Shaft Fitting Help Needed

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My first post: I have a Cobra HS 9 that I want to reshaft. I want to get ideas as to what would be the ideal shaft for me. I'm not gonna say what shafts I have in mind so that I can have fresh ideas from you guys. Thanks in advance.

I want a lower ball flight. I currently have a high ball flight that sometimes baloons.

I want it to be between 55 to 60 grams. NO MORE THAN 60 grams.

I want a stiff shaft.

My swing speed is between 100 to 110.

My swing tempo is smooth. I'm not a hard swinger according to my friends.

Is that enough info?

[acrazygolfer]

According to Cobra, the HS series, particularly the X & F models, are low to mid spin w/high launch, ever considering switching to a mid-spin low launch head? What shaft is curently in play? If not stock, any tipping? With an avg. SS of 105mph, what are the reasons why you want a shaft less than 60 grams? Is your swing similar to Freddie or Ernie? Two smooth operators on tour? Do you release early/late? In your opinion, what is ballooning?

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According to Cobra, the HS series, particularly the X & F models, are low to mid spin w/high launch, ever considering switching to a mid-spin low launch head? What shaft is curently in play? If not stock, any tipping? With an avg. SS of 105mph, what are the reasons why you want a shaft less than 60 grams? Is your swing similar to Freddie or Ernie? Two smooth operators on tour? Do you release early/late? In your opinion, what is ballooning?

Not as smooth as those two but I do have a pretty good tempo. I do have the X model. I feel like that anything above 60 grams makes me swing harder. I tried a driver with a 70 gram rombax shaft and it felt weird. Yes, I do have a tendency of releasing early .

My current shaft is stock. YS 6.6 stiff. Ballooning??? I compare it to my friends ball flights. In most cases, I hardly get any roll.

Thanks,

[acrazygolfer]

Ballooning - hitting into a head wind or hitting with too much backspin. With too much backspin, the ball reached its apex and then falling with no roll or with minimal roll. The combination of clubhead design and ball can also create excessive backspin. Before changing shaft, see if another brand and/or model of golf ball is better suited for you with the current driver.

After experimenting with different balls and you still want to change shaft, here are few things to remember:

Torque - the twisting of the clubhead at impact. Large (460cc) head tends to twist more than smaller heads of past years. Aggressive swingers required lower torque shaft of 3.5 or less while smooth swingers required torque between 3.5 and 5.0. 5.0 and higher torque are for seniors and women. A "boardie" club is one with a combination of low torque and stiff flex.

Flex - the bending property of a club shaft with applied forces. An aggressive swinger applies more forces to the shaft than a smooth swinger. Incorrect flex caused the face to be opened or closed at impact and thus affect the accuracy, trajectory and distance of the ball. Too stiff may result in lower ball flight while too soft may result in higher ball flight, and also left or right ball flight.

Kickpoint - a point in the shaft with the greatest bend. Low KP shaft bends near the clubhead. High KP shaft bends near the grip. Players in need of getting the ball into the air are better fitted with low KP shaft while players tending to hit high ball are better fitted with high KP shaft.

Weight - shaft weight is a factor when it comes to the over-all weights of the club. The others are clubhead and grip. The lighter the total weight, the higher the swing speed that can be generated.

Swingweight - is nothing more than the feel of the club when swung. A hard swinger needs heavier SW while a smooth swinger can get away with lower SW. A0 is the lightest and G10 is the heaviest. The standard for OTR is about D-0 to D-2.

Tipping - think of fine tuning. It is the cutting off of the tip of the shaft. A good example is a player playing between a stiff and X-stiff. Generally, trimming the tip about 1/2 inch from the stiff shaft turns it into an almost X-stiff.

Other considerations: the insertion depth of the shaft into the head. Take two same shafts. Install one 1 1/4 inch deep in a standard bore head and the other 2 1/4 inches deep in a bore-through head. The bore-through club will play stiffer.

There are just too many good shafts to recommend one. Also, not seeing your swing, it's a disservice for me to recommend a shaft to you, especially when the shafts are $150 plus. Most members here are very intimate with their swing profile and thus can purchase an expensive shaft from Chris aka Tourspecgolfer without problems. I don't know how intimate you are with your swing so the best recommendation is for you to visit a clubfitter with launch monitor and video. Best regards.

Edited February 7, 2007 by acrazygolfer

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Ballooning - hitting into a head wind or hitting with too much backspin. With too much backspin, the ball reached its apex and then falls with no roll or with minimal roll. The combination of clubhead design and ball can also create excessive backspin. Before changing shaft, see if another brand and/or model of golf ball is better suited for you with the current driver.

