Choosing A Golf Shaft Based on Bend Point

So what's the deal with retailers advertising golf shafts as high, mid and low launch?  Can a golf shaft actually affect the trajectory of a golf shot?  The answer to the latter question is yes...if one condition is met. 

Golf shaft manufacturers produce different lines of shafts designed to launch the ball at different trajectories and with different spin rates.  The design characteristic of a shaft that allows it to produce a specific trajectory is generally referred to as it's bend point.  The bend point is simply defined as the zone along the shaft that experiences the greatest degree of bending during the swing...high tech stuff.  A high bend point shaft bends closer to the golfer's hands than a low bend point shaft which bends closer to the clubhead.  A golf shaft bends forward during the release of the club in the swing (I'm not talking about throwing the club down the range).  The release during the swing is the point at which the golfer unhinges the wrist cock that was created on the back swing.  This is the point at which the clubhead is moving at its maximum velocity as the hands are slowing down, the wrists are unhinging, and the clubhead is moving further away from the golfer's body increasing centrifugal force and thus velocity.  The forward bending of the shaft at impact creates an increase in dynamic club head loft or effective loft at impact.  If the shaft bends closer to the clubhead (i.e. has a low bend point)  it is able to produce a greater forward bend at impact, creating more dynamic loft and resulting in a higher trajectory.  The opposite is true for a higher bend point shaft.

Wait...wasn't there a condition that we had to meet for shaft bend point to actually affect shot trajectory?  Yep.  This entire process depends on WHERE the release point occurs within the swing.  The two types of releases that we are interested in here are an early release and a late release.  An early release occurs when the golfer's wrists unhinge above the waist while a late release occurs closer to impact or when the golfer's hands are below the waist line.  An early release tends to negate the shaft's possible contribution to dynamic loft because the shaft bends forward (at release) too far away from the ball.  The stored swing energy is lost as the shaft bends forward when the golfer's hands are still above the waist line giving the shaft time to rebound back into a straight position before impact.  So for a shaft to be able to affect shot trajectory the golfer must have a later release so that the energy stored in the shaft during the downswing can be released immediately prior to impact contributing to dynamic loft and the desired shot trajectory. 

If you need help picking a shaft based on your swing characteristics, please drop us a line, we love talking shop!

Fairways and Greens