Alright, let me tell you about something I’ve been messing around with lately – this whole golf swing speed and shaft flex thing. It’s funny, you play this game for years, and you think you’ve got a handle on things, but then something small clicks, and it changes your perspective.
My Old Thinking and Recent Struggles
For the longest time, I was convinced I needed a stiff shaft. You know how it is, ego gets in the way. I used to have a pretty quick swing, or at least I thought I did, back in the day. So, stiff shaft it was. If the pros used it, or the better players I knew, then that must be the ticket, right? But lately, especially with my driver, things have been… well, frustrating. My shots were all over the place. Sometimes a good one, but mostly a lovely slice or a weak fade. Just inconsistent, and it was driving me nuts.
I started thinking, maybe it’s not just my swing that’s the problem. I mean, I’m not getting any younger, and let’s be honest, my swing speed probably isn’t what it once was. I remembered some folks talking about shaft flex, but I always just brushed it off. “Nah, I need the control of a stiff shaft,” I’d tell myself.
The Range Experiment
So, the other day, I decided to actually put this to the test. I dug out my old driver, which has a regular flex shaft. Hadn’t swung that thing in ages. I took both it and my current driver (with the stiff shaft) down to the range. My plan was simple: hit a bunch of balls with each and just see what happened. No fancy machines, just me, the balls, and the clubs.
I started with my current driver, the stiff one. Same old story. I really had to go after it to get any decent distance, and even then, it felt like I was fighting the club. The ball flight was often low, and that slice was still my good old buddy.
Then, I switched to the old driver with the regular flex. And you know what? It was a bit of a revelation.
- The club felt smoother through the swing.
- I didn’t feel like I had to swing out of my shoes.
- The ball seemed to launch higher and straighter.
- Even on mishits, it wasn’t as punishing.
I spent a good hour just alternating between the two. With the regular flex, I felt like the shaft was actually helping me, kind of “loading” and “unloading” properly. With the stiff shaft, it often felt like a board. I realized I was probably trying to force the stiff shaft to work, and it was just making my swing worse.
What I Learned
It hit me then. This whole shaft flex thing isn’t just about how “good” a golfer you are, or how fast you think you swing. It’s about matching the shaft to your actual swing, right now. My swing speed now, it’s just not what it was ten years ago. And that’s okay! But stubbornly sticking to a shaft that’s too stiff for my current swing was just costing me strokes and a lot of enjoyment.
The big takeaway for me was this: that stiff shaft was probably robbing me of distance and accuracy because I couldn’t load it properly. The regular flex, on the other hand, seemed to fit my current tempo and speed much better. It allowed the club to do more of the work.
So, now I’m seriously reconsidering my driver setup. It’s a bit humbling, to admit that maybe I don’t swing like a young buck anymore, but hey, if it means hitting more fairways and enjoying the game more, I’m all for it. It’s a practical thing, really. You gotta use the tools that fit you, not the tools you think you should be using. Just my two cents from my little experiment on the range.