Golf Tips and Equipment Advice

Looking for Driver Shafts Defying Conventional Wisdom

If you read any of the popular golf magazines, you know that low handicappers are told to look for shafts that have low torque and a little more weight for stability. Ultra light shafts with higher torque are supposed to be aimed squarely at slow swing speed players.

So it was surprising to read that Stuart Appleby was using a Fujikura Six in his driver. His clubs were profiled in one of Golf Digest’s What’s in My Bag features.

The Fujikura Six is a 55 gram shaft with about 4.5* of torque. Not many club fitters would put a player like Appleby in that shaft. You might have even toyed with the idea of using a super light, but just couldn’t bring yourself to try one.

Last year Appleby averaged a little over 300 yards per drive. And that gets your attention. I was already using fairly light driver shafts, so I started experimenting with super lights to see if there was something to it.

Super light shafts do work… if you pick the right flex…

I already knew that very light shafts play softer than advertised flex, so I decided to keep going up in flex to see what would happen.

I didn’t use a Fujikura Six, but did try an MCC/Apache MFS 50+. After dialing in the flex I was able to add some distance instantly. Another benefit? There was no drop off in accuracy.

So, exactly what do you have to do to make a super light work?

Well, besides using a stiffer flex, boosting your driver’s swingweight so you can feel the clubhead is critical. You don’t need a very heavy shaft to maintain stability, but you do need to feel the clubhead during the swing if you want to stay in the short grass.

The only downside? You won’t be playing these shafts at shorter lengths. They’re simply too light. If you struggle with accuracy, go with a heavier shaft at a shorter length for control. Otherwise, give one a whirl and see if you don’t pick up a few extra yards.

Now, here’s another shaft type better players seem to stay away from.

.350 tip driver shafts – only for mid to high handicappers?

Have you ever wondered what the differences are between the drivers tour pros use, as opposed to what you usually play?

Aside from the fact that tour vans customize clubs for pros under contract, there is one thing many manufacturers do that separates the “consumer” product from the “tour preferred” kind.

If you check out a lot of stock, off-the-rack drivers, and TaylorMade is a good example of this, you’ll notice that they use .350 tip shafts, instead of the smaller .335 tip shafts.

Look carefully at their different driver models, and you’ll discover that their “Tour Issue”, or “Tour Preferred” drivers are designed to be used with .335 tip shafts.

A lot of better players turn their noses up at .350 tip shafts and won’t play them. There are a couple of reasons they feel this way:

First, few if any tour pros use them. The claim is that .335 tip shafts deliver better feel with more responsiveness.

Second, manufacturers use them in their consumer products because they’re more rugged and cut down on breakage and returns. That is true. I’ve noticed they do hold up better with fast swing speed players.

After working with these shafts for a while, I’ve found no evidence to support the claim that .335 tip shafts feel better.

More importantly? I’ve noticed that low handicappers can’t distinguish between .350 tip versus .335 tip shafts in the same drivers. They feel virtually the same. The only negligible difference? The .350 tip shaft may play a hair stiffer.

The take-away message? Don’t always wait for tour pros to start using a product before you try something new yourself. They’re notorious for being late adopters, and are reluctant to make changes in their set makeup.

A little experimentation is a good thing. At the end of the day? You’re the only one who’s going to know what equipment works best for your game.

Ken Lopez writes articles for Pure Impact Custom Golf. Have questions on custom golf clubs? You can get answers here: http://www.pureimpactgolf.com/golf/default.asp