Golf Tips: The Right Shaft

Golfers are always trying to improve their game. Improvement can come in the form of a co-worker offering you a new swing tip during your break at the water-cooler. Or perhaps you find yourself buying up the local magazine store's entire rack of golf magazines looking for that "secret" that will help you shoot your best score of the summer. Buying new clubs seems to be a good way to get a booster shot to your game but choosing the wrong clubs can do more to pile on the strokes instead of melt them away as hoped..

Golf clubs are rather simple in form. They consist of a clubhead, a shaft, and the grip. The grip is mostly important only in its "grippiness" as well as minorly aiding your technique by being the right thickness. There is nothing too scientific about grips or their benefit to the technology of your new golf clubs.

Clubheads come in a vast variety of styles and sizes and remain today the main focus for clubmakers to devote their technological focus. But does a clubhead offer the greatest amount of bang for the buck?

The shaft is the part of a golf club much overlooked by the average golfer and yet the shaft is the prime focus for professionals. Why? A clubhead is only good when it impacts the ball squarely. Without the right shaft, the clubface can be misaligned at impact causing shots to fly off-target. The flex of your shaft greatly impacts how straight you hit your shots but also how high or low the ball flight is, as well as transferring the power generated through the swing into longer distance shots.

The most important thing about the shaft of your club is its flex. If the flex is too stiff, the clubhead will open at impact and send your ball off to the right. If your flex is not stiff enough then the clubface will close at impact, hooking the ball over to the left.

To best choose which flex type you are, you can visit a golf store that offers swing speed tracking. This is by far the most accurate way to gauge which flex you should be using but it also offers you the chance to test out many different clubs. An easier, though less scientific, way to find the right flex for you is to see how far you consistently hit your driver. If you can drive 250 yards or more then you should go with a stiff flex; 230 to 250 yards, regular; 200-230 yards, Senior; less than 200 yards, Ladies. Extra stiff should be avoided unless you can get your swing analyzed by a professional. Many professionals cannot even use extra stiff shafted clubs consistently.

By using the right stiffness with your shaft you will find the most dramatic improvements to your game. Now, go hit the range and fine tune your swing so that you can take full advantage of the technology built into your golf clubs.