I can’t play anymore because of an injury I sustained back in 2017, but I played to a 2 handicap back then. I actually got down to a 1.2 for a short time, but usually played to a 2. Anyway, I custom fit my entire set. All my irons, Driver, 3 wood, hybrid and then I went back later and went through a custom shaft fitting process for my driver and actually ended up buying a very expensive driver shaft. I wasn’t an overly long hitter and didn’t have really high club head speed. For example, I’m pretty sure my irons just had stiff shafts in them, but my driver had a 2X stiff shaft in it. Like I said, I wasn’t overly long, but I swung hard and I was extremely straight with my driver. I’m not going to say that I hit 80% of the fairways or anything, but overall I loved my driver, felt very confident hitting it and, yeah I hit a lot of fairways and rarely, if ever blasted one into the woods.
I'd like to see this test done with a regular, stiff, and x-stiff shaft in the same manner that you did this video. I think it would help us amateurs understand more about shaft flex and its contribution to hitting proper shots. More amateurs move from regular to stiff flex than from stiff to x-stiff. Thanks!
Before finishing video: Yellow: X Green: S 'spoilers after' Guess' I had them reversed, ha ha! I figured the X would have been the first because they yielded more consistent flight patterns. But no, the S did for you. So of the two, I'd pick the S as tighter dispersion is more important than a couple extra yards of distance.
Great test,I have an over the top swing and find a stiff tip shaft straightens my shots out.It doesn't matter if the shaft is stiff or regular as long as it is a stiff tip.
Good info and a great way to end..."That's the end of the video" . Love that. All in all after watching all these shaft vids, it appears nearly certain to me that one should choose whichever shaft he/she has the most CONFIDENCE in. I had a fitter tell me to go to regulars during a recent fitting. I've played stiff all my life. Had I taken his advice, my head would have messed up my game all summer. Golf is a game of confidence. If you have it, you at least have a fighting chance. Thanks again for the great vids Rick
Looking at your numbers the stiff shaft is better for you but with a higher loft. You achieve peak distance with a greater than 17degree launch angle. with the S shaft your average launch height is 14.9 with a standard deviation of 1.7 which although lower than the XS is more consistent. Potentially with a higher loft (as long as spin rates are maintained - although they don't seem to have too much effect) you could achieve a 17 degree launch more consistently. The dispersion on the S is also better. It is consistently left but with a tighter dispersion than the XS
I've done this test my self and found that the extra stiff went way long but wasnt very accurate and was very hard to work the ball left. I went back to a stiff becuase i could concentrate on where I wanted the ball to go and not just praying for it to hit the fairway. As soon as that ball went right I knew it was the the stiff as I used to change shafts at the range and go from hitting nice big draws to pusing it right nealy every time. Another great video!!
1st thing I want to point out. Those shafts are stock shaft. The frequency of the shafts maybe a little bit off. So the difference between stiff and x-stiff maybe none. And I have tried from A flex to X-Stiff with my 95 Mph swing speed. The softer the flex, the more likely I draw the shots. The stiffer it gets the more likely I fade the shots. So this video might be pretty accurate.
For any of you who see this, you can always tell a shafts flex by how far they draw. More flex in a shaft promotes more snap through the ball which with Rick's swing, will cause the ball to go further left. X flex will generally have a much straighter or more controlled flight without the huge ball flights left or right. That's what I've found from personal experience and from working in the golf industry. Hope this helps.
Brandon Alan check Mark Crossfields 'Does shaft flex matter' video. More consistent swinger than this guy and had zero difference on dispersion between an A flex and X flex and just 2yds
Yeah, but Crossfield can't hit it out of his own shadow. The difference isn't on good swings guys. You can watch Jason Zuback hit 300 yard, straight bombs with a Whippy Tempo Master, which is like a golf club on the end of a car antenna. The difference is most noticeable at 120 MPH+ when you don't middle it. That's where the dispersion tightens up. Not when you nut it every time.
Rick looking like he’s still in high school in this video! Old school! I would really enjoy a video on the benefits of a premium shaft that is fitted for you vs that “same” flex shaft you get off the shelf at the golf shop. Is it really worth it to spend the extra money on an upgraded shaft? I have heard many pro’s say that the shaft is more important than the actual club. Any truth to that?
Hi Rick, love the videos. Not your best hits lol. I would love to see this test again but more comparible on strike. I.e. hit 10 or 15 with each same conditions not knowing which is which but then match them up on strike. So 2 or 3 similar hits out the middle. 2 or 3 out the bottom. 2 or 3 out the toe. Obviously they won't be exact but think this will show a good comparison of the 2 shafts on good and bad strikes.
Just threw the numbers into some quick calculations. No significant difference with regards to spin nor distance (p>0.05). I didn't check dispersion, but there might be some differences there. You need to hit at least 50 drives with both to draw any conclusions though.
wow. ok. I was wrong. I guess it comes down to what you are used to and like the feel of more then (probably more from brand to brand). Of course how you are swinging on the day would play a big part so how are you supposed to interpret a one session fitting? One thing to take from it possibly is that clubmakers mention that a softer shaft tends to exagerate your natural shot shape if anything-I guess this happened here(all left draws). This is why I personally use stiffer shafts for my swingspeed because otherwise my natural fade sometimes turns into a slice with softer shafts....
Easiest to tell you were not coming around with the club head as much with the second shaft and I knew instantly which one was which. I’m in that same area I get better result with my stiff but that Xstiff could make me more consistent and avoid the duck hooks
Stiffer always seems to be straighter and softer will have more movement left or right. The shaft that seems right for you will fly the furthest and the straightest. The x is the right shaft for you, but have you ever tried a double x shaft? You might see some distance loss.
Shaft one was actually going further on average. You dispersion with the stiff shaft was only 24 yards while is was 32 with the X-stiff. While you buttoned one with the X-stiff, you also hit your shortest drive too. The stiff was far and away the more reliable, consistent performer.
hitting with a stiff to x stiff shaft I found was a great way to show you how to get more speed. Curiously the thing that worked for me was to focus on a balanced controlled finish for the XSTIFF. If I deviated from this at all and tried to accelerate through impact I got the opposite result. INVALUABLE do this get that reinforcement.
X flex for me equals low trajectory and, in wet conditions, a lot less distance. Regular flex for me = left, left and more left. Stiff flex is perfect for my swing speed and I do think, for certain players, shaft flex makes a massive difference.
I recently bought a new Razr Xtreme was suppose to be stiff but it arrived Xstiff. I have a stiff in the mail and I’ll let you know how I faired between the two. Trinity Aldila 65. Shaft.
