Shafts - the final frontier ?

Now that the poor club designer is up against USGA/R&A limits on the size of head (460cc) and spring/trampoline face effect (Characteristic Time) and Moment of Inertia, there is little space for manoeuvre, apart from moving centres of gravity or changing the colour !

So the only area left for further research and development is the shaft.

Basic Facts - a quality graphite shaft is half the weight of a standard, steel shaft.
You can therefore generate more clubhead speed (remember, clubhead speed equals distance) for the same effort with a graphite shaft than you can with a steel shaft. That's why graphite (or carbon fibre, the same thing) is the preferred choice for your driver, fairway woods and hybrids.

You Get What You Pay For - the make up of a quality graphite shaft will be in the region of 25% resin and 75% carbon fibre. In lower quality shafts. the proportion of resin increases and the proportion of carbon fibre decreases resulting in reduced performance and loss of feel. In the worst cases, it is like playing with a piece of wet spaghetti !

Steel or Graphite ? - as mentioned earlier graphite is the preferred choice for
drivers and faiway woods whereas steel is most popular for Irons. However, if you suffer from golfers elbow or joint pain when you strike the ball, do remember that graphite absorbs 100% more shock than steel and will aloow you to enjoy your
golf longer.

If you are striving for every last bit of distance, then a lighweight graphite shaft in
your Irons will probably give you another 5 to 10 yards over steel. However, in
fairness to the steel shaft manufacturers, they are now producing lightweight, steel alloy shafts only marginally heavier than a graphite shaft.

Please remember that a carbon fibre shaft is a collection of carbon fibres bonded together with resin. Yes, a shaft matched to your clubhead speed will give you the best accuracy and distance for you but there is no magic genie within the shaft that is suddenly going to produce another 50 yards !! The same with steel, which is simply a a steel tube welded together.

Below are links to websites of the major shaft manufacturers.