Deciding on Ladies Golf Sets
If you’ve ever gone shopping for a used car, you’ve probably been warned from purchasing a “lemon.” A “lemon” is a vehicle that, despite its new-looking exterior, has an engine that will break down shortly after purchase. Even a first-time shopper can tell you how important the engine is to the car. Without a quality engine, no matter how good the car looks, it would lose a majority of its appeal when curbside and broken down.
The shaft of the golf club is more than just a stick with a head glued to the end. The shaft is the engine of the golf club. And it’s quite unfortunate how little most consumers pay attention towards them.
Shafts usually come in two different types of materials: stainless steel and graphite. There are essentially five different criteria in a shaft: weight, bend-point, tip stiffness, and frequency. The weight of the shaft is its total weight, often in grams. Typical driver shaft weights range from the mid-fifties to the low-seventies. Woods and hybrids range from high-seventies to the mid-nineties. Irons, wedges, and putters usually range in the high-nineties up to one hundred and forty grams. You will notice that the shafts progressively become heavier. The reason is that usually a heavier shaft will improve accuracy by aiding the swing tempo. Hence, the scoring clubs will usually have the heaviest shafts.
A brief definition of the bend point is the point on the shaft where the club most bends, during the golf swing. This most affects the initial trajectory of the golf ball. The language can be a bit confusing because there is an inverse in description. So, a high bend point will produce a lower ball flight. A low bend point will produce a higher ball flight. Usually, steel shafts will produce lower ball flights than graphite shafts.
The lower third portion of the shaft, near the head, is called the tip. Shaft makers, producing stiff, medium, and soft tips, can alter the tip’s stiffness. Those that struggle with slicing the ball will want to have a softer tip, as it will aid in correcting the ball flight pattern. Golfers that struggle with a hook will want to look for a stiffer tip.
The frequency of a club determines its overall stiffness. This is singularly the most often misdiagnosed element in a fitting. A recent survey discovered that a majority of golfers unknowingly misgauge how far they hit their clubs by ten percent. This often leads to mismatched frequencies because club fitters often ask how far a golfer will hit their eight-iron, and determine a suitable shaft stiffness. Try taking an honest friend to the range first to figure out what club you need to use consistently to fly a ball to the 150 yard post. If you’re using a nine iron or pitching wedge, you should be using an extra stiff shaft. If you are using a seven or eight iron, use a stiff shaft. If you are using a five or six iron, use a regular shaft. If you are using a 4 iron, four or five hybrid, or a seven wood, you should be using a senior/mature flex. Anything beyond that should be a ladies flex.
Almost all shafts in ladies golf sets will have graphite shafts that are lightweight, with a soft tip, low bend point, ladies flex and high-torque. If any of these characteristics don’t fit your golf swing, talk to your local club fitter to find the right shaft for you. No one should be driving a lemon…