Picking The Correct Golf Club Shaft

One of the most salient components constituting a golf club can be stated as its shaft that holds the entire shaft together by connecting the handle on to the head. It is the component that is mostly affected when you swing a golf club, while the swing itself is mostly affected by the properties of the shaft.

The faster you swing, the more strain would come to bear on the shaft depending on the material with which it is manufactured and the size and weight of the head. The strain that comes to bear on the shaft as you swing in a clockwise direction makes the shaft end nearer the head tends to bend back very slightly in an anticlockwise direction, which is almost unnoticeable to the naked eye.  This slight bending caused due to its elasticity is termed the flex and is usually specified on the shaft by the manufacturer as its flex rating. 

The shaft length is a unique factor that may need to be different from one person to another depending mainly on the height of its holder and also his stance as he grips and holds the club by its handle in readiness to swing. For a golfer with a normal stance (lean) and grip, the ideal shaft length would be the length from his naval to the ground level when standing erect. However, it may need further adjustments depending on the angle of his stance and also the exact region of the handle from where he grips. You should try out as many clubs as possible comprising the ideal shaft length for you as well as with slightly longer and shorter shafts until you find the best fit for you. However, the search for the ideal shaft does not end with that since there are more properties to test in a shaft before you can be satisfied that you have found the best shaft for your swinging technique.

The other property termed flex and specified on the shaft by the manufacturer too plays a major role in the game you play. If you are already used to playing with a club having a specified flex rating, changing the shaft to one with a different rating could vastly affect your game. If you happen to be a very fast swinger, what would suit you better is a stiff shaft with almost no flex in it. A shaft with a high flex rating swung at very high speed could make the ball overshoot the targeted range, unless you change your technique or change over to a much stiffer shaft. If your swing style is comparatively more delicate, then you would have to go for a shaft with more flex for best results. By studying your swing, an experienced player or some competent salesperson at a golf club store would advice you on the extent of flex that is likely to be the best match for your swinging style.

The above findings are subject to further adjustments depending on the material of the shaft. By far the most popularly used materials are graphite and steel. Shafts made of graphite that are considered the more professional of the two are also lighter and have a naturally built-in higher torque rating. Steel shafts, on the other hand are more durable and heavier. They are quite stiff and rigid and blend better with slower swinging styles. However, steel shafts are known to work well for most golfers with perhaps a few minor adjustments such as a heavy head for getting more momentum off a slower swing.  

Many golfers resist change and prefer to stay put to the specifications that have continued to work well for them to-date. However, the more dynamic and adventurous types always like to experiment with the hope of improving their game still further. Such golfers could tryout some shafts with different combinations of shaft length, material of manufacture and flex ratings until they find a particular combination that works far better than anything that had worked for them in the past. In addition to testing on your own, you would do better to get the observations, advice and opinions of more experienced and knowledgeable players before you finally decide to implement any changes to your existing club shafts.