Getting fit is incredibly important as there is no standard for shaft flexes at all. One brand’s “regular” flex might be closer to another brand’s “stiff”, or vice versa.
4 Likes
it’s the wild wild west out there, and pretty paint jobs ain’t helpin’
2 Likes
One of the things that helped me make up my mind on the set of irons I got was that Tour Edge would let me send the clubs back if the shaft flex didn’t work out.
Having just gotten back into the game and not knowledgeable about all the nuances of what is important in choosing clubs, this was really helpful. Thankfully, the clubs were fine.
2 Likes
Absolutely. I have tried R, S and X flex driver shafts that all seemed very close.
Sometimes I wonder about Quality Control as well. Years ago I bought a set of Rifle shafts that were “frequency matched” to build my iron set. I never got along with that set very well. Not long after I bought Club Scout Frequency meter and started checking my clubs. Turns out that “frequency matched” set was anything but. The 5 iron shaft was actually quite a bit stiffer than the 6 or 7 iron shaft. Some shaft mfrs used to go an extra step and sort their flexes so the fitter could have R1, R2, R3, S1, S2, S3 and didn’t need to do as much if any tipping.
1 Like
Quality control is another HUGE problem in the shaft industry that nobody talks about. Premium shaft companies put a lot more time and effort into building their shafts so you can expect to have less issues. That’s not to say price always implies quality but sometimes the “of the rack” shafts are very inconsistent
3 Likes
This is true. See: TPT driver shafts from a few years ago.
1 Like
Jon, sounds like iron shafts are easier to get the flex right with compared to graphite?
What I find interesting about golf is that optimized and working are very different things…
I played for 20 years with regular flex shafts… I swing a 7 iron 96 mph… I’ve found s400s are the best overall fit for me.
Did the regular shafts hurt my game? Most likely… did I learn to play them? Absolutely. Granted, my launch was super high and windy days killed me.
That said, you only get 14 clubs and will hopefully play whatever irons you buy for years, so it makes a ton of sense to make sure you are in the right ones.
I think there is also a challenge in finding a good fitter with the resources to make sure you end up with the clubs they ordered…
It’s an interesting challenge, and I wonder how much focus oems have put on it… I feel like driver shaft consistency has been improving significantly recently, so I’d expect iron shafts to follow suit.
2 Likes
This gets to one of the main themes of club fitting. Yes, skilled players can get away with equipment that is not perfectly fit for them but as you mentioned it won’t be optimal.
One of the biggest myths out there is that average to below average golfers are not good enough to get fit, and it’s quite the opposite. Those are the players who need the best fitting because they don’t have enough skill yet to overcome problems in their equipment . This something I’ve learned over the last 5 to 6 years working with a lot of different fitters who know what they’re talking about.
2 Likes
To be honest I’m not entirely sure. There are nuances to any type of shaft that need to be addressed in order to get your best results.
1 Like
That’s a very good point and something I hadn’t thought about… enough time and you can make anything work…
As a mediocre putter, I can definitely say getting fit for a putter helped my stroke…
I played with irons that were way too upright for me for several years. I had no idea, but when they got fixed, I saw an immediate improvement in my iron play!
2 Likes
Oh man, I’m a little scared to get on the gc hawk and see my impact.
1 Like
What’s all of your take on wedge shafts matching your iron set? I’m currently playing the same shafts I was fit into for my irons but didn’t experiment too much w/ my wedges at the time of the fitting. Ever the tinkerer I’m debating on trying going softer in flex and heavier in weight because my LW is one that I play a lot of partial shots with as opposed to my GW and SW where tend to play more full shots.
2 Likes
I went a flex down what I should be playing on my most recent set of wedges… I don’t take a ton of full swings with them, so I figure softer will be fine.
My current club setup is still a mess and I need to just rebuild everything but the driver and putter (new wedges are a step in that direction)
2 Likes
Had you ever played the matching shaft to your irons in your wedges before? I’m just curious if there’s a better feel in going softer with the wedges
I’ve pretty much exclusively played wedge flex wedges… I think it makes sense to go a little softer in wedges you aren’t hitting full, but haven’t custom ordered shafts before…
I’ve got the same shaft in my gap wedge as the rest of the set, but it matches the set, so it will be hard to get specific numbers.
If you want to go glass half full, I think you are winning either way, softer gives more feel around the greens and harder gives more control on fuller swings…
1 Like
I’ve always liked my SW and LW shafts to be heavier and a bit softer, but I rarely take a full swing with those wedges. I’ve heard the pros playing X100 would often use S400 in their high loft wedges for a bit more feel (heavier w/ softer tip), but at my meager swing speed I can’t go much softer lol.
1 Like
Hah well you guys have convinced me. I went out and bought a heavier shaft in a softer flex so let’s see if that translates to anything on the course in a couple weeks
2 Likes
Nice! I haven’t actually ordered my wedges, wonder if I can go heavier… probably not from a project x 6.0