I've seen alot of talk about people's swing speed etc on other forums I've visited. I'm wondering how thos correlates to shaft selection in clubs. I've got the TaylorMade Burner Plus with the stock Stiff shafts in them now.

I hit these straight when I make good contact; however if I swing my driver with any kind of force, I slice like a madman. I'm wondering if the flex of the shaft could cause this slice more than anything. I've noticed when I back off of my swing about 45% I'm able to hit it straight and usually about 170-200 yards.

I'm planning on recording my swing at some point and posting it here for analysis. In the meantime, where would I get my swing speed measured? Are there any drivers that you could recommend? I've noticed that TGW has a pretty sweet looking deal on the Nike Square Drivers right now, would this be a smart choice with possibly a stiffer shaft?

How far do you usually hit your driver if you make good contact on the sweet spot? If you are hitting, say, 220 to 260, then the stiff flex is probably the correct choice. If you're hitting, say, 260 to 300+, then you should probably upgrade to the stiffer flex. If you're under 240, then you might want to back off to the regular flex.

As far as the slice goes....I'm more inclined to believe that your mechanics are slightly off when you try to swing harder. I'm not saying that's for sure what it is, but slicing with a stronger swing is the case with most golfers.

You have to watch the "stock" shafts with a lot of brands. They're very light shafts and the stiffs are closer to regular than you think. I bought the tour burner with the stock stiff in it. It is a 65 gram shaft. My swing speed is 108. It was like swinging a wet noodle and i began to lose distance and slice because the shaft wasn't unloading in the swing. My GOOD shots were only going about 270 after roll. I had to move to a 76g stiff from UST and now i hit it over 300, solid and strait.

There are a bunch of factors with shafts. Kick point, weight, composition, length, and flex. I would go to your local pro or at least a golf shop that has a launch monitor and pay the $50 or whatever they charge to get everything measured. It's valuable to have that kind of information. With it, you can fit your shaft, loft, ball, irons, the whole shebang.

As for recommending drivers, I try not to. Clubs are a very personal thing. That being said a lot of the drivers these days are pretty much the same. They're all pushed to the max of what the rules allow so it's just finding the one you like the looks of, can swing, and you hit the best. I settled on the tour burner because it had the most classic setup of all the newer drivers and it didn't have any stupid graphics on the top. I like jet black - no crazy decals or other colors. it also had the right weight and when i swung it felt good. So i bought it and haven't looked back. Get what you like.

bjohn13 wrote:

How far do you usually hit your driver if you make good contact on the sweet spot? As far as the slice goes....I'm more inclined to believe that your mechanics are slightly off when you try to swing harder.

As far as my driver goes when I make good contact, I hit around 240-250.

I hit my irons great with the shafts that are in them currently. Primarily worried about my cheap driver (PowerBilt Citation Intro WMD)and the shaft in it....

As far as my slice goes my mechanics could be falling completely to the wayside when I try to swing harder. I'll take some video one evening this week and post it up.

birdieXris wrote:

I would go to your local pro or at least a golf shop that has a launch monitor and pay the $50 or whatever they charge to get everything measured. It's valuable to have that kind of information. With it, you can fit your shaft, loft, ball, irons, the whole shebang.

I'll make a trip to Golf Galaxy and see what it takes to get this done. No real local pros to speak of around here as far as I know. I'm in the Cushing/Stillwater Oklahoma area.

Thanks again for the input guys!

Well...I'm more familiar with Ping than TaylorMade, and Ping's stock stiff flex would be about perfect for what you hit (about the same as I hit).

I guess my recommendation would be to get your swing critiqued, try to make some adjustments, and then look at upgrading your equipment.