At GOLF, we don’t believe the shaft is the “engine of the golf club,” but we do believe it’s an essential timing mechanism, which is why getting fit for a shaft is so important.
On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, Johnny Wunder broke down why the golf shaft is such a critical component while explaining Tommy Fleetwood’s switch last week to the Fujikura Ventus TR Blue shaft in both his driver and mini driver.
Fleetwood had been in the Ventus Red Velocore+ profile for most of this season, but he and TaylorMade Senior Tour Manager Adrian Reitveld had noticed his spin had increased with both clubs over the course of the year with the softer tip profile.
Fujikura Ventus TR Blue Wood Shaft
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But that’s not necessarily because Ventus Red is marketed as a “high launch” or “high spin” shaft.
“When you see them marketed as Tour X, this one’s low spin, low launch, this one’s high spin, whatever,” Wunder said. “The profile of the shaft is going to come down to the player and how you deliver the golf club.”
For some players, a so-called “high launch” shaft, could end up lowering their ball flight (and vice versa) because of their delivery dynamics.
“So for all you people out there listening that want to know what shaft I should try, that’s why you have to go to a fitter and try a bunch of them,” Wunder said. “The most important thing for a shaft, in my opinion, is strike point. If you can find a shaft that you can time up that gets the center of the clubface on the back of the ball, that’s where you should start going.
The subtle driver change that’s paying big dividends for Tommy Fleetwood
“Because at that point, especially when it comes to like driver, mini driver, 3-woods, you can move the head around to get the spin and the launch and you can move weights around to get center of gravity in a good spot. But ultimately, center-face contact based on your delivery and based on timing is kind of what you want.”
That’s something players can only figure out when they test shafts.
Wunder also noted that many players on Tour tend to test shafts more based on feel rather than data, meaning that if the shaft feels right to them, they can pull other levers in the head to make it work for them.
Again, this is something for which you must test, which validates how important it is for any player to get fit.
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