Should I Use Graphite Shafts for Hybrids and Steel Shafts for Irons?

Absolutely, and it is done all the time by tons of golfers. Industry statistics say that over 90% of all hybrids are sold with a graphite shaft, while only 30% of all irons are sold with graphite shafts.

These trends most definitely say graphite is by the shaft of choice in hybrids while steel is the material of choice for iron shafts.

But is that right? Since few hybrids are even offered by companies with steel shafts, if they were, would that make hybrids a better match to a set of steel shaft irons and thus offer a golfer a higher level of shotmaking consistency from hybrid to iron?

As always with matters concerning the WEIGHT of golf clubs, it might and it might not – it depends on the golfer and his sense of feel for the weighting of his clubs. When we talk about the overall weight feel of a golf club, we are talking about both the total weight and the swingweight. Total weight is the weight of the parts – the weight of the shaft, head, grip all added up together. Swingweight is an expression of how much the golfer feels the presence of weight out there on the end of the shaft while the club is being swung.

There is no question that a BIG part of each golfer’s shot consistency has to do with whether the total weight, swingweight or both together match well to the golfer’s strength, transition force, downswing aggressiveness and overall swing timing. Put a strong golfer with a fast, aggressive swing into a club with a light total weight and/or a low swingweight and the results can be a disaster of miss hits and terrible shot consistency.

Likewise put a weaker golfer with a smooth, passive swing into a club with a heavy total weight and high swingweight and the golfer will lose distance and shot consistency.

So if the hybrids have light graphite shafts and the irons have heavier steel shafts, won’t that mess up most golfers’ tempo and timing? No, it won’t as long as the headweight feel in both parts of the set is made so that it matches the golfer’s strength, transition force, downswing aggressiveness and overall swing timing.

Depending on the actual weight of the graphite shaft in the hybrids, it may mean that the lighter the graphite shaft, the higher the swingweight may need to be in relation to the swingweight of the steel shaft irons in order to give them both a similar headweight feel. However, most graphite hybrid shafts are heavier (80g average) than graphite shafts used in drivers and fairway woods (65g avg). Thus when a heavier graphite shaft is used in a hybrid, its swingweight likely will not have to be more than 2 points higher than the golfer’s preferred swingweight in the steel shafted irons to produce a similar headweight feel.

In the end, this and many other fitting decisions are best determined from working with a good, experienced Clubmaker. To find a Clubmaker in your area, head to our Find a Clubfitter locator here – http://wishongolf.com/find-a-clubfitter/

Until next time,
TOM

-Tom

Does the Price of the Shaft Ensure Better Shaft Performance?

In a word? No, the price of the shaft does not ensure that anything about the shaft will be better, whether you are talking the fit, the performance or the quality. Sad, but it is true.

Over the past several years, a number of shaft companies have chosen to develop and market graphite shafts for woods which are VERY expensive. From the early 1980s when graphite shafts were first introduced until the mid 2000s, the most expensive graphite shafts cost in the area of $50 to $60.

In almost every case, these were shafts which were manufactured to be very light in weight and with a very low torque measurement. Making a graphite shaft that weighs 65 grams or less and with under 3 degrees of torque costs more money because more expensive higher strength/higher modulus graphite fiber materials are required to get to that light of a weight with that low of a torque.

But today, there are many shafts selling for $100, $200, $300 and even more which are of “normal weight” with a torque measurement in excess of 3 or 4 degrees. Why are there a number of shafts today being sold for such high prices? If you pay hundreds of dollars for a shaft, does that mean you will hit the ball farther, straighter or more consistently?

There are FIVE elements in the design of a golf shaft which ordain every bit of its performance. Those elements are the, 1) Flex or overall stiffness of the shaft, 2) Bend Profile, otherwise known as how the stiffness is distributed over the length of the shaft, 3) Weight, which is important because the shaft’s weight controls the total weight of the whole club, 4) Torque, also known as the shaft’s resistance to twisting during the swing, and 5) the Weight Distribution, which is also referred to as the balance point of the shaft.

