Parts of the Golf Shaft
Golf shafts are often considered the engine of the club. As the component responsible for energy transfer from your body to the club head, as well as a timing mechanism to hit the center of the club face, it’s one of the most important components to get right. That being said, there’s lots more to a golf shaft than it may appear and there are a couple of things that we need to break down before we start diving into the specifics of the golf club. The first of those things is to talk about the sections of the golf shaft and with some help from our sponsor True Temper, and their new Denali Blue driver shaft, we’ll do just that.
A golf shaft has 3 sections. Each section is responsible for a different launch characteristic and can be manipulated to create what are called shaft profiles. These sections are commonly referred to as the handle, mid, and tip sections of the golf shaft.
The Handle
The handle section, or sometimes called the butt section, of the shaft is the section of the shaft under your hands and grip. This section of the shaft has lots of effect on the feel of the golf shaft since that’s the section that you as a golfer are directly connected to. A tighter handle may feel easier to control the clubhead, and provide more feedback during impact, whereas a softer handle section may feel easier to load and generate more speed. The transition of your swing has the biggest impact on what stiffness of handle may be the best for your game.
The Mid Section
The mid section is the part of the golf shaft that connects the handle and tip sections. While this section of the shaft is often overlooked; it still provides plenty of engineering. A softer midsection is going to feel very smooth, almost as though the shaft has a more neutral bend that allows the handle and tip sections to feel very connected. A tighter midsection is great for stronger, more aggressive players who like to feel as if they are in complete control of the club from the handle section and the midsection is there just to keep up.
The Tip
The tip section is often regarded as being primarily responsible for the launch characteristics of a golf shaft. Theoretically, a softer tip will launch higher and a tighter tip will launch a bit lower. Combined with the stiffness of the handle and the mid section, this final part of the shaft typically has much more technology built into it. You’ll see things like the HZRDUS Gen 4 Dual-Torsional design play more into effect within the tip section. Because the tip section also takes the brunt of force from impact, there’s usually going to be more material at the tip end of the shaft, giving it inherently stiffer characteristics compared to the other parts of the shaft regardless of being considered a “softer” or “stiffer” shaft. Your club delivery and dynamic loft are going to be large considerations for what tip stiffness may work best for your game.
Thanks to our sponsor True Temper Golf for supplying us with the product you saw in this topic. For more information on all True Temper Golf products and accessories check out truetempersports.com/golf