I think the differences are a little more dramatic than those numbers present. The stiff shaft shots were moving around quite a bit. If your shot is a left "overdraw" i would highly recommend moving up into a stiffer profile. The X flex shots were much straighter (asisde from a pull and then a reactionary fade). the three you struck well were nice baby draws. I think the x is a much better fit. you'll hit more fairways
As someone else has commented, a more relevant test would be between stiff and regular as these are the most common flexes. Most people get an ego rush from regular to stiff but common sense kicks in and most avoid X flex. P.S. I have never seen an X flex shaft on the shelf of any retailer - Pro shop or high street.
For any of you saying it doesn't matter what flex, it does It depends on the swing speed. Guys with high swing speeds prefer X stiff or stiff because the bow is less at Impact so it is more stable into impact. Mark Crossfields swing speed is not fast enough for him to need X stiff so for him it doesn't change much. If you are 100 and under it is unlikely you would gain anything, or possibly hurt your performance, so a reg flex would be fine. The disparity of swings is what causes so much confusion on these subjects. There is a big difference from 100 or 112 swing speed. If you put Dustin Johnson in a reg flex he'd feel like he was swinging a rope.
I'd say focus on however you got a shot with 1900 doin and keep doing that because you got the same carry but total distance rolled out 15-20yds farther!
A good basis for the test, the blind trial. But i think Rick would have to repeat this test a number of times to see if any patterns emerged in the data. Maybe if he did it every day for a week and then analysed the data something meaningful might emerge.
I'd be awesome if you could do a similar video but with a regular, stiff and extra stiff flex shaft. with your swing speed, it would hopefully make it quite obvious the actual effect of the shaft considering the numbers in this video seemed pretty similar, and I'm assuming with a little more practice with each, you could achieve desirable numbers and accuracy with either of these two flexs
Typically I find that the overall stiffness rating of the shaft is less important than where that flex is on the shaft - or its balance. Stiffer "butt" (grip) end, softer tip is usually higher spin/higher launch - usually for lower swing speeds. Stiffer tip and softer butt end, result in lower launch, lower spin - usually for faster swing speeds. Rick's best balls are always going to be with a shaft that cater to low spin, low launch because of his swing speed. His swing is consistent enough to produce good numbers with almost anything - but for this test to make the most sense, he'd need to use 2 shafts that are balanced as close to the same as possible (I don't know if these 2 are), but with the different flex ratings.
Would be interesting to see the impact points on the clubface... how else can you explain 1000 rpm's difference between the lowest and highest spin on both stiff and xstiff. Seems that the shaft makes very little difference compared to the quality of strike. You could pick 3 drives (from your 5) with the stiff that went further or straighter than 3 drives with the xstiff... strike is everything it would seem.
Strike is the vital component I would agree. But what Crossfield doesn't seem to understand or appreciate, is that shafts, for some Golfers, can have an influence on that very strike pattern in the first place. Sometimes down to 'feel', sometimes down to a shafts balance points, bend profiles or weight that can, in some cases, make the Golfer change his tempo very slightly, and this change can have that influence on the impact on the clubface. To lay a blanket statement, that shafts have little or no effect for all golfers is nonsense. Even with this relatively simple test you can see how, with the stiff flex Rick hits a consistent right to left shot shape that is his normal shot shape, whereas with the X Stiff the shot shape is less right to left because the shaft is slightly stiffer. Of course, only 5 balls were hit, and Rick admits he was not hitting the ball great, so more testing is needed in this case, maybe on another day, or with more shafts. But essentially, my point is, that shafts can and do make a difference to many golfers in one aspect or another, but in terms of strike, which is one of the most important factors of course, a change of shaft can influence that very strike pattern, for some golfers. For some reason best known to him, Crossfield fails to address this. I think where I do agree with Crossfield is how he mentions how some people are getting a little bogged down with the spin rate, and seem to be of the notion that the lower the spin rates the better it will be for their game. Another fallacy. We all need spin, to keep the ball in the air longer, and the lower ball speed the more spin that is needed. For the average Golfer @ say 90mph swing speed, a spin rate of 2000rpm will fall out of the sky and lose him distance, and a spin rate closer to 3000rpm is no bad thing to maximize carry, due to the lower ball speed. So a 0rpm spin rate for anyone is simply no good at all, and some people seem to be getting obsessed with lower spin. On this issue alone, Crossfield is correct.
10% spin difference between shafts but 25-30% different with shots in the same shaft, suggests spin very much down to strike than shaft - that or it'll take a lot more than 5 shots to discern a difference between the two.
Strike is only one of a few variables. Dynamic loft, swing path, AoA and face angle are also some of the other variables involved that can also effect spin rates, both up and down, so be careful not to generalize and cherry pick numbers to suit an argument. I can appreciate why you say what you say, especially when some 'qualified' people are putting out vids on RUclips who don't seem to understand these issues either. Also be careful when you talk of percentage changes in different factors. A 10% difference in spin rates could well be more influential than a 25-30% change in something else. So it's not possible to crossover percentage changes in different data components and draw any kind of definitive conclusion from it.
As soon as the second shaft went right, knew it was the X...Can you imagine comparing the X with an R or Ladies flex? Mark Crossfield insists there's no difference. Crazy....Now I take what he claims with a grain of salt...
Did you watch to the end? I would say almost no difference at all and he has further reinforced what Mark has been saying. You don't watch Mark's video's very closely do you? His point is that shaft stiffness and weight varies by manufacturer and just fitting yourself based on swing sped is wrong. Further, he is saying that if you are a good enough player you can work with any shaft (which he has proven) and that it really comes down to feel. I have an avg club head speed of 112 on TM and my most recent fitting had me getting best numbers with an R Flex. Put in a S Flex and felt like I was swinging a hammer. My previous driver was fitted and I had an X flex. I hit great shots with all of those as well as horrible shots. I went with the flex I hit best most often. I feel differences for sure, but I don't care about flex, which is what Mark keeps saying.
+Travis Sherriff I've had this conversation a couple times and you explained yourself well enough. My only confusion is you say there is essentially no difference and then say you choose the one you hit best? If you hit one better then there is a difference. If you are saying that just because the shaft says X or S or what have you, don't take it as gospel, then I agree 100%.
Great test and thank you Rick! Before you announced which shaft produced which results, I accurately predicted. Now, what do you think of using mid launch shafts with low lofts? ex: 8.5 left w/ mid launch shafts & stonger lofted heads (driver thru irons) with low launch shafts ?
