Steel versus Graphite shaft for woods for hitters?
Hi all. I try to follow a hitter's motion, focusing more on the right arm thrust. I was wondering, what's the general philosophy with using steel or graphite shafts for fairway woods.
I ask because I've lately been using some old persimmon woods with steel shafts, and I seem to be hitting them more consistently.
I've read that since steel is heavier, your swing speed will be slower, but i was thinking, for a hitter who isn't really that dependent on a quick turn, will it make much of a difference distance wise using steel versus using graphite with fairway woods? I mean, there isn't a great deal of distance for the hand to travel from shoulder height to the full extension.
Hi all. I try to follow a hitter's motion, focusing more on the right arm thrust. I was wondering, what's the general philosophy with using steel or graphite shafts for fairway woods.
I ask because I've lately been using some old persimmon woods with steel shafts, and I seem to be hitting them more consistently.
I've read that since steel is heavier, your swing speed will be slower, but i was thinking, for a hitter who isn't really that dependent on a quick turn, will it make much of a difference distance wise using steel versus using graphite with fairway woods? I mean, there isn't a great deal of distance for the hand to travel from shoulder height to the full extension.
What do you guys think?
Hello Kamandi, welcome to LBG! I recognize your name from another forum, and I really enjoy your posts and knowledge of TGM. It's great to see you here!
I think shafts are a totally personal preference, but I like heavier, always have, especially for hitters. The thing with graphite is, there are so many options available for tuning your ball flight. Shafts that launch it higher, shafts that launch it lower, so many different weights for different preferences.
If there is a steel shaft that fits your ball flight preference and feel, perfect, go for it. If not, with the help of a good fitter it may be easier to achieve your goals with graphite.
I hope you stick around my friend!
Kevin
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I could be wrong. I have been before, and will be again.
I swing with driveloading through the ball. If the shaft is to soft I loose a club or two in distance. And I loose precision big time. So that's one of the things that matters. And it matters more with drive loading than with drag loading.
As far as shaft weight goes, I believe most golfers have a point of diminishing return. Reduce weight down to that point and swing speed will increase. Below that point and all you will get is less moving mass and less weight through the ball. I have a 65 g shaft in the driver, and it is cut to 46" so it's quite long. I once tried a 50 g shaft and it didn't give me any advantage so I'm sticking to 65. Stronger people will probably benefit from a heavier shaft. But it also depends on the length of the club of course.
It is well worth some effort to find the right shaft for the driver.
Thanks for the advice, guys. I guess the only way to know for sure is trial and error. Maybe I'll try to put a steel shaft on a modern fairway wood and see if it gives better results.
@KevCarter, thanks for the welcome. In all honesty, I don't know that much about TGM, but what I did learn from Yoda's youtube videos and Riche3Jack's blog has really helped my game.
Though I've only posted now, I've learned a lot from reading posts here. Very good forum.
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