At Wishon Golf, we maintain a data base of shaft measurements for more than 2,000 different shafts. This data base is the core of our TWGT Shaft Bend Profile Software, a program which allows custom clubmakers to be able to make quantitative comparisons of shafts for the purpose of making better shaft fitting decisions for golfers. With this software program, it is possible to compare the design and production specifications of any shaft in the data base to any other shaft.

In a nutshell, it is completely possible to find shafts which cost hundreds of dollars for which all of the performance elements are identical or so close to be considered identical in performance to shafts which cost less than $50. In all of our research we simply cannot find any performance justification for the very high price charged for some shafts today.

What makes a GOOD shaft is whether that shaft’s flex, bend profile, weight, torque and balance point are well matched to the golfer’s swing speed, point of wrist cock release and downswing force. There really is no such thing as a “bad shaft”; there are only poorly fit shafts and properly fit shafts. A properly fit shaft has no price guidelines or cost requirements attached to it.

To find the very best shafts for your swing and for your game, first look for a Clubmaker in your area though our Wishon Golf Find a Clubfitter locator tool, found on the home page of our website http://wishongolf.com/find-a-clubfitter/. Call the clubfitter and ask how he fits shafts to golfers. If he tells you he analyzes the golfer’s clubhead/swing speed, downswing transition/tempo and point of wrist cock release to known data measurements of shafts, your shaft fitting needs will be in the best hands.

Until next time, best wishes in this great game,

-Tom

Will Wedge Shafts Improve My Game?

It’s been a number of years ago since a few of the shaft companies began to offer shafts specifically designed for wedges. Anyone remember the name “Spinner” as an example of a wedge specific shaft?

The concept behind most wedge specific shafts is to try to use the shaft as a way to increase the backspin on a wedge shot. The idea involves designing the shaft with a little softer flex than what would be normal when an iron shaft is tip trimmed its normal amount for use in a wedge. The belief is if the wedge shaft is a little more flexible, it will cause the dynamic loft of the wedge at impact to be higher, which in turn will increase the amount of backspin on the shot.

The majority of wedge specific shafts are produced to have the same flexibility as the 8-iron shaft in a full set of iron shafts. In other words, to be about ½ flex softer than what a normal wedge shaft would be.

The other side of this coin is the thought that some golfers might develop better timing or rhythm with their wedge shots if they can slightly feel the shaft bend or flex a little more during the swing. This of course is a purely esoteric approach because what one golfer feels and likes, another golfer cannot and may or may not.

In truth, I did robot hit testing some years ago to discover if there was a difference in launch angle and spin with one of the typical half flex softer wedge shafts versus an iron shaft trimmed as conventional for a wedge. In a nutshell, there really is not enough difference in launch angle and spin rate to account for any performance difference with a wedge shaft that is designed to have the same flex as an 8-iron shaft.

That testing is what prompted me to take the direction I did when I designed two different wedge specific shafts for my company. The TWGT High Flight steel wedge shaft is designed to be 2 FULL FLEXES softer than a conventional shaft in a wedge. And our TWGT Knock-Down wedge shaft is designed to be similar to a XXX flex.

My concept was that if a golfer really wanted a softer feel or the chance for a higher launch/higher spin shot with the wedge, to do that would require making the shaft a LOT more flexible than the typical wedge specific shafts available in the industry. And conversely for the golfer who wants a dead stiff shaft in the wedge because he FEELS this would offer more control and accuracy, to do that requires the shaft to be VERY stiff.

At the end of the day, this matter of wedge specific shafts falls into the category of “if the golfer FEELS it is better,” the confidence that feeling may generate makes the decision worthwhile to do. Otherwise the same shaft you like in your numbered irons is going to be fine for use in your wedges.

Until next time,

-Tom

Short, Powerful Backswing: So What’s The Best Shaft for Me?

Short backswings with strong acceleration do require more overall stiffness and/or more tip stiffness to prevent a sudden, forceful swing move from over bending the shaft at the start of the downswing.

