moonsole

Negatory on the tip trimming - especially if you're wanting a higher ball flight. PS - Sweet shafts.

While a couple of the most recent replies may contradict this, I really don't see too big of a deal with that particular shaft. Other stock shafts yes, but not that shaft. Read what pretty much the smartest man in club design had to say about it: "BILL:I have had the opportunity to have done a lot of testing with shaft PUREing and other forms of shaft alignment in my past work, starting in 1997 when d**k Weiss was nice enough to come to me at GS and ask us to take a look at what he had developed. Back then, virtually no shaft makers were doing anything in their normal shaft production process to minimize the effect of normal shaft asymmetry. As a result, we saw some very dramatic changes in the performance of a shaft before and after proper orientation. Since that time, and I would say it was about in the 2000-2001 timeframe, I began to notice that more and more of the shaft companies, especially the more quality oriented companies, began to include some form of checking and testing of their shafts to locate what they would conclude was a 'plane of more stable bending'. This would be done before the shafts were painted and logo'd, so that they could apply the logo in a position such that normal logo up installation of the shaft would make it play much less asymmetrical than before. Also, I tended to note that the effects of shaft alignment would be noticed by a higher % of golfers in the woods than in the irons. In looking into this more deeply, I felt this was because the amount that an asymmetrical shaft can cause equipment induced miss-hits is proportional to how much it bends between loading and unloading in the downswing. Wood shafts which are longer and smaller in diameter than iron shafts will bend between 4-6" in the downswing, while iron shafts of the same "matched flex" will bend only about 1-2" in the downswing. Thus the more a shaft bends from loading to unloading, I believe the more it could benefit from a shaft alignment process. Today I see shaft alignment today as being an "inurance policy" for the very discerning golfer. If you want to eliminate ALL possibility of the shaft possibly causing a miss-hit from not unloading in a straight plane of bending, then shaft alignment will do that. But you won;t know how much the shaft was improved unless you actually used the shaft first in a random installation and then did the alignment testing and installation after. That's why I call it more of an insurance policy today. If you do not align shafts what might be a tip that a golfer might be suffering from the effects of a poor alignment? If you are very certain that the specs you chose for a golfer in the head, shaft, grip and assembly specs are all what they should be, but the golfer really struggles with achieving a decent % of on-center hits, that could be one indication. Thanks for your post and hope this helps, TOM" That's a reply from Tom Wishon from his site regarding Pureing, Spining, Floing - which all basically try and achieve the same goal - orienting the shaft in its most neutral position so as to minimize any inconsistencies that there may be. With the quality aftermarket shafts being made today, I just don't see it as making a huge difference in todays shafts. However, with that said. Tom makes a great point about how golf is so psychological. If you think it may help even the slightest bit - no doubt it will probably help. Your confidence if nothing else. Any shaft bought off the shelf as part of an assembled club - I would definately spine it or flow it - actually just replace it. DYNO over on FGI keeps a Taylor Made MAS shaft he pulled as an example to show to his customers how crappy those stock shafts can be. Just my 2 cents. More like a few bucks worth.

Thanks for the response. From what I've learned Spining seems so much like Pureing.

I have read that the Pureing process can be pretty inaccurate due to the human factor involved. From what I understand the shaft is put through a series of tests by computers and software but then a guy/operator simply eyeballs the spot and marks it. Is this correct? If not, please indicate how it is done to obtain a higher amount of precision. What about the pre-pured shafts? Specifically the rifle pures and the rifle pure and balanced. Do they come marked so you know where to install them at 12 o'clock? And is the only difference between the two rifles the fact that the rifle pure and balanced has weight added to the butt and isn't jet black? Finally - could somebody please give a one to three sentance definition of the following terms: 1)Pureing 2)Floing 3)Spining Sorry. I thought I understood these terms and processes better than I do. Thanks in advance to any and all who help.

Wonder if they'll still be considered "The Number One Driver on Tour"