Shaft Flex.....Are You Lucky?

An email from Dana Upshaw, AGCP (Assn. of Golf Clubfitting Professionals) member, to other AGCP members last week included a link to a Golf Digest equipment page writeup....some of the note is provided below.....


"Like every golfer, the week of The Masters always means the start of the season for me. Not just golf season, but Hot List season. That’s right, we get started on our research for the 2010 Hot List with our annual swing through Georgia visiting some manufacturers and getting an early read on what they’re working on. (Early word: It’s all about perfecting the fitting process. In the very near future, if you're not being fitted for a new club with some kind of adjustable process, you're pretty much just pretending to be getting the right clubs. And if you don’t believe that fitting matters, I offer you the wisdom of Dana Upshaw of Dana Golf in Warner Robins, Ga., who showed me by tweaking the shaft in my 5-iron, I could suddenly hit it 20 yards farther. I didn’t believe it either, but it was right there on his computer screen. Fact is, there are probably plenty of right shafts, but if you’ve got the wrong shaft inefficiency is going to happen, guaranteed. Impact is enough of a random event for me. I don't need equipment increasing the likelihood of a mis-hit.) "


Dana - who is without a doubt one of the most talented clubfitters alive - was rightly proud of the quote of his work and the results from it. And these are not just isolated results.....he has discussed with other AGCP members other instances where he has helped golfers significantly increase the distance and consistency they achieve with their irons. Dana is one of the great models that AGCP members have for improving their clubfitting skills.


I think a key to achieving real improvement in iron performance is to realize that One Size Does NOT Fit All. There is no doubt that if you buy clubs at a golf store they look beautiful and have this year's advertised improvement related to club head design. But when you buy that "R" flex shaft in that club, you buy into believing that R flex is for you - that differences in shaft flex, flex profile, shaft weight, and shaft type will not lead to improved performance. 200 people might buy that same set of clubs with R flex shafts, and their 5 iron swing speeds might vary by 10 to 20 mph or more - will these R flex clubs really produce optimum distance and performance results for everyone? Shaft flex and shaft profile DO MATTER - and not just the difference between an R and S flex, but small differences between flexes.


***** I will have the opportunity on MAY 6 - from 3 to 7 pm - to do some Launch Monitor Club Testing for golfers at the Centenial Range. There will actually be a number of OEM equipment vendors at Centenial at the same time. If you are a reader of my blog, come by that day and I will have have you hit 3 to 5 balls with your driver and give you some feedback on your performance - ball speed, spin, launch angle. I will also, if you mention that you have read my blog, give you some performance information on your present irons. I know (thank you Dana and AGCP!) what range of optimal performance can be achieved for different 5 or 6 iron swing speeds - and I can give you an idea of what might REALLY be possible with your irons if you were correctly fitted with the correct shaft length, type, and club swingweight/MOI. I look forward to working with lots of folks on May 6!!


Tony