats for good reasons. its simply no need to change it, or replace it,  so the upgrade its gotten since year 1 , is new colors and grapics

[19Putter]

5 hours ago, Howard_Jones said:

 

Try a bargain option like ProLaunch BLUE 45S, if you are in doubt.

its 48 grams uncut.

 

I had players up to 105 mph clubspeed who found their all time favorite in that shaft.

 

it might be the longest production time a graphite wood shaft has since first year on the marked and still is in production.

 

Thats for good reasons. its simply no need to change it, or replace it,  so the upgrade its gotten since year 1 , is new colors and grapics

I'm a big believer in if there is no need for change, why do it. Good idea. I'll look into it and see if it's a .335 tip shaft. My cub head speed is about 90-92 MPH so I would think I am even more a candidate for a 45 or 40g shaft. Since you're a fitter, do you think I should go with a 40 or 45g regular flex or senior, considering my club head speed. I am 60 years-old.

[Howard_Jones]

4 hours ago, 19Putter said:

I'm a big believer in if there is no need for change, why do it. Good idea. I'll look into it and see if it's a .335 tip shaft. My cub head speed is about 90-92 MPH so I would think I am even more a candidate for a 45 or 40g shaft. Since you're a fitter, do you think I should go with a 40 or 45g regular flex or senior, considering my club head speed. I am 60 years-old.

What iron shaft wgt do you play, and how do you feel the weight of them fits you?

 

if you play iron shafts below 90 grams, down to 40 grams might work, are you above 90 in irons, i doubt you will find the unicorn below 45 grams..

 

But thats also related to play lenght. in general, drivers as standard are way to long to perfome to the max.

 

Longer the club is, the lighter the shaft should be and opposite.

 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2023 by Howard_Jones

[Milfordlefty]

On 1/27/2023 at 9:26 AM, DLeightonReid said:

An inexpensive shaft to experiment with is the Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue 45.  

agree with DLeightonReid. No tipping, butt cut to length only

 

Titliest spec on a 917D offered Mitsubishi Diamana Red 50 or 40 as options, a lighter shaft designed for the club head. I reshafted by Ping driver with a lighter shaft, designed by Ping for the club head.

Edited January 28, 2023 by Milfordlefty

[phizzy30]

If you can find that sweet spot of going with the lightest set up that you can still be consistent with in terms of contact, that would be the end game.  For instance, going too light and you won't be able to feel the head on the downswing which can cause a slew of issues which include terrible dispersion and inconsistent contact.  Going the other way and too heavy can also lead to mishits as well and throw off your delivery.  It doesn't hurt to start with the 40-50 gram shaft and see how it goes then perhaps add weight to the head via lead tape if it's too inconsistent.  If all else fails, you could move up to heavier shafts as well. 

[19Putter]

On 1/28/2023 at 12:03 PM, Howard_Jones said:

What iron shaft wgt do you play, and how do you feel the weight of them fits you?

 

if you play iron shafts below 90 grams, down to 40 grams might work, are you above 90 in irons, i doubt you will find the unicorn below 45 grams..

 

But thats also related to play lenght. in general, drivers as standard are way to long to perfome to the max.

 

Longer the club is, the lighter the shaft should be and opposite.

 

 

 

I recently switched from steel shafted 93g Titleist AP3 716's to Callaway Mavriks 65g graphite shafted clubs. My current driver shaft is 60 and my 3 wood 65 and hybrid 70. I am thinking my optimum driver shaft will be 50 (educated guess) and then I should re-think re-shafting my others to 60g perhaps.

[19Putter]

Just now, 19Putter said:

I recently switched from steel shafted 93g Titleist AP3 716's to Callaway Mavriks 65g graphite shafted clubs. My current driver shaft is 60 and my 3 wood 65 and hybrid 70. I am thinking my optimum driver shaft will be 50 (educated guess) and then I should re-think re-shafting my others to 60g perhaps.

Forgot to add that the new Mavriks suit me fine - really like them.

[19Putter]

On 1/28/2023 at 2:27 AM, Howard_Jones said:

 

Try a bargain option like ProLaunch BLUE 45S, if you are in doubt.

its 48 grams uncut.

 

I had players up to 105 mph clubspeed who found their all time favorite in that shaft.

 

it might be the longest production time a graphite wood shaft has since first year on the marked and still is in production.

 

Thats for good reasons. its simply no need to change it, or replace it,  so the upgrade its gotten since year 1 , is new colors and grapics

Leaning strongly towards the ProLaunch Blue 45. Price is right and the reputation of that shaft is great. 

[Howard_Jones]

2 hours ago, 19Putter said:

Leaning strongly towards the ProLaunch Blue 45. Price is right and the reputation of that shaft is great. 

let me add that PL 45 is a NON TIP TRIM shaft.

 

The spesial tip section dont work as it should if we tip trim it.

 

Thats why it happened that a player who played 45R in his driver, used 45S as 5W shaft. its the only way to compensate for the added head wgt in this model , so if your plan is to use my DIY driver tune up (shorter than standard and added head wgt)  the 45S should be a good option.

 

if you go that way using PL 45 S,  tell us how it worked for you

Edited January 30, 2023 by Howard_Jones

[subrew]

Depending on how confident/competent you are with swapping shafts from head-to-head and gluing up adapters, one shaft to look for is the Grand Bassara 39 line.  They are normally $400-500 shafts, however, they came in a lot of Japanese market Callaway drivers.  So you can find an entire Epic Flash or Epic Star or whatever model of fairly new Callaway JDM driver with a Grand Bassara 39 shaft in it, for $150-200. 

 

That's how I found my Grand Bassara 29R.  Got the entire club for $140 delivered.  I swapped shafts with a generic stiff flex shaft I had laying around, and sold the Callaway for $150 locally.  I then bought a new Ping adapter for $12, and put the GB29R in it.  So my shaft ended up costing me about 15 minutes of labor and $2.  For a shaft that retails for $400.

 

The 39 comes in different flexes, with regular being 45g and stiff being 48g at 46" raw length.   

 

I had to work a bit harder to find a 29R (33 grams when cut to length for my 44.5" driver length.)  But the 39 seems easier to find.  

Edited January 31, 2023 by subrew

[19Putter]

11 hours ago, Howard_Jones said:

let me add that PL 45 is a NON TIP TRIM shaft.

 

The spesial tip section dont work as it should if we tip trim it.

 

Thats why it happened that a player who played 45R in his driver, used 45S as 5W shaft. its the only way to compensate for the added head wgt in this model , so if your plan is to use my DIY driver tune up (shorter than standard and added head wgt)  the 45S should be a good option.

 

if you go that way using PL 45 S,  tell us how it worked for you

I don't know; will be testing a 40g and 45g shaft at Golf Galaxy and if they're not too whippy, will probably buy the ProLaunch 45g regular. To be honest, I want to keep things simple since I don't trust myself going with a shorter shaft, adding weights, and going with a stiff shaft. I think if I feel the 45 I hit tomorrow is ok, I will buy the 45g (actually 48g in the regular) regular ProLaunch and hopefully be done with it. I will keep my Diamana 60g regular shaft in case the experiment fails. But again, love your ideas. Love conversing with someone like you that knows far more than I do about fitting/shafts/weights etc.