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Picking the right shaft for your driver!

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redhotlude

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How do you know that the pro doing the shaft fitting is picking the correct shaft for you and not triying to sell what they have in stock that would work ok? I went to Dicks the other day and was hitting the new TM R11. I was looking at the launch monitor and saw lots of different numbers like launch, spin and club head speed. Is there a basline that they go off to pick the right shaft? I believe I was looking at launch angle and it was in the 12's I believe. He said that was a spot to shoot for. My swing speed was about 110 average. I am going back today to hit it again and look at all of the numbers and will post them.
 
From my recollection, launch angle is a little low. I think most amateurs should be looking to be in the 15º range. (Someone correct me if I am wrong) That also depends on how much backspin you are generating. I think some baseline numbers to shoot for are:

spin about 3000 rpm
launch about 15º

Also, you should try to use the same ball when getting any kind of fitting. Scientifically speaking, it eliminates a variable.
 
I am definitely not an expert on this topic but I will tell you I recently had an outside driver fitting and got my numbers to around 3000 spin rate with a launch angle between 14 and 16. I hit a bunch of different drivers/flex/loft and this one fell right into that target area for me. I had numbers all over the place with a bunch of different drivers, anywhere from 1900 spin rate all the way to 6000. This driver was dead on the recommended numbers on all balls hit. It was an interesting learning experience.
 
Like SD Charlie said, there are more variables than just launch angle. I think its tough to generalize. For example, I tend to hit the ball extremely high, so I typically look for a somewhat lower launch angle than a low-ball hitter with a comparable swing speed might.
 
There is an optimal launch angle and spin rate for any golfer. With a club head speed where it is I would want to see launch around 14-15 and a spin rate in the 2400-3000. If you get me some specific data I can make shaft recommendations for you.
I need: Swing Speed, launch angle, spin rate, side spin, decent angle. To go with this I need what you are hitting for instance. TM R11 10.5* with the stiff 60 gram Blur. Get me this and I will get you some shafts.
 
redhotlude said:
How do you know that the pro doing the shaft fitting is picking the correct shaft for you and not triying to sell what they have in stock that would work ok? I went to Dicks the other day and was hitting the new TM R11. I was looking at the launch monitor and saw lots of different numbers like launch, spin and club head speed. Is there a basline that they go off to pick the right shaft? I believe I was looking at launch angle and it was in the 12's I believe. He said that was a spot to shoot for. My swing speed was about 110 average. I am going back today to hit it again and look at all of the numbers and will post them.
Click to expand...

I have never been and never will be fit in a retail setting. I'm lucky to have a custom golf shop close to me which is where I have always had fittings done. I like being fit by a "fitter" and not a salesman.
 
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