So Are Expensive Shafts Better?
You could improve your accuracy by 50% or more!
We recently conducted some shaft tests with an Alpha C830.2 Plasma driver to see if expensive, premium shafts ($350 and up) are actually better than inexpensive shafts (under $60 installed). The results were very interesting to say the least.
Seven different driver shafts were tested and compared to the stock shaft in each driver. The tests were done outdoors on a range at a temperature of 68 degrees and altitude of 5800 feet using Pinnacle Range balls. The golfer testing the shafts was a 15 handicap player and the shafts were matched to his swing. The inexpensive shafts tested are marked IE #1-5 and the premium shafts are marked Prem #1-2.
The table below shows the results of the test:
Shaft |
Ball Speed |
Spin Rate |
Distance |
Dispersion |
IE #1 |
131.5 |
4220 |
209.7 |
+/- 14.2 |
IE #2 |
133.7 |
3926 |
213.5 |
+/- 10.6 |
IE #3 |
128.6 |
4634 |
198.3 |
+/- 22.1 |
IE #4 |
128.4 |
4674 |
186.8 |
+/- 5.1 |
IE #5 |
132.7 |
3250 |
225.1 |
+/- 24.9 |
Prem #1 |
133.3 |
4185 |
213.1 |
+/- 11.3 |
Prem #2 |
132.5 |
3582 |
214.1 |
+/- 6.3 |
The golfer doing the testing had a consistent negative attack angle which creates more spin than a positive attack angle so the spin rates are high for the measured ball speed. The best inexpensive shaft in terms of overall performance was IE #2. This shaft is a filament wound shaft that is in the $60 range, installed. The best distance performer was IE #5, which is in the $100 range, installed. While the distance was the best, the shot dispersion was the worst of all shafts tested. IE #4 was an interesting performer. When building the club, we had a difficult time finding a consistent spine. While the shot dispersion numbers were good, this shaft just "went nowhere" as is seen by the distance...clearly 20+yards shorter than most of the other shafts. Again, if you are looking for distance AND accuracy, the more expensive shafts are clear winners.
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D'Lance
Golf
14 Inverness Drive East #120A
Englewood, CO 80112
Phone: 303-730-2717
Fax: 303-730-2848
E-mail:
info@dlancegolf.com
