February 2014 tom served as a member of the golf digest technical advisory panel, and has written several books on golf equipment including the search for the perfect golf club and the search for the perfect driver, which were selected as backtoback winners of the 2006 and 2007 golf book of the year by the. The drivers and shafts used by the top10 drivers on the. Lights right for many pros, but heavy shafts still work. It stands to reason that the same swing will produce a faster clubhead speed with a lighter implement, and tests have borne this out. Going with the same weight with the driver shaft keeps. Aldila ripd nv 65 graphite driver shaft with adapter.
Order was determined by number of top50 players using the shaft, and ties. And much like with putters, when another player switches to a new driver shaft and finds success, other golfers take. Tpt golf automatic improvement driver, fairway, hybrid. Consistent weighting is the reason garcia takes on extra heft in his driver shaft. My current average driver distance is 190 metres 209 yards. Driver shafts typically weigh 5560 grams for men and 4550 grams for ladies. Oct 30, 2012 for this test, we had golfers test drivers with shafts weighing 55 grams and 75 grams. Plus some of us also like to experiment to find out which shaft would go best with the driver. Best driver shafts for distance in 2020 our top 7 picks. Driver shafts, especially in professional golf, are very similar to putters. Mcilroy has replaced his older taylormade m5m6 metalwoods with the new sim driver, sim fairway woods, and a sim max rescue club.
Worth invitational with the mca tensei orange ck pro in his driver and fairway woods. Indeed, it is crucial for todays golfer to ensure that his driver shaft is properly matched to. Sep 16, 2018 in this video we will look at if shafts make a difference with changes to weight and stiffness. Flex refers to the ability of a golf shaft to bend as forces are applied to it during the golf swing.
However, in the 21st century a standard driver is considered to be 45 inches. Sep 21, 2018 its important to think about the shafts in your golf clubs, and specifically whether you are playing the right amount of flex. Most manufacturers are making driver club heads much heavier these days and players do not want to. Most tour pro swing hard and use an x flex between stiff ans xs extra stiff. Fujikura speeder pro 56 graphite driver shaft with adapter. Have a question about the latest golf equipment or what the pros are playing. In a relatively short time, kbs shafts have been adopted by. Not all pros swing extra stiff, i think kuchar plays stiff in his irons, a few others guys play x in the driver, and s everything else. Ive only had one stiff shaft in a driver, and while i can load it and hit it okay, my next driver will be an sr or r flex of some sort. Iron shafts can be as light as 55 grams in graphite, and grams in steel. He also has p760 long irons 3 and 4 irons instead of the p750. Tapertip shafts get smaller where the shaft fits into the. Golf club manufacturers pay very substantial endorsement fees to these pros to carry and use their equipment. Counter balanced driver shafts are starting to be all the rage both on tour and in our clients hands.
Taking a look at popular driver shafts on the pga tour. Typically the rule of thumb is that a golfer with a slower swing speed will benefit from using a lighter shaft, and you would add weight as swing speed increases. May 14, 2020 the use of graphite in golf shafts took some 30 years to take hold, but it is now the main ingredient in driver shafts. You might be surprised that most pros have an average driver shaft length of 44. Do golf shafts matter my driver test results youtube.
Some professionals may even use xx shafts, which are far stiffer than the average golf shaft. Went and got fitted at another golf shop just for giggles. Should i use regular or stiff shafts in my golf clubs. Best golf shafts for drivers picking out a new driver is lots of fun. Jan 02, 2019 with the pga tour season ramping back up this week, its time to take a look at some of the most popular driver shafts. Diamana is one of the most popular series and some of the best driver shafts made by mitsubishi rayon belonging to the highend category. This is another area of getting fit for the right driver that will require a little bit of. Part of the reason is graphites inherent lightness compared with steel. Pros choice golf shafts is the exclusive distributor of graphite design golf shafts in the united states, canada, mexico, europe, uae, s.
The golfer was able to choose whether they wanted stiff or regular flex. Turns out i should be hitting an xstiff shaft that is soft steppedi think could have been hard stepped i forgot which way is a little softer and dont have. According to, golf shafts typically come in one of five categories based on their degree of flexibility. This is another area of getting fit for the right driver that will require a little bit of testing to see what feels most comfortable to the player, and the kinds of results it yields. Pros choice golf shafts premium graphite design shafts. The golfworks al0083 aldila rogue black msi graphite wood shafts. But keep in mind a lot of these tour issue shafts in stiff are much stiffer than the stock stiff an average joe or sand trapper plays. Next step is to go to a titleist advanced fitter and see what irons and driver they recommend for me. On the lpga, do top women golfers use mens clubs to get that. Those forces are generated by the type of swing that you have. Thank you to gleneagles or allowing me to use their awesome facilities when filming these videos.
Now for our most luxury, premium choice of distance driver shafts. Here are the most common driver shafts used of the top50 golfers, in order. To keep the testers from knowing what shaft they were testing, ust mamiya supplied blacked out shafts with no. Diamana plus is a continuation of the previous two generations, which according to mitsubishi, represents the best of the two models, i. Despite the high end pricing, it is a great club choice for regular golfers, especially those with. Lights right for many pros, but heavy shafts still work for some. With the pga tour season ramping back up this week, its time to take a look at some of the most popular driver shafts. But keep in mind a lot of these tour issue shafts in stiff are much.
And when we look at their drivers, we typically see one commonality, their driver shaft length. Not all player do that, some use regular flex shafts and many. Com took a look into the driver setups of the top 10 players in the category of. Lpga driver shafts are typically 50 to 65 grams while the pga tour driver shafts are 60 to 85 grams. Tourinspired profile with tightest shot dispersion. For this test, we had golfers test drivers with shafts weighing 55 grams and 75 grams.
