Heavier Driver Shaft

[Jtbarilla]

Hey, 

 

Was wondering if anyone has done any tinkering with their shafts. At the moment I play a Rogue ST LS TD playing neutral 8° setting. My spin numbers are in the 2600's which for me I do not like. My shaft is a HZRDUS Hulk 6.5 60 gram. I also have a 4 wood that I have a HZRDUS Hulk TX 70 gram shaft. When I swing the 4 wood the consistency and knowing where the head is in my swing is miles better.

 

I have read many people finding a heavier driver shaft to be better. I have played the TX Hulk in a driver shaft as well and it was not bad but the weight still is off to me. Would it be better to go into something less boardy if moving up in weight to compensate for the lower flight ?

 

I was looking at playing a 7X in driver and 8X in my fairway wood.

[jah7838]

In all honesty, I think that's just going to depend on your swing and how it loads the heavier shaft.  I personally didn't find needing to go less boardy when I was younger and loaded the shaft a bit harder.  Now that I'm getting a little older, I did have to go a bet less boardy with the same weight class of driver.  It just depends on the day and how loose my hips and lower back feel that day. 

 

I have an Accra FX 2.0 270 in stiff as my main driver shaft, and it's a very smooth shaft.  The Diamana D+ LTD 70s that I just got gives me similar ball flight and spin, but I can tell the difference in feel.  The Accra is one I'll use in the cooler weather just because I can't get as loose, but as it gets warmer, the Diamana will be just fine.  I still use a 70g shaft in my 4/5 wood, and that seems to be just fine for what I want in that club.  

 

I don't know how much that helps, but your best bet is going to be is demoing heavier shafts if you can find somewhere to do so.  It might just be you going through some used racks for shafts similar to what you're looking for.  

[shortgameneedswork]

9 hours ago, Jtbarilla said:

Would it be better to go into something less boardy if moving up in weight to compensate for the lower flight ?

Why would it have a lower flight? 

[phizzy30]

I play 70 and 80 gram shafts in my driver and 3 metal.  Lighter shafts throw off my timing and dispersion tends to get worst.  2600 rpm for driver isn't bad.  Anything lower may net you more yards but at the expense of dispersion.  Most tour pros prefer to see their spin numbers in the mid 2000's in order to keep dispersion manageable.  If you're struggling with contact and dispersion with the lighter shaft, then testing something heavier might help.   

[jonteistockholm]

I do too. Tried all from 50 gr up and if I time a lighter shaft it goes.

Tried a Nitro 55gr and it flew but my timing was really off

 

I found that my drivershaft around 67-69 are spot on- did go back to my old love Velo Red TR 6X

 

So I totally understand you

[Pnwpingi210]

12 hours ago, Jtbarilla said:

Hey, 

 

Was wondering if anyone has done any tinkering with their shafts. At the moment I play a Rogue ST LS TD playing neutral 8° setting. My spin numbers are in the 2600's which for me I do not like. My shaft is a HZRDUS Hulk 6.5 60 gram. I also have a 4 wood that I have a HZRDUS Hulk TX 70 gram shaft. When I swing the 4 wood the consistency and knowing where the head is in my swing is miles better.

 

I have read many people finding a heavier driver shaft to be better. I have played the TX Hulk in a driver shaft as well and it was not bad but the weight still is off to me. Would it be better to go into something less boardy if moving up in weight to compensate for the lower flight ?

 

I was looking at playing a 7X in driver and 8X in my fairway wood.

As been said.  A heavier shaft could help you with dispersion if your are struggling to time up impact.  Have you had the driver swing weighted?  Have you had the 4 wood swing weighted?  How do they compare?

 

I was playing the rogue TD ls for the past two years.  It’s a mid-low spin head in my experience (I don’t have the tour truck tinkering with weights so I’m sure you can get it lower).  I also played a smoke green 60tx and 70tx.  Spin was the same between the two shafts, the 70 launched lower and just wanted to fly straight vs the fade I get with the 60tx. I lived in the 2700-2800 spin with that combo on good strikes with my heely miss spinning up over 3k.  I’ve since moved in the smoke TD and it’s considerably lower spin.  24-2600 is where I’m at on good strikes and more retention of ball speed on mishits.  Calloway’s got a pretty good trade in going on right now and some good low/low stock shaft options.

 

 

[Stuart_G]

19 hours ago, Jtbarilla said:

When I swing the 4 wood the consistency and knowing where the head is in my swing is miles better.

 

That's much more likely because of the shorter playing length than the heavier shaft.

 

Also, head presence in the swing is more commonly about head weight (swing weight) than it is about shaft weight - and even stiffness can effect it.  But you never know until you start playing around with different changes.

 

19 hours ago, Jtbarilla said:

I have read many people finding a heavier driver shaft to be better.

 

Finding the best fit for shaft weight can be important, but that doesn't mean heavier will always be better.

 

But if you want to find out what it might do to you and your swing - just throw on about 10 gm of lead tape around the middle of your current shaft and see what happens.

 

P.S.  Don't make any assumptions about what might happen to the ball flight results - just go out and see for yourself.

Edited May 9 by Stuart_G

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

When I stepped up in weight the first time, what I found is the head needed added weight so I could get the feel I wanted from the club. If I keep the head weight at the "standard weight" of a PXG driver, I find it to be incompatible with the 80g shafts. It feels weird. So the head needs to be heavier to give me a sense of "balance" in the club.

I'd caution against going too heavy in the head. I did that, it's taking time to dial it back, but generally speaking I am finding I generally prefer 3-5W head weight in the driver head. Still a sledge-hammer, but maybe not the heaviest one on the rack.

So just be careful about going to town on weight increases.... LOL  (Not that you would, most people aren't going to do things the way I do..... which is to say I can be a bit bullheaded at times.... 😄 )

[jah7838]

To add to the comments about head weight, if you're going to add it, start with some high density lead tape and add it in strips until it feels right to you.  Then you can weigh the head with the lead tape on it, and you can then adjust the weight of the head after that.  (You can use the rolls of lead tape from Golf Galaxy as well, but I prefer the high density stuff)

 

You can leave the lead tape on if you're not bothered with it, or add the proper amount of weight you want with hot melt or changing weights in the heads if they have them.  Billy Bob's golf has a good variety of weights for a lot of different manufacturers.  

 

I have to get my driver heads to around the 200-204g mark with my 70g shafts since I play my driver at 45".