Shafted

I mentioned a few weeks ago on the other site, a problem I thought I had with my swing slowing down. I couldn't get my head around it, and thought that either my driver had 'gone off', or I was swinging slower. It was difficult to fathom due to cold weather and boggy fairways, so estimating correct carry was dodgy. Last week in the Algarve It became obvious that something wasn't right, even though I was hitting plenty of fairways and playing well, I just didn't seem to be getting the distance.

I had a chat with the bloke who built my clubs, and we talked about the possibility of the driver 'going off', and if it had what was the best new driver for me. he poo pooed the going off thing as he said my driver was great, just come down and we'll have a look on the machine. Today I called in and after warming up and hitting a dozen balls, we looked at the results. It turns out that my swing has lost 5mph in 2-years.

When my driver was built it had an SKFiber shaft which was 74gms, which was very light at the time. Today I tried a Mitsibushi Fubuka which is only 50gms, and gained 3mph back but most importantly gained between 8 and 14 yards carry which took me back to where I was. It seems shaft technology is now moving a hell of a lot quicker than club head technology. My bloke said that club development will always carry on, but there are so many hoops for the R&D guys to jump through now, that its slowing down as they seem to have peaked with what they have to work with. Unless the R&A allow something completeley radical be allowed in, club head development will slow. But the engine of the club is the shaft, and that moves on at a very fast pace.

So anyone thinking of changing their driver, think about re-shafting first

If you don't mind can you give us a few more numbers

a) What is your handicap?

b) what was your driving distance before and after the shaft changes?

Whilst I agree to a certain extent with what you're saying I would also guess that the model is a Corsair 75 in R flex? That has an incredibly low torque rating. And is rated for around 90mph as a clubhead speed which is fairly high. It also has a firm tip which doesn't help when you're not delivering a high impact speed.

It may be that the lighter shaft is helping a bit as that will obviously decrease weight on the club which will gain a bit more speed through impact... but the Fukubi in a R is also rated at a much higher torque of 4.3 and has a softer tip. In fact it's an incredibly soft tip. What that will do is increase the dynamic loft through impact and also close the clubface. That will also increase the head speed and also the impact azimuth meaning you will get more compression on the ball and thus greater distance.

So whilst yes a lighter shaft will help in most cases... it's never that simple.

But you are right. Go see an expert. Shaft tech and models change so often that if you're struggling there might be a better option out there. Particularly if you really like the driver head you have.

Mac: H/c 17.5 with a 200 yard carry

LJ: Fubuki Tour in R flex with a 4.2 torque and a mid kick point. Apparently I will have more torque than previous model, but a slightly stiffer shaft than I had due to now having a slightly faster head speed. I was already set up for a slight draw and my guy is making a slight adjustment for this, plus tweaking the loft slightly to ensure I stay on optimum flight. All very clever stuff and i guess you and he could spend a few days boring each other on techy stuff He's actually blagged a demo shaft from Mitsubishi that he's put on his driver, and its well over £300. He did say however that the expensive demo shaft was great, but much cheaper comparable shafts are out there that will perform exactly the same, mine for example is £100 including fitting and grip, with head tweaks

Doc... I probably could as it is interesting. But the truth is. I have a guy who deals with the clubs/shafts for me.