Taking a look at popular driver shafts on the pga tour golf. Counterbalanced shafts are configured to add more weight near the butt of the club, creating a lighter head feel, reduce swing weight by 2 to 3 points, and generating more club head speed. The drivers and shafts used by the top10 drivers on the pga tour. After custom fitting golfers for the past 40 years, we are happy to share our. One of the biggest benefits to tour players in the quest for distance has. The spaniard uses 100gram shafts in his 3 and 5woods. Pga pro makes cut with driver he designed, spieths putter hot again. Because of the weight, steel shafts are traditionally shorter than. The 8 hottest driver shafts of 2018 on the pga tour golfwrx.
It is why the wheelhouse for driver shaft weights on the pga tour is in the mid 60gram range, with some players having tried shafts as light as 43 grams. Plus, with aldila golfers can often opt for custom fit and personalized use. On the lpga, do top women golfers use mens clubs to get. The truth about golf shafts that every golfer should know. Com took a look into the driver setups of the top 10 players in. Find golf shafts from top brands like aldila, golfworks, grafalloy, royal precision, true temper and ust. Jul 30, 2019 and when we look at their drivers, we typically see one commonality, their driver shaft length. In reality, the average length of a driver used on tour is 44. Driver shaft usage on tour can be a bit unpredictable, with some. One of the most important choices you have to make when buying golf clubs is which shaft flex to use, with 80% of golfers being suited to either regular or stiff shafts. Stepped steel shafts are used in the majority of golf clubs by all the major. Brent kelley is an awardwinning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. Drivers used to win pga tour events during the 201819 season witb. Steel golf shafts are traditionally heavier than graphite shafts and the key benefit, according to the u.
In fact, 2019 saw the release of the taylormade m5 and m6 golf drivers and callaway released their 2019 epic flash drivers. In the early days of graphite shafts there was the negative claim of dead feel. Michael breed, host of the golf fix, answers a viewers email question on driver shaft length. Heading into the 2019 pga championship at bethpage state parks black course, which demands long and straight tee shots, pgatour. Pros choice golf shafts distributes all of the current graphite design shafts including the new 2020 tour ad xc model of wood shafts as well as the graphite design mad, ys nano reloaded, tour ad vr, tour ad iz, tour ad tp, tour ad gp, tour ad mj, tour ad mt, tour ad bb, and tour ad di models of shafts. Dec 28, 2019 the best golf shafts of 2020 although almost all golf drivers come with their own shafts sometimes golfers like to replace them with better shafts that are designed to provide much more stability and accuracy. The best golf shafts of 2020 although almost all golf drivers come with their own shafts sometimes golfers like to replace them with better shafts that are designed to provide much. There are players on the pga tour using lighter driver shafts with swing speeds upwards of 115120 mph. May 28, 2018 there are players on the pga tour using lighter driver shafts with swing speeds upwards of 115120 mph. Driver shaft usage on tour can be a bit unpredictable, with some players. Also, there are a number of reasonably long lpga players who play r300 or r400 shafts grace park used to play r400s in her irons and stiff shafts in her woods.
Most pros use heavy shafts because it smooths out their tempo. February 2014 tom served as a member of the golf digest technical advisory panel, and has written several books on golf equipment including the search for. Theyre manufactured with constant weights and to the proper length for each club. Tapertip shafts get smaller where the shaft fits into the hosel. Jan 28, 2014 consistent weighting is the reason garcia takes on extra heft in his driver shaft. For the driver test, they hit seven drives each with a 50, 60, and 70 gram shaft, all using the same. The standard length of a driver for men used to be 43. This is especially true for their irons and wedges. The use of graphite in golf shafts took some 30 years to take hold, but it is now the main ingredient in driver shafts. Jan 03, 2017 ive just recently changed all my iron shafts from steel to graphite 60g. Most pros dont hit anything longer than a 45inch driver.
The 8 hottest driver shafts on the pga tour in 2018 youtube. As with changing putters to make more putts, golfers change out driver shafts semiregularly looking for more distance or more fairways, but preferably both. Ive just recently changed all my iron shafts from steel to graphite 60g. If you want to avoid giving your golf game the shaft, you need to. Most male golfers are wielding drivers that measure 45 to 48 inches, the maximum allowed under the united states golf associations rules of golf.
The pros use advanced launch monitors to tweak their driver heads and shafts. As a senior writer, david dusek covers golf equipment, pga tour. There are players on the pga tour using lighter driver shafts with. Kim braly signature kbs tour shafts was formed in early 2008 and has rapidly become the fastest growing steel shaft brand in the industry. Turns out i should be hitting an xstiff shaft that is soft steppedi think could have been hard stepped i forgot which way is a little softer and dont have my results in front of me. Each player went through two different testing sessions one with a driver, one with an iron. Check out breeds tip on how to determine whether your driver shaft length is too long or too short. Getting the correct weight of your shaft is an important factor to consider as well. These shafts include l ladies, a senior, r regular, s stiff and x extra stiff. M2 2017 9 degrees, with mitsubishi rayon tensei ck white 70tx shaft.
Because of the weight, steel shafts are traditionally shorter than graphite shafts, making them easier to control. They have a soft tip profile and a low kick point that will produce a high ball launch condition and midball spin rates. World golf rankings as of july 25 to figure out what driver shaft they were using. Tiger woods is also back to using a heavier shaft in his nike driver. Indeed, it is crucial for todays golfer to ensure that his driver shaft is properly matched to his.
For nongolfers or those just starting to get into the sport it can seem almost impossible that the design of the shaft will have much effect on the overall swing of the user. You might be thinking well wouldnt a driver with a longer shaft go farther. As with changing putters to make more putts, golfers change out driver shafts semiregularly looking for more distance. The way most graphite shafts are made, its impossible to create two that are the same.
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