Driver Shaft too soft

[Insidious2]

yet ball flight still straight

Sound legitimate? My SS is around 115, sometimes up to 120. Fitter says I need X at least, but XX would still be reasonable.

Right now I play just a regular stiff Motore. However, I still hit it straight(if my swing is together) and my swing/shaft doesn't really have a tendency to go either direction. Lots of people post on here about shafts being 'hook machines' or 'loves to go right'. I've never really experienced this.

Anyone make sense of it?

[Bobbers]

Swing speed is part of it, but so is are the characteristics of the swing in question: transition, angles, lag, etc.

I think the question is one of "are you happy with what's going on now, fitter comments notwithstanding" and what you'd be trying to accomplish. Rule of thumb, which I think makes sense, is to go with the least flex that gives the desired result. That might be a stiff, might be an extra stiff. If it were me and I opted for the xx I'd have a tendency to be thinking "you've GOT to go after this, you've got an xx shaft in your hands" and that, for me, wouldn't generate the best results.

Just an opinion.

[OspreyCI]

[quote]If it were me and I opted for the xx I'd have a tendency to be thinking "you've GOT to go after this, you've got an xx shaft in your hands" and that, for me, wouldn't generate the best results.

[/quote] That is SO me. I am about 108ss and everyone says use an X. I just got through experimenting with an X flex and I did this very thing, "gotta hit it hard, got an x flex". Didn't work for me, I use a S flex and I like that is "soft" feeling, but can still control it.

[Insidious2]

[quote name='Bobbers' timestamp='1293847988' post='2868604']
Swing speed is part of it, but so is are the characteristics of the swing in question: transition, angles, lag, etc.

I think the question is one of "are you happy with what's going on now, fitter comments notwithstanding" and what you'd be trying to accomplish. Rule of thumb, which I think makes sense, is to go with the least flex that gives the desired result. That might be a stiff, might be an extra stiff. If it were me and I opted for the xx I'd have a tendency to be thinking "you've GOT to go after this, you've got an xx shaft in your hands" and that, for me, wouldn't generate the best results.

Just an opinion.
[/quote]

Good points. I guess the answer is yes, I am happy with what it's doing. I just want to make sure I'm not sacrificing potential energy and losing distance.

[Bobbers]

I'll use a different analogy to followup on your last comment. I've ho'ed putters for years, you name it, I've bagged and gagged it. By accident, I hate to admit that, I picked up an Odyssey Tour Design 9 at my preferred 33 inch length figuring what the heck, let the trend continue.

All I can say, or have said since I started with it is "wow". I can feel it release, it seems almost automatic I have never, ever putted better from all over the green in over forty years of golf. I am, finally, "set" with one club in the bag.

Could I find a "better" putter? Perhaps. But my focus is no longer on the putting part of my game other than practicing. I've got my hybrids figured out as well, so they're off the radar. I need lessons and perhaps shaft/loft changes in my driver and fairway wood(s). If you're getting what you need/want from the s flex shaft, let 'er ride; focus on where it hurts, not where it [i]might,[/i] and I stress the word might, perhaps feel better.

[Insidious2]

Isn't it possible that I'm losing distance?

[Bobbers]

As I commented earlier, yes, you "could" be losing distance or you could actually be in your sweet spot when it comes to how this club is set up and performs for you. It can be easy, as I well know from hanging around here...lol...to keep chasing a bus you're never going to catch when it comes to shaft, loft, lie angles, etc., etc., etc. I've gone to the idea that when I find something that works for me, or even a bit better than I hoped it might, I'll focus on an area that has a more clearly defined need before I circle back and nibble at the edges.

Could you reshaft and see how it goes? Sure. Just don't abandon the shaft that's working now, you might want to use it again in a few weeks. Note all the posts here that say, in effect, "What was I thinking??? How could I have sold that??? I've looked to replace that xxxx for the last three years!!!" You get the idea.

[TMBob]

115 SS and playing a Reg? I would guess that you are leaving something at the table with that combo. It would be hard to imagine that you have the proper Spin, LA and DA to maximize your SS with a Reg shaft.

If you are hitting a R straight, you can hit most shaft flexes straight, the key is finding the correct flex that gets the most out of that shaft and head combo IMHO.

[Grobster]

It always makes me laugh when people comment on SS alone and then say that you should play a particular flex. As advice goes it's about as accurate as those who ask what your handicap is when you walk in a store and then proceed to tell you what driver or irons you should be using...regardless of the fact that you perhaps lose the most shots around the green.

