January brought a surge of exciting new product launches to the market.
New golf driver releases dominate the early season frenzy, and this year’s new releases from Callaway, Cobra, and TaylorMade, to name but a few, are taking driver material and technology to another level.
It's easy to be captivated by promises of more distance through innovations like increased use of carbon composites or the allure of shaping your perfect shot with improved adjustability options.
So, the decision is made, and it’s time to exercise the credit card, but the spend will be worth it when we deliver Rory McIlroy-esque drives that leave our playing partners far behind.
Reality then kicks in: on the golf course, the new purchase doesn’t provide the additional distance. Shots are spread to all corners, and the feeling of being cheated for falling for the marketing hype grows.
The problem may not be the head.
The problem could lie with the golf shaft.
If you have made an “off-the-shelf” purchase, the shaft you have fitted will be a stock shaft.
You might think, “But my golf shaft is a Fujikura, and that’s what Scheffler and McIlroy have in their drivers”, but there are subtle differences between what is termed a stock shaft and the alternative, an aftermarket shaft.
Stock shafts for any golf club in the bag can best be described as a “catch all”, covering the widest range of golfers.
Are stock golf shafts good for all golfers, and if you play with golf clubs that are fitted with stock shafts, should you be concerned?
Our guide will answer the question of what stock golf shafts are and whether stock golf shafts are good compared to their aftermarket equivalents.
We’ll answer those questions by looking at the following areas:
- What “Stock Shaft” Actually Means
- The Argument For And Against Stock Shafts
- Why Aftermarket Shafts Exist
What “Stock Shaft” Actually Means
Stock shafts are mass-produced to meet the demand that manufacturers have for getting their stock clubs on racks in retail outlets.
Stock shafts are produced by shaft manufacturers such as Fujikura and Mitsubishi Chemical, often carrying tour-proven names like Ventus and Tensei, but sometimes built with input from club manufacturers.
Like the clubhead configuration, the stock shaft is an approximation of what most golfers are likely to get along with, and comes in a variety of flexes. For many of us, this is how we start to understand golf shaft terminology, as stock often means the choice between regular and stiff.
If you are buying off the rack, the price of the golf club is inclusive of the shaft. If you purchase online, you’ll see that the stock shaft option has no additional charge when you go through the selection process.
Are stock shafts inferior to aftermarket options? The answer is no; they are not necessarily inferior. However, it’s important to understand the key differences and weigh the positives and negatives of playing with a stock shaft compared to an aftermarket option.
The Argument For And Against Stock Shafts
We understand more now than ever what the typical clubhead speeds look like for golfers of different levels of playing abilities.
This means that the stock shaft is getting more sophisticated, and the choice within stock shafts is improving.
A perfect example of this is TaylorMade’s new REAX shaft system for the Qi4D.
TaylorMade has studied millions of swings over years of driver development, and how golfers release the clubhead through impact. They believe they can now isolate three distinct release patterns: high, medium, and low rotation of the clubface, which they have built into the REAX system.
TaylorMade, working with Mitsubishi Chemical, created the REAX system to provide more or less shaft stability to match how golfers deliver the clubhead, aiming for longer and straighter drives.
All this tech and design is now being put into a stock shaft.
With more options available, stock shafts now go beyond simply choosing between regular and stiff flexes.
Titleist’s GT Series employs a version of the Tensei 1K Blue shaft, and can be selected in either 55g, 65g, or 75g as stock options before choosing the flex of the shaft you need.
On average, stock shafts weigh between 50 and 65 grams, which hasn’t changed much for the past 20 years; however, there is a wider selection of lower-weighted shafts available as stock options now, which helps golfers with low clubhead speeds generate more power to maximise launch and spin conditions.
Wider selections can run into problems, and this is where we start to see the story against stock shafts start to stack up.
Selection is good when you are backed by understanding the basics of how your swing functions.
Basic details like how much clubhead speed you generate are a good starting point, but to get the most out of TaylorMade’s REAX shaft system, you need to understand or seek help in understanding exactly how you release the clubhead at impact in order to work out which shaft system works for you.
Manufacturers can also be sneaky when it comes to the shaft lengths in their stock offerings.
It’s widely thought that using a longer shaft can help to generate more clubhead speed, which translates into more distance. Some stock options come in at 46 inches for this reason alone.
