Golf Shaft or Loft? What Impacts Golf Driver Spin The Most

[@brentwalk13]

I've been curious about loft vs shaft when it comes to spin. Thanks for the great video!

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching!!

[@llaw999]

Always answering good questions. This channel is becoming my favourite golf channel!

[@2ndswing]

Thank you so much Lawrance! We appreciate your support!

[@bamburo1]

Absolutely brilliant!. Great video and very informative. For me, I think I have found the ideal combination (Ping 410 Max 10.5 @ 9.5) with the Hzrdous Black RDX 60grms in 5.5. Good distance and better dispersion.

[@2ndswing]

Love that!! That's an excellent fit.

[@JonathanMoosey]

I’ve always thought that the loft was matched to launch angle and the shaft was matched to speed and tempo. Glad this video cleared a few things up.

[@canyonaro]

Adjusting loft moves spin rate more than launch angle. Shaft also affects launch angle (stiffer tip=lower launch).

[@Ader03A]

Interesting Thomas! Recently bought a new 3wood and the key to find to correct launch, spin and dispersion was just what you displayed, having a heavier shaft for accuracy and then tweaking loft to achieve desired spin and landing angle.

[@2ndswing]

Great stuff Ed! Thanks for watching

[@arslanmughal243]

Wow hands down best info on shaft and head selection and spin rate 👍

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching!

[@ozzyjim]

I just bought the titleist GT2 10° driver with low spin stiff hzrdus shaft. Had a Sim 10.5 with stiff mid spin shaft. Hit the GT2 too low but changed it to 1° up and it fixed it perfectly

[@Mackie17]

Great video! I play an 8 degree TM Sim with a Tensei AV Raw White 60X shaft. Lowest spinning combo I've ever played.

[@2ndswing]

Oh wow that is a low spinning combo!!

[@luke3milan]

Fantastic video! So true. I bought 4 different shafts looking for more launch/spin with my 9.5deg driver and none of them prevented my low spin duck hooks. Finally I bought a 10.5deg head instead and bingo! Expensive lesson learned.

[@2ndswing]

Glad to see you finally got it figured out! Here's to longer and straighter drives

[@ronj9460]

How does swing speed influence the same type of test? what about an average golfer with say a 90 MPH swing?

[@TC-ps9sd]

Best test yet. Can't argue with the data.

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching!!

[@rickjorstad6666]

Great topic and well presented. Thanks for providing this!

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching!

[@ChelseyHarperJordan]

Great insight Thomas! Your content is getting better, keep them coming please

[@2ndswing]

Will do! Thank you for watching!

[@andrewfinn3661]

Really interesting trial Tomas with interesting results, love the channel

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching!

[@76film]

great test and easy to understand! Thank you

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching!!

[@MrAd6126]

Thanks, great video!! Good preparation for my upcoming driver fitting.

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching!!

[@bobbrown5951]

Excellent content. Been wondering about the loft/shaft/spin issue for a long time. Also would be interesting to see the distances with these combinations and I think you suggested that'll be another review. Good news is I probably don't need a new shaft to get spin down, but just adjust loft (assuming I can still hit it straight that way). It's fun experimenting. Interesting review as usual.

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching!!

[@chrischampion727]

Great video! Loft is king when it comes to spin. Engine/Transmission is the perfect analogy!. What I find for me is a softer shaft or a softer tipped shaft advertised as high launch actually tends to launch lower and spin more because I tend to hit them lower on the face. Conversely a stiffer tipped shaft advertised as low launch and spin tend to launch higher and spins less because I tend to hit them higher on the face.

[@chrischampion727]

@Shayne Svenson it’s not hitting up or down...it’s where you hit it on the face. I swing up with the driver 2-3 degrees. High contact on face = high launch/low spin...low contact on the face = low launch/high spin. Duh....

