Last week we talked about shaft weights for irons. As promised, this week, we’ll talk about shaft weights for woods. Simply put, heavier shafts (to a point) will go straighter, while lighter shafts (to a point) will allow a player to swing the club faster (equals more clubhead speed –> more ball speed –> more distance). we try to walk a fine line between how heavy do we need vs. how light can we get away with.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

1. Club manufacturers need to sell drivers (woods). To do this, we push the limits of technology. We also like a nice marketing story (like, this driver is xx yards longer than last years club). To do this, shafts have gotten longer (remember the days when 43″ was the standard length of a driver?), and lighter. Both help a swing robot hit the ball further.
2. Many players have not been fit for their current driver. Just because he is playing it and he says he likes it, doesn’t mean it’s right for him. Take it for what it’s worth and file the information away. Maybe it is right, maybe it isn’t. Maybe his version of good isn’t the same as your version of good.
3. In regards to flexes, Regular flex is regular flex. There is no such thing as a stiffer regular flex. There are regular flex shafts that feel softer or firmer, have more or less torque (rotation), or are generally easier or harder to hit. Keep in mind that all regular flex shafts are not the same and you can try different flavors from different companies. Different weight options within the same shaft lineup can play quite differently.

I’ll start you with an example of a recent fitting. A player was playing a 60 gram stiff flex shaft. He was not fit for the shaft, but he loved it. We’ll skip most of the details of the fitting, but he was playing a 10.5* head and he hit it straight ish, but on the lower side with an occasional wild miss that could go either way. 98 MPH club head speed, so stiff flex. Ball speed was in the 140-142 mph range (good, but not great). My challenge was simple. I needed to straighten him out, help him launch it higher to increase his carry distance, and reduce his spin (which I did by changing his loft). Fortunately, we offer a newer version of the shaft he was currently playing, so I built him a driver in the same loft and weight as what he was playing. The new head increased his apex height and lowered his spin. Still more to go on the spin side, so I knew I had to lower the loft of the head. Counter intuitive since he hits it on the low side to begin with. 9* head dropped the spin nicely without a drastic change to his launch angle. So, here’s the fork in the road – your brain is telling you that you need a lighter, softer shaft to help him get a higher apex, right? You also know that you need to help him hit it straighter and guard against the big misses. Will a lighter, softer shaft do both of those things? Probably not.

I looked at the Trackman numbers and his path was good, but face was either open or closed on his misses. Attack angle was slightly negative (-2* or so). I felt the shaft was too light for him since he was flipping his hands at impact on some of them. You’re not going to a 70 gram shaft, are you? Yes!! a couple of things should happen. First, his club head speed should drop by about a mile per hour or so. Second, because the club is heavier, he may not be able to muscle it, so he should drop it in from the inside better, which could improve his attack angle. Third, it might be too heavy to flip his hands at it, which should greatly reduce his misses. In this case, all three of these things happened – club head speed to about 97, attack angle improved by about a degree, and his face stayed much more square (I used the D setting and it eliminated the miss to the right). Ironically, all of this led to a couple of interesting things – the better attack angle lowered his spin and raised his launch and apex. The more solid contact raised his ball speed by almost 5 mph to 145-146. He ended up gaining about 10 yards in carry and 15 in total, while he never missed wild left or right at all.

He could not understand how a heavier shaft which produced a slower swing speed could go further. I explained to him that the golf ball doesn’t care how fast the club is travelling – it only cares how fast it leaves the club face. In his case, I had to use face tape to illustrate how the different weight shafts led to different consistencies in contact, and then Trackman to show him how it helped him change the way he was swinging the club.

The best takeaway here is to go as heavy as you need to and as light as you can. This single thought will give you the most consistent results AND the most distance.

What to look for…

If he can’t stay in balance through his follow through, the shaft is too heavy.

If it looks like he’s swinging the club from the top, the shaft may be too light.

Quick tempo, borderline swing speed? Try a heavier shaft in a more flexible shaft.

Smooth tempo with nice acceleration? Try a lighter shaft and see if he can still hit it straight?

Negative attack angle, try a heavier shaft.

Inconsistent contact on the face? Try a shorter AND heavier shaft.

Ball flies too high? Try a heavier shaft.

Ball flies too low? Determine why and possibly try heavier or lighter depending on other factors.

In my opinion, shaft weights and clubs in general have gotten too light over the years. This is a trend that will continue. This will make the good ones better and the bad ones worse – fine for a driving range, but not so much for the golf course. Heavier shafts combat this. If ordered this way, they will still come with the correct swingweight, so it will just be a heavier version of the same thing. Curious? Tinker with shafts from your fitting cart. Watch what it does to your ball flight and golf swing. Don’t think that 70 gram shaft are only for X flex players. It’s not for everyone, but it should be part of your fitting protocol.

Hope this helps. Until next time – happy fitting!!