getting shafted
WARNING: golf geek post to follow
A few weeks ago I wrote about my journey to a local golf emporium in search of a new shaft for my driver. The trip resulted in lessons which I think are helping a lot...at least on the driving range, because that's the only place I've had time to play. Still, the original question remained. Is the shaft in my driver what I should have, based on my ability or lack thereof. Is there something else out there that could help me play better?
So now, it's a few weeks later. I've had two of the three lessons and had two guys watching swing after swing (and making me self-conscious as hell), helping me correct flaws and determine what, if any, other shaft would help me keep the ball in the fairway and make it go farther in the process. Then the club fitter guy starts asking me questions. One that made me laugh a little was, "Are you happy with your ball flight? Do you like the trajectory?" I told him, "I'm looking for two things. Farther and straighter, and of the two, straighter is better (cuz farther can really suck if it ain't straighter). I don't give a damn about ball flight. It can scream two inches off the ground or alert NORAD, or be anywhere in between for all I care. Style points mean nothing. Just...farther and straighter."
In the end, the club fitter guy pulls out a shaft, and gives me all the reasons why this is the perfect shaft for me. He goes on for a good ten minutes, and makes a ton of sense. I actually got an education out of this. I kinda knew about shaft flex, and how you need a stiffer shaft if you swing faster, but I'm not 25 anymore, and I figured a regular flex shaft was right up my alley. I knew nothing about torque, and while I may not have the fastest swing in the world, it accelerates enough on the way down to twist the head of the club if the shaft will allow it, sending a lot of my shots to the right, and that's my problem...and I am swinging faster than I thought. The lessons might have something to do with that. One thing that the guy mentioned two weeks ago...I'm kinda tall, but I have long arms. This guy (who isn't the same guy I talked to before) says the same thing, and that he'd rather see me using a shaft that's a half inch to an inch shorter than the standard shaft. A shorter shaft, physics-wise, won't make the ball go as far as a longer one. The same swing with a longer shaft makes the head go faster, which makes the ball go faster. A shorter shaft will give me a lot more control. This will give me more confidence and let me swing faster which in the end, will actually give me more distance than a longer shaft. The shaft he's recommending isn't the cheapest thing in the shop, but it's also far from the most expensive, and he's talking like, "so when you decide to do this, this is what I think would work much better for you." It's stiffer than what I have and won't allow the head to twist as much. I'm standing there thinking...this is why I came in here two weeks ago. I'm past the "when you decide to do this" stage. Go for it. So I leave the club with him and he says it'll be ready the following day. I leave happy. I go home and that night, decide to see what I can find on the web in the way of information on this shaft, and find this link. Now, if you go there and read it, it sounds like you should be really good if you're going to use this thing, and I think it's been fairly well documented here...that ain't me, babe. So then I'm thinking one of two things is happening. Either these guys sold me a bill of goods or this link is full of manufacturer hype. I'm thinking it probably isn't the former, because they had the opportunity to recommend something more exotic/expensive if that was the goal. Maybe I wouldn't have bought it, but the guy could have pulled out a $100 (or more) shaft and said, "This is what you need." He didn't though.
So Sunday, I went back and picked up my newly shafted club (now a half inch shorter), and took it to the driving range despite the cold and wind and nastiness. It's amazing what new toys can make a man do. I had the benefit of a strong tailwind, but even so..the verdict so far is that link is full of hype, and I may have bought a little better game...or one more suited to me.
A few weeks ago I wrote about my journey to a local golf emporium in search of a new shaft for my driver. The trip resulted in lessons which I think are helping a lot...at least on the driving range, because that's the only place I've had time to play. Still, the original question remained. Is the shaft in my driver what I should have, based on my ability or lack thereof. Is there something else out there that could help me play better?
So now, it's a few weeks later. I've had two of the three lessons and had two guys watching swing after swing (and making me self-conscious as hell), helping me correct flaws and determine what, if any, other shaft would help me keep the ball in the fairway and make it go farther in the process. Then the club fitter guy starts asking me questions. One that made me laugh a little was, "Are you happy with your ball flight? Do you like the trajectory?" I told him, "I'm looking for two things. Farther and straighter, and of the two, straighter is better (cuz farther can really suck if it ain't straighter). I don't give a damn about ball flight. It can scream two inches off the ground or alert NORAD, or be anywhere in between for all I care. Style points mean nothing. Just...farther and straighter."
In the end, the club fitter guy pulls out a shaft, and gives me all the reasons why this is the perfect shaft for me. He goes on for a good ten minutes, and makes a ton of sense. I actually got an education out of this. I kinda knew about shaft flex, and how you need a stiffer shaft if you swing faster, but I'm not 25 anymore, and I figured a regular flex shaft was right up my alley. I knew nothing about torque, and while I may not have the fastest swing in the world, it accelerates enough on the way down to twist the head of the club if the shaft will allow it, sending a lot of my shots to the right, and that's my problem...and I am swinging faster than I thought. The lessons might have something to do with that. One thing that the guy mentioned two weeks ago...I'm kinda tall, but I have long arms. This guy (who isn't the same guy I talked to before) says the same thing, and that he'd rather see me using a shaft that's a half inch to an inch shorter than the standard shaft. A shorter shaft, physics-wise, won't make the ball go as far as a longer one. The same swing with a longer shaft makes the head go faster, which makes the ball go faster. A shorter shaft will give me a lot more control. This will give me more confidence and let me swing faster which in the end, will actually give me more distance than a longer shaft. The shaft he's recommending isn't the cheapest thing in the shop, but it's also far from the most expensive, and he's talking like, "so when you decide to do this, this is what I think would work much better for you." It's stiffer than what I have and won't allow the head to twist as much. I'm standing there thinking...this is why I came in here two weeks ago. I'm past the "when you decide to do this" stage. Go for it. So I leave the club with him and he says it'll be ready the following day. I leave happy. I go home and that night, decide to see what I can find on the web in the way of information on this shaft, and find this link. Now, if you go there and read it, it sounds like you should be really good if you're going to use this thing, and I think it's been fairly well documented here...that ain't me, babe. So then I'm thinking one of two things is happening. Either these guys sold me a bill of goods or this link is full of manufacturer hype. I'm thinking it probably isn't the former, because they had the opportunity to recommend something more exotic/expensive if that was the goal. Maybe I wouldn't have bought it, but the guy could have pulled out a $100 (or more) shaft and said, "This is what you need." He didn't though.
So Sunday, I went back and picked up my newly shafted club (now a half inch shorter), and took it to the driving range despite the cold and wind and nastiness. It's amazing what new toys can make a man do. I had the benefit of a strong tailwind, but even so..the verdict so far is that link is full of hype, and I may have bought a little better game...or one more suited to me.
John put this out here at 8:55 AM
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