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Choosing a Shaft for Your Golf Clubs

The shaft of the golf club is said by many to
be the engine of the golf club. The more I90- 105 220-
think about this statement, I'm not convinced255 S
it is accurate. I am maintaining the more
accurate statement is that the swing is the105+ 255+
engine and the shaft is the transmission.X
Regardless of what you consider the shaft to
be, all golfers need to know which shaft isBend Point: Often confused with kick-point,
right  for  their  swing.the bend point is the maximum position of the
shaft when it is subjected to a bending
While it is best to be fit by a professionalforce. Kick-point is determined by a
club fitter, golfers should have a good ideadifferent test and is not the same.
what type of shaft they should be lookingBend-point designations are; low, mid, and
for. There are three main specifications thathigh. The terminology might lead you to
the typical golfer should keep in mind whenbelieve that the bend point designations are
choosing a shaft. Most golfers will at leastin distinctly different places on the shaft.
be familiar with these specifications: flex,In reality, all bend points will be within an
bend  point,  and  torque.approximately 6-inch section of the shaft.
Bend point can effect trajectory slightly.
Flex: flex is the relative stiffness of theLow bend point shafts will slightly increase
shaft, more specifically, the shaft'sthe trajectory, and high bend point will
resistance to bending when a force isslightly decrease the trajectory.
applied. Flex is categorized with theAdditionally, low bend point shafts will feel
following designations from the most flexiblemore flexible at the tip end. Generally
to the stiffest; L-flex (ladies), A-flexspeaking, players with more feel prefer
(senior), R-flex, (regular), S-flex (stiff),higher bend point shafts, and high-
and X-flex (extra stiff). Any informationhandicapped players do better with low bend
about shaft flex is given in generalitiespoint  shafts.
only. Since there are no industry standards,
every companies designations concerning flexTorque: Torque is the measurement in degrees
can be different. Traditionally, a golferthat indicates the amount of twisting the
will base a flex decision on swing speed, orshaft sustains by the force of the swing and
driving distance. Although this is not thethe impact of the clubface with the ball.
only determining factor, the following is aTorque has more of an effect on feel than any
good  place  to  start.other fitting parameters. The lower the
torque of the shaft, the more it will feel
Club head speed: Drivingstiff in the tip. Torque is no longer
Distance Flexconsidered a factor in shaft fitting, with
only a couple exceptions; feel, and those of
Up to 65 mph 160 yardsthe player with a very fast swing speed and a
or  less Lfast tempo, or the player with a very low
swing speed. The fast swing speed player
60-75 mph 160-should (>95mph), should not use a shaft with
180 Aa torque greater than 5 degrees, and the low
swing speed player should not use a torque
75- 90 180-less than 3.5 - 4 degrees of torque.
225 R



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