Ok, now I know that me saying is your stiff driver shaft causing a slice? maybe a bit of a touchy subject.
But I feel that it’s not as simple as saying “I swing at 102 mph so I need a stiff shaft and there’s no way I’m even going to entertain a whippy regular shaft”.
There is a reason why I said 102 mph. That’s because I swing my driver in the region 102 to 105mph. So you would assume that I should be in a stiff shaft right? well, that’s what I have thought for the last 15 or so years!
Look, not all regular shafts are the same, and not all stiff shafts are the same. They all have different stiffnesses and different kick points etc.
I know that technique has so much to do with how your golf ball flies, but for those of us that simply do not have the time to go through swing change. Surely our equipment can give us a helping hand?
Anyway, let’s get into it here and let me just say that for years I have played in stiff shafts throughout my bag and on a recent driver fitting, my mind was blown!
This was a small golf club that I went to with no idiot salesman trying to push a certain product onto me, not mentioning any names.
This was a keen youngish club fitter who had a different take on this.
Since that fitting, my driving accuracy has never been so good.
Table of Contents
How Do I Know If My Driver Shaft Is Too Stiff
If you have spent years looking for your ball on the right side of the golf course, or even the next fairway. I feel your pain. Yes, every so often we get hold of one, of which I refer to as a big dog!
But if your shot is always a push or just a little slice, the clubface is most probably open. Now, this is a good indicator that your driver shaft is a little on the stiff side, as you are probably not loading the shaft enough.
But it could be a whole load of other issues. But for me, a softer tip to the shaft has dramatically helped me square the clubface at impact.
If you feel like you are really having to go at the ball and the shaft is feeling a little dead, this is another sign your shaft maybe a little too stiff for you.
Does Shaft Flex Matter In A Driver
I’ll say this again as I know we are on a very controversial topic here. I think shaft flex does matter and the driver which is the most difficult club to hit has to have the right shaft in it.
I know the pros will say it is better going for a lesson to sort things out, but just remember they are making a living out of you going back to them every week. In which I bet your hitting balls down a driving range and not actually working on the part of your game that matters the most (short game).
Lighter Golf Shaft To Improve Accuracy
So is using a lighter shaft going to make you more accurate? well, it’s worked for me but unfortunately, it’s not one size fits all in the world of golf shafts.
Everybody is different and we all do weird and wonderful things with our swing. But I would be willing to bet that a good chunk of golfers who play with stiff shafts would see more consistent results with a regular shaft.
When I got fitted for my Ping G410 driver I was shocked when the fitter said to me that I was on the borderline of swing speed, so let’s try a regular shaft.
So he put me in Pings standard regular shaft and the rest was history.
Watch your playing partners as their faces drop after the initial banter about using a regular shaft soon stops as the round goes on. They seem to go very quiet huummmm I wonder why!
Should I Use A Regular Or Stiff Shaft In My Driver?
Ok, so I think that you get the point that I’m very happy about switching my driver to a regular shaft. But I really think that more golfers would benefit from the changes I have spoken about.
Swing More Smoothly With A Regular Shaft
One thing that has really benefitted my game from going to a regular shaft, is the fact that I know that I do not have the smash the living crap out of the ball. This in turn has completely changed my whole golf game.
If you remember when I told you not to swing so hard in golf
Well, this is where it all started for me. All my friends used to say I hit the ball too aggressively so I made a change.
Then I got fitted for my new Ping G410 driver with a regular shaft and I can honestly say that I have never felt so good about my golf game.
So let’s cut to the chase. You have been wondering if your stiff driver shaft is causing a slice? It might not be the entire problem, but it’s worth trying something different. What’s the worst that could happen?