Golf Shaft Does The Trick

Many of my golfer friends told me this, “Shaft is the engine of a golf club. With today technology, there is that much innovation that can be put into a club head to improve distance, stability and accuracy. What actually determine the ball flight, direction and distance is actually the shaft. Choosing the right shaft solves at least 50% of the problem. If you want to play good golf, the shaft that comes standard with the club won’t do the job in most instances. That is where the after-market shaft fills the gap.”

Is shaft the engine of a golf club? Well, I think it depends on who you ask that question to. If you ask the club manufacturer, they will certainly not agree with you wholeheartedly. The brand representatives will probably overwhelmed you with technicalities such as high MOI, low CG and inverted-cone technology etc., which amateur golfer like you and I would probably not comprehend fully,  to convince you that the club head play a more significant role.   Conversely, if you asked the shaft maker, obviously, they will tell you shaft is the main component that makes the trick for longer drive, straighter flight and the list of advantages goes on.

My personal view, the engine of the golf club is the golfer himself. Without a reasonable swing technique, even the most expensive gold plated clubs could not save you from topping, slicing and hooking the ball.  To hit the ball higher, lower, draw or fade depend largely the ability of the golfer to control his club to produce the desired result. As Tom Wishon rightly pointed out is his article “Is the shaft the engine of the golf club?”  http://www.iseekgolf.com/clubfittingandrepairs/6727-is-the-shaft-the-engine-of-the-golf-club , shaft is just like the transmission of the club where the engine is the golfer himself.

“In an automobile, the engine generates the power; the transmission sends that power to the axles and the wheels to be able to propel the car down the road. In golf, the golfer is the whole and complete source of the power that drives the ball down the fairway. The shaft is simply one of the elements in the club that delivers all or only a part of that power to the ball.” – Tom Wishon

Having said that, should all golfers now throw aside their exotic shafts and dash straight to the teaching professionals to improve their game? Well, I think while the engine plays the most significant role in car driving, the transmission and other auxiliary parts do play a role in the overall driving experience. I would use the words “overall driving experience” to highlight the auxiliary roles of the club head, shaft and perhaps grip if we were to use the car analogy. Therefore, if you are a golfer with a “decent engine”, than it is worth paying some attention to the shaft and club head selection to achieve the optimal feel of the club, and maybe the overall performance. Otherwise, it is still wise to divert more energy on perfecting your golf swing which could probably yield better outcome. How to choose the right shaft, I think there is sufficient information on the internet, whether it is factual, provocative, controversial whatsoever, I shan’t deal with that in this discussion.

   Premium Shaft from Japan - CRAZY. It must be crazy not to get one!

I have always heard from golfers saying things like this shaft feel very smooth and stable. Perhaps I am ignorant, I still haven’t figured out what that means. Are expensive high end shafts much better than their lower priced counterpart? Last week, I met a golfer friend who is always crazy over golf shafts. He told me that he had tried almost all the high end shaft brands in the market today. Recently, he spent over $1,000 buying a premium shaft from Japan, probably his most valuable catch till date. Incidentally, the shaft brand is also called “CRAZY”, which matches his craze pretty well! I played with him this morning and I didn’t find any significant improvement in his overall score compared to the past few times we golf together without that crazy stuff. Is the shaft he used really worth $1,000? I am always convinced by the wealth and shaft-savvy of those who play expensive shafts, the problem is these guys don’t seem to be able to explain why Jack Nicklaus won 18 majors using steel shafts, forged irons, a persimmon driver and a blade putter. It couldn’t be the golfer, could it? Thanks to that, golf shaft distributor never run out of business!

Warning: The author runs a golf shaft distribution business in South-east Asia. He sells his shaft to those who believe shaft does the trick!