What is Shaft Flex?
Although it appears to be a simple concept, shaft flex can be often misunderstood. With some help from our sponsor Mitsubishi Golf and their Kai’ Li series of golf shafts, we’re going to dive into all the details on what exactly is shaft flex and how it may impact your buying decision.
Shaft flex is the measurable ability of how the golf shaft bends during the golf swing. A shaft that bends less is going to have a higher or stiffer flex rating, and a shaft that bends less is going to have a lower or softer flex rating.
Typically you’ll see the following scale represented on the shaft as a letter as it relates to shaft flex. Here’s a general scale to follow as you experiment with shaft flex.
Lite Flex
Lite flex is the softest option you’ll be able to get off of shelves and may also be represented as R2, L or SR flex for golfers swinging their driver below 80mph.
R Flex
R or Regular Flex is a step up from the lite flex product offering an option for golfers swinging their driver in the 80-90mph range.
S Flex
S or Stiff Flex is a step up from the lite flex product offering an option for golfers swinging their driver in the 90-105+ mph range. Stiff flex is also represented as 6.0 flex for True Temper and ProjectX graphite products.
X Flex
X flex, or Extra Stiff Flex, is the stiffest end of the spectrum for golfer’s swinging their driver above 105mph.
TX Flex
TX flex, or Tour Extra Stiff Flex, are X flex profiles that have been either slightly modified from their original profile, or made even stiffer. These profiles are often dedicated for Tour Only product, but you’ll see certain TX shafts available in the aftermarket.
There, unfortunately, is no standard measurement for shaft flex within the golf industry. It’s better to think of the flex range of a golf shaft within the same model. For example, if you compare the flex of a Kai’ Li Red 60S to the flex of a Kai’ Li Red 60S the X-Flex is going to play stiffer in relation. However, a different model of shaft with different profile characteristics may be different. A Kai’ Li White 60S, that has an overall stiffer profile, may play slightly stiffer than the Kai’ Li Red 60S even though they are both marked with the S-Flex designation. The same can be said for shafts even of similar profile if you move across different brands.
We’ve stated before that at Made for the Range we believe the proper way to choose a shaft is to figure out what profile works best for your swing first, and then to figure out what shaft flex you need. This is because of that idea that shaft flex may vary across different models or profiles of golf shafts. It’s very common for a golfer to play too stiff of a flex in their driver particularly because there is a small stigma within the game that “better” players play stiffer equipment. In reality over-flexing your equipment can result in low efficiency numbers and those golfers not getting the most out of their clubs.
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