Driver Distance 'Make vs Shaft'

[LittlemanBigstick]

Ok, let me start by saying this is my first post and I don't claim to be a expert in the world of golf but IMHO I think to much ballyhoo is placed more on the make of the driver as compared to the shaft that is powering the driver. Granted each driver has it's own appealing characteristics from size,shape,color and sound at contact that made us choose it but bottomline is that they all are at the limit in C.O.R.. I purchased a 9.5* Titleist 983K with a Fujikura 757 Speeder stiff shaft at the beginning of the year,I was using a 9.5* Cleveland 400 Launcher with a stock Fujikura stiff shaft previously and I can say I did gain 30 yds on my drive...how do I know....my friend that I golf with and I were dead even in driving distance (he also used the same Cleveland driver) but now I am usually 30yds farther out them him and on a super hit 50 yds past him. He is a better golfer then I am so it isn't our capabities that have made this change in distance...I have to attribute most of it to the Fujikura 757 Speeder shaft that my driver came equiped with. I'm sure someone will say Cleveland Laucher to Titleist 983K and maybe the Titleist is a longer hitting driver all things equal but I'm sure that distance is 3-5 yds and not 30yds. Any feedback from some knowledgeable people would be greatly appreciated.

[bdcrowe]

Ok, let me start by saying this is my first post and I don't claim to be a expert in the world of golf but IMHO I think to much ballyhoo is placed more on the make of the driver as compared to the shaft that is powering the driver. Granted each driver has it's own appealing characteristics from size,shape,color and sound at contact that made us choose it but bottomline is that they all are at the limit in C.O.R.. I purchased a 9.5* Titleist 983K with a Fujikura 757 Speeder stiff shaft at the beginning of the year,I was using a 9.5* Cleveland 400 Launcher with a stock Fujikura stiff shaft previously and I can say I did gain 30 yds on my drive...how do I know....my friend that I golf with and I were dead even in driving distance (he also used the same Cleveland driver) but now I am usually 30yds farther out them him and on a super hit 50 yds past him. He is a better golfer then I am so it isn't our capabities that have made this change in distance...I have to attribute most of it to the Fujikura 757 Speeder shaft that my driver came equiped with. I'm sure someone will say Cleveland Laucher to Titleist 983K and maybe the Titleist is a longer hitting driver all things equal but I'm sure that distance is 3-5 yds and not 30yds. Any feedback from some knowledgeable people would be greatly appreciated.

I don't claim to be knowledgeable, but I'll respond. I think it's somewhere in the middle of your equation. You have to match shaft to head to swing... You put the best shaft in the world on a head that doesn't fit it and you have crap. You take the "best" head in the world, viceversa. For instance, put a hight torque graphite on any of today's gian heads, and not many people will be able to hit it, because the size/weight of the head will twist. Look at the club as a whole. Then look at the club in relation to your swing...

[LBCGolf]

I have Cleveland Launcher driver and FW woods and their gold shafts are consistently a cpm range softer than they're labeled (shafts labeled stiff are regular and shafts labeled regular are senior flex). IMHO it's a marketing ploy to make people with slower swingspeeds feel like they're getting more carry.

If you gained that much more distance from the switch it must be because you stumbled across a shaft that's better suited for your swingspeed and tempo than the previous club.

[JeffGallo]

I have Cleveland Launcher driver and FW woods and their gold shafts are consistently a cpm range softer than they're labeled (shafts labeled stiff are regular and shafts labeled regular are senior flex). IMHO it's a marketing ploy to make people with slower swingspeeds feel like they're getting more carry.

If you gained that much more distance from the switch it must be because you stumbled across a shaft that's better suited for your swingspeed and tempo than the previous club.

good call LBC. the clubhead doesnt have any preference in shaft, but your swing does.

to be honest the 983k may suit your swing better than your cleveland too, its less nuetral weighting and wider, flatter profile face may be better to increase your carry. however, iam a huge club tinkerer, i also assemble custom component clubs (my irons and driver are) and i have gone through many reshafts of drivers and can tell you that you are verymuch correct in thinking that the shaft has a lot to do with distance. Like LBC says the 757 is probably better suited to your tempo.

you are correct in thinking that there will only be a slight difference in distance from one clubface to the next, because as we all know and you have cited the COR limit is pushed by every driver out there, but the dynamics of the entire clubhead change things a little. clubfaces are as hot as they are going to get and that is good for everybody, but internal weighting and other aspects of clubdesign are just as much matters of preference and swing-matching as shaft choice.

and hey, good for you! it sounds like youve stumbled upon the right combination for you, good luck!