Hí Rick! Nice blind test, keep it up! By the way, I just got myself a new Callaway XR standard 46inch driver. reg. shaft. Have 78-80km/h speed swing, my shots in Trackman became 185-200yards,, is that good inough for a 80+ golfer? Still cold up in Stockholm so testing outside when weather gets warmer, ha ha! You are inspiration in Golf! Johnny D Bergh/5hcp
In addition to the data, I'd like to see some close-up, super slow motion video of different shafts at (and near) impact, showing the flex and distortion differences of different shafts. And maybe add someone who has a slower swing speed so that you can compare to yourself, who has a high swing speed.
I think some people get a little confused by the difference between accuracy and precision. On the basis of simply these 5 shots with each offering, (which I think even Rick wasn't happy with to be fair). If Rick wants precision but not necessarily accuracy, then he would go with the Stiff flex, if on the other hand he wants accuracy but not necessarily precision, the X Stiff would be the way to go. Unfortunately simply saying aim down the right every time, in the real world of Golf is not always possible or sensible. As, perhaps, an extreme example, aim too far down the right at the Old Course, 17th 'Road hole' at St Andrews, and somebody would be retrieving a golf ball from their Gin and Tonics' in the Old Course hotel. Now I know that's an extreme example, but sometimes simply aiming down the right and hook it back, is a dangerous one dimensional view for any golfer to take. Overhanging trees off the tee and down the fairway on the right, and even water down the right hand side can play tricks with the mind, or a bunker left, may put things in a golfers' head that he doesn't need on the tee. Simply banging balls down an open range, hitting it all right to left, and I can see how your maxim may be seen to be viable, but I'm afraid in the real world it's not always that simple.
JAG sixtyfive Absolute rubbish. Let's start with the truth,shall we? I said consistent and not accuracy or precision. In addition, I said "could aim down the right of centre" and not to the right of the fairway or even out of bounds. 'Could' was used instead of 'should' or 'must' because there may be trees or G&Ts in the way. By the way, it's Gin and Tonics not Tonics' and a golfer's head not a golfers' head. As for mind games, many of us would love to have a consistent ball flight be it a fade or draw (I didn't say hook either.) Yes this is a snapshot test of five shots with each shaft but based on these results the stiff flex went left of centre on each occasion. Finally, my maxim (which means general truth and not absolute) holds good in the real three-dimensional world. No hard feeling though, as I will gladly buy you a G&T should we ever meet.
Michael Rolton Let me put it this way, and make it possibly easier for you to understand. If a golfer only has one shot shape to his game, in this case right to left, and there was overhanging trees down that right hand side, what would you suggest? Or bunker on the left? Aim more right? Hmmmm, are you not familiar with the old maxim that if a slicer aims more left, he is more likely to slice it more? Same goes for a hook. Just a fact of life I'm afraid. As for your comment of 'consistent'. That lends itself to sounding like a positive, but consistently in the left rough is as bad as inconsistent anyway.You can think it's rubbish, that's fine because you have that right to be wrong if you wish. Rick seems to be agreeing with me in his attempts to swing more left in his latest vlogs. If you've not seen them, they're worth a view to confirm this. He knows his 'consistent' right to left slinging draw shot shape is not a positive for his game, and is reduce it, because although it may be 'consistent', it is getting him into some trouble sometimes. Believe me, I do see your point, but in this case, consistency is the same as precision, but not necessarily accurate. By Rick trying to make a concerted effort now, to swing more right, he recognizes this as an issue. So may both Rick and I are both talking 'Absolute rubbish'. In the meantime, I'll take that drink!!! Lol.
My conclusion regarding shafts is that it should suit your rhythm and timing. A shaft should load just enough to give you feedback what you to do with your hands and body in the next step to be on track through your transiton and release in natural swing. A to soft shaft will load to much and make you overcompensate through the swing leading to Hooks and slices. A to stiff shaft will give you less feedback and make it harder to time your swing and thereby get maximum efficiency out of it. In reality this is what it is all about. Most people trying a really stiff shaft will start to overpower their swing to load the shaft. Overpowering will lead to bad swing sequencing and bad ball contact. If they instead were focusing on good sequencing and ball contact when swinging a very stiff shaft they would notice that it is not harsh at all when good ball contact is achieved.
I always thought if a shaft was too weak it would more likely cause a push and if it was too stiff it would cause a pull. Then again, I'm a lefty so when people said 'right' or 'left', I may have confused it as they were likely talking about for right handed golfers.
interesting video rick... to me it just goes to show that the average golfer shouldnt get bogged down with club shafts.. if a pga pro cant tell the difference then why should we worry... if it feels ok then go with it
Just based off of this, I would go with stiff all day. You did get better carry, but the stiff was big when you made good contact and it was a one way miss rather than spraying it like the extra stiff.
Its funny from the numbers id have said the first was the extra stiff. Funny how you sprayed the extra stiff one a bit more considering thats the flex you use.
Interesting the x stiff went left and right more maybe he felt it going right and released more then went right Does the kick point in shaft make the most difference in shafts
Very true. Rick being a human rather than a robot causes by far the biggest variants. Shaft flex for us mortals has very little effect. Weight, well that is completely different.
The more flexible the less accurate. A fishing pole would be extremely inaccurate to time. You thus swing slower to hit it in play & loose distance. X flex allows you to swing faster without loosing as much accuracy. X flex promotes more speed. A guy hit my X flex 349 yards with laser range finder & said he did not like how it felt & i thought whenever you hit it 349 yards the feel that you feel however it feels is the right feel.
All of the longest drives i ever hit were with X flex shafts. At demo days i will hit both stiff & X flex & i always hit the X flex more accurate. I had many people switch to X flex who were good players & they come back & say how they beat their longest drives on their home course.
Hi Rick. After reviewing those shots I hit on Saturday that I posted via Facebook, I thought of this question: Is there a point when shaft weights and flex cross to where they equal? For example: does a 65 gram Regular flex hit similar to a 55 gram Stiff flex (kick points being equal)?
Love your work Rick, but i don't always understand you, maybe because I'm an Aussie. thanks anyway. I could hit my 7 iron 145m but since I have improved my swing over the past 6months and i now hit it 155m. + with nice baby draws. I've gained 10-18m on every club. I was thinking of changing my steel shafts from regular to stiff ,can you do a test on what difference it would have on say the 7 iron or a 4iron (before was 178m) which I use a lot and get 188m + or is there a clip out on that already?
I did the same test prior to getting my G30 driver on TrackMan and my results were the opposite - tighter dispersion and slightly shorter with the X, while the S was a bit longer with less accuracy. My swing speed average is 107 mph, so 4 mph less then Rick. Guess what shaft I went with?
Sven Hallauer Thank you for getting back to me. I am/was in the same situation. I traded in my Anser (x-stiff) and got fitted for the G30 LS Tec (stiff). I had some initial reservations about going to the stiff, but I was happy about the distance. But after watching this video and seeing your comment, I exchanged for the extra stiff shaft. I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs in real life with the golf ball I play versus hitting in simulator with practice balls.
Seems to me, if you have a consistent strike, that the shaft can be used to tweak your figures. But if your strike is poor nothing will save you. Just maybe you can acknowledge that Crossfield's opinion on this has some validity to it (this was obviously in response to his continued harping about shafts don't matter :-) ). The average mid to high handicapper has more to worry about than the shaft... Would have liked to see your strike location, path and face to path on each of those shots. Might explain more than than the difference in shaft. Interesting though how you felt uncomfortable not knowing which shaft is which :-) Thanks for the continued entertainment !!
well tbh your swingspeed is pretty much in the butterzone of both shafts, it would have been way more interesting if you had changed the stiff for a regular or tried a tripple x . % wise the difference is a none factor and easily explained by minute offcenter hits
is the shaft will affect the same on iron??? using stiffer shaft will make more penetrating ball flight and longer distance??? any comment well appreciated.. thanks.
I’ve only been golfing for 2 to 3 years now and I’m swinging my driver (Which is regular And 1 inch shortened) avg 97 mph. Do you recommend a stiff flex (because of the way I’m swinging right now) or do you recommend a x-stiff shaft (because of the fact that I just started playing and might be going to swing faster). I like to hear your thoughts on this.
I like Rick.so it's nothing personal & he's honest ENOUGH to say What difference if any he can't suss out why. ALL this shaft stuff is OVERATED. NICKLAUS , Watson, Weiskopf ,etc must laugh their heads off.if you can Play,you can play. Try Royal Dornoch, promise What SHAFT you are using won't make a tad of difference. not if YER above 2 handicap anyway. it's all Just a way of extracting more money from you.
So u think its just the stiffness of the golf shaft which makes the difference! Rick you are a pga pro i expect you to give all parameters and honest opinion ! And iam sure you arent a clubfitter or data analyst to suggest the right make and flex , tip stiffness, weight etc! This isnt fair coming from a pga pro! Dont mind!
You should have put a piece of tape over the "S" and "X-S" and then do not slam the club on the ground before you swing, which you did constantly checking out the stiffness.
I'd say yes, but only on the important proviso that a shaft can influence that strike pattern to one degree or another for some golfers. To ignore that, is bit like saying that the light from a torch comes from the bulb in it, we all agree with that, but in the meantime, ignoring the fact that the batteries installed are unimportant. Or maybe that the transmission of an internal combustion engine drives the car, yes of course that's true, but petrol needs to be added, to use it to it's full potential. Now, as I said, the degree to which a shaft effects the strike can, and does depend upon the individual golfer. Then add factors like individual bio mechanics and an individuals ability for his/her body to adapt, there are a myriad of variables at work to, simply, lay a blanket statement over it, by saying shafts have very little effect. For some, that maybe true, but for others, shafts do play a part in the influence of that strike pattern.
Hi Rick, A few different pros I've spoken with have told me that shaft flex is more dependant upon swing tempo than swing speed. My ss is arounf 109 which would put me in a stiff shaft based upon ss alone, but I've been fitted for an x-flex because I have a quicker tempo, I find I get a much better flight with an x-flex. What's your opinion on that school of thought?
Tempo has a lot in dictating the stiffness of your shaft. A quicker change in direction is going to cause for more flex than say someone who pauses their hands at the top
To be fair, you were kinda rushing the shots. good test however, I was curious though to see the results. I have always wanted to do this test, but did not have the same shaft makes. I would guess the xstiff would go right.
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Whoa, old school Rick!
Rick, just a suggestion. Instead of trying to avoid looking at them the whole time...just put a piece of tape over the S and XS labels.
AndyNick211 ha ha! I laughed at this comment 2 years ago when I first read it and just laughed again now. (I need to get out more)
anyway, If you cant feel a difference with a waggle or something, there is a problem lol
I can’t play anymore because of an injury I sustained back in 2017, but I played to a 2 handicap back then. I actually got down to a 1.2 for a short time, but usually played to a 2. Anyway, I custom fit my entire set. All my irons, Driver, 3 wood, hybrid and then I went back later and went through a custom shaft fitting process for my driver and actually ended up buying a very expensive driver shaft. I wasn’t an overly long hitter and didn’t have really high club head speed. For example, I’m pretty sure my irons just had stiff shafts in them, but my driver had a 2X stiff shaft in it. Like I said, I wasn’t overly long, but I swung hard and I was extremely straight with my driver. I’m not going to say that I hit 80% of the fairways or anything, but overall I loved my driver, felt very confident hitting it and, yeah I hit a lot of fairways and rarely, if ever blasted one into the woods.
I'd like to see this test done with a regular, stiff, and x-stiff shaft in the same manner that you did this video. I think it would help us amateurs understand more about shaft flex and its contribution to hitting proper shots. More amateurs move from regular to stiff flex than from stiff to x-stiff. Thanks!
Before finishing video:
Yellow: X
Green: S
'spoilers after'
Guess' I had them reversed, ha ha! I figured the X would have been the first because they yielded more consistent flight patterns. But no, the S did for you. So of the two, I'd pick the S as tighter dispersion is more important than a couple extra yards of distance.
Great test,I have an over the top swing and find a stiff tip shaft straightens my shots out.It doesn't matter if the shaft is stiff or regular as long as it is a stiff tip.
Thank you Rick for doing all the awesome comparison videos. It's much appreciated
Smashing that like button over 7 years later! Look at the baby face!
Came here looking for stiff vs xstiff lol. I’ll just say, Rick, you’ve come a long way!
Why have you not used HMT to compare the strike? Surely that will have a big influence on your results?
Like like like. Hmt is the only way to distinguish were the variants came from. Or use a robot.
Good info and a great way to end..."That's the end of the video" . Love that. All in all after watching all these shaft vids, it appears nearly certain to me that one should choose whichever shaft he/she has the most CONFIDENCE in. I had a fitter tell me to go to regulars during a recent fitting. I've played stiff all my life. Had I taken his advice, my head would have messed up my game all summer.
