So, the whole torque discussion prompted some questions about torque of a shaft vs. the weight of a shaft. Honestly, this was never a parallel that I drew, but as I thought about it more, it adds up to a GREAT discussion.

Torque is a measure of how the shaft rotates, correct? Weight is a measure of weight, duh. Haha. Not the same thing. However, we often use torque to help a player square the face (read: return the clubface to square at impact). Don’t we also use weight for that – perhaps in a roundabout way? Going lighter to increase speed while still hitting it good. Going heavier to help get/ keep the club on plane. If either of these are incorrect, the likelihood that the face isn’t square at impact will be high.

Similar applications, but for very different reasons. In my opinion, you can’t dial in one or the other, you have to dial in BOTH.

BOTH are looking to help a player have a square clubface at impact. Remember, what’s the job of the shaft? It’s to return the face to square at impact – or return it to where it started. It’s safe to say the BOTH weight and torque help a player accomplish this.

If the club changes plane (due to a swing flaw), the weight of the shaft can help to get it back on plane. IF the club is off the correct plane, is it safe to say it’s possible for the club to be traveling in the wrong direction which can mis-align the face at impact? Of course it is.

If the arms rotate too quickly or slowly, is it safe to say that the face may not match the hands at impact? Of course it is.

The bigger question is “Can BOTH of these things happen?” The answer it OF COURSE it can, and it DOES for MOST players. This means you will have to address WEIGHT AND TORQUE in almost every fitting. Scratch that… not almost. in EVERY fitting.

Remember, you are trying to get the clubface position at impact back to where it started at address. Through all the dynamics, external forces, and motion induced by the golf swing. Not an easy task.

The correct torque value will change based on how the player routes the club. The shaft weight – if it is heavier or lighter will influence the direction the club travels into and through the hitting area. This will also influence the amount of torque needed for the right shaft for the player in question.

My process:

Start with the shaft flex and weight. Get that dialed in first. Do so by looking at the players move throughout the swing, but especially from the top of the backswing. Does the shaft stay on plane? Can we go lighter (and he still keeps it on plane), or do we have to go heavier (to make it harder for him to go over or under the plane). Make adjustments and see if it helps. Heavier almost always keeps a shaft more on plane more than a lighter shaft IF the player throws the club from the top of his backswing.

Once you get the weight (and plane) right, THEN you can move on to fitting the player for the right amount of torque in the shaft.

A couple of thoughts… To get heavier, this can mean going from 40 to 50 grams. It doesn’t have to be 70 to 80 grams. You MAY have to change flexes to get the weight you want. Don’t have a 60-gram lite flex – try a 60-gram regular flex. The extra stiffness may help despite the fact that the player “doesn’t fit into that flex”. He fits into whatever weight, flex and torque value he hits straight and far.

Here’s a good rule of thumb for you on the right weights. If the player has a set of irons that he likes and hits well, and you are looking for a driver shaft:

• Take that weight of the iron shaft, divide it by 2 and add a little.
• He likes Dynamic Gold in his irons? Nice!! 130 grams on the iron shafts. Divide by 2 = 65 grams. Add a little. I would be hard pressed to consider trying something less than 70 grams for this player.
• DG Mid 115? By the formula above = 60 to 65 grams in a driver shaft.

Think about that for a minute… How many times do we fit someone for a 95-gram steel shaft in stiff flex and then put them in a 65-gram driver shaft? By the formula, that should be 50 to 55 grams. We should fit into that A LOT. A shaft that is too heavy might go right, correct? I never see that… HAHA. Maybe we try too heavy of a shaft and then a draw biased head… I never see that either. HAHA. If you have the shaft weight and torque right, you may not need that draw biased driver head. Just a thought.

You can do the same thing for shaft weight in reverse for irons if the player has a driver shaft he loves. Take the weight of the driver shaft he loves, double it and subtract 5 to 10 grams. 60- gram driver shaft? Double it = 120 grams. Less 5 – grams = 115-grams. Magic…

These are good starting points. Using shaft weight like this will help the club have a similar balance and feel to the other club you are using to match it up to.

For FW Woods, add 10 grams from the driver shaft unless it’s a very heavy shaft to start with. For hybrids, add another 10-grams.

Where doesn’t this work? On slower swing speeds. For seniors and ladies (driver swing speeds under 70 MPH). For those, I try to keep the weights as close as possible, and often as light as possible. For ladies, for example, you may want to go with a 40-gram shaft throughout the bag. Seniors too… Maybe you need to bump it to 50. Be flexible. Adjust as necessary.

Back to the original question of Weight vs. Torque. What is more important? BOTH. Which one do you fit first? I do weight first, and it never occurred to me to do torque first until having discussions since the last post on torque… If you do it the other way around, let me know. I’d love to chat about it. If you just try shafts until you find one, with no rhyme or reason, work on your process.

Happy Fitting!!!

Jim Yeager, PGA