After experimenting with different balls and you still want to change shaft, here are few things to remember:

Torque - the twisting of the clubhead at impact. Large (460cc) head tends to twist more than smaller heads of past years. Further, aggressive swingers required lower torque shaft of 3.5 or less while smooth swingers required torque between 3.5 and 5.0. 5.0 and higher torque are for seniors and women. A "boardie" club is one which a combination low torque and stiff flex.

Flex - the bending property of a club shaft with applied forces. An aggressive swinger applies more forces to the shaft than a smooth swinger. Incorrect flex caused the face to be opened or closed at impact and thus affect the accuracy, trajectory and distance of the ball. Too stiff may result in lower ball flight while too soft may result in higher ball flight, and also left or right ball flight.

Kickpoint - a point in the shaft with the greatest bend. Low KP shaft bends near the clubhead. High KP shaft bends near the grip. Players in need of getting the ball into the air are better fitted with low KP shaft while players tending to hit high ball are better fitted with high KP shaft.

Weight - shaft weight is a factor when it comes to the over-all weights of the club. The others are clubhead and grip. The lighter the total weight, the higher the swing speed that can be generated.

Swingweight - is nothing more than the feel of the club when swung. A hard swinger needs heavier SW while a smooth swinger can get away with lower SW. A0 is the lightest and G10 is the heaviest. The standard for OTR is about D-0 to D-2.

Tipping - think of fine tuning. It is the cutting off of the tip of the shaft. A good example is a player playing between a stiff and X-stiff. Generally, trimming the tip about 1/2 inch from the stiif shaft turns it into an almost X-stiff.

Other considerations: the insertion depth of the shaft into the head. Take two same shafts. Install one 1 1/4 inch deep in a standard bore head and the other 2 1/4 inches deep in a bore-through head. The bore-through club will play stiffer.

There are just too many good shafts to recommend one. Also, not seeing your swing, it's a disservice for me to recommend a shaft to you, especially when the shafts are $150 plus. Most members here are very intimate with their swing profile and thus can purchase an expensive shaft from Chris aka Tourspecgolfer without problems. I don't know how intimate you are with your swing so the best recommendation is for you to visit a clubfitter with launch monitor and video. Best regards.

I appreaciate the response. This is way more than what I expected. I don't know what you mean by intimate? Do you mean if I'm comfortable with my swing or do I know my swing? I did do a launch monitor and all that good stuff before. Unfortunately, the only thing I could remember was that my swing speed was around 105. I forgot all the other details like my ideal launch angle, ball spin etc.

On my old Cobra driver, I had a harrison 2.5SL shaft and got great results. Only reason I got rid of it was because I really wanted the bigger 460cc head.

[acrazygolfer]

Intimate - knowing your swing profile. According to Harrison, the Harrison Pro 2.5SL is a low torque shaft. If you obtained great results with this shaft in the past, why not give it a try in the 460cc head.

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Intimate - knowing your swing profile. According to Harrison, the Harrison Pro 2.5SL is a low torque shaft. If you obtained great results with this shaft in the past, why not give it a try in the 460cc head.

I've been actually thinking about that. Considering the cost of the shaft is not that much. But with all the new stuff out there, it just makes me wonder if the new stuff are actually better.

[acrazygolfer]

The simple answer is yes. However, it can be expensive looking for the "right" shaft. For example, I call do a straight installation of the Axiv 6568H (no tipping & butt trim to lenght) and obtain great results. On the other hand, the GD I-65 needs 1/4" tipping.

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The simple answer is yes. However, it can be expensive looking for the "right" shaft. For example, I call do a straight installation of the Axiv 6568H (no tipping & butt trim to lenght) and obtain great results. On the other hand, the GD I-65 needs 1/4" tipping.

So are you saying that pretty much any new shaft that I put in will perform better? The Axivv 6568 is 65 grams right?

[acrazygolfer]

So are you saying that pretty much any new shaft that I put in will perform better? The Axivv 6568 is 65 grams right?

Better only if the shaft is right for your swing profile. The 6568 is 66 grams.

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Better only if the shaft is right for your swing profile. The 6568 is 66 grams.

Thanks a lot for the help....

[reggie]

Thanks a lot for the help....

You may want to take a look at the review that Gocchin did with 6 high end shafts. Take a look at the video and see if you swing as smooth and with the same tempo as the Japanese pro. If that's the case, then take a very good look at the RODDIO shaft made by "Daiwa is the Best" (DaiwaSeiko).

Is your current Driver .335 or .350?

[[email protected]]

You may want to take a look at the review that Gocchin did with 6 high end shafts. Take a look at the video and see if you swing as smooth and with the same tempo as the Japanese pro. If that's the case, then take a very good look at the RODDIO shaft made by "Daiwa is the Best" (DaiwaSeiko).

Is your current Driver .335 or .350?

I checked that out. It looks very interesting. I couldn't make the video to work though. Thanks for the help. My driver is a 460cc. Just kidding. I think its .335.