If you are into golf, you are probably well aware of the importance of golf shafts. The golf shafts are something that many people tend to ignore, but it plays a crucial role in helping you ace a game. The various features of a shaft, whether it’s the weight, length, alignment, etc., all contribute towards enhancing your skills and making sure you always give the best shot.
In this article, we’re giving a better insight into choosing a golf shaft and telling you its importance, the types of shafts that are available, what features you should keep an eye on, and more.
Why Are Golf Shafts Important?
Unlike what many players think, the golf shaft is incredibly important and cannot be overlooked. Here’s why.
A proper golf shaft ensures consistency. It helps make sure that every time you swing, you have the best chances of striking in a way that will result in the most optimal of launches. It also largely determines comfort and can dictate how much ease you swing.
However, all of this is possible only when you know the kind of features that a good golf shaft should have and the various kinds of them, and then choose one according to your specifications and skill level.
Types of Golf Shafts
You can find various golf shafts in the market, each differing by make, material, weight, and more. Here is a look at them.
Steel Shafts
Steel is the most common material that shafts are made of, and they tend to be more durable, stronger, and cheaper than, say, granite. Steel shafts are either stepped, which means that the diameter decreases as it goes down and becomes narrow, or they’re rifle shafts meaning that the entire length is smooth from top to bottom without any levels.
Graphite Shafts
Graphite shafts are the second-most popular kind of shafts. They’re more expensive than steel, but they tend to be more lightweight, thus giving you greater swing power. However, during the swing, graphite shafts do generate a significant amount of swing. But do these swing variations; graphite shafts are pretty popular amongst professionals and amateurs.
Multi-Material Shafts
Of course, there are multi-material shafts as well, which are made up of both steel and granite. Such shafts try to bring the best qualities of both materials into one. However, they’re still a fairly new invention and have yet to gain real traction. If you’re an amateur, you should stick to the tried and tested one, whereas pros can give multi-material shafts a try.
While looking for a nice golf shaft for practice, consider improving your game indoors with accurate launch monitors like Flightscope Mevo+.
Features about Golf Shafts
Besides being aware of the types of shafts available, it is also important to know the features and factors to keep in account while checking out shafts.
Weight
As you might have already guessed, the weight of your shaft is a crucial factor in determining the kind of performance it will deliver. The heavier the shaft, the lower the ball will fly. Unlike what many think, it doesn’t have that much of an impact on swing speeds. But rather, it influences how your ball will fly. So, for instance, if your ball starts hooking left, switching to a heavier shaft will make a difference. However, at the same time, it should have a weight that is comfortable in your hands and not a burden.
Length
Just like weight, length is another major factor to keep in mind. Check out any driver shafts review, and it will show you how important the length of a golf shaft is in terms of feel and strike point. When a shaft is longer, it will have a less consistent strike, whereas a shorter one will be more consistent. But again, in the case of longer shafts, the strike is at the heel, whereas, for shorter ones, it’s at the toe. Here is where what you prefer and what you want comes into play.
Torque
Of course, we can never disregard torque. Generally speaking, if the torque is low, it means the shaft has better resistance to twisting, whereas a higher torque means more probability of twisting. Neither of them is good or bad here.
It all depends on how you play and what suits you best. Slow swingers may prefer higher torque, whereas high-speed golfers will look for low torque.