Golf is a game of confidence. If you have it, you at least have a fighting chance.
Thanks again for the great vids Rick
I dig the blind testing, wish there was more of it to reduce prejudice. Love your videos, keep it up.
Looking at your numbers the stiff shaft is better for you but with a higher loft.
You achieve peak distance with a greater than 17degree launch angle. with the S shaft your average launch height is 14.9 with a standard deviation of 1.7 which although lower than the XS is more consistent. Potentially with a higher loft (as long as spin rates are maintained - although they don't seem to have too much effect) you could achieve a 17 degree launch more consistently. The dispersion on the S is also better. It is consistently left but with a tighter dispersion than the XS
I've done this test my self and found that the extra stiff went way long but wasnt very accurate and was very hard to work the ball left. I went back to a stiff becuase i could concentrate on where I wanted the ball to go and not just praying for it to hit the fairway. As soon as that ball went right I knew it was the the stiff as I used to change shafts at the range and go from hitting nice big draws to pusing it right nealy every time. Another great video!!
Can we get a update on this. With the newer technologies they've made a MAJOR jump
1st thing I want to point out. Those shafts are stock shaft. The frequency of the shafts maybe a little bit off. So the difference between stiff and x-stiff maybe none. And I have tried from A flex to X-Stiff with my 95 Mph swing speed. The softer the flex, the more likely I draw the shots. The stiffer it gets the more likely I fade the shots. So this video might be pretty accurate.
this was BRILLIANT !!!! thanks brotha for the info and great blind test
Wow, been watching you for about 1.5 years now, Rick looking good here!
For any of you who see this, you can always tell a shafts flex by how far they draw. More flex in a shaft promotes more snap through the ball which with Rick's swing, will cause the ball to go further left. X flex will generally have a much straighter or more controlled flight without the huge ball flights left or right. That's what I've found from personal experience and from working in the golf industry. Hope this helps.
Obviously how far they draw or fade as well all dependent on swing path and such.
Brandon Alan check Mark Crossfields 'Does shaft flex matter' video. More consistent swinger than this guy and had zero difference on dispersion between an A flex and X flex and just 2yds
Yeah, but Crossfield can't hit it out of his own shadow. The difference isn't on good swings guys. You can watch Jason Zuback hit 300 yard, straight bombs with a Whippy Tempo Master, which is like a golf club on the end of a car antenna. The difference is most noticeable at 120 MPH+ when you don't middle it. That's where the dispersion tightens up. Not when you nut it every time.
Crossfield still carries it 260, and that's still pretty decent
Rick looking like he’s still in high school in this video! Old school!
I would really enjoy a video on the benefits of a premium shaft that is fitted for you vs that “same” flex shaft you get off the shelf at the golf shop.
Is it really worth it to spend the extra money on an upgraded shaft? I have heard many pro’s say that the shaft is more important than the actual club. Any truth to that?
Hi Rick, love the videos. Not your best hits lol. I would love to see this test again but more comparible on strike. I.e. hit 10 or 15 with each same conditions not knowing which is which but then match them up on strike. So 2 or 3 similar hits out the middle. 2 or 3 out the bottom. 2 or 3 out the toe. Obviously they won't be exact but think this will show a good comparison of the 2 shafts on good and bad strikes.
Yeah, would like to see this myself. Cheers Rick
2nd one you hit was stiff because the peak heights were much higher and higher spinning
Nevermind
Just threw the numbers into some quick calculations. No significant difference with regards to spin nor distance (p>0.05). I didn't check dispersion, but there might be some differences there. You need to hit at least 50 drives with both to draw any conclusions though.
Great comparison. Have fun in Florida Rick.
wow. ok. I was wrong. I guess it comes down to what you are used to and like the feel of more then (probably more from brand to brand). Of course how you are swinging on the day would play a big part so how are you supposed to interpret a one session fitting? One thing to take from it possibly is that clubmakers mention that a softer shaft tends to exagerate your natural shot shape if anything-I guess this happened here(all left draws). This is why I personally use stiffer shafts for my swingspeed because otherwise my natural fade sometimes turns into a slice with softer shafts....
Easiest to tell you were not coming around with the club head as much with the second shaft and I knew instantly which one was which. I’m in that same area I get better result with my stiff but that Xstiff could make me more consistent and avoid the duck hooks
Ever try the wholly tempo master training aid? Learn to time it and super whippy. Wonder if you’d be able to hit regular flex after timing it.
Stiffer always seems to be straighter and softer will have more movement left or right. The shaft that seems right for you will fly the furthest and the straightest. The x is the right shaft for you, but have you ever tried a double x shaft? You might see some distance loss.
Shaft one was actually going further on average. You dispersion with the stiff shaft was only 24 yards while is was 32 with the X-stiff. While you buttoned one with the X-stiff, you also hit your shortest drive too. The stiff was far and away the more reliable, consistent performer.
hitting with a stiff to x stiff shaft I found was a great way to show you how to get more speed. Curiously the thing that worked for me was to focus on a balanced controlled finish for the XSTIFF. If I deviated from this at all and tried to accelerate through impact I got the opposite result. INVALUABLE do this get that reinforcement.
X flex for me equals low trajectory and, in wet conditions, a lot less distance. Regular flex for me = left, left and more left. Stiff flex is perfect for my swing speed and I do think, for certain players, shaft flex makes a massive difference.
I recently bought a new Razr Xtreme was suppose to be stiff but it arrived Xstiff. I have a stiff in the mail and I’ll let you know how I faired between the two. Trinity Aldila 65. Shaft.
Pretty easy to guess with your club head speed being around 111 (from previous videos), that shaft number 2 would be the X (and you hit it better). :)
why didn't you just tape over the X and S?
+Jason Talwar would that matter if you "shuffled" the shafts afterwards?
+Eddie Parks Touché :).. I actually skipped the shuffle part and watched afterward.
I think the differences are a little more dramatic than those numbers present. The stiff shaft shots were moving around quite a bit. If your shot is a left "overdraw" i would highly recommend moving up into a stiffer profile. The X flex shots were much straighter (asisde from a pull and then a reactionary fade). the three you struck well were nice baby draws. I think the x is a much better fit. you'll hit more fairways
As someone else has commented, a more relevant test would be between stiff and regular as these are the most common flexes. Most people get an ego rush from regular to stiff but common sense kicks in and most avoid X flex. P.S. I have never seen an X flex shaft on the shelf of any retailer - Pro shop or high street.
+Bob Pfaff that's cuz the extra stiff is in my pants
+Ben Ernst burnt..
