We have measured a lot of shafts over the years. All the manufacturers have tolerances and I would say, as a whole, the product today is pretty good. Absolutely better than 20 years ago. Generally speaking, stiffer flexes tend to have tighter tolerances than softer flexes. You might think that higher priced shafts would have tighter tolerances than less expensive, but that is not always the case and can never be assumed. Again, generally speaking, you would like to see +- 2 gram weight tolerances. I think you will find the average would be higher. Flex is measured in so many different ways it can be difficult to find a base for comparison. That being said, we and many others use frequency as a comparative measure and it can give you some idea of consistency. The tightest tolerances we will see are +- 2 cycles. Understand, these desired tight weight and frequency tolerances (at least in our experience) are not an absolute with any brand or model. In other words, I can not definitively say that every model XYZ shaft will have +- 2 grams and +- 2 cycles. We also look at the overall quality of the shafts through the SST Pureing process that we do. From that process, we can see the consistency of the shafts straightness, roundness, etc. I can’t give you specific models of shafts, but I will say we see consistent product from Graphite Design and Mitsubishi on the graphite side and Nippon, KBS and True Temper on the steel side. This is not to say that every model from these manufacturers have tighter tolerances than all the others, just that we have seen product from these companies that are routinely consistent.
Britt Lindsey
Michael,
We all know that each shaft company ignores any standard of flex. In addition to that, each frequency machine is a bit different when reading that flex. Finally profile makes an impact on the readings received when measuring shafts.
When answering your question I would break this down into two categories 1) true to stated flex as compared to my machine and 2) profiles consistent to each shaft.
For me personally,
1) steel KBS, Graphite UST or Adila
2) steel KBS, Graphite AXE or UST
I don’t work with all the shafts and Britt is far more qualified that me to answer the question and would also add that you cant go wrong with Fuji, PX, Mitsubishi or Nippon either. I have had great results using them too,
Good comments. Thanks.
Thanks, Britt. Helps a lot. My main goal is to find shafts that are most likely to be quite similar, shaft to shaft, so I don’t have to reorder a shaft or two because they are so out of sync with the set I receive.
The ones you have suggested (and that McGolf indicated) are the same ones I’ve found to be more reliable.
Also, when I do my testing, I’m comparing shafts within a set of shafts rather than against another brand or another shaft. Again, my goal is to prepare the most consistent set of clubs for my customer. Thanks again!