Shaft help please!

[Vineman23]

Hi guys,

Just put into play a Kamui 456 with Graphite design 9003 stiff shaft which has been spined/floed and is playing at 45.5" This combo has good length (Iwould love a few more meters) launches mid to high and carries nearly all of the total distance.

My problem is even on a good swing shots leak to the right, missing the middle by 12meters and on a bad swing I can't keep it in the same state.

I've tried putting an easy swing on it, a "normal" swing, a real hard swipe, fast, mid and slow tempo and nothing works!

I did a fair bit of research on shafts before the purchase and thought I found a good fit but are there any suggestions out there a) for this shaft b) for a new shaft?

Thanks

Vineman

[Goodsie]

Hi guys,

Just put into play a Kamui 456 with Graphite design 9003 stiff shaft which has been spined/floed and is playing at 45.5" This combo has good length (Iwould love a few more meters) launches mid to high and carries nearly all of the total distance.

You have selected a terrific Shaft in the 9003 however, one word sticks out to me in your post...and that word is "spined". Actually, a Spine is defined as the "the intersection of two ascending angles" and if, in fact, the spine is aligned incorrectly, shots will have a tendency to spin off line almost each and every time you swing. Its just mother nature at work and not the Shaft or your swing, its possibly the Shaft orientation. Graphics label installed down or underneath is not necessarily the best orientation of the Shaft...actually, the graphics are only paint and not necessarily fitted to the fingerprint of that specific Shaft.

This opinion is just my observation by reading your post and by having a first hand experience in Tuning Shafts for best performance.

Goodsie

[Vineman23]

Thanks Goodsie,

I should have chosen better words, I found someone in my nearest city that Flat Line Oscilates shafts and balances clubs so went to him to get the pieces put together. The shaft when Flo'ed has the sticker at about 30* away from underneath the club I was able to watch the FLO test and it is spot on. (bad choice of words with spined sorry)

That is what is worries me as I was trying to get a long but straight club. I originally was after a 44.75" club so the head is 5gm heavier than standard which I am wondering if that is having some affect at 45.5" perhaps not getting back to square at impact.

Thanks for your response I will be in contact before I buy my fairways to get you to have a look at them.

Vineman

You have selected a terrific Shaft in the 9003 however, one word sticks out to me in your post...and that word is "spined". Actually, a Spine is defined as the "the intersection of two ascending angles" and if, in fact, the spine is aligned incorrectly, shots will have a tendency to spin off line almost each and every time you swing. Its just mother nature at work and not the Shaft or your swing, its possibly the Shaft orientation. Graphics label installed down or underneath is not necessarily the best orientation of the Shaft...actually, the graphics are only paint and not necessarily fitted to the fingerprint of that specific Shaft.

This opinion is just my observation by reading your post and by having a first hand experience in Tuning Shafts for best performance.

Goodsie

[clevelaand]

Spining the shaft should help you hit it straighter. If I had to guess, not seeing your swing, I would say the shaft is too long for you. Due to the extra length, you are not able to return the head to the square position at address. Many of the players that come to me to change out their shafts have read an article about longer shafts and more distance, so they figure it will work for them. They put in the longer shafts and all of a sudden they are fading the ball more. I recommend shortening the shaft to 44.5 inches and they hit the ball better. 45 inches or less is my theory on shaft length. You can generate tremendous club head speed with a shorter shaft.

Just a thought,

Doc

[jacksonlui]

i don't really buy that spining a shaft will help him hit it straighter, there's just not enough data to support that statement.

however, it doesn't mean we shouldn't.

[clevelaand]

And what kind of data would you like to see? How about almost 100% of the pro players spining their shafts in order to reduce any wobble in the shafts during the swing. I believe it is now an accepted practice that if you are a decent player you get your shafts spined in order to remove any variables that might hinder the path of the clubhead during a swing. Shafts that are spined, properly fitted in length and cpm'ed to your swing speed can only improve your ball striking.

Ha, you can tell that this topic of spining shafts has been discusssed a lot with the many club builders I have come in contact with over the last few years.

Doc

[jacksonlui]

i don't know, it's just my opinion.

i haven't seen any study indicating that a spined shaft will benefit a good player.

i'm not talking about a robot, i'm talking about a good player.

theoretically, maybe, but the repeatability of a swing for a good player might be overkill.

just because all the pros do it doesn't mean anything. they get everything tuned by default.

now having said that, i have all my shafts spined and flo'd not because it helps me, but because i can.

does it help me? i can't tell worth a darn. maybe cause i'm not good enough. maybe cause i only use high end shafts so it makes less of a difference.

it's probably both. you guys are low single digits so maybe you know something that i don't.

hey, the OP said good shots leaked 12 meters to the right, i'll take that all day long.

