March 11, 2011 At 12:37 AM By Peter W
Peter WPleasanton, CA
I have a swing speed of about 125-130 and I can never find a shaft that goes low and penetrating with a driver/ 3 wood. Any suggestions on shafts that have the highest kickpoint and or go really low in an X flex or above? Thanks!
Jeremy StoneProvidence, RI
Peter, have you tried custom fitting your driver and metals? I have similar, although not quite as strong a swing speed with a ball speed around 165 mph off of the driver. I always assumed that a stronger shaft with a high kick point was the answer. That was until I was fit at one of Titleist's fitting centers. My problem wasn't necessarily the shaft, but in fact the backspin that my steep, high swing speed was creating at impact. As a result, the "high flight" of my golf ball actually required higher launch statistics with much lower spin rates. This fit flattened out my ball flight and I was able to add 10-15 yards and much more control in the wind.
Without knowing more about your swing stats, I would suggest you get fit on a launch monitor to diagnose why you can't achieve the low, penetrating flight you are looking for, and then best fit a shaft based on your individual swing stats. It's well worth the investment of time to have perfect equipment.
Joe BPhiladelphia, PA
Good post Jeremy. Great advice.
Joe Burdess
Kinetic Performance Center - Titleist Regional Fitter
Matthew SMississauga, ON
Jeremy is bang on here...
Out of the countless fittings that i have done with people i find that most amateurs come in and say that they hit it too high....generally there is 2 things that i find: 1st the person doesnt hit it very high at all and doesnt really understand how high the ball should be going (more common), 2nd the person launches it a touch low but because of their spin number the ball balloons up and seems like it is going too high. (generally this is because these people figure that if they tee it down further they will hit it lower, however this is usually not the case because then they hit the ball on the bottom of the face which creates a lower launch angle and a much higher spin rate)
another thing that i tell people is that there is nothing wrong with hitting it high, look at guys like VJ and Bubba, their launch numbers are in the 13-17 range but with low spin numbers and they are able to do this because they are hitting the ball much closer to the top of the face which results in spin rate numbers close to 2000rpm and sometimes lower. the other big misconception is that people watch golf on TV and hear that they need to be spinning the driver under 2500RPM.....yes this is great for those small percentage of people that have a ball speed of over 160mph
all in all after my little rant here, the best is to go get fit and try a few different options
Frankie Gsacramento, CA
with a swing speed that high you might want to look toward the diamana white. its main trait is to lower ball flight and spin for the higher speed player. try it in the 73x for the driver and the 83 x in the 3 wood.hope it helps
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