What is the Best Shaft for My Driver?
October 28, 2022
That depends. Since the inception of the game, golfers have consistently looked for ways to improve their score. In recent years, finding the best shaft for his or her driver has become as important as the clubhead they have chosen. Unfortunately, many recreational golfers still underestimate the importance of selecting the right shaft for their swing. In fact, it's a high-risk game of chance that the shaft in a driver bought off-the-shelf will correctly match the golfer’s swing.
You would be hard pressed to find a professional golfer or even a low handicapper who does not consider the driver’s shaft to be equally as important as head size, clubface, and loft. Since shooting the lowest score depends heavily on the distance and accuracy off the tee box, the measure and flex of a driver’s shaft plays a key role in producing the best ball flight. But, more often than not, a high handicapper will become obsessed over the brand of the driver while totally neglecting how shaft flex affects the accuracy and trajectory of their drive.
Brief History of the Golf Shaft
One thing that has remained true since golf’s early beginning in fifteenth century Scotland, golfers have been fanatical about the game. Although clubheads were handcrafted from tougher woods, such as beech or holly, golf shafts were made from flexible hardwoods like ash or hazel. Around the middle of the nineteenth century, hickory was exported from America as it was considered to be the toughest and most durable wood for use in axe handles. By the turn of the century, hickory was the wood most often used to craft a golf shaft.
Whereas steel rod was readily available to blacksmiths, solid steel was very heavy and could not be made light enough for use as a club’s shaft. One inventor patented a shaft that had hundreds of small holes drilled through solid steel rod to increase swing speed and another patented the first steel tube shaft, but they failed to gain popularity as the Royal & Ancient and the United States Golf Association did not certify their use for regulated play. After the USGA legalized steel shafts for use in putters only in 1924, it paved the way for the R&A to also make an equipment rule change that was enacted five years later.
True Temper manufactured the first seamless golf shaft in 1929 that featured a step-down or tapered design for a comfortable grip size at one end with improved functionality to slip directly into the club head at the other end. During the twentieth century other metals like aluminum and titanium were used in shaft making but issues with durability and costs always favored the tapered steel shaft. Graphite shafts made from carbon fiber and epoxy were introduced at the PGA Show in 1970 as a lighter alternative to the steel shaft. But, early graphite shafts were prone to snap until boron was added to the composite in the 1980s.
A Custom Fit for Today’s Composite Shaft
It has been almost twenty five years since golf shaft manufacturer Fujikura introduced their first Speeder shaft for drivers, woods and hybrids. The shaft development company is well known for its proprietary testing system that has allowed Fujikura to combine the latest science and technology to deliver exceptionally engineered designs like a patented high inertia tip that releases more energy just before impact. Here at Krank Golf, we have decades of experience in custom fitting drivers for unrivaled results. Check below for the shaft that’s best for your game:
Fujikura Flyware – The Flyware shaft is the winningest and lightest driver shaft in the history of long drive competition having won multiple titles in the Open, Senior and Womens divisions of World Long Drive Championships.
Fujikura Speeder X Tour – This low torque, high modulus graphite shaft can handle the fastest swing speeds and creates stability for golfers who regularly hit a drive 250 yards or more off the tee box.
Fujikura Speeder X Light Tour – For low-handicap golfers (Seniors, Ladies or Juniors) that have an average driving distance of less than 250 yards, the X Light Tour is constructed using extremely fast graphite for lower swing speeds.
Fujikura Groove LD – If a medium weight shaft that produces a very stable flight with low spin matches your game, Fujikura’s elite long drive shaft comes uncut at 47 inches and hits remarkably straight owning multiple World Long Drive Championships.
When you are ready to hit the ball farther and more accurately off the tee, take advantage of our custom fitting tools and services to build a new Formula Fire Pro, Fire LD, Fire X High-COR or Fire XX Super High-COR driver. At Krank Golf, we match your swing speed to the optimal driver face thickness and a high modulus Fujikura graphite shaft to generate more speed and distance. We’ve been defining the boundaries of what makes a driver hit straighter and longer for more than two decades. Whether you’ve a touring pro or just enjoy a causal round, don’t settle for less distance and accuracy off the tee. If you follow the science at Krank Golf, you will certainly see it is not that complicated.
Ready to Krank It Up? Schedule a custom fitting and start designing the driver that is right for your swing. Just click here and stop giving away distance off the tee box.
