No the green is just mowed down tight, but the ground is pretty rough.

I HATE SHANKING!!!!!

Hey, did Ryan ever upload that video of me teeing off of the beer can to you tube?

I forgot this thread was here, so I'll quote your post in my driver advice thread.

Can you explain what you mean about the shaft? I've been playing for quite a few years, but am just a hacker, so I don't keep up with club technology. The club I'm looking to buy comes in either regular or stiff shaft. Nothing about what you mentioned was indicated.

Every shaft has a kick point. The lower the kick point the higher the ball flight. High or mid kick point will usually result in a lower launch. The lower the Torque # in a shaft, is most likely the higher the price. Less twisting of the club head.

A good thing to do is go somewhere and get fitted, you don't have to buy from them but a good pro could tell you what shaft would fit you the best.

If you need a stiff shaft but swing a regular, the ball will push and slice. The reason is the shaft will flex and your hands get ahead of the ball leaving the club face open at impact.

That I understand. I wasn't sure what kick point a torque were all about.

I read somewhere though that 95% of people have a shaft that is too stiff. Not sure how much truth there is for that. Some PGA Pro told me that because I didn't like graphite irons.

From Tom Wishon
A. The term "torque" is taken to mean the shaft's designed resistance to twisting during the downswing. The torque value is expressed in degrees, so the lower the degrees of torque, the more resistance the shaft will have to being twisted from the force of the downswing on the clubhead attached to that shaft. The higher the degrees of torque, the less resistance the shaft will have to being twisted by the mass of the clubhead on the downswing.


In steel shafts, because the type of steel material is the same throughout the entire shaft, the torque exists in a very narrow range of degrees, one that is much more narrow than in graphite shafts.

Graphite shafts can be and often are made with a wide variety of different graphite fiber strength, stiffness and position on the shaft. This allows the torque in graphite shafts to range from as high as 7 or 8 degrees to as low as 1 degree, while in steel this range is only from a little more than 2 degrees to a little under 4 degrees. <SCRIPT>zSB(3,3)</SCRIPT>
Therefore, torque is not a factor to worry about in the selection of a steel shaft, but it is a point to keep in mind for some golfers when selecting a graphite shaft.




Fortunately, the fitting ramifications of torque even in graphite shafts is not that severe. Simply stated, it means that if you are a big strong, powerful person with an aggressive swing tempo and a late release, you never want the torque in a graphite shaft to be any higher than 4 to 4.5 degrees. Otherwise, your strength and downswing force may cause the clubhead to twist the shaft, causing the clubface to be more open at impact, and resulting in a shot that hangs or fades to the right of your target.

Conversely, if you have a very smooth, rhythmic swing without a very aggressive downswing move, you do not want to use graphite shafts with the torque below 3.5 degrees or else the impact feel of the shot can be stiff, harsh and unsolid, and the height of the shot may be too low. So for most golfers, as long the torque of a graphite shaft is between 3.5 and 5.5 degrees - which is the case for the vast majority of graphite shafts today - the golfer will be OK and torque will never be a factor to worry about in the shaft fitting.

Heh, I had a set of clubs that had a "reverse twist" built into the shaft for "anti torque". I think they were McGregor's.

As club head size has increased so has the need for low torque shafts, these heads on the new drivers are mammoth. Mine looks like a frying pan.

Herzig's sounds like a shotgun going off.

yeah mine is loud as hell too.

Shaft Flex and Bend Point
Every shaft has a Flex Rating (usually L, R, S, XS) and a bend point (Low, Mid and High). (Bend point, by the way, is also called kickpoint.) The unfortunate thing is that there is no industry standard for shaft flex - one manufacturer's Regular Flex shaft may be firmer or weaker than another manufacturer's. These differences will produce shafts that, even though they have the same Flex Rating, will play differently.
One difference will be in Swing Speed Ratings. One 'R' flex shaft might be rated for 65 to 75 mph while another is rated for 75-85 mph. Bend point determine the ball's trajectory so the golfer has to decide what type of ball flight he wants.

HOW TO CHOOSE: My experience as a club builder is that most golfers play with clubs that are too stiff. As noted above, you should determine what your swing speed is and choose your new shaft flex accordingly. (Note: The effect of torque on shaft flex is discussed on the following page.)
If you find your ball flight is too low or too high, then choosing a shaft with the right bend point can help. If you want to hit the ball on a lower trajectory, choose a bend point of High. For a higher trajectory, choose a bend point of Low. For something in between, go with Mid rating for bend point.



<TABLE class=st cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 align=center><TBODY class=st><TR><TH class=stc colSpan=3>Shaft Flex Selection Chart</TH></TR><TR><TD class=rhb>Carry Distance</TD><TD class=rhb>Swing Speed</TD><TD class=rhb>Flex</TD></TR><TR><TD class=rh>Under 180 yards</TD><TD>Under 75 mph</TD><TD>Ladies</TD></TR><TR><TD class=rh>180 to 200 yards</TD><TD>75 to 90 mph</TD><TD>Amatuer / Senior</TD></TR><TR><TD class=rh>200 to 240 yards</TD><TD>90 to 100 mph</TD><TD>Regular</TD></TR><TR><TD class=rh>240 o 275 yards</TD><TD>100 to 110 mph</TD><TD>Stiff</TD></TR><TR><TD class=rh>Over 275 yards</TD><TD>Over 110 mph</TD><TD>Tour (extra) Stiff</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Yeah, that Cobra was sold to one of my Groomsmen a couple of years ago. It was LOUD. But that was when the big driver heads became popular. My PING G10 is nowhere near as loud.

This LD F is this years model and they dampened down the sound a great deal from previous models.