Shaft Question

[Thimble]

Are driver shafts and 3w/5w/etc. shafts the same? ie. is a 42" 5w shaft just a butt shortened 46" shaft? does this mean woods play stiffer than driver shafts?

[hogannut]

Are driver shafts and 3w/5w/etc. shafts the same? ie. is a 42" 5w shaft just a butt shortened 46" shaft? does this mean woods play stiffer than driver shafts?

I'm not totally sure if the shafts get tipped at different point to adjust in the overall length. You may want to check with club fitter. The guys at the Markham dome would know. Tipping a shaft means cutting some off the end of the shaft in order to adjust flex points. Also there can be shafts with varying tip diamaters (.335 & .350 I think?) that can affect shaft flex. I think (not totally sure) the average set of woods on the wall in a golf store would have the same tips and the different length shaft would have a minimal affect on flex points. For me anyway I ordered my shafts 1" over length for my 3 wood and driver and when I asked a club fitter he said there would not be that much difference.

Sorry I could not answer your question totally but I am almost certain you are correct that the tip specs don't change, but they may when the difference gets to be more than 2 inches. A club fitter told me that there is not much difference if it's only 2 inches but beyond on that it could. Hope i gave you a bit of useful info.

[laxgolf]

Are driver shafts and 3w/5w/etc. shafts the same? ie. is a 42" 5w shaft just a butt shortened 46" shaft? does this mean woods play stiffer than driver shafts?

Here's how I understand it...

There are some driver and fairway wood specific shafts out there, but I think the general feeling is that FW's perform better with heavier shafts. Fairway wood shafts are typically designed to be heavier than driver shafts. 3W and 5W shafts are the same, but tipped differently. You can find tipping instructions on most shaft company websites. I'd say that the typical driver shaft would be in the 65 gram range, while the typical FW shaft would be 75+ grams all the way up to 120 grams. The majority of people prefer something heavier in their FW's than drivers. Also, I believe the tourque on driver shafts is typically higher due to the 400+cc size of the clubhead. The higher the torque, the less the clubhead will twist at impact. The higher tourque is also attributed to the 'boardy' feel that some shafts have. As far as I know, the tip size has nothing to do whether it's a driver or FW shaft. I could be wrong about that though.

From personal experience, I've tried 60+ gram driver shafts in FW's but have always found them too light.

Hope this helps.

I just found this on another website:

shaftweight is a crucial aspect of shaftfitting & should be the first issue addressed in any shaftfitting session.
the shaftweight needs to suit the player's tempo/athleticism. shaftweight has a major effect on the player's tempo/timing. unfortunately, it's ignored by far too many players (& clubmakers).

by itself, shaftweight has no direct effect on trajectory, ballflight or SPIN. there are characteristics of shafts, that correlate to their weight, that can have a minor effect on other areas of performance. for example, as shaftweight increases, the wall-thickness in the butt-section of the shaft usually increases. increased wall-thickness = increased stiffness, so (in general) butt-stiffness tends to increase as shaftweight increases. that's a bend profile issue & the shaft's bend profile can influence trajectory, ballflight & SPIN ... but by itself, shaftweight should always be fit to the player's tempo/athleticism.

[Pingnut]

Are driver shafts and 3w/5w/etc. shafts the same? ie. is a 42" 5w shaft just a butt shortened 46" shaft? does this mean woods play stiffer than driver shafts?


To add a litle info to the answers above, let me qualify this by saying I am unqualifed to answer, but have a basic understanding.

A driver shaft is the same as a 3w or 5 wood shaft - they all start out the same - typically around 46". Each shaft from each manufacturer will have tipping recommendations for each application. i.e. no tipping for a Driver, 1" for a three wood, 1.5" for a five wood - from there you butt trim to playing length. They should theoretically play to the same stiffness when installed beacuse a 3 wood head is heavier than a Driver, and a 5 wood head is heavier than a 3 wood etc.

[Thimble]

hey pingnut, thanks! i never knew that driver heads were lighter than 3w, and 3w lighter than 5w, etc...

[iwalk3]

hi guys, this might confuse things a little. but some shafts are but trim only and some are tip and but, it depends the brand.also on the length of the parallel tip section. the length of tip you can trim for different heads, and sometimes flex.but if you trim to much it does weaken the shaft.i have used a regular driver shaft in 5 wood which then made the shaft to soft (senior flex) the shaft was not designed to have a 230 gram head on it

[Carlton]

Don't forget that some shafts are butt heavy, some are balanced and some are tip heavy. Tipping stiffens the shaft and lowers the kickpoint. Butt trimming softens the shaft and raises the kickpoint.

[iwalk3]

aaaahhhhhh! so now i know how it works, not! :rofl: