Let’s be honest.
Nearly all amateurs overestimate how far they hit the golf ball, and it is costing them dearly when making choices on new golf equipment.
Because we overestimate how far we hit the golf ball, we make fundamental mistakes in our equipment choices, which ultimately can lead to doing more harm to our game.
A study by Arccos showed that the average male golfer is hitting the driver 225 yards, regardless of handicap - that’s a full 78 yards behind the average driving distance on the PGA Tour this year (303.6 yards).
Add to this that the average clubhead speed with the driver on the PGA Tour is 116.5 mph, compared to 85-95 mph for a typical male amateur golfer.
Professionals hit their drivers so far because the head is tailored to the correct loft and weighting to gain the correct launch and spin.
Equally important is the choice of golf shaft. Professionals have shifts fitted to their drivers that are tailored specifically for their swing characteristics, which not only help add yards to their drives but also improve strike efficiency and shot dispersion.
Using the correct golf shaft to improve driving performance isn’t purely down to using the proper flex; it comes down to the shaft being the correct weight and torque.
It’s time to pay close attention to what the correct shaft should be for your game, and our guide will be a vital companion in choosing the correct driver shaft to unlock more performance.
To help you on the way to making the right shaft choice, our guide is broken down into the following aspects:
- Driver Shaft 101: Understanding The Basics
- Driver Goals: Matching The Correct Shaft Profile To Your Needs
- Five Of The Best: What Shafts Sell Well And Why
- Why Custom Fitting Helps You Find The Correct Shaft
Driver Shaft 101: Understanding The Basics
Many golfers use a stiff shaft in their driver, but don’t actually know if that shaft is right for their game.
We tend to stick with what feels familiar. For many, that means “stiff”, because “regular” sounds too soft and “extra stiff” sounds like something reserved for the professional tours. But the truth is, the right shaft flex has less to do with bravado and more to do with how efficiently your swing loads and unloads the club.
So before reaching automatically for a stiff shaft, it’s worth understanding what each flex is designed to do — and what happens when you get it wrong.
| Shaft Flex | Typical Swing Speed (Driver) | Feel and Weight | Typical Launch and Spin | Best For | When The Shaft Is Not Right |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular (R) | Below 95 mph | Lightest and most “whippy” | High launch, higher spin | Moderate swing speeds seeking carry distance | Too soft for fast swingers hooks, ballooning drives |
| Stiff (S) | 95-105 mph | Slightly heavier with firmer feel | Mid launch, moderate spin | Faster swing speeds looking to add more control | Too stiff equals weak fades, low flight, loss of distance |
| Extra Stiff (XS) | Above 105 mph | Firmest and most stable | Low launch, low spin | Tour players and elite amateurs | Too stiff for most golfers, low right misses and a harsh feel to the shaft. |
Shaft weight is another vital component to getting maximum performance.
Previously, shaft weight was not a serious consideration for golf clubs that were available off the shelf. We only need to go back 20 years to see that most driver shafts weighed in the region of 75 grams. In contrast, now drivers can be selected with shafts as light as Fujikura’s 45.5 gram Speeder NX Blue.
Lighter shafts were considered the domain of players who struggled with clubhead speed. Coupled with a softer flex, the shaft could generate better launch and spin for improved carry distances.
Better players previously favoured heavier shafts because the feeling was that they could gain more control over the golf ball.
Lighter shafts could not perform consistently for players with higher swing speeds, meaning they couldn’t accurately deliver the clubface the way they wanted to at impact.
New technologies and designs mean that lighter shafts offer improved levels of consistent stability, while having the added advantage of picking up some extra clubhead speed into the bargain.
All golf shafts are prone to twisting as they load and unload during a golf swing; we refer to this twisting as torque.
A high torque shaft rating sits between 4.5 and 6 degrees. This means the shaft has been designed to twist more, which provides a smoother feel; ideal if you don’t swing hard at the ball.
Lower torque shafts (normally rated between 2.5 and 3 degrees) mean it’s less prone to twisting and will help better players with faster or aggressive tempos.
If you browse the golf shaft options available on Nine By Nine Golf’s website, you’ll see comparison tables where we show the shaft’s launch profile.
The launch profile describes how high or low the ball typically takes off when you swing a particular shaft.
The three launch profiles are:
| Type | Profile |
|---|---|
|
High Launch |
Easier to get the ball airborne. Helps add carry distance for slower or smoother swingers. Common in regular or senior flex shafts.
|
|
Mid Launch |
Balanced flight with good carry and roll. Ideal for most players who want consistent, all-round performance.
|
|
Low Launch |
Flatter, more penetrating trajectory with less spin. Great for players with faster swings who need to keep the ball down in the wind.
|
You can also references to a particular shaft’s kick point.
Shafts are grouped into three separate kick point groups, which are:
| Kick Point | Profile |
|---|---|
|
Low kick point - shaft bends closer to the hosel |
Produces a higher launch and more spin. Feels lively and helps players who struggle to get the ball up in the air. Common in game-improvement or lighter-weight shafts.
|
|
Mid kick point - shaft bends in the middle |
Produces a mid-height launch and a balanced feel. Suits a wide range of players — this is the most common modern profile.
|
|
High Kick Point - shaft bends closer to the grip |
Produces a lower launch and less spin. Feels firmer and suits stronger players who already launch it high.
|
Driver Goals: Matching The Correct Shaft Profile To Your Needs
When golfers come in for a driver fitting at Nine By Nine Golf, we tend to hear two key objectives:
- “Give me more distance”
- “Help me hit more fairways”
Our experience of working with a broad spectrum of players allows us to group the vast majority of them in the 85-95 mph bracket for driver swing speed, which leads us towards shafts with a certain profile.
