You're Correct!

There are numerous variables when choosing a shaft for your driver and one of these variables is the shafts stiffness. There is a different flex of shaft to suit every type of golfer. If you are professionally custom fitted, getting the correct stiffness of shaft will have great benefits to your driving. On the other hand, if you have the incorrect stiffness of shaft in your driver, it can severely hinder youre driving.

Generally, there are five different flexes, these are:

• Regular
• Stiff
• Extra stiff
• Senior
• Ladies

When choosing the flex of your driver shaft it should be tailored to your swing speed and tempo. Getting a shaft for your driver that is too stiff can make the club face aim to the right (open to target) at impact, and your trajectory will be a lot lower than desired. If a golfers driver shaft is too stiff, the general shape of shot people see is a push (for a right handed golfer the ball starts right and travels in a straight line). Because the driver shaft is too stiff for the golfer, the shaft doesnt flex enough, so the club face has a hard time to square up at impact.

If the driver shaft is too stiff the ball flight will also be a lot lower than desired. This is due to the golfer not producing enough club head speed for the shaft to flex in the correct way to help the ball launch, therefore the ball will launch lower than it should. Because of the low trajectory the ball will therefore will not travel as far in the air which will result in a shorter driving distance.

If you want to hit the golf ball with the optimum trajectory, straighter and therefore further, you need to get fitted to find the correct flex driver shaft to suit you!

If the shaft in your driver is too stiff it will not make your golf balls trajectory higher. With a shaft that is too stiff, the shaft flexes/bends too little and therefore the club head doesnt kick forward at impact, making the delivered loft lower. If your ball flight is too high it is either because there is too much loft on your driver or that the shaft is too flexible.

If the outcome was that you hit the ball straighter every time with a driver with a stiff shaft then there wouldnt be any manufacturers producing shafts of different flexes. The shaft flex is to accommodate a golfers swing speed/tempo, launch and spin at optimum rates and to help the club face square up at impact. This is why you need the correct flex for your personal golf swing.

If the club face is closed (left of target for the right handed golfer) at impact due to the drivers shaft flex. The flex of the shaft could be too flexible for the golfer, meaning a stiffer shaft could be needed. If the shaft is too stiff for the golfer this will therefore have the opposite effect, meaning there is not enough flex in the shaft for the golfers swing leading to the club face being left open at impact (pointing right for the right handed golfer).