Fully Equipped mailbag: Is there a difference between ‘stock’ and ‘aftermarket’ golf shafts?

Welcome to another edition of the Fully Equipped mailbag, an interactive GOLF.com series in which our resident dimplehead (a.k.a., GOLF’s managing editor of equipment, Jonathan Wall) fields your hard-hitting gear questions.

I’ve been told the shaft in my current driver I bought at the store differs from something called an “aftermarket” version. Is that really the case? — Chase Taylor

It really depends on the driver you’re using at the moment. If you’ve never heard the term “stock” or “made for” before, it’s a term used to describe a shaft that has the same graphics as the “aftermarket” version you’d pay $300 for direct from the shaft manufacturer, but in this case, it comes as part of the package when you purchase a $550 driver.

While it may look the same, differences exist in a number of areas, particularly the materials department. In a recent episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped podcast, LAGP’s chief product officer, John Oldenburg, offered to pull the curtain back on what differentiates a “made for” shaft from the “aftermarket” version you see on Tour each week in the hands of the best players in the world.

During the chat, Oldenburg noted the chief difference is the grade of materials being used. In the case of an aftermarket shaft, high-end carbon fibers — sometimes five or six different versions are used in a single shaft design — and blended with exotic materials such as Carbon, Boron and Zylon to lower the overall torque of the shaft. Accomplishing this makes the shaft more resistant to unwanted twisting during the swing, especially at impact. In other words: improved consistency.

Of course, adding these materials comes at a cost to the manufacturer and consumer.

“As you go up in grade of material, which is actually going up in stiffness and strength of the material, you essentially double the cost of the material for every step you take up,” Oldenburg said. “You can take four, five or six steps up the ladder, but the consumer can’t see it. We have to be able to explain it to the consumer, the type of material. Just calling it graphite kinda is an injustice to the product.”

Because these products are more expensive and the tolerances tighter, they are usually oriented in a way that benefits the overall design of the shaft. Known as “the layup,” materials are cut into patterns and positioned in such a manner along and around the tool to retain low torque. And reducing torque isn’t a cheap process.

So when it comes to shafts that are made for the big equipment brands by a shaft manufacturer, there’s a chance it could be a product that doesn’t have the same materials and tolerances as the aftermarket version. Unless you’re a really good player, you likely won’t notice a significant difference, but it’s possible you could see more twisting and potentially a higher launch and more spin.

“The most expensive thing to control on a golf club is torque, so when companies go and design these in-line products, that’s usually the first thing to go — the torque,” said Oldenburg. “The torque will normally go up one or two-plus degrees because you have to take that expensive material out.

“[The ‘made for shaft is] a different product. It has the same outer appearance — and, yeah, I’ll admit I played that game for a long time when I worked for Aldila. It’s a difficult game to play because golf shafts, just like anything else in golf, it’s a business. Businesses are there to make money, and you figure out ways to make money.”