[jamnguy1]

i don't know, it's just my opinion.

i haven't seen any study indicating that a spined shaft will benefit a good player.

i'm not talking about a robot, i'm talking about a good player.

theoretically, maybe, but the repeatability of a swing for a good player might be overkill.

just because all the pros do it doesn't mean anything. they get everything tuned by default.

now having said that, i have all my shafts spined and flo'd not because it helps me, but because i can.

does it help me? i can't tell worth a darn. maybe cause i'm not good enough. maybe cause i only use high end shafts so it makes less of a difference.

it's probably both. you guys are low single digits so maybe you know something that i don't.

hey, the OP said good shots leaked 12 meters to the right, i'll take that all day long.

This topic has been discussed ad naseum not just here. But I agree with you. There's no proof, research or otherwise, to support this. The pros get it done because it's done for free so they don't mind, and it certainly doesn't hurt to have it done. The question is whether it actually helps. The companies that do this try to get clubmakers to jump on the bandwagon. I've seen the promotional pitch to clubmakers and one of the big pitch is because it is a source of extra revenue for the clubmakers once they purchase the equipment. For someone with disposable income, and the belief that their equipment is in tune, it may be worth it. When I hit my shot 10 yards right or left, I'm often left to looking at my club to see what went wrong.

[Vineman23]

Hey guys,

If you believe in this stuff or not will always come down to personal preference and what an individual thinks.

On my course a shot that leaks out 12M (14yards) off center will be in trouble as we have quite a long cut of rough. My problem though is when I put even a 1/4 bad swing on it the ball is really in trouble and I have to find a chip out option, case in point on Sat played the front in 37 then the back in 44, due to 4 drives that were DEAD even though the swing was not too bad (pared the 4 par 3's hitting all of the greens with irons).

Anyway thanks for the replies and keep them coming if you have an opinion.

Vineman

[jacksonlui]

for you Vineman23, I would just go ahead and spine/flo it.

it's already in your head and it will now forever bug you if you don't.

have it done and let us know if it helped, I'm very curious.

I recommend Goodsie here for that job based on many guys that have had JDM work done by him.

Really, let me know if it stops leaking to the right. This to me is a data point which is valuable.

wow, as i type this, a minor earthquake here in san diego, pretty freaky

[clevelaand]

Hey Jacksonlui, I live in San Diego also and was on the tennis court today when it started to sway from the earthquake. The court lights were swaying back and forth and the fences were bobbing up and down-freaky.

Whether you believe in spining or not, my comment to Vineman was that spining should help you hit it straighter......meaning that he should probably rule out the spining he had done on his driver as a reason for the hitting it off line 12 meters. More likely, the 45.5 inch shaft was probably the reason for his wayward drives. It amazes me that many of the manufacturers are pushing longer drivers now to the public, selling more distance as the reason for the extra length. Most golfers have enough trouble squaring the club up now with a 45 inch driver of less, imagine how much trouble they have with a longer driver. Manufacturers produce draw/closed faced drivers to reduce slicing in drives and now they are adding length-crazy if you ask me. Pretty soon we will all have 48 inch in length drivers with 4-6 degree closed faces. This game gets more interesting every year.

Doc

[jacksonlui]

yeah, i agree. i can't stand drivers that are over 45 inches in length.

the sweet spot for me is between 44.5 to 45. square to 1deg open is good too.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Yup 44" is a very playable length for me.

I personally think high end shafts do not need to be adjusted very much or at least I can't tell much of a difference.

In Japan I hit 2 of the same club, same specs on an indoor LM one had everything done to it the other was bone stock.

The numbers were the same.

I will flo my clubs any time i have a chance but have no problems using Japan factory installs.

[clevelaand]

And, manufacturers of high-end shafts, like Fujikura, are now spining their shafts before selling them. They issue instructions that installing shafts with labels down will result in proper spining. So, not sure if spining helps or not but manufacturers are now getting with the program.

The length of my drivers are 44.5 inches and I can definitely feel the difference if I hit a 45 inch driver.

Doc

[idrive]

Haven't seen the buils specs on your Kamui but...

is it possible the head is fade bias??

a degree or two open??

too flat? (lie)

[Vineman23]

Hi idrive,

Specs for the kamui are as follows

10.6* loft

square face

59* lie angle

205gm head

I love the feel of the driver and the distance is good although I think it will be better once I sort out the shaft and can put a full swing on it.

My previous driver was a Cobra S9-1 Pro D 10.5 with the OEM spec ozik xcon stiff shaft, that driver has a 2* open face and I hit it without the wild rights! prior to that was a titleist 905r with a square face and the oem fujikura shaft which was the straightest club i've ever used (should have kept it!)

With all of the above that is why I'm thinking shaft is not quite set up right for me, I am going to get on a launch monitor asap to chaeck out my swing and will make some more decisions then.

vineman

Haven't seen the buils specs on your Kamui but...

is it possible the head is fade bias??

a degree or two open??

too flat? (lie)