When choosing the right shaft, the weight of the shaft, the overall flex and the bend profile are the most important elements, with torque being much less important.  The reason is because you just do not see higher torque with any shafts that are designed in a stiffer overall flex with more tip stiffness. The shaft companies know that players who need to use stiffer overall flex shafts and more tip stiff shafts also need to keep the torque no higher than 3.5*. So it is very rare in the industry these days to even see a normal S, a strong S or any X flex with tip stiff bend profile to ever have a torque higher than 4*.

In addition, as long as the overall flex and bend profile and weight of the shaft are correct for a golfer’s swing, the difference between a torque of say, 2* and 3.5* is very minimal on shot dispersion. The golfer might notice that the 2* torque shaft felt a little stiffer at impact than the 3.5* torque version of the same flex and bend profile shaft, but he would not experience anything in the way of off line shots from a 1.5* torque difference.

So do your best to get fit for the right shaft weight, shaft overall flex and bend profile for your swing moves and the torque is not going to be an issue.

The best way to be sure you are properly fit for the right shafts that match all your swing characteristics is to find a GOOD Clubmaker/clubfitter in your area and have them use their knowledge and experience to custom fit you.

-Tom

Swing Type Plays a Huge Role in Club Fitting

I feel like the quick answer to this question has to start by saying. . . . DUH!! Clubfitting is and always will be about tailoring the specifications of each golf club so they best match the various swing characteristics of each different golfer.

Next time you head to the driving range when most of the hitting stations are in use, stop and look at the differences in how all the different golfers swing at the ball. Inside-out/square/outside-in swing path – fast/medium/slow swing speed – hitting down/swinging level/hitting up on the ball – forceful, aggressive to average to smooth, slower swing tempo – slice/straight/hook the ball – push/straight/pull the ball – early/midway and late release . . . And on and on.

The vast differences in how golfers swing at the ball all translate into a requirement for different Clubfitting specifications for the golfers. This is precisely why the golf industry’s typical business model to build their golf clubs to one series of standard specifications for most of the fitting specifications is so utterly flawed. It is why so many golfers buy golf clubs off the rack and never achieve all they can be as a golfer.

Now don’t get me wrong. Proper fitting is not likely to put you or me on the first tee of nest year’s US Open. But it darn well can make the difference in whether a golfer plays to the best of his/her ability as well as how quickly a golfer can adapt to swing changes when they take lessons. Improperly fit clubs do get in the way of golfers being able to play their best. And not just a little.

Let me tell you a few of the relationships between specific swing characteristics and proper fitting specifications:

Clubhead Speed

The clubhead speed is a critical part of shaft flex fitting. It is also an important element in determining what spacing of club lofts will deliver what amount of distance difference between clubs. Clubhead speed also affects the amount of backspin any golfer will achieve with any clubhead or shaft design.

Downswing Transition Force and Downswing Tempo

Golfers differ in how aggressively they start the downswing from very sudden/abrupt/forceful to very smooth/passive/gradual and all places in between. They also vary in their swing tempo from smooth/rhythmic to aggressive and in between. Downswing Transition force and the Tempo are major factors in choosing the right length, shaft weight, total weight, swingweight, shaft flex, shaft torque.

Point of Wrist-Cock Release

Golfers differ in when they start to unhinge the wrist cock angle from immediately after the downswing starts (early) to very late in the downswing (late) to also many different positions in between. The point of release is a big factor in choosing the right length, shaft flex, shaft bend profile, loft.

Swing Path

Again, you see golfers with swing path variations from very outside-in to square to very inside-out and paths in between. The swing path is a critical factor in determining the golfer’s best lengths and face angle for the woods and hybrids.

Angle of Attack

Whether the golfer swings downward, level or upward to the ball, the Angle of Attack is a key swing element in determining the best loft, best clubhead center of gravity design and clubhead sole design as well.

So the next time you encounter a golfer who thinks he or she is not good enough to benefit from custom fitting, clue them into the fact that the more differences they have in their swing characteristics, the more fitting can step up to help them play better golf. And as always, to get the best clubs for your swing, work with a good, competent custom clubfitter – http://wishongolf.com/find-a-clubfitter/

-Tom

Tip Soft Shaft: What Does it Mean for Your Swing?

