When To Switch From Stiff To Regular Shafts?

The shaft is the “engine room” of your golf club and so it is vital that it is working as efficiently as possible.

Your golf swing is about as personal as your fingerprint and so matching that with the correct shaft is a science. Many factors can change your swing speed which can affect the shaft.

Sometimes ego gets the better of us and we play stiff shafts because it sounds good. Age creeping up on us can also be a reason that we need to change to something with a bit more flex. There is no shame in this at all! Let’s look at the clues that suggest you need to make a change.

Shaft Flex And Why It Matters

Clubhead speed, ball speed, dispersion and spin rates are all affected by shaft flex, getting it wrong can be costly. This video here goes into more detail on the importance of shaft flex and they actually liken your shaft to buying a new t-shirt and how that fits.

They say if you buy a shirt that fits perfectly you love to wear it and you feel confident. If you buy the wrong size then you will feel very uncomfortable when you put it on. An ill-fitting shaft will make you feel uncomfortable as it will make it very difficult to hit the ball well.

How To Know If Your Shafts Are Too Stiff?

One of the biggest clues is that the shaft will feel “dead” in your hands. A shaft that is working feels like it works with you and that it powers the shot, a shaft that is too stiff will not give this feeling at all. There are also clues in the flight of the ball if you don’t want to rely on feel.

What Type Of Shots?

The Right Miss

A key function of the shaft is to help square the club at impact. A shaft that is too stiff will be incredibly difficult to deliver square and so you are likely to see a lot of misses to the right as the club comes into the ball open.

The Low Ball

You are also likely to struggle to get the ball in the air as you won’t be activating the shaft properly and it won’t be working with you. The lack of speed can cause the shaft to be in a bad position at impact and make it really difficult to launch the ball into the air.

How To Know When To Switch To Regular

If you feel like you have to work really hard and swing it perfectly for your club to work. If you feel like there is no margin for error in your swing and no forgiveness in your shots then these reasons should have you considering a switch. It may not be the club that isn’t working but the shaft.

Obviously the shots listed above, right miss and low ball, are clues too. Your clubs should feel like they work for you and that you can swing both fast and slow to give you good control on windy days. If you don’t feel like you have this scope for creativity then there is an issue.

Can You Gain Distance By Switching To Regular?

Absolutely you can. If you are using a shaft that is too stiff for you then the energy in your swing will not be efficiently transferred to the club head. By fixing this and by getting a regular shaft fitted to your clubs you can get that energy that’s being stolen from you.

On top of this, given that your clubs will feel easier to use, you may not fatigue as much so your swing speeds should be more consistent throughout the entire round. Finally, you’ll almost certainly just start swinging it more efficiently which will give you even more speed back.

Should You Measure Your Swing Speed? How?

Knowing your swing speed can give you a solid clue as to which flex of shaft you should be playing. It’s something that many golfers get hung up on as they chase the numbers they see from PGA Tour players, this is a big mistake. Don’t chase it, just measure where you are occasionally.

Getting onto a launch monitor is the best way to measure swing speed. Booking time with a club fitter can be a great way of doing this as they can describe what all of the data means and what you can do with those numbers. This can be a brilliant session to learn more about your swing.

Should You Get Fitted For Shafts?

As I said in the very beginning, our golf swings are incredibly unique. One of the worst things you can do for your game is to pick up a set from the rack. Club-fitting is such an efficient process these days and it is such great value that you’d be silly not to do it.

Don’t be the person who shows up trying to impress the fitter, you won’t. Just bring your normal swing, leave your ego and your excuses at the door and see what comes out of the session. Relax and enjoy it, I absolutely love a fitting session!

Will A Stiff Shaft Have A Lower Ball Flight?

Not necessarily, shafts are wondrous feats of engineering. You can have high, mid and low launching shafts in most flexes. This is another reason that getting a fitting is so vital as factors like this are considered beyond swing speed. It’s a complicated process so let a pro do it.

Can Stiff Or Regular Cause Or Fix A Slice?

If you deliver an open club face and swing the club from outside to in then you will slice it. Having a shaft that is too stiff can increase the chances of you hitting a slice but if you swing it that way then it is pilot error, don’t blame the shaft!

Conclusion

Golf is a difficult game so you have to take advantage of anything you can that will make it easier for you.

Having the wrong clubs, especially a shaft that is too stiff, for your swing can be disastrous. Get yourself fitted properly and if you need more flex then take it!