+10jonesgg1 i just laughed for like 5 minutes at that
For any of you saying it doesn't matter what flex, it does It depends on the swing speed. Guys with high swing speeds prefer X stiff or stiff because the bow is less at Impact so it is more stable into impact. Mark Crossfields swing speed is not fast enough for him to need X stiff so for him it doesn't change much. If you are 100 and under it is unlikely you would gain anything, or possibly hurt your performance, so a reg flex would be fine. The disparity of swings is what causes so much confusion on these subjects. There is a big difference from 100 or 112 swing speed. If you put Dustin Johnson in a reg flex he'd feel like he was swinging a rope.
I'd say focus on however you got a shot with 1900 doin and keep doing that because you got the same carry but total distance rolled out 15-20yds farther!
Guessed the second shaft was extra stiff due to the higher launch angle and better carry distance, great non bias testing.
Shouldnt a stiffer shaft reduce the Painchaud angle and spin ?
A good basis for the test, the blind trial. But i think Rick would have to repeat this test a number of times to see if any patterns emerged in the data. Maybe if he did it every day for a week and then analysed the data something meaningful might emerge.
I'd be awesome if you could do a similar video but with a regular, stiff and extra stiff flex shaft. with your swing speed, it would hopefully make it quite obvious the actual effect of the shaft considering the numbers in this video seemed pretty similar, and I'm assuming with a little more practice with each, you could achieve desirable numbers and accuracy with either of these two flexs
Typically I find that the overall stiffness rating of the shaft is less important than where that flex is on the shaft - or its balance. Stiffer "butt" (grip) end, softer tip is usually higher spin/higher launch - usually for lower swing speeds. Stiffer tip and softer butt end, result in lower launch, lower spin - usually for faster swing speeds. Rick's best balls are always going to be with a shaft that cater to low spin, low launch because of his swing speed. His swing is consistent enough to produce good numbers with almost anything - but for this test to make the most sense, he'd need to use 2 shafts that are balanced as close to the same as possible (I don't know if these 2 are), but with the different flex ratings.
Would be interesting to see the impact points on the clubface... how else can you explain 1000 rpm's difference between the lowest and highest spin on both stiff and xstiff.
Seems that the shaft makes very little difference compared to the quality of strike.
You could pick 3 drives (from your 5) with the stiff that went further or straighter than 3 drives with the xstiff... strike is everything it would seem.
Strike is the vital component I would agree. But what Crossfield doesn't seem to understand or appreciate, is that shafts, for some Golfers, can have an influence on that very strike pattern in the first place. Sometimes down to 'feel', sometimes down to a shafts balance points, bend profiles or weight that can, in some cases, make the Golfer change his tempo very slightly, and this change can have that influence on the impact on the clubface. To lay a blanket statement, that shafts have little or no effect for all golfers is nonsense. Even with this relatively simple test you can see how, with the stiff flex Rick hits a consistent right to left shot shape that is his normal shot shape, whereas with the X Stiff the shot shape is less right to left because the shaft is slightly stiffer. Of course, only 5 balls were hit, and Rick admits he was not hitting the ball great, so more testing is needed in this case, maybe on another day, or with more shafts. But essentially, my point is, that shafts can and do make a difference to many golfers in one aspect or another, but in terms of strike, which is one of the most important factors of course, a change of shaft can influence that very strike pattern, for some golfers. For some reason best known to him, Crossfield fails to address this. I think where I do agree with Crossfield is how he mentions how some people are getting a little bogged down with the spin rate, and seem to be of the notion that the lower the spin rates the better it will be for their game. Another fallacy. We all need spin, to keep the ball in the air longer, and the lower ball speed the more spin that is needed. For the average Golfer @ say 90mph swing speed, a spin rate of 2000rpm will fall out of the sky and lose him distance, and a spin rate closer to 3000rpm is no bad thing to maximize carry, due to the lower ball speed. So a 0rpm spin rate for anyone is simply no good at all, and some people seem to be getting obsessed with lower spin. On this issue alone, Crossfield is correct.
10% spin difference between shafts but 25-30% different with shots in the same shaft, suggests spin very much down to strike than shaft - that or it'll take a lot more than 5 shots to discern a difference between the two.
Strike is only one of a few variables. Dynamic loft, swing path, AoA and face angle are also some of the other variables involved that can also effect spin rates, both up and down, so be careful not to generalize and cherry pick numbers to suit an argument. I can appreciate why you say what you say, especially when some 'qualified' people are putting out vids on RUclips who don't seem to understand these issues either. Also be careful when you talk of percentage changes in different factors. A 10% difference in spin rates could well be more influential than a 25-30% change in something else. So it's not possible to crossover percentage changes in different data components and draw any kind of definitive conclusion from it.
As soon as the second shaft went right, knew it was the X...Can you imagine comparing the X with an R or Ladies flex? Mark Crossfield insists there's no difference. Crazy....Now I take what he claims with a grain of salt...
Did you watch to the end? I would say almost no difference at all and he has further reinforced what Mark has been saying. You don't watch Mark's video's very closely do you? His point is that shaft stiffness and weight varies by manufacturer and just fitting yourself based on swing sped is wrong. Further, he is saying that if you are a good enough player you can work with any shaft (which he has proven) and that it really comes down to feel. I have an avg club head speed of 112 on TM and my most recent fitting had me getting best numbers with an R Flex. Put in a S Flex and felt like I was swinging a hammer. My previous driver was fitted and I had an X flex. I hit great shots with all of those as well as horrible shots. I went with the flex I hit best most often. I feel differences for sure, but I don't care about flex, which is what Mark keeps saying.
+Travis Sherriff Total nonsense...
You're right...I can't argue with logic like that. Keep up the good work.
+Travis Sherriff If you don't know there are differences in shafts why bother....????
+Travis Sherriff I've had this conversation a couple times and you explained yourself well enough. My only confusion is you say there is essentially no difference and then say you choose the one you hit best? If you hit one better then there is a difference. If you are saying that just because the shaft says X or S or what have you, don't take it as gospel, then I agree 100%.
Great test and thank you Rick! Before you announced which shaft produced which results, I accurately predicted. Now, what do you think of using mid launch shafts with low lofts? ex: 8.5 left w/ mid launch shafts & stonger lofted heads (driver thru irons) with low launch shafts ?
I think the green shots are hit with X-stiff. Now I'm gonna take a look at the last part of the video :)
Hí Rick!
Nice blind test, keep it up!
By the way, I just got myself a new Callaway XR standard 46inch driver. reg. shaft.
