Aside from building clubs and actually measuring the reduction in CPM is there a general rule of thumb on the CPM reduction when softstepping?
Britt Lindsey Answered question November 23, 2020
Aside from building clubs and actually measuring the reduction in CPM is there a general rule of thumb on the CPM reduction when softstepping?
I talked with Jim, our resident super expert on such things, and he said this:
“With steel shafts I always say soft stepping one shaft is in the 3 to 5 cpm range depending on which steel shafts. True Temper and Nippon will be more like 15 cpm’s between flexes. FM Precision always said ½” was equal to 3 to 4 cpm’s. With graphite shafts 10 to 12 cpm’s between flexes for most shafts so soft stepping one club could change from ¼ to ¾ of a flex depending on the shaft.”
My experience in doing this myself would concur pretty much with what Jim said. Maybe a 1/3 to 1/2 a flex in steel, depending on the steel and 1/4 to 3/4 depending on the graphite. All of this assumes the proper head weights and head weight progressions, and consistent hosel bore depths.
Britt Lindsey
Thank you for the response.
In the recent influx of shafts I have been working with I am seeking a +/- 3 cpm factory tolerance and the upper vs lower range really show a difference. So an S flex shaft of 313 cpm which is within tolerance vs the 307 cpm shaft at the low end are really effecting performance. Given this model is already a bit strong to flex these variations are like softstepped shafts when going with the low range. That coincides with Jim’s numbers.
Appreciate the help as I am always learning… or at least trying.
Excellent question