Shaft Flex: How Stiff is Stiff?

Choosing the proper shaft flex for each club in your bag is vital to creating conisistent performance throughout your set. 

Shaft Flex affects two major components of your golf shots: 1) trajectory and 2) accuracy.  Shafts that are too stiff affect trajectory by not unloading properly at impact creating lower than optimal trajectories that fall short of the intended target or do not produce enough spin to hold the target.  Likewise, shafts that are too flexible tend to produce higher shots with more spin.  While this can be good for increasing distance, it can often have a negative effect on accuracy.  A shaft that has too much flex for a golfer's swing generally unloads early before impact, closing the clubface, and producing shots that miss to the draw side of the intended target.  Likewise, shafts that are too stiff for a golfer's swing tend to produce shots that miss the target to the fade side because the golfer was not able to apply enough force to the shaft at impact to create a proper release.

So if I play a "stiff" shaft in my driver, should I play "stiff" shafts in all of my clubs?  Ah, here's the $64,000 question.  The answer is "not necessarily".  Let me explain.  Remember we are trying to create the most consistent performance possible from club to club in our set.  Ideally, if our clubs have similar balance points (swingweights) and relative measures of frequency (or stiffness) they should feel the same and therefore perform similarly.  This is where the problem comes in...there is no standard in the golf industry as to what designates a "flex".  One company's Regular flex could be the same frequency as another company's Stiff flex.  This not only occurs between companies, but between shaft models within the same company.  For instance, a Fujikura Motore F1 65g Stiff flex shaft is slightly stiffer or less flexible than the same Fujikura Motore F1 stiff flex in 55g, but considerably stiffer than the comparable Fujikura Motore F3 60g stiff flex.  Fujikura is one of the highest quality shaft manufacturers in business today and one of the most popular brands on all of the major golf tours...how could this be? 

Golf shafts come in a wide range of bend profiles that allow manufacturers to create products that perform differently to fit the myriad of golf swings that are out there.  Some golfers require a shaft that will allow them to hit the ball on a little higher trajectory with more spin to maximize their distance.  Continuing with our example, the Motore F3 would fit this golfer much better than the Motore F1 which is designed to produce a lower launching, lower spinning trajectory.  So by design, the shaft profiles within a company produce differences in stiffness within a flex designation (such as stiff). 

Each club in your bag, whether it be a driver, fairway wood, hybrid, iron, or wedge is designed for a specific purpose and should perform in specific way.  For instance, hybrids are designed to hit the ball high and create a soft landing.  This trajectory is ideal for hitting out of trouble situations and approaching greens from longer distances.  Flex designations are going to differ between driver shafts and hybrid shafts simply because of their design.  A golfer will no doubt swing a driver much differently than he or she would a hybrid, and for good reason, they are different clubs designed for different purposes.  Let's say that this golfer uses an X-stiff shaft in his driver because he has a high swing speed and produces alot of spin.  The stiffer shaft in his driver allows him to swing away without worrying about balloning his shot and losing distance or overlaoding the shaft and risking accuracy.  This same golfer will likely swing a hybrid with less ferocity when approaching a green.  By using a stiff flex shaft in his hybrid he is better able to produce a controlled swing that will fly high and land softly...

Here's the take home message...Just because you play a specific flex of one company's shaft in one club doesn't mean that you have to use that same  general flex designation for all of your shafts...choose the flex that will produce the result you are looking for from each individual club.  Consult your clubfitter for help...that's what we're here for!