In general terms what should changing shaft weight do?

[loki993]

Little background, Ive played steel shafts exclusively until last year when I got a set of ping rapture with very light 75 gram graphite shafts, wanted to try them out. I hit them ok but after a season I'm thinking the shafts are probably too light for me. Messing around at golf galaxy they had a set of mizunos with modus 105s, I hit a few balls and hit them ok too. I am currently looking at another used set for this season with Modus 120s and my only fear of they're going to be too heavy for me.

 

That aside looking around the internet I cant really find what exactly changing shaft weight is trying to accomplish

 

So, I know everyone's swing is different but in a general sense what does a heavier shaft do vs lighter ones?

Am I setting myself up for failure going up that much weight or should something like a modus 105 or 950 GH/neo be better? This one probably no answerable unless I just go hit them though.

[jvincent]

Not trying to be facetious, but a lighter shaft is meant to make a lighter club.

 

Historically they were meant for older/slower swing golfers with the idea that they could swing them faster than a heavier steel shaft.

 

If you don't fall into that category they may not make any difference. In my personal case I can't swing a light shaft any faster than a heavier one. I lose the feel for where the club is.

[Shilgy]

4 minutes ago, jvincent said:

Not trying to be facetious, but a lighter shaft is meant to make a lighter club.

 

Historically they were meant for older/slower swing golfers with the idea that they could swing them faster than a heavier steel shaft.

 

If you don't fall into that category they may not make any difference. In my personal case I can't swing a light shaft any faster than a heavier one. I lose the feel for where the club is.

Agree….I swing the heavier shaft faster(Modus 125 vs 105)

 

@loki993 the Modus 120 are 114g in stiff and 111 in regular flex….so not that much more than the 105.

 

https://nipponshaft.com/product/steel_modus_105.php

[Pepperturbo]

1 hour ago, loki993 said:

Little background, Ive played steel shafts exclusively until last year when I got a set of ping rapture with very light 75 gram graphite shafts, wanted to try them out. I hit them ok but after a season I'm thinking the shafts are probably too light for me. Messing around at golf galaxy they had a set of mizunos with modus 105s, I hit a few balls and hit them ok too. I am currently looking at another used set for this season with Modus 120s and my only fear of they're going to be too heavy for me.

 

That aside looking around the internet I cant really find what exactly changing shaft weight is trying to accomplish

 

So, I know everyone's swing is different but in a general sense what does a heavier shaft do vs lighter ones?

Am I setting myself up for failure going up that much weight or should something like a modus 105 or 950 GH/neo be better? This one probably no answerable unless I just go hit them though.

Senior flex shafts are usually +/- 75g = senior or regular flex.  I tested 65g and 75g R & S, they were too light for me, and I am 70+ yrs young.  

 

Finding the right shaft weight allows your swing to be IMO more fluid, getting the club head sweet spot on the ball more often than not.  It's about control, heavier weight under control might get a faster SS, but lighter weight under control may get more distance.

 

Let's not forget the club head plays a role too.  I play the new T100 irons 3i-PW, before that 620 MB irons.  Currently, have MMT 85g stiff shafts in 3i-5i and MMT 105g stiff shafts in 6i-PW.   I swing long irons a little faster than mid-short irons; in the latter irons I want a heavier shaft because these to me are scoring clubs, dispersion is less too. 

 

Also, how much shaft weight depends on a person's strength and swing.  Too heavy of a shaft will tire some people.  Reason I no longer play MMT 125g stiff or PX 6.0 120g shafts.  

Edited February 2, 2024 by Pepperturbo

[loki993]

Ok. So its not about ball flight, like one will launch higher or lower. Because thats one of the things I saw. Thats really my worry. I don't want a shaft that will cause me to launch too low, though most of my issue in that regard is completely user error. 

 

I have an average swing speed. 90- 95ish with driver. Probably 75-80ish on the 7 if I had to guess. 

 

I've never really gotten tired swinging any of my steel shafts so I don't think that would be an issue unless I went really heavy. 

[RSLP]

Nippon is a great shaft maker.  See if one of the nearby dealers can help sort out which specific shaft.  My guess is something in regular and in the 105-120 range.

 

https://nipponshaft.com/product/find_dealer.php

 

note: try the Modus 130, it fits who it fits.  

 

 

Edited February 2, 2024 by RSLP
Typo

[PuffyC]

Unfortunately there is no "general sense" when it comes to shaft weight. Some will swing a light shaft faster than a heavy one and some will do the opposite. It really is just a matter of finding out which one you swing best. If you have light shafts now it's an easy thing to test and will only cost you a few bucks. Get some lead tape and start adding weight 14 inches from the butt. That 14 inch mark is important so you don't change swing weight. Add 10g then go see how they feel and perform. Don't like it? Add another 10g. In theory you should eventually find a weight where it feels best and/or you get the best performance, and maybe that's no extra weight at all. This method isn't perfect but it's good enough to tell you whether you need a heavier shaft or not.

[2Down]

To me mass equals stability. Almost everybody has lighter shafts in their drivers for speed and often they are progressively lighter through the set with the wedges being heavier, in my mind more stabile, to help with the shots around the green.  

[Stuart_G]

11 hours ago, loki993 said:

Ok. So its not about ball flight, like one will launch higher or lower. Because thats one of the things I saw. Thats really my worry. I don't want a shaft that will cause me to launch too low, though most of my issue in that regard is completely user error. 

 

 

It's not directly about ball flight - but that doesn't mean that ball flight can be effected indirectly.

 

And different shafts that happen to be different weights may also have different stiffness profiles - and those different stiffness profiles could have some influence on the launch.   So if you're concerned about launch, you have to factor the stiffness profiles in as well as the weight.

 

It's largely about how the weight feel effects ones sense of rhythm and timing in the swing and how well it might match up with the players natural sense of rhythm and timing or what timing might work best for their mechanics.     For the most part it's about consistency and dispersion and accuracy and even shot shape control in some cases.  Those are the things you should look at when finding the best shaft weight.    But release timing can be effected as well - which means dynamic loft delivered and therefore launch and spin.   But there is still no general rule - everyone is different on how the change in weight feel will influence the swing.   Some people can swing a wide range of weights and have no effect on the results - others might be more sensitive and need to dial in the weight to a narrow window to get the best results.

 

Also realize that the weight feel is a combination of both the total club weight (shaft weight) as well as the swing weight (really head weight).  So we can't really look at the shaft weight alone by itself.

[Rock springs]

The modus 105 is as good a steel shaft in that weight range as you can get in my opinion .   

[Rock springs]

Here's a recent link to an article on just this subject.

 

https://golf.com/gear/golf-clubs-too-heavy-ways-to-find-out/