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Shafts
Introduction
The function of the shaft is often overlooked, under emphasised, and frequently misunderstood. The basic mechanics (and required properties) of the shaft are the same regardless of the manufacturer. What the clubmaker needs to establish is which shaft is going to give you the optimum performance from your clubs, matched to your swing.
The golf shaft has developed significantly since the days when Hickory was the preferred material. Steel made it's breakthrough in the 1930's and now graphite is fast becoming the standard in many club sets.
Dynacraft clubmaker's benefit from being able to choose their shaft options from all the major manufacturers around the world. Each producer offers a range of shafts to suit all levels of player, but each will use different properties and processes during manufacture.
Material
In the 1930's they said steel shafts would never catch on. Look at us now with a myriad of different shaft materials to choose from. Steel, titanium, composite materials such as carbon fibre, boron fibre, fibreglass, carbon shafts with titanium filament running through, carbon shafts with steel tips, steel shafts with carbon tips. The list gets longer each year as technology advances.
Different materials allow different characteristics to be built into a shaft. With the materials being used nowadays, we are seeing shafts as light as 40g and as heavy as 140g in the market place. It is important to discuss with your clubmaker the properties of each shaft, the specific design characteristics and how they will affect your game.
The material of the shaft will have a great impact on the weight, torque, flex, bend point, and most importantly "feel".
The most important factor to remember is that the shaft should be fitted to suit your swing. You will find that there are a variety of materials that will suit your swing.
Torque
Torsional stiffness, or what is often termed "torque", is the shaft's resistance to a twisting force. During the golf swing the shaft twists (torque) as well as bends (flex). Because of this dual action in the shaft, the torsional stiffness of a shaft combines with the flex to determine the overall feeling of stiffness of the shaft.
The amount of twist can be measured and expressed in degrees. For example a shaft that twists 2.8° is said to have a lower "torque", and is torsionally stiffer than one that twists 4°.
Once shafts with a variety of torsional stiffness became available to golfers, reports of the effect of the torsional stiffness on the flex of the shaft began to surface. By consensus, it became apparent from reports, that between two shafts of similar flex, the shaft with the greater torsional stiffness would feel stiffer than the shaft with the higher degree of torque.
Frequency
The frequency of a golf shaft determines the flex. Unfortunately there are no recognised testing standards within the golf industry. What might be one manufacturers regular shaft may be stiff to another manufacturer.
Frequency is measured by clamping the butt section of a shaft, adding a known weight to the tip of the shaft and twanging it, and counting the amount of times the shaft oscillates in a minute. The measurement is taken in cycles per minute (CPM). There is also a variance on frequency measuring machines; some have different clamping units that clamp a different amount of shaft and different weights attached to the tip of the shaft. This will produce different CPM readings from one machine to another.
Dynacraft have come up with an answer to this. By testing as many shafts as possible on the same equipment and assigning a swing speed to each shaft. A calculation can also be made to adjust for tempo. It is one of the safest ways to fit a golf shaft in the industry. This method does not rely on a flex designation given by the shaft manufacturer.
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