Question

1.14K viewsOctober 29, 2024

Nick 120 October 28, 2024 0 Comments

I’m 40 years old and 6’1″ tall and have normally hovered around 110-120 mph driver clubhead speed. Had back surgery last year (gee, I wonder why). My back really started acting up on me late this season and I started running out of energy around hole 14 but I maintained about 105-110 mph. I’ve been playing Proforce V2’s in 7F5 in driver and 3W, 8F5’s in hybrids (TC Tour), DG 120 S300 in irons (TS3) (+0.5″), PX 6.5’s in wedges.

I have asked about graphite iron shafts but most people say they really only help with vibration for hand, wrist, arm issues. So, not sure if that’s something to look at or not. If you were fitting someone with a degenerated L5-S1 but with faster speeds, what would you recommend? Graphite shafts? Lighter steel? I do have issues keeping flight down due to speed. I do tend to “spin-out” and flip/cast sometimes when my back acts up so that also contributes.

People keep saying to just play with what I have but slow way down and that just seems…wrong. It screws with my tempo and sequencing, almost hurts my back more, I score terrible, and it’s not enjoyable. So, looking for some advice from club experts I’ve trusted for years. Thanks!

sloppytypist Answered question October 29, 2024

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Answer 1 · 2024-10-28T09:53:31+00:00

Graphite or lighter weight steel are definitely options. My goal would be to create a set-up that was just easier for you to swing, no matter how you swing. Lighter and maybe a little more flexible, but only way to know is to try something like that. Graphite does reduce vibration and although most say it helps the hands, arms, elbows, shoulders, etc. more, can’t hurt to have less vibration, period. Should at least try, I think. I like SteelFiber and Recoil product and there are options that are not too light, but lighter than PX 6.5 steel. If you just don’t like the feel of graphite, that is fine, some don’t. I would look at a lighter weight steel. I like the Nippon product and they have several options lighter than the PX steel.

Woods you might try lighter. 65 gram driver shafts, maybe 75 gram fairways and maybe 80-85 gram hybrids at the most. You may already have that, but I would not go heavier. In short, more weight requires more effort. The challenge, and the goal, would be to try to get a set up that allows you to maintain a good speed and also allows you to swing at the tempo you want. If that is fast, that’s fine, but hopefully slightly lighter overall clubs with possibly a little less stiffness will allow you to swing more comfortably fast, if that makes sense. And if you go with graphite in the irons, you get the benefit of reducing the low frequency vibrations that occur at impact that over time, can affect our joints and bones, all of our joints and bones.

Hope this helps.

Britt Lindsey

Britt, that’s great information. Thank you, I appreciate it. I do have a spare 6F5 Proforce V2 sitting around for my driver. So I’ll pop that in and see how it goes. I too like the UST/Recoil products. I was thinking about trying the DART 105 or 120 (which I assume Golfworks can special order) because of that. My whole off season is going to be dedicated to getting setup to play pain free and with more energy next tournament season. If anything, to avoid that bigger disc replacement surgery that scares me. I don’t want to give up golf so that I can just be mostly functional in day-to-day life for work and family.

Funny enough, I grew up on graphite shafts because they were hand-me-down’s from my dad. Those old “graphite weighted” Golfsmith XPC 2000’s in 2-SW with a hodge podge of Carbon Stick and Paragon shafts. Going graphite may allow me to go another 0.5 to 0.75″ longer to not hinge or bend over as much and keep a similar swingweight. I went from 34-35.25″ on my putter with good results.

Thanks again, Britt.