What is meant by a “tip soft” shaft?  A shaft can be designed with any variation in its stiffness over its whole length.  So a tip soft shaft is one that is designed to be more flexible in the tip area of the shaft.  Likewise there can be any number of variations in how stiff the tip section of a shaft is designed.  The reason this is done is to help golfers with different swing characteristics find the right shaft that matches best to how they swing.

Most typically, golfers who unhinge the wrist cock early in the downswing are better fit with tip soft shafts, while golfers who hold that wrist cock until very late in the downswing are better fit with a tip stiff or tip firm shaft.  Those who unhinge the wrist cock somewhere in between early and late then are typically better fit to shafts that are more what is called a tip medium design.

But these terms “tip soft/tip firm/tip medium” are completely generic in their description and in no way tell you HOW TIP SOFT or HOW TIP FIRM is the shaft exactly.  That’s why we created this Bend Profile Software so that clubmakers can see exactly how much stiffer one shaft is than another, and where on the shaft from butt to center to tip is the shaft more or less stiff.

Let me explain using a graph and data from our Bend Profile Software data base.  In this software we store the FULL LENGTH STIFFNESS measurements of over 2,600 different shaft models and flexes so that clubmakers can empirically compare the stiffness design of one shaft to another to help them make better shaft fitting recommendations for the golfers they fit.

CLICK to Enlarge.

These are two different shafts which are designed to be virtually the same exact stiffness from the butt to the center of the shaft, but then different in stiffness for their tip section. In the graph and data box, the 41 to 11 columns tell you WHERE the stiffness measurements were made on each shaft, in inches up from the tip end. So the 41/36 measurements are considered the BUTT end of the shaft, the 31/26 measurements the CENTER section of the shaft and the 21/16/11 considered the TIP Section of the shaft. In the measurements, the higher the number, the stiffer the shaft is at that point.

So from this you can see that the Gold Tour R shaft is more tip stiff than is the Gold Plus High R because the 21/16/11 measurements of the tip section of the Gold Tour are higher and thus more stiff than the same location measurements of the Gold Plus High shaft.

The best way to be sure you are properly fit for the right shafts that match all your swing characteristics is to find a GOOD Clubmaker/clubfitter in your area and have them use their knowledge and experience to custom fit you.

~Tom

-Tom

Golf Shaft Fitting: How Does ‘Transition’ Affect Shaft Selection?

Occasionally, we receive questions about golf shaft fitting, so we will do our best to answer them.  Here is a question regarding ‘transition:’  What role does ‘transition’ play on the golf shaft and what kind of tips can you provide in finding the right shaft?

Because the difference in how forceful the golfer starts the downswing can be of high importance to finding the right overall stiffness in the shaft along with the right shaft weight and right headweight feel as well.

Typically if you have two golfers with the same clubhead speed, the one with a much more forceful transition move will do better with at least ½ flex stiffer shaft than what would be normal for that swing speed, with a 20g heavier shaft weight and in the area of 2 to 3 swingweight points higher in the headweight feel than the golfer with a pause at the top and a very smooth, gradual transition move.

Golfers with a strong transition who end up with too light of a total weight and/or too light of a swingweight tend to experience a higher degree of off center hits, more heel side hits, and even the tendency to make a slight outside in path become more outside in.

To get shaft fitting expert advice, Find a Clubfitter locator here – http://wishongolf.com/find-a-clubfitter/

Body Anchored Putter: USGA and R&A Putter Ban in Effect

Those who follow the doings of the golf equipment industry with interest are aware that on May 21, the USGA and the R&A officially announced their decision to ban the anchoring of putters to the body.  The decision was made despite the publicly stated opposition of the PGA of America and the PGA Tour to the ban, as well in the absence of any facts which prove the use of a body anchored putter automatically enables a golfer to make more putts.

Body anchored putters have been in play for more than 30 years.  Up until 2011 you could count the number of tournaments on one hand that were won by playing professionals using such putters.  Of the 700 or so tournaments played on the PGA Tour

between the advent of the body anchored putter and 2011, fewer than 1% were won by pros using a body anchored putter.   If one wants to say using a particular type of putter automatically results in better putting, these statistics could be used to say that the pros who used conventional putters during this time had the advantage.  After all, over 99% of all the tournaments won between the advent of the body anchored putter and 2011 were won by pros using a conventional putter.