Achieving more distance comes down to employing a shaft that is lighter than the one fitted in the existing golf driver. To add more distance, launch and spin conditions need to be optimised, and shafts with mid launch and higher torque provide a combination that can help deliver improved launch numbers.
For golfers looking to hit more fairways, we can look at heavier shafts and stronger flexes. These golf shafts are likely to enhance clubface control leading to more fairways being hit.
Shaft fitting has become much easier as companies like Fujikura create extensive options within their Ventus Veolocore+ line, proving the golf shafts aren’t just made for major winners.
Having numerous options for shaft weight, flex, and profiles at our fitters’ fingertips means finding the right shaft for golfers who want more distance or increased accuracy is much easier to achieve than before.
We do get golfers who come into our fitting studio who battle trajectory and spin control, which they know is robbing them of maximum carry distances.
Working with our GC Quad launch monitor can help uncover where improvements can be made to manage launch and spin conditions more effectively through shaft combinations that offer mid-launch and mid-kick profiles like Graphite Design’s Tour AD HD shafts.
Five Of The Best: What Shafts Sell Well And Why
There are hundreds of different golf shaft profiles out there, with the good news being that there is an ideal shaft for every golfer to help them improve their driving.
Throughout the course of this year, we have fitted hundreds of golfers. While we are open-minded about what the outcome will be of what’s best for each of these players, we have seen four shafts emerge as being the most popular for golfers falling into the 85-95 mph bracket, which are:
- Fujikura Ventus Blue Plus
- Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana WB
- Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red
- Graphite Design Tour AB UB
Fujikura Ventus Blue Plus
The Fujikura Ventus Blue Plus is a perennial favourite and sits at the heart of the range. At the heart of the Ventus Blue Plus is Fujikura’s VeloCore technology, which adds material to the shaft’s construction to improve its stability and help golfers find the centre of the clubface more often.
There are 14 different models in five profiles, housing up to five flex and weight combinations aimed at every level of golfer, from beginner to tour player.
The Ventus Blue is a mid/low-launch, mid-spin shaft; ideal for golfers with smoother tempos.
Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana WB
Diamana has been with us for over 20 years and has been a firm favourite in the professional and amateur ranks.
The latest edition of the Mitsubishi Diamana WB Wood Shaft features three different materials combined to create an extremely stable golf shaft, Mitsubishi’s Xlink resin application to increase the strength and durability of the WB.
We like the fact that there are 21 options within the WB range. The WB carries the widest variety of weights from an ultra-light 43 gram up to an 84 gram option.
The WB’s fitting flexibility is highlighted in the torque options, ranging from 5.5 for golfers needing more help in getting the ball airborne. At the other end of the scale, the WB can come in a 2.7 torque designed for the game’s elite who want maximum stability.
Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red
The Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro series is considered Mitsubishi Chemical’s top-of-the-range offering. The Tensei 1K Pro Red provides a stiffer grip and softer tip section to help create more spin and a mid-launch profile.
The Tensei 1K Pro shares the Xlink technology seen in the WB. It features 1k carbon technology to offer an exceptional feel.
On paper, the 1K Pro Red might lend its abilities towards mid to high handicap golfers, but Mitsubishi extends the Red range to be an option for better players, with an 83-gram tour extra stiff option.
Graphite Design Tour AB UB
The Graphite Design Tour AD UB Wood Shaft features aerospace-grade carbon built into the core of the shaft to generate a shaft profile that will suit a wide variety of golfers.
The Tour AB UB isn’t just a great-looking shaft thanks to its striking paint scheme and graphics; it performs well for many golfers.
The Tour AB UB has a mid launch angle and low to mid spin profile, offering a great blend for golfers who don’t go after the ball hard but want to keep launch conditions in the perfect window to maximise carry distances.
Why Custom Fitting Helps You Find The Correct Shaft
By now, you should have a better understanding of the key components and terminology used to understand golf shaft profiles better.
However, the education and the improved performance are only completed when you are fitted for the correct shaft during a custom fitting session.
Launch monitors help us understand exactly where improvements can be made in your driving by using your existing driver as a benchmark.
Capturing launch and spin conditions helps our fitters understand the hard facts of your driving game, but they’ll also consult with you on what you do and don’t like about your existing driver and where you want to see improvements.
Utilising our class-leading array of shafts, we can see where we can make improvements by plugging in the right shaft weight, flex, launch, and kick point.
What you’ll see are improvements in your numbers based on your objectives, which will give you added confidence on the course to know your golf driver will perform in an expected manner.
Custom fitting is a process that identifies the right shaft but also takes advantage of driver head technology in the form of moveable weights or adjustable hosels to fine-tune the final setup.
Every player on the PGA Tour will know their numbers and know why their driver is set up the way it is; that’s one of the reasons why we are seeing the average driving distance reach over 300 yards for the first time.
But with outfits like Nine By Nine Golf, you can be fitted to the ideal driver to enhance your game, and it starts by browsing our extensive options on our website.
We are independent fitters who stock what we believe are the best shaft options for all levels of golfers. When you look at our website, you’ll see an extensive options from the best manufacturers.
We’ve given some examples throughout, but we also carry many options from the likes of Aerotech, Autoflex, Aldila, and Project X.
If you have an idea of the shaft you want or still need further help in uncovering what’s right for you, book a custom fitting driver session with us at Nine By Nine Golf. We’ll help you step out from the crowd and turn your driving game into a potent weapon for lowering your scores.
