Numbered flex shafts originated with Rifle iron shafts. They were "matched" by frequency rather than weight. Precision Shaft (the company that originally released the Rifle shafts) established frequency matching of shafts. The number refers to the frequency of oscillation of the shaft. A 5.5 shaft oscillates at 255 Hz (Hertz is oscillations per minute). A 6.5 shaft at 265 Hz. When steel Rifle shafts were released, 5.5 was regular, 6.5 was stiff and 7.5 was x-stiff. Those designations have changed over the years to the current standard of 5.0 (regular), 6.0 (stiff) and 7.0 (x-stiff). True Temper responded by weight sorting their shafts to "frequency match" them. They labelled their shafts by flex and "weight" - R300, S300, X300. They later offered other options (X100, etc.)

I spent some time making custom clubs for people. One of the things you don't mention that is very important is that there is no industry standard for shaft flex ratings. One company's 5.0 regular shaft may have the same flex of a different company's 6.0 flex. That's kind of important to know. If a golfer is used to using True Temper 5.0 and switches brands, assuming that the new brand's 5.0 will have the same flex, they might be in for a surprise.

Good stuff! One of the better explanation of shafts!

I swing at 100-105mph and have usually been fitted to stiff to sx type shafts but found my best and most consistent drives is from a higher 3.5-4.5 rather than lower torque

my game totally changed when i bought dynamic gold x-300 and tipped them very stiff. if you can exaggerate a waggle and feel your shaft flexing you need stiffer.

Nice video!😊helpful!

Hi Michael, a 70 yr young guy here, driver swing speed around mid 80s. With the passage of time I feel graphite is the way to go however should I go to Regular rather than Stiff (which I have tried and like). I understand getting fitted is the best option but not sure when I’ll be back in Oz. Cheers

Great explanation of shafts! First time watcher but will be back for more vlogs.

What you haven't mentioned is that depending on the flex and swing speed, the heavier driver head will always be behind the club handle on the downswing i.e., the club shaft will not be straight on the downswing. Thus the face will be more likely to be open. Actually timing the swing so that the face is neither open nor closed on ball impact and with the club grip forward of the club head is key. It also relates to the length of the shaft as a cut down shaft will be less flexible than the original full length shaft. This suggests that a player's different length fairway woods may require different shaft flexibility compared to the driver [in part due to their different mass x distance {turing moment}].

I put a ventus stiff in my ping g25 over standard regular made club more a fairway finder and few yards longer, my swing speed is 90mph.

Great video. I have a quicker tempo and my ball speed is around 157mph. I was put into a XS 6.5. Thoughts? Should I have gone with a stiff?

great advice

What if I normally play a stiff flex, but want to order a new driver with a -1” from the factory. Should I get a regular flex then?

Thanks for the video. I have a club head speed of about 83 to 86 mph. I’ve learned through the years that stiff shafts are better for me because of the tighter dispersion. Usually hit 205 to 210 yard drives. The other day I tried different shafts from graphite design including extra stiff which turned out to be the longest (221 to 226 yards) why is that? (It was also the tightest dispersion)

Nice video. Thanks.

Hi Micheal, Thanks for the video. I am currently looking for some answers about golf club design. Let me explain. First of all when comparing club heads, I have heard that irons are more accurate than woods (fairway and driver). I have also heard that decreasing shaft length increases accuracy. So my question is, which has a bigger impact on accuracy? The club head or the shaft length? Which would be more accurate: a 1 iron head on a long shaft like for a driver, or a driver head on a shorter shaft like one for an iron? Thanks

KIS...well done.

The more that your swing is powered by a pulling of the lead side, the less stiff you need the shaft. The more you power the swing by the trail side pushing the shaft with motorized wrists and hands then the stiffer the shaft should be. And that is all there is to it!!!

Great video. I have been away from golf for the last 5 years and it sounds like everything has changed, I am use to the following terms like Flex Point, Torque and Club Swing Weight. Are all the graphite shafts the same now? I understand the Flex of the shaft is still the same and based on your swing speed but now when I go to a Golf Shop they are asking about Spin Rate and MOI. There would have to be many different shafts to properly fit a person and not just something off the rack Right? Keep up the good work! hoping you have a great 2023

I just got a Fujikara Ventus Blue and it says it’s stiff but it’s a 5s so is that sort of between regular and stiff?

everyone talks about swing speed. What club are we measuring swing speed with? i swing my driver 105 but i dont swing my PW that fast so does each club need to have a specific shaft to that clubs swing speed?

odd that u mention the oldest player in the masters & then the champion? lol great video. I found some jpx 923's with the graphite shafts but L flex. I have a slow speed and a bad wrist so they might be great for me. Is it ok for men to use womens clubs?

Where RU in Perth?

What do the clear stickers below the grip indicate? For example VEO or VFW?

Would a 70gram or 75gram xstiff shaft be better for a fast tempo with average swing speed of 110

Where would True Temper XP90's (ap1 716) fall? Light, med, heavy?

Freddy Couples Mayor of Tempo town.

Stop using lady flex and senior flex to describe shafts.. Golfers continue to get into the wrong equipment because of this designation.

There's actually very minimal difference in shafts flexes.

Dg & PX are head & shoulders above the rest!! Everything else is garbage!!!

Shaftflex is not a fairytale yust get fitted

1st and last view, just so boring in presentation......