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Tim_M 28 1 day ago 0 Comments

After a long hiatus, I got back into golf last year Last summer, I had some trouble with my driver (Titleist TSI 2), so I experimented with my old TaylorMade R580 sitting in the closet—cutting the shaft down to 44” and adding lead tape to the sole. The result? My homemade mini driver turned into a reliable fairway finder, sacrificing only a bit of distance but quickly becoming my go-to club off the tee.

Over the winter and early spring, I made some swing changes, transitioning to a shorter back swing and a more aggressive tempo. These adjustments improved my play with most clubs, but not with the driver. My spin numbers are significantly higher, leading to ballooning shots and a noticeable drop in distance compared to last season.

I’m planning to get professionally fitted and purchase a new driver in June, but I’d like to keep my DIY mini driver in the bag and continue tinkering. With that in mind, I’m going to re-shaft the old R580. Based on my swing characteristics—short back swing, aggressive tempo, and a swing speed of 95 mph—I’m leaning towards a stiff flex, high kick point shaft to help reduce spin and keep my ball flight in check. However, from what I’ve read, high kick point shafts tend to feel stiffer than their flex rating suggests. Given that my swing speed is right on the threshold between regular and stiff flex, and considering I’ll be cutting the shaft down to 44” (making it even stiffer), I’m wondering if a regular flex, high kick point shaft might make more sense?

Also, would it make more sense to trim the tip end vs the butt end on this case?

Britt Lindsey Answered question 6 hours ago

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Answer 1 · 2026-05-20T16:40:06+00:00

Based on your clubhead speed and your quick tempo, I would lean towards a Stiff flex, but there are other factors. Feel is one factor and analyzing the ball flight and spin would need to be considered. Loft has the major affect on spin, and shaft dynamics are generally a lot less of a factor but can play a roll. A shafts total profile produces the feel. While it can be true that a high flex point shaft may feel stiffer, it may not. Depends on the profile or flex in the other areas of the shaft. Lower torque will also make a shaft feel firmer.

So the only real direction I can give is to look at stiff flex shafts in the weight range you are looking for that are low or low / mid trajectory and low spin. You might look at the Kai’li White from Mitsubishi that we now have at a great price. It designed for faster swinging players looking for a responsive low launch, low spin result. If you don’t think you are quite a fast swinging player, but more of a quick tempo, you could look at the Tensei AV Series White which is also a lower trajectory, lower spinning shaft. The one drawback to these are that they typically work better for players with higher club head speeds than yours. The Tensiei AV Series Orange is more of a mid launch, but still low spin shaft that has a little higher torque, so it should not feel as stiff and might be better and or feel better for your borderline S flex club head speed.

Hope this helps.

Britt Lindsey