Have 78-80km/h speed swing, my shots in Trackman became 185-200yards,, is that good inough for a 80+ golfer?
Still cold up in Stockholm so testing outside when weather gets warmer, ha ha!
You are inspiration in Golf!
Johnny D Bergh/5hcp
In addition to the data, I'd like to see some close-up, super slow motion video of different shafts at (and near) impact, showing the flex and distortion differences of different shafts. And maybe add someone who has a slower swing speed so that you can compare to yourself, who has a high swing speed.
Great video. The stiff flex was more consistent so you could hit down the right of centre with impunity.
I think some people get a little confused by the difference between accuracy and precision. On the basis of simply these 5 shots with each offering, (which I think even Rick wasn't happy with to be fair). If Rick wants precision but not necessarily accuracy, then he would go with the Stiff flex, if on the other hand he wants accuracy but not necessarily precision, the X Stiff would be the way to go. Unfortunately simply saying aim down the right every time, in the real world of Golf is not always possible or sensible. As, perhaps, an extreme example, aim too far down the right at the Old Course, 17th 'Road hole' at St Andrews, and somebody would be retrieving a golf ball from their Gin and Tonics' in the Old Course hotel. Now I know that's an extreme example, but sometimes simply aiming down the right and hook it back, is a dangerous one dimensional view for any golfer to take. Overhanging trees off the tee and down the fairway on the right, and even water down the right hand side can play tricks with the mind, or a bunker left, may put things in a golfers' head that he doesn't need on the tee. Simply banging balls down an open range, hitting it all right to left, and I can see how your maxim may be seen to be viable, but I'm afraid in the real world it's not always that simple.
JAG sixtyfive Absolute rubbish. Let's start with the truth,shall we? I said consistent and not accuracy or precision. In addition, I said "could aim down the right of centre" and not to the right of the fairway or even out of bounds. 'Could' was used instead of 'should' or 'must' because there may be trees or G&Ts in the way. By the way, it's Gin and Tonics not Tonics' and a golfer's head not a golfers' head. As for mind games, many of us would love to have a consistent ball flight be it a fade or draw (I didn't say hook either.) Yes this is a snapshot test of five shots with each shaft but based on these results the stiff flex went left of centre on each occasion. Finally, my maxim (which means general truth and not absolute) holds good in the real three-dimensional world. No hard feeling though, as I will gladly buy you a G&T should we ever meet.
Michael Rolton Let me put it this way, and make it possibly easier for you to understand. If a golfer only has one shot shape to his game, in this case right to left, and there was overhanging trees down that right hand side, what would you suggest? Or bunker on the left? Aim more right? Hmmmm, are you not familiar with the old maxim that if a slicer aims more left, he is more likely to slice it more? Same goes for a hook. Just a fact of life I'm afraid. As for your comment of 'consistent'. That lends itself to sounding like a positive, but consistently in the left rough is as bad as inconsistent anyway.You can think it's rubbish, that's fine because you have that right to be wrong if you wish. Rick seems to be agreeing with me in his attempts to swing more left in his latest vlogs. If you've not seen them, they're worth a view to confirm this. He knows his 'consistent' right to left slinging draw shot shape is not a positive for his game, and is reduce it, because although it may be 'consistent', it is getting him into some trouble sometimes. Believe me, I do see your point, but in this case, consistency is the same as precision, but not necessarily accurate. By Rick trying to make a concerted effort now, to swing more right, he recognizes this as an issue. So may both Rick and I are both talking 'Absolute rubbish'. In the meantime, I'll take that drink!!! Lol.
JAG sixtyfive I hope others have enjoyed this dialogue as much as we have but to carry on would be both sad and boring. All the best.
Michael Rolton I totally agree.
My conclusion regarding shafts is that it should suit your rhythm and timing. A shaft should load just enough to give you feedback what you to do with your hands and body in the next step to be on track through your transiton and release in natural swing. A to soft shaft will load to much and make you overcompensate through the swing leading to Hooks and slices. A to stiff shaft will give you less feedback and make it harder to time your swing and thereby get maximum efficiency out of it. In reality this is what it is all about.
Most people trying a really stiff shaft will start to overpower their swing to load the shaft. Overpowering will lead to bad swing sequencing and bad ball contact. If they instead were focusing on good sequencing and ball contact when swinging a very stiff shaft they would notice that it is not harsh at all when good ball contact is achieved.
I always thought if a shaft was too weak it would more likely cause a push and if it was too stiff it would cause a pull.
Then again, I'm a lefty so when people said 'right' or 'left', I may have confused it as they were likely talking about for right handed golfers.
It all depends on feel at transition, go with the one that feels best.
interesting video rick... to me it just goes to show that the average golfer shouldnt get bogged down with club shafts.. if a pga pro cant tell the difference then why should we worry... if it feels ok then go with it
can you please do a video on the differene between stock off the shelf shafts against after market higher quality shafts
Rick Shiels PGA
Rick, have you ever done a test on a 44in driver vs 45in? Is the accuracy worth the extra 5-8 yrd?
can you do a video of you hitting Graphite Senior Shaft on an iron set.. id really like to see what that looks like.
Interesting to see that the stiffer shaft actually spun less. Strike? Or shaft not really effecting spin much?
Thanks for the video, good test.
Just based off of this, I would go with stiff all day. You did get better carry, but the stiff was big when you made good contact and it was a one way miss rather than spraying it like the extra stiff.
Its funny from the numbers id have said the first was the extra stiff. Funny how you sprayed the extra stiff one a bit more considering thats the flex you use.
Interesting the x stiff went left and right more maybe he felt it going right and released more then went right Does the kick point in shaft make the most difference in shafts
Another good vid mate! Would like to know now which one you actually preferred???
Based on flight and spin, I would have thought the opposite. Perhaps I should go X-Stiif in my irons to help eliminate my draw :-)
I'd say that strike accounts for most of the variance.
Very true. Rick being a human rather than a robot causes by far the biggest variants. Shaft flex for us mortals has very little effect. Weight, well that is completely different.
The more flexible the less accurate. A fishing pole would be extremely inaccurate to time. You thus swing slower to hit it in play & loose distance. X flex allows you to swing faster without loosing as much accuracy. X flex promotes more speed. A guy hit my X flex 349 yards with laser range finder & said he did not like how it felt & i thought whenever you hit it 349 yards the feel that you feel however it feels is the right feel.
That's not true at all. The only difference is feel. Shaft does nothing to the ball, only your swing does.