IMO....If you are hitting the ball well, straight, and you are getting good repeatable controlled ball flight and distances, good tight dispersion etc....then what extra is the SS recommended flex going to offer you?? I always have people saying to me....you could/should use a stiff or extra stiff. To which I nomally politely reply, yes but what is a stiff or x-stiff going to do for me that my current shaft isn't already doing?

So unless you have a specific issue (such as smash factor, spin, distance, dispersion, launch...or repeatable results) that you feel a shaft change will overcome, then stick with what you know works for you and your unique swing.

[SurfinTurf]

[quote name='TMBob' timestamp='1293904475' post='2869292']
115 SS and playing a Reg? I would guess that you are leaving something at the table with that combo. It would be hard to imagine that you have the proper Spin, LA and DA to maximize your SS with a Reg shaft.

If you are hitting a R straight, you can hit most shaft flexes straight, the key is finding the correct flex that gets the most out of that shaft and head combo IMHO.
[/quote]

The OP said "regular stiff", a poor choice of words but I'm sure he's in a stiff.

A softer flex will have higher torque and more feel than then same shaft in a X. I'm actually not surprised that your hitting it straight. I've experienced this myself with some really soft stock Ping shafts.

You say "if my swing is together". I know an X flex sorta pulls my swing together, takes the slack out and gives me better sequencing. Does your swing ever feel sloppy or disjointed?

Bobbers advice is very sound, but at 115, occasionally 120, I bet you'll go X flex eventually and never look back.

[TMBob]

[quote name='Grobster' timestamp='1293912553' post='2869454']
It always makes me laugh when people comment on SS alone and then say that you should play a particular flex. As advice goes it's about as accurate as those who ask what your handicap is when you walk in a store and then proceed to tell you what driver or irons you should be using...regardless of the fact that you perhaps lose the most shots around the green.

Not sure if you were laughing at my comment or not, but if you were please reread it as it had really nothing to do about his SS other then getting the proper numbers in line with any shaft flex that he was using. I did question that his best numbers would come from this so called regular stiff. I think the OP meant he has a Regular version of the Motore in stiff after rereading it and not an actual R flexed shaft.

[MtlJeff]

i have a stiff in one of my drivers now and can hit it mostly straight, and my SS is the same as yours. But in the long run, i'm going to be more consistent with X. It's interesting that you use the comments "when my swing is together". Sometimes you may not [i]really [/i]know if it's your swing or the shaft. I played a stiff shafted driver out on the course last year and had my worst driving day of the summer, even when i thought i was hitting it well it didn't end up where i though it would. If you're using the wrong flex your margin of error will be lower.

it's funny because a lot of people will jump in and make it sound like SS is completely irrelevant, like there are so many guys out there with 115 or 120mph SS who should be using stiff or even regular shafts because of their "transition" or because they are "handsy" or because they "load the shaft" differently. The average SS on tour is around 112 and almost every single one of them uses X in driver.

[nutted]

Im in the same ss realm and I like to go with a stiff tipped a half to a full inch, depending on the shaft. In general you will lose distance when going to a stiffer shaft, aside from ballooning and high spin issues.

[SurfinTurf]

[quote name='MtlJeff' timestamp='1294104853' post='2873619']
i have a stiff in one of my drivers now and can hit it mostly straight, and my SS is the same as yours. But in the long run, i'm going to be more consistent with X. It's interesting that you use the comments "when my swing is together". Sometimes you may not [i]really [/i]know if it's your swing or the shaft. I played a stiff shafted driver out on the course last year and had my worst driving day of the summer, even when i thought i was hitting it well it didn't end up where i though it would. If you're using the wrong flex your margin of error will be lower.

it's funny because a lot of people will jump in and make it sound like SS is completely irrelevant, like there are so many guys out there with 115 or 120mph SS who should be using stiff or even regular shafts because of their "transition" or because they are "handsy" or because they "load the shaft" differently. The average SS on tour is around 112 and almost every single one of them uses X in driver.
[/quote]
Yep! "when my swing is together" = Big Red Flag.

Not that my swing is always perfect but when I'm in too soft a flex it just feels less "together".

[Ghost_Orchid]

Sounds to me like the OP needs to buy another head and put a Xflex in, take them both out to the course and have a go.

Lets us know what you find. Sounds like a Ho in the making.