[@terrorfactoryfilms]

Great video, thanks for a very insightful test with some very clear results! We have 2 fitters in my area...one is a "clubhead first" guy and the other is a "shaft first" guy. Feel like I know which one to go to after watching this video. Thanks again!

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching!

[@terrorfactoryfilms]

@@2ndswing Building off the shaft vs. loft theme, I'm curious if you guys have ever done a video on stock vs. aftermarket shafts? So many "shaft first" club fitters try to convince you that a premium ($$$) aftermarket shaft is the only way to get dialed in specifically for your swing. Not sure how true that might be for the 10-20 handicap crowd? Love to hear your thoughts and/or see some test data!

[@peterrod16]

Great video. Would love to see a collaboration with you and txg about the importance of club fitting. Cheers

[@2ndswing]

That would be great! Thank you for watching!

[@SLarsson-xg8jy]

Nice test

[@acemakerjay]

Good job Thomas, well done.

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching!

[@davidwolfe6928]

Great looking swing!

[@legend9018]

Great video, safe to say that as loft decreases ball speed increases too which could possibly offset spin numbers to some extent? Another big factor is launch angle which is unique to each players delivery.

[@AGClassicCarTuning]

Great video, however........I wish you had also tested the 12 deg head with the Ping Tour 75x shaft also? This is a typical combo type experment that so many golfers try at some stage. Ie a high loft head 12 deg head with a stiff shaft. It would have been interesting to see the outcome and dispersion.

[@klaymoon1]

Great content. I love this channel!

[@leeroberts8824]

Great video but it must be boring hitting perfect shots down the middle all the time. At least as a high handicap player I get to see all the course 🤣🤣

[@doc_johnholliday9642]

I feel you

[@WeimaranersAreTheBest]

My AOA is 3-4 steep. And not fixing that at my age. Swing speed 110-118 Ball speed 160ish Recommend higher or lower for steep swing? And what type of shaft? Low spin/ high launch shaft?

[@WilliamG78]

Do you guys have used driver shafts that I can come and do a fitting with? I bought my G425 max from your Scottsdale store, but I think I need a stiffer shaft.

[@banditbaker1675]

Thanks that was interesting. Possibly a great impact on the spin rate would be the Ball?

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching! And for sure, ball will play factor. In this test though we controlled all variables besides loft and shaft just to see how those compare. We could also do the same by comparing different golf balls to see how that differs.

[@banditbaker1675]

@@2ndswing yes please, if possible, I would like to see you show the difference in spin rate when using a higher and lower spinning ball and see if it makes more or less difference than changing lofts and shafts👍 PS Keep up the great work👍

[@rawsick]

I have the g425 max 10.5 with a Tensei 65g stiff shaft kinda wish you would’ve tried it out in this video

[@2ndswing]

Next time! Thank you for watching!

[@HarryLivestream]

An excellent & informative video again!😎👌🏼

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching!

[@TedInoue]

Some great testing, thanks. It would be really useful if you throttled down also to maybe 95MPH to simulate the average male golfer. Not many of us can match your 110+ MPH head speed so it's hard to tell how these different shafts would behave for "the masses"

[@timwong2436]

Great video and super explanation

[@MrHugo1986]

This is a great video, I would have liked to have seen the numbers for 12 degree head and ping tour 75 shaft?

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching. There still would had been a lot of height and spin. But that dispersion would had been impressive it's just too much loft. - Thomas

[@chrislee7704]

perfect comparison!

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching!

[@russellmagsanide]

Hey Thomas, would like to have known what ball was used during the test?

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching! Titleist Pro V1x was used for this one

[@richg7264]

i'd say a 1.49 average smash factor matters! great stuff.

[@edp919]

How often do you recommend to get fitted for drivers? Specially when you are playing more in the summer times and less in the winter.

[@dansburns]

Good video, Thomas. I think if this shows anything is that the average golfer should be using a higher lofted driver. If you are not hitting consistently straight or being accurate with your driver and your dispersion isn't tight, you should be playing with something in 12 degree range. And if you want the best possible combo, go get fitted.

