Can a shaft be too light?

[RIduffer]

I have been building a new bag this year and in so doing have begun to explore different shaft options for both the irons and woods. On the irons side I have dipped my toe in the water of graphite shafts and compared a couple of the US Fujikura options against my existing steel lineup of NGS SP Blue and 950 WF and the KBS Tour Black all in stiff flex. The two Fuji options I tried were the Motore Speeder(76g) and the Rombax 9E05(90g). Overall trajectories were in order, high to low, Speeder->950->Rombax->KBS->SP Blue. What surprised me was the distances achieved with the various shafts, 950->KBS->SP Blue->Rombax->Speeder, longest to shortest. The first four were fairly tightly grouped with maybe 5-10 yds of difference on individual shots but 2-3 yds on average. The Speeder, however was markedly shorter by about 15-20 yds on what I felt were pured shots.

I had a similar experience trying the Fujikura Blur in 55g weight. I was hitting the sweet spot of the driver almost every time, straight with a nice trajectory, but 20-30 yds of lost distance compared to GD Tour AD EV 6, UST ProForce V2 and the Axivcore Tour Green.

So my question... Is it possible to have too light of a shaft? Is there an offsetting characteristic to the weight, like stiffness, that will bring a too light shaft back into a performant mode?

Thanks for your thoughts,

RIDiffer

[Eca]

I hears an interesting comment during the open re Garrigus. Something about he doesn't have the fastest clubhead speed

but he brings his right side into play so much that he gets such a heavy hit. He definitely was hitting long on the 3rd round & from the telecast was the longest on the 18th.

Are they referring to smash factor? With their comment & looking at Garrigus, he probably more towards heavy gear?

Hopefully someone can chime in

[supo]

well.......,

ive been playing many and varied over the last 2 yrs

i started with a 62 gram stiff and now im hitting 73-77 gram sx and even an 83 gram sx

my own expeience is the lighter shafts are much harder to control and hit from centre with regularity

my SS was much faster but i constanltly hit the bottom of the face of the club.

i found i was swinging over the ball regularly, i only realsied how much when i went t the 75sx shaft and started middling the balll so much more consistantly.

i had a fitting sesshy at the crazy factory 2 months ago and they put the 83 gram crazy 50 sigma in my driver. i though they were nuts, but after playing it 6 matches now i realise its not so crazy. def my SS is down , but i middle the ball much more often now

and my smash factor is better than with the lighter clubs

it seems a club at around 325g plus is much better for me than one at 310. i mean MUCH better.

theres abviously an upper limit, and im still not 100% convinced the 83 is the right weight for me.

but on saturday it was plenty good enough.

id rather hit a slightlyy too heavy club now than a too light one.

can always choke down on the heavy boy and let it rip.

try a thicker grip like the winn ones it makes it feel llike th club is heavier when its actually not, i did that with some success a cpl of yrs back.

but still when i miss it it goes massively high and right like fairways over, thats a good way to get head speed up without going heavier,

also depneds on what u like in yr hands. like a light x flex to me feeels awfully tinny, a heavier regular or stiff feels a lot more comfortable.

in my book its like kinda like riding a harley to a yamaha bosso sokko scooter

[Shambles]

There's a thing in the head of all players regardless of skill level, provided they have been playing long and often enough. It's a comfort zone wherein just holding the club lets you know it's right for you, and it's not the same for all players even if they are the same size, weight or strength. It's a personal comfort zone and when you hold the right weight, you know it. The comfort zone is affected by the flex, balance point, looks and sound of the club and it's all personal. his is why we have a different taste in what works for us. Sometimes you can have the right equipment but be wrong because you lack sleep or rest, are distracted by your playing partners or whatever else. Rather unfortunate but a fact of life.

I agree that for some people a heavier shaft can be better, but God help me, I cannot find a formula that makes predicting what works for whom possible. It's a hit and miss thing for me even with myself as the subject. I think we all need to find our own way in this matter. However, there is a range involved and we need not be as precise as all that. Experience will probably be the best teacher.

Shambles

[RIduffer]

i had a fitting sesshy at the crazy factory 2 months ago and they put the 83 gram crazy 50 sigma in my driver. i though they were nuts, but after playing it 6 matches now i realise its not so crazy. def my SS is down , but i middle the ball much more often now

and my smash factor is better than with the lighter clubs

it seems a club at around 325g plus is much better for me than one at 310. i mean MUCH better.

theres abviously an upper limit, and im still not 100% convinced the 83 is the right weight for me.

but on saturday it was plenty good enough.

Do you think that the same shaft will perform comparably in a similarly weighted and shaped head, given launch angle will be different? So are you sticking with the heavier weighted shafts now?

The thing that struck me with the super light shaft was how good it felt to hold and swing, so I don't think it was a mental issue. In talking with my fitter for a little while, we decided to tip it and add an extension for length. The effect should be to stiffen the flex some and see if that brings the timing of the shaft release back into synch with my swing.

So I got a probable answer, going lighter might require a change in flex to facilitate the properly timed release of stored energy from the shaft.

[Eca]

Maybe the heaviest that can be swung the fastest with control will give the biggest bang. Trouble is finding this combination.. Yup experience.. needed

[+TourSpecGolfer]

I have also used both heavy and light shafts. Heavy is much better for my consistency, dispersion, supports my tempo by slowing me down. Yet I find myself always venturing into the high 60's range as I've hit my best drives at that weight.

Usually if my tempo is to quick and my transition is getting abusive then a heavier shaft will totally keep me in check. Same deal with the fairway woods. in 13/15* I would suggest a heavier shaft.

[RIduffer]

For the most part I have good success with the 76g UST Proforce V2 I have used in all of my drivers and fairway woods. Admittedly, I have started to explore a variety of shafts and might even push the envelope with a couple of high end JDM too. I did try the EV6 and EV7 in the Yonex Nextage Driver and FWs, but they sit pulled from their heads in the shed at this point...

As mentioned earlier, just put the hard stepped Fujikura Blur back in the Nextage 420 head and will be giving that a whirl soon. Once I have figured out the OnOff utility clubs that just hit my bag...