Why do the frequencies of the shafts get higher (i.e. Stiffer) as the club gets shorter?
Wouldn’t a golfer be better off with the same frequency in every iron. One of the reasons I ask this is because almost half of the golfers on the PGA Tour have switched to softer shafts in their wedges than they have in their other irons. This seems to contradict the norm.
First, frequency progression occurs because the progressive length difference in clubs and the progressive head weight difference as you move from the #3 iron to the wedge. The frequency has to progress 3-4 cycles higher as the clubs get shorter to make the clubs feel and play the same at the different lengths and head weights. If all the clubs were one length and all the head weights were the same, then yes, the frequency of each club should be the same.
As far a Tour players playing wedges softer, some do and some don’t. The main reason some do, and I happen to agree with it, is that wedges are rarely swung full. 3/4, 1/2 swings are more the norm, so there is not as much force applied. Also, the slightly softer flex provides more feel around the greens. This concept is something that Dave Pelz advocated back in the day when I worked with him. At that time, most of the players he worked with played slightly softer shafts in their SW’s and LW’s.
Britt Lindsey
In a frequency matched set, a traditional progression set where the frequency number gets higher as the club gets shorter and the head weight gets heavier, the shafts in the shorter irons are not stiffer. Again, the higher number is a result of the shorter length with the heavier headweight and is necessary to make the shafts “play and feel” the same as the longer irons. If you do swing your 8,9,PW irons at a different tempo consistently and feel you should have more flex in those irons, you can. If you want to have a set that is one frequency, then every iron from the longest iron will get progressively more flexible. If that’s what works for you, then do it. I believe, and we teach that the normal progression is the proper one for most players. I always point out that flat line frequency (all clubs having the same frequency in a set that does progress in length) is not used by any of the best players in the world. One player that plays single length clubs would, I assume, have the same frequency oscillation in all of his irons.
One more thing to point out, frequency is not absolute flex of a shaft. It is an oscillation number that gives us a way to know if shafts are consistent in the way they potentially will load and unload as we progress through the set. It does not take into account the total flex distribution in the shaft, tip stiffness, torsional stiffness, etc. This point is why you can have 5 shafts that have exactly the same butt frequency, but play completely different. So, use frequency as a tool to gauge consistency and as a way to build a progression of oscillation (whatever you determine is right for you), but be aware of the other aspects of the shafts flex profile and how they influence the playability and feel of the overall club.
Britt Lindsey
Thank you Britt for your time answering this question. It’s a question, I think all Club Fitters/Builders should been able to answer in as clear and precise a way as you have done here. It also highlights even further the importance of fitting a set of clubs to the individuals wants, needs and feels instead of just going by what it says in a book. Thanks again.
I have one last question on Frequency Matching/Single Frequency Matching.
If when the all the shafts in a set are cut to the correct length and the all the heads installed, if all the clubs read the same frequency (i.e. Single frequency matched) are the short irons playing the same stiffness as the rest of the set and not more flexible as head weight would suggest?
In that scenario, the short irons are more flexible. You can not have a progression of length and head weight, and have the same frequency and the shafts be the same flex. As shafts get shorter they get stiffer to accommodate the heavier head weights. The heavier head weight makes the shorter stiffer shaft play to the same flex as the longer clubs in the set with the lighter head weights. The frequency number can not be the same because the a shorter club or shaft will oscillate faster than a longer club / shaft. When Dr. Braley came up with Frequency matching, what they discovered was that with the normal progression of head weights (7 grams per head) and 1/2″ club length increments from the long irons to the short irons, a 3-4 cycle progression is what made the clubs play and feel consistent throughout the set. You can create any progression you want by manipulating tip trim, head weight, butt trim, whatever. However, in the traditional build, the progression of frequency should be 3-4 cycles between clubs, with the cycle count getting higher as the clubs get shorter for the clubs to play and feel the same throughout the set.
Britt Lindsey
I do understand the head weight difference in the short irons and I know this has been the way it’s been done for decades. However in addition to your point of not swinging the wedges at full speed I believe that true for most golfers as the clubs get shorter, not just in the wedges, I know personally that I swing 3, 4, 5 irons at full speed almost 100% of the time but as the clubs get shorter I do start using swings that are less than 100% and really want better touch and feel, so wouldn’t that mean I want softer shafts in my short clubs not stiffer as is the norm. It seems to me the progression is in the wrong direction?