Steel shafts
generally offer greater accuracy than graphite, while graphite
offers greater distance. It is common for tour players to put
steel in their irons and graphite shafts in their woods. The
reasoning is clear, they want as much distance as possible off
the tee where they can afford to lose some accuracy, but the
iron shot to the pin must be as accurate as possible.
Graphite shafts weigh less than their
steel counterparts, are easier to swing and generate more
club head speed resulting in increased distance.
As fairways tend to be a bigger target than greens, and distance
off the tee is always at a premium, graphite shafts tend to
be the preferred choice for woods.
Steel shafts have
very little torque (twist) when they are swung aggressively,
which means they are more likely to return the club head square
to the ball resulting in a straight shot. Therefore, steel shafts
are the most common choice for irons because irons are typically
used when approaching a small target - the green.
Shaft flex is a
critical factor for both distance and direction. Generally,
the greater the shaft flexes the greater the distance but with
less control over direction. Shafts that are too stiff for a
player will often feel "heavy" resulting in ball flight
to the right for a right-handed player with associated loss
of distance. Shafts that are too flexible may feel better but
are more difficult to control resulting in ball flight to the
left for a right-handed players.
Grip size To a small degree grip
size can be used to tailor ball flight.
Smaller grips promote hand action in the swing, which generally
results in a left ball flight for right-handed golfers.
Larger grips restrict hand action and have the opposite effect
on ball flight.
Club length Clubs that are too upright
(club length too short) for a player's physical measurements
will generally cause the ball to miss left for right-handed
golfers.
Clubs that are too long for a player's physical measurements
will generally cause the ball to miss right for right-handed
golfers.
Lie angle is the
angle between the centerline of the shaft and the ground.
Loft angle is the
angle between the centerline of the shaft and the clubface.
Lie angle is related to the club's overall length. As irons
get longer the lie angle is decreased to allow the club to
perform correctly e.g. a 7-iron is more upright than a 3-iron.
Club length, lie angle and loft angle are tied together in
a delicate balance. Changing one element will have an effect
on the others.