All of the longest drives i ever hit were with X flex shafts. At demo days i will hit both stiff & X flex & i always hit the X flex more accurate. I had many people switch to X flex who were good players & they come back & say how they beat their longest drives on their home course.
Hi Rick. After reviewing those shots I hit on Saturday that I posted via Facebook, I thought of this question: Is there a point when shaft weights and flex cross to where they equal? For example: does a 65 gram Regular flex hit similar to a 55 gram Stiff flex (kick points being equal)?
I'd say second hit was the more flexible of the two. Rick always entertaining no fast forwarding here.
At the end you should have hit a few shots now knowing each flex. See how much a player's confidence in a shaft affects their results.
Interesting test, but I'd love to see the difference between regular flex and stiff - maybe get Dobby in to test :)
good vidéo Rick , i would like to known what is the difference between weight shaft . 65 versus 76 . Mine is Mizuno Driver JPX 900.Thank you .
Love your work Rick, but i don't always understand you, maybe because I'm an Aussie. thanks anyway.
I could hit my 7 iron 145m but since I have improved my swing over the past 6months and i now hit it 155m. + with nice baby draws. I've gained 10-18m on every club.
I was thinking of changing my steel shafts from regular to stiff ,can you do a test on what difference it would have on say the 7 iron or a 4iron (before was 178m) which I use a lot and get 188m + or is there a clip out on that already?
Yellow-XS Green-Stiff
"take from it what you wish"...
Absolutely Lovit :)
You're subtely declaring war, but, hey, whatever... take from it what you wish :))
I did the same test prior to getting my G30 driver on TrackMan and my results were the opposite - tighter dispersion and slightly shorter with the X, while the S was a bit longer with less accuracy. My swing speed average is 107 mph, so 4 mph less then Rick. Guess what shaft I went with?
Did you go with the stiff shaft?
zionlaw I went with the 65 tour shaft in X flex. Very happy with it.
Sven Hallauer Thank you for getting back to me. I am/was in the same situation. I traded in my Anser (x-stiff) and got fitted for the G30 LS Tec (stiff). I had some initial reservations about going to the stiff, but I was happy about the distance. But after watching this video and seeing your comment, I exchanged for the extra stiff shaft. I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs in real life with the golf ball I play versus hitting in simulator with practice balls.
Seems to me, if you have a consistent strike, that the shaft can be used to tweak your figures. But if your strike is poor nothing will save you. Just maybe you can acknowledge that Crossfield's opinion on this has some validity to it (this was obviously in response to his continued harping about shafts don't matter :-) ). The average mid to high handicapper has more to worry about than the shaft... Would have liked to see your strike location, path and face to path on each of those shots. Might explain more than than the difference in shaft. Interesting though how you felt uncomfortable not knowing which shaft is which :-)
Thanks for the continued entertainment !!
Rick how long have you been teaching and playing golf?
well tbh your swingspeed is pretty much in the butterzone of both shafts, it would have been way more interesting if you had changed the stiff for a regular or tried a tripple x . % wise the difference is a none factor and easily explained by minute offcenter hits
What is a 20 odd year old Dynamic Gold X1000 equivalent to in a modern shaft?
is the shaft will affect the same on iron??? using stiffer shaft will make more penetrating ball flight and longer distance??? any comment well appreciated.. thanks.
perfect, just what I was looking for. bonus, it was published on my 30th birthday :)
I’ve only been golfing for 2 to 3 years now and I’m swinging my driver (Which is regular And 1 inch shortened) avg 97 mph. Do you recommend a stiff flex (because of the way I’m swinging right now) or do you recommend a x-stiff shaft (because of the fact that I just started playing and might be going to swing faster). I like to hear your thoughts on this.
yes!!!
The X-shaft went a lot further as Rick said in the end......hm.... a lot further... is 2 yards al lot? LOL as the kids say.
I like Rick.so it's nothing personal
& he's honest ENOUGH to say What difference if any he can't suss out why. ALL this shaft stuff is OVERATED. NICKLAUS , Watson, Weiskopf ,etc must laugh their heads off.if you can Play,you can play. Try Royal Dornoch, promise What SHAFT you are using won't make a tad of difference. not if YER above 2 handicap anyway. it's all Just a way of extracting more money from you.
Green Extra Stiff
So u think its just the stiffness of the golf shaft which makes the difference! Rick you are a pga pro i expect you to give all parameters and honest opinion ! And iam sure you arent a clubfitter or data analyst to suggest the right make and flex , tip stiffness, weight etc! This isnt fair coming from a pga pro! Dont mind!
shaft 2 was definitely x
You should have put a piece of tape over the "S" and "X-S" and then do not slam the club on the ground before you swing, which you did constantly checking out the stiffness.
But would you say that the majority of the difference was down to your strike?
I'd say yes, but only on the important proviso that a shaft can influence that strike pattern to one degree or another for some golfers. To ignore that, is bit like saying that the light from a torch comes from the bulb in it, we all agree with that, but in the meantime, ignoring the fact that the batteries installed are unimportant. Or maybe that the transmission of an internal combustion engine drives the car, yes of course that's true, but petrol needs to be added, to use it to it's full potential. Now, as I said, the degree to which a shaft effects the strike can, and does depend upon the individual golfer. Then add factors like individual bio mechanics and an individuals ability for his/her body to adapt, there are a myriad of variables at work to, simply, lay a blanket statement over it, by saying shafts have very little effect. For some, that maybe true, but for others, shafts do play a part in the influence of that strike pattern.
Hi Rick, A few different pros I've spoken with have told me that shaft flex is more dependant upon swing tempo than swing speed. My ss is arounf 109 which would put me in a stiff shaft based upon ss alone, but I've been fitted for an x-flex because I have a quicker tempo, I find I get a much better flight with an x-flex. What's your opinion on that school of thought?
Tempo has a lot in dictating the stiffness of your shaft. A quicker change in direction is going to cause for more flex than say someone who pauses their hands at the top
To be fair, you were kinda rushing the shots. good test however, I was curious though to see the results. I have always wanted to do this test, but did not have the same shaft makes. I would guess the xstiff would go right.
Have you done a review on the Cobra Bio Cell fairway woods?? (3wd)
2nd- XS
I'd like to see a senior flex vs a reg flex
awesome video real life shit !!!! your the man !i watch all the time
Tour 65 is not 65g in either S or X. I wonder why it was called Tour 65 though?
Hey Rick, please do a regular v extra stiff, thanks :) blind test of course
What are you standing on and where can I get one?
Why didn't you just use a small piece of tape to cover the X or the S? Would have been a lot easier to remain unbiased and easier to make the video.