Understanding Golf Shafts

Posted under Golf Equipment

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The options available with golf shafts is incredible compared to what used to be available when I first started playing golf. It used to be a simple choice between steel shaft or graphite shaft. Now its a lot more complex than that. There are of course no industry standards to explain a majority of the shafts, and knowing that Callaway offer eleven different types of shaft with each of those having 3 different options I thought that I would explain it best I could what the main things you should be looking for in the shaft you choose for your club.

I know this could get little complicated but I will try and keep it as straight forward as I can. There are 5 different letters that are given to define how much golf shafts bend when the club is being swung:

• L This is the shaft that is most flexible and most commonly found on ladies golf clubs and actually means Ladies Flex.
• A Is the next in the flexibility stakes and now mostly found on senior golf clubs, however they were originally found on amateur golf clubs (hence the A)
• R is a Regular flex and now found on most of the clubs that you will see in your local golf shop.
• S the next up from the regular and stands for Stiff flex
• X last but not least is the Extra Stiff flex. This is most frequently found on professional golf clubs.

There are slight issues with the ratings however, one of the main problems is that the R flex from lets say Callaway is not the same as the R flex from Taylormade. This is one of the main problems when choosing the correct golf shafts for your irons, hybrids, driver and woods.

So what is the solution to make sure you get the right golf shafts for you game? Get the right advice from professionals that will be able to steer you in the right direction as well as supply you with the clubs you want with the right shafts attached.

Golfsmith offer a club fitting service through their website which allows you to completely customize your clubs from any manufacturer. Its well worth taking a look at even if you are not looking to buy new clubs it will allow you to check your current club fittings to see if you have the right golf shafts for your swing.

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