●  How does a shaft work?

When you go to the top of your backswing and start the downswing, the transition from the club going up to the club coming down caused the shaft to flex.  This is called ‘loading the shaft’.  If you have the correct shaft and you have made a good swing the shaft should ‘unload’ close to the ball.  When the shaft ‘unloads’ the club head should be at its fastest.  The faster the club travels the more energy there is transferred onto the ball and if you have the right ball the faster it comes off the face.  The faster it comes off the face, the further the ball goes.  So, the more flex that is on a shaft, the more ‘load’ you can put on it which means that when it ‘unloads’, it travels faster.  The downside to this is the faster it ‘unloads’ the harder it is to square the clubface at impact.  Conversely, a stiffer flex shaft is harder to ‘load’ and if you can’t ‘load’ it as much it doesn’t ‘unload’ as fast which results in a slower clubhead speed and shorter distance – but is easier to square through impact. 

To summarise, a softer flex shaft should travel further and a stiffer flex shaft should go straighter.

         ●  How does the ball react off the clubface?

When the clubhead strikes the ball, it compresses the ball to roughly two-thirds of its original size.  The ball stays on the face for approximately half a millisecond.  The combination of loft and a descending angle of attack makes the ball climb up the clubface – this creates backspin.  With the shorter irons (9 iron, pitching and sand wedge) there is more loft making it easier for the ball to climb up the clubface resulting in more backspin.

●  How does backspin affect the ball flight? 

Whatever loft you have on your club at impact the ball will come off at an angle of 90 degrees – this is your ‘launch angle’.  Your ‘launch angle’ will differ from the static loft of the club.  Your ‘launch angle’ doesn’t determine the overall height of the shot it just determines the initial starting trajectory.  Backspin is responsible for the overall height.  For example, if you launch a driver at 13 degrees with a clubhead speed of 100mph, and you have a backspin figure of 4000rpm, the ball will soar into the sky and fall down almost vertically, with no run when it hits the ground.  Likewise, if you launch a driver at 13 degrees with a clubhead speed of 100mph with a backspin figure of only 1000rpm, the ball will fall out of the sky too early and when it hits the ground it will run a bit, but will not be anywhere near your optimum distance. 

When hitting irons, you want to create more backspin – because distance is not the main goal with irons, you want to have control.  The more backspin you have with your irons, the quicker the ball stops on the green and also the less side spin can be imparted resulting in straighter shots. 

By using the Vector Launch Monitor at the All Golf Swing Centre, I can assess your clubhead speed, launch height and backspin figure and advise you what club head and shaft combination will give you the perfect ball flight.