Golf Equipment Strategy – Improve Your Game And Save Money, Refit Your Golf Clubs
If you’re an avid golfer, you may have that nagging desire to upgrade your golf clubs often, if not every year. He may even begin to believe that it is his God-given right to experience the latest technology that will allow him to take his game to the next level and search for the holy grail of golf. That long shot with a slight draw…or maybe that crisp iron shot that lands softly on the green to set you up for a birdie attempt. You know the feeling.
Let me see if I can set the stage.
It’s early spring and it’s still too cold to play golf, but it’s starting to get the itch back. Pick up the spring edition of the Golf Equipment Buyer’s Guide to peruse the latest equipment. You’ll soon find yourself daydreaming about how the latest Game Improvement irons will allow you to drop a club and hit 150 yards with an “easy” 7-iron. Or how about that new controller that will add yardage by eliminating that pesky fade, making you the envy of your foursome?
Then the real danger presents itself. You attend one of those dreaded “golf demo days” where you scrutinize each new club salivating at the great new technology. You finally do something you know you’ll regret but do it anyway. You head to the heated range with a bucket of balls in one hand and that new driver in the other, the one with a price tag of $450 and a five-star rating from Golf magazine, intent on validating its hyped acclaim. The final verdict is in. Two thumbs up. You may even wonder how you got through a round of golf last year without this club.
Sound eerily familiar? Well, you are not alone. Technology is an incredible gaming equalizer that affects some sports more than others – golf is at or near the top of that list. It can even be argued that golf technology has gone too far, providing unfair advantages over the golfer who may not be able to afford to regularly upgrade equipment. Personally, I fall into the camp that technology is a great thing for the game of golf and the average golfer. It allows golfers with mediocre skills to experience the thrill that comes from hitting that 250-yard drive right down the middle of the fairway that they know wouldn’t be possible with outdated equipment. Anyone who is serious about gaming understands and maybe even welcomes technology as part of this game.
However, there are other ways you can experience new technology, up your game, and do it in a way that will help you pay next month’s electric bill. It’s called a golf re-shaft or golf shaft replacement. By upgrading what many call the “engine” of the golf club, amazing results can be experienced. Today’s golf shafts are so technically advanced that you can easily take that driver you’ve been using for the past two years and add 10, 15, or even 20 yards with a properly tuned shaft.
The characteristics of the shaft and the measurement characteristics of each swing are integral to a proper golf fit – they all play a key role in determining the correct shaft for each golfer. A high-level description for some of these features is described below:
Bend
A very general guideline for shaft flex is 70-90 mph head speed = Regular, 90-100 mph head speed = Stiff, and in excess of 100 mph = Extra Stiff.
Torque
It is defined as how much the shaft rotates given a certain amount of force. In general, the lower the torque, the harder the feel and the less twist (the clubhead rotates around the shaft) will occur. The steel axles are pretty steady and don’t spin much. Graphite shafts, given their properties, vary considerably more. Lower torque with stiffer shafts is harder to hit without proper clubhead speed. In general, slower swing speeds tend to need higher torque to help square the clubface, while faster swingers need lower torque.
kick point
Defined as the maximum bending of the shaft (also called the bending point or bending). This feature affects the trajectory of the shot. If someone hits the ball with too low a trajectory, a lower kick point will send the ball flying through the air and vice versa. The lower the hit point, the more the clubhead will feel like it is moving through impact. Conversely, a higher hit point will cause the shaft to have a “one piece” feel. In general, a higher kick point is easier to control.
Length
In general, there are standards for most clubs, especially irons. For example, most 7 iron rods are 34.5″ long. The standard screwdriver length is 43″. Recent advances in impeller technology have allowed for an increase in impeller shaft length. Many drivers now come standard with 45″ trucks, some even longer. The maximum legal length for drivers is 48″.
Weight
Most steel driveshafts weigh between 90 and 120 grams, while their graphite counterparts weigh between 65 and 90 grams. Many driver shafts go to lighter weights to increase clubhead speed and distance. The weight of the irons varies according to the length of the shaft, increasing by 2 grams per club, from 120 grams for the longest irons to 110 grams for the shortest irons.
As you can see from the descriptions above, selecting the correct shaft can be a tricky process, one that shouldn’t be taken lightly if your goal is to improve your game. That brings me to the point where I’d like to emphasize more about axis selection. In my opinion, getting a custom fit from a trained professional is one of the best decisions you can make for your game. Analysis of your swing dynamics using computer-generated results significantly reduces or eliminates the guesswork from the spindle fit equation. This personally happened to me last year. I was using a UST Proforce V2, a great shaft by all measures. However, I had a custom fit and found the Fujikura ZCom Six to be a better shaft for my swing. It allowed me to increase clubhead speed while maintaining or even improving control. I increased my momentum by at least 15 yards. This was all done on a 5+ year old Taylor Made R5 clubhead.
A caveat to this thesis is that extremes should be avoided. In other words, don’t expect drastic positive results by putting a $300 shaft on the head of a 20 year old club. Although you may see improvement, you may be better served by a new club.
There are many great manufacturers of golf shafts to choose from including Accuflex, Aldila, Fujikura, Grafalloy, Graphite Design, Harrison, Mitsubishi, Penley, Rifle, Royal Precision, True Temper, and UST. In my opinion, all of these companies produce great axles and offer a wide variety of options. In general, prices for rods range from $50 to over $200; however, expect to find a very good shaft that fits your game somewhere in between. Try the most popular auction methods for even better prices.
Hopefully by now you can see how refitting your golf clubs can be a very cost-effective and rewarding alternative to a total replacement of your golf clubs. I urge all golfers to seriously consider this option to try out the latest in golf technology while improving your game and saving some money.
