Golf shafts are the engine of the golf club.  They come in all sizes, lengths, colors and materials. The key is to find one that maximizes your swing potential and delivers repeatable outcomes.

Hickory to Graphite

The first shaft were made of wood, hickory was a prime choice because it did’t brake as often and had a supple feel resulting in a “springy” kick. Hickory shafts provided ultimate feel in comparison to other natural materials. Eventually people got sick of replacing the broken shafts and steel was a logical choice.

Steel shafts were born out of the “steel” revolution in the early 1900’s.  Although difficult to manufacture, and heavier than hickory shafts, the steel shaft came to replace natural wooden shafts due to the ability to mass produce a somewhat consistent product.  By 1931 True Temper was born and they still continue to make most of the steel golf shafts found in clubs today.

Graphite shafts started showing up in the early 1970’s. They were expensive and very technical. People had early misgivings. But as in all things, technology transformed the golf shaft. Today almost every Driver, fairway wood and hybrid are graphite shafted.  Many iron sets are still made of steel, but again technology has made steel even stronger and lighter. Graphite has become mainstream, the main reason is that graphite can be ridiculously light-weight and mass produced within very tight specifications. Top golfers still depend on steel shafts for their irons, due to the “feel” and the accuracy of steel in higher swing speeds.  Graphite is well served by the majority of golfers (which means you!)

Parts of the shaft

The golf shaft is a tapered tube, between 34″-48″ in length.  The end of the shaft that has the largest diameter is known as the butt.  This is where the grip is applied.  The opposite end of the shaft is the tip.  This is the smaller diameter of the tube, and is where the shaft is attached to the clubhead.

Shaft Flex and Weight

Shafts are labeled by shaft flex and weight. Shaft flex is determined by the amount of “bend” under a load. Clubs that bend (who said you didn’t need to know physics) more at a slower swing speed are designated L-Lady, A-Senior and R-Regular. Clubs that are less likely to bend need more clubhead speed and are designated S-Stiff or XS-Extra Stiff. Swing speed is one component that decides shaft flex. If you have a slow swing speed, a more flexible shaft is needed to provide the needed launch angle to achieve maximum distance. Faster swing speeds need a shaft that bends less, and a lower torque to achieve the desired outcome. Golfers need to swing as flexible a shaft that they can control.

Weight of a shaft is another important variable. Imagine that you had a 10 pound hammer, and you nailed roofs for a living. After a while I’m sure that hammer would become heavy. What would happen if you showed up for work and a salesman had a 8 pound hammer. It would be lighter, you could swing it for longer, and it got the job done. The next day a salesman had a 6 pound hammer…you get the idea.  Lighter is better (sometimes). It does a few things

1. It increases clubhead speed
2. It allows for lighter more technical clubheads

The main goal of going with a lighter shaft is to increase clubhead speed.  Increased speed can result in longer shots. (Can result? Well that is another post, if shaft weight was the only thing that increased distance we’d all be swinging nano carbon shafts which are like $400 a pop and Tiger and Streelman wouldn’t be so long anymore!) It should also be noted that other components of the golf club can reduce the weight of the club like the grip and clubhead materials.

Typical Steel Iron shafts weigh about 130 grams and a typical Graphite Iron shaft is about 80 grams. As far as woods go, unless you are like me with steel shafted 4 wood(seriously I’m going to change…I promise!) all you can get is graphite. Most Graphite shafts are around 70 grams, with ultra-lites costing you some $$$ getting down in the 50’s for weight.

Kick Point

Where the shaft bends along the length of the shaft is the kick point. If the shaft bends more towards the butt end of the shaft it is said to have a “High” kick point. It results in a lower trajectory and lower spin of a golf ball at impact. A shaft that bends closer to the tip is called a “Low” kick point. Low kick point shafts “help” get the ball up, promotes a higher launch angle and more spin. Unless you are a low handicap golfer, the kick point of a club is a factor you can forget about. FYI the difference in kick point location is about 4-6″, so unless you are super technical, don’t worry about kick points….yet.

For more information about shafts check out Golf Shaft 201