Why are there so few dedicated fairway shafts available? As I understand it if you play a 65g in your driver you want a 75g in your fairways or else it would be lighter than your driver once trimmed to length. However in the 46″ 75g bracket most shafts are S or X flex and possibly not a good idea for those with sub 100mph driver swing speed. I still have a 44″ Xcaliber Tour FW in regular which feels far better than any other I have played.
There are still a few, but I understand your point. The MPF, Rapport and Kinetixx all have fairway specific shafts. We have some Tensei AV Raw Blue Fairway shafts (MR1002) we recently purchased from Mitsubishi in our deals section that are a great buy right now. They were closing the out so we purchased what we could. Mitsubishi also makes a Grand Bassara Fairway and a Diamana Thump fairway that we can special order. Those are the higher priced ones. There is no written rule that you should have a certain weight in a fairway wood vs a driver. Generally speaking the fairway shafts have been a little heavier, probably due to the fact that fairway wood head weights have come down over the years. Looking at the overall history of shafts used in fairway woods, the shafts are lighter today, and the playing lengths are longer. Lighter head weights, and shaft weights force the longer playing lengths to achieve head feel, or a swing weight that is in an acceptable or playable range. Remember, we used to play #3 woods at 41.5-42″. Today, they are as long as the drivers we used to play, at 43-43.5″.
You just have to find the combination of weight and length that works for you. I have no problem cutting a 46″ shaft for a fairway wood if it provides the fit, feel and performance for a player that works. I also have no issue using a shaft that is designated as fairway specific. Finally, I think one of the issues in companies not making a fairway specific shaft is simply that it is another sku in a category that most players are not worried about “dialing in” like they are a driver shaft, and again, the 46″ wood shafts can be trimmed for fairway woods, so what’s the point. Not necessarily the way I feel, but probably more of the reason than they would admit. We developed the MPF and the Rapport fairway wood shafts with fairway wood head specs in mind. I do think when you do that it can produce a more consistent result.
Britt Lindsey
The MR1002 was an OEM issue, TaylorMade. We never carried an aftermarket AV Raw Blue in a Fairway, so I can’t compare specs. Not even sure they ever offered it in an aftermarket product now that I think about it. I don’t think they did. A stiff AV White should be pretty stiff. The “White” version in the Tensei lines were all low trajectory low spin offerings with med butt, firm mid, and med tip flex profiles. The “Blue” offerings are more mid launch, mid spin with firm butt, med mid and med tip flex profiles. If you like the Blue in regular flex in the hybrid, no reason to think the regular flex in the MR1002 wouldn’t work. I think it definitely will feel better than the AV White stiff. The Aldila NV 75 regular has a lower torque and is more of a low to mid trajectory shaft. It might work, but with the lower torque it might feel a little firmer than the AV Raw Blue MR1002. Also, the AV Raw Blue in the R flex is 69 grams, which is a few grams lighter than either the AV Raw White or the NV R flex (75 grams). Not a lot of difference, but might help as well.
Britt Lindsey
Thanks for the detailed answer Britt. Are the MR1002 an OEM issue shaft or aftermarket? My Rogue ST 3 wood came with the stock 75g stiff AV white and it just feels awful whereas the CK Blue reg purchased from yourselves in the hybrid is excellent. Maybe 75g stiff is to much for my 95mph driver SS? The other shaft I was considering is the Aldila NXT GEN NV in 75g regular.