But in 2011 and 2012, 11 tournaments were won by pros using a body anchored putter.  Did this all of a sudden prove that the use of a body anchored putter brought an automatic improvement in putting?  Perhaps the USGA thought so.  On the other hand, the reason for the sudden increase in wins by pros using the Belly or Broomstick style putters is more likely explained by the fact that a much greater number of more pros chose to use this type of a putter so the percentage of their wins simply increased because of statistics.

Even as the use of body anchored putters increased, far more tournaments have been won by pros using a conventional putter.  So after 30 years of use of these putters, why did the USGA all of a sudden decide they needed to define that the putting stroke has to be executed with the grip end of the putter free from the middle of the body?  After all, the game has been played for 500 yrs without any need to define how one should swing a club.  Could it be that among the small number of individuals who decide what the rules of the game will be, a majority simply felt the body anchored putters “look bad” and represent in their opinion a break from one of the traditions of the game?

Rules that relate either directly or indirectly to golf clubs need to be made on the basis of whether the equipment automatically replaces the skill required to play the game for all golfers.  Golf balls most definitely can be made so they can be hit significantly farther so we do need to put a limit on the ball.  Driver faces could be made so they allow each golfer to automatically achieve a 3-4% increase in distance, so putting a limit on the COR of the face is able to be justified.

But a body anchored putter in no way allows every golfer to make more putts.  It is simply a different type of putter.  Just like there are golfers who hit the ball better with a 44” driver vs one of 46”, or golfers who gain more on center hit consistency from a D4 swingweight than a D1, or a golfer who hits the ball better with this shaft vs that one, or any other use of different clubs, there are simply some golfers who feel they putt better with a body anchored putter while there are many more who do not.  At the risk of being labeled an anti-traditionalist, with my 40 yrs of experience in golf equipment research and design, the recent USGA decision to ban the anchoring of the putter to the body is a capricious and arbitrary decision made on the basis of emotion rather than science and statistics.  Thanks USGA, you now have another poor decision to add to your previous rulings to change scorelines, and to restrict the size and length of golf clubs which will do nothing to help the game.

-Tom

Why Can I Hit This Club But Not That Club?

Experienced custom clubmakers know the answer to this question. But most golfers who experience this after a visit to a retail golf store/pro shop to buy the latest and greatest new model don’t really know the answer. What’s more, when a golfer buys a new golf club(s) from their local golf store or pro shop, if they end up hitting the new club(s) poorly or worse than their previous club(s), more times than not the golfer comes to the conclusion the new club is a “bad design”.

So why is it that golfers so often buy new clubs only to find they are either perform no better than or sometimes worse than the clubs they have played previously?

The answer to this question is always the same, regardless of the club – because something about the new clubs doesn’t properly FIT the golfer’s individual combination of size, strength, athletic ability or swing characteristics.

There are no less than 13 different specifications that account for how one golf club can be different than another. Here’s the list - Loft, Lie, Face Angle, Length, Swingweight, Total Weight, Shaft Overall Flex, Shaft Bend Point, Shaft Weight, Set Make-Up, Grip Style, Grip Size, and Clubhead Design. To experienced custom clubmakers, there are sub spec variations within some of these 13.

But these are the 13 KEY clubfitting variables that if matched correctly to the golfer’s size, strength, athletic ability or swing characteristics will ensure the golfer can and will play to the best of their individual ability. Likewise, if one or more of these 13 are not well matched to the golfer, therein lies the answer to this question of Why Can I Hit This Club But Not That Club.

So the trick is to find which of the 13 fitting specs are right and which ones are not. And the only way to truly get to the bottom of that quest is to employ the services of a trained, experienced professional custom clubmaker. If you are a golfer who has thought about this question, there are several places on our website to find the CLUBMAKER LOCATOR link. Use it. Find a clubmaker in your area and go see him or her. I’ll bet the farm you’ll be glad you did.

Until next time, best wishes in this great game!

TOM
http://wishongolf.com