Longer shafts can create problems for consistency of strike location, which in turn, can have a major impact on shot dispersion - you might generate more clubhead speed, but it’s useless if you are hitting it badly out of the heel or toe and you miss fairways by some margin.
By comparison, the average driver shaft length on the PGA Tour is between 44.5 and 44.75 inches, which is a good inch shorter than the stock driver shafts on off-the-shelf drivers.
Shorter driver shafts can add more distance because they can improve consistency of strike, which is shown up on launch monitors via the smash factor reading, which highlights the efficiency of the strike location.
Having different shaft weights is beneficial; however, there can be issues around a stock shaft being too light for some players, which can have consequences for strike location, launch, and spin numbers.
Right-handed golfers can struggle with misses out to the left, or high-spin shots that have the appearance of stalling in flight if the shaft is too light.
The worst thing that can happen is to try to swing smoother to help the shaft unload properly in the downswing, which throws out timing and can lead to even poorer shots.
The bottom line is that while more is being done to improve the quality of stock shafts, the fundamental problem with them is that every golfer has their own unique set of characteristics, which means that in order to see real improvements, aftermarket shafts come into their own.
Why Aftermarket Shafts Exist
Aftermarket golf shafts provide a gateway to long-term improved performance.
Aftermarket shafts are manufactured under tighter tolerances and are produced solely by the shaft manufacturer, rather than the club OEM. This sets them apart from stock shafts, which are made for mass distribution.
Aftermarket shafts bear all the fruits of the shaft producer’s research and development, source material quality, and construction tolerances, which add up to a shaft that can deliver on performance.
The elephant in the room is that these golf shafts come at a premium to the stock models, but the difference in distance and shot dispersion can overrule the additional cost if you are serious about your golf game.
Aftermarket shafts can provide a greater depth of choice in terms of weight and flex ratings; Fujikura’s Ventus Blue line comes with 14 different options spread across 5 profiles.
This may sound like a lot, but it helps dial in exactly what’s needed for golfers of all abilities, since no two deliver the club the same.
What can an aftermarket golf shaft offer you, and how would you reap the benefits on the golf course?
When an aftermarket shaft is dialled for your swing characteristics during a custom-fitting, the benefits you’ll see come in three elements:
- Improved consistent distance
- More consistent ball-striking
- Tighter shot dispersion
Gaining more distance is a natural advantage, but the key word is consistent. A stock shaft can help you hit the ball further, but knowing how far the good shots go and what the difference is can mean the difference between clearing a fairway hazard or landing in it.
A fitting process will unlock where distance gains can be made, and tie that in with the second point: more consistent ball striking.
Matching the right shaft profile helps to regulate spin and launch, but understanding where the shaft needs to offer the most support can help improve your ball striking.
Another benefit available from an aftermarket golf shaft and a fitting process is that the shaft will be cut to the exact length needed, which, in turn, can also help make your ball striking more consistent.
Finally, there’s no point in gaining extra yardage and better ball striking if you consistently can’t hit your target. Marrying the correct aftermarket shaft profile will also help to tighten up shot dispersion.
What does this mean for you on the golf course?
More confidence from having a better understanding of how your golf shafts perform when you play well or poorly.
Coming back to the original questions we set at the start of this piece, stock golf shafts can be good for golfers. The choice is improving all the time, and manufacturers like TaylorMade are offering more sophisticated options for no extra charge.
If budget is a major factor for you, a stock shaft can provide a good way to enjoy the game more without destroying your bank balance along the way.
Should you be concerned if you are playing stock golf shafts in your golf clubs? The answer lies in how serious you are about your game and the goals you set yourself.
If you want to benefit from more consistent ball striking, better shot dispersion, improved feel, and more distance, you need to look at what aftermarket golf shafts can bring to your game.
The upcharge for opting for an aftermarket golf shaft can’t be ignored, but if the golf shaft is tailored for your exact requirements, the aftermarket shaft then becomes an investment in your game that can become a constant if you decide to change heads on a regular basis.
The aftermarket versus stock shafts debate will go on. If you want to test how stock shafts match up against aftermarket shafts, you could consider booking a custom fitting session at Nine By Nine Golf, where our experienced fitters and state-of-the-art launch monitors will pinpoint where you can find improvements in your game.