[@bradkinsey5687]

Love this one. As a 50 yr old getting fit for the first time in over a decade, it surprised me that I needed xstiff shafts in my irons (to lower spin) and I'm waiting on some heavier shafts to come into my pro shop so we can test those on the woods. I really have high spin with my swing and the pro (fitter) has done a great job dialing that in.

[@joedoaks6517]

Great video. Thank you.

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching Joe!

[@danielmosias6280]

Very good video but I think getting players of varying swing speeds to do the tests might produce different results???

[@SteveSmith-zz4ih]

Thanks for this very informative Vid.

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching Steve!

[@kevinwood1722]

Would a golfer who uses regular flex on the driver benefit bye using a lighter shaft but stiff flex?

[@21miwi]

Good question

[@dyoox01]

who should play higher lofted driver? also, wasn't dispersion with the 12" good compared to some of the lower lofted combinations?

[@BrianSWG]

generally if you have a slower swing speed or you are hitting drives to low ( possibly due to a steep angle of attack on driver swing ) I think a good visualization would be think of a slower swing using a mid iron vs long iron. Its harder to get a higher launch with a long iron unless you have a high swing speed. Same thing with drivers. And dont forget the lower the loft the bigger your misses will tend to be (slice or hook)

[@alysgolfstudio567]

Also shaft length makes a difference perhaps equally on accuracy. Recently in tests I did for myself the 12 degree head and shorter shaft gave me more distance and tighter dispersion. Curious. As you say player dependent.

[@2ndswing]

Interesting. And yes, shaft length will also play a factor. Thanks for watching!

[@Stewwwwww]

Hey guys why do you use trackman over gcquad?

[@BladeBarn]

will a 9* head adjusted to 10.5 play the exact same as a 12* head adjusted down to 10.5*?????

[@putting63]

Loft down opens face angle and adding loft closes the clubface angle when adjusting the club head via the sleeve So the 9° head will play more closed than the 12° head

[@edmc4315]

Would have been good to see what taking the loft down 1.5 degrees to the 7.5 degree loft would do. If there is a limit of diminishing return for each player. Enjoy your videos though good work.

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching! You bring up a good point...there's a sweet spot to fit into from both sides of the spectrum!

[@EFGMC]

Loft will always have a greater influence on launch and spin because loft isn't player dependent. Might also want to include face impact location in these tests as that will again play a very important role, more so than the shaft.

[@2ndswing]

Great point!! It's impossible to conduct a true test that would serve as a general rule for all golfers. It will for sure depend on the player's unique swing and your point about impact location is also key

[@matthewcoy195]

Curious how spin would be affected by going to an 8 degree head.

[@NZFarmboy80]

I’ve been struggling to get my spin rate below 3000 rpm due to me adding dynamic loft, tried everything extra stiff shafts 7° heads etc to keep it down

[@Jeebizz101]

the answer is in the human moreso than equipment

[@NZFarmboy80]

@@Jeebizz101 that's true

[@reidthompson6272]

Why does a heavier shaft reduce spin?

[@kevochanner8859]

Great information

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching!!

[@xNIKEGOLFx]

Interesting that the miss was more left with the stiffer shaft...isn't it suppose to be the other way?

[@joem2745]

Thomas is a machine.

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for the kind words. Always working on getting better - Thomas

[@reidthompson6272]

Any suggestions for a 98 mph guy who needs higher launch but without the spin?

[@Sportsfanatic7-7]

Get a shaft with a low kick point to help increase your launch angle

[@kimmorrison9169]

Well if you would have used the Ping LST driver head instead of the Max, that spin would have dropped much more. Good video thou. I personally am more prone to use the standard Ping Alta regular flex shaft than a heavy 75 gram shaft thats real stiff in the tip section.

[@stevenc9207]

I'm pretty sure it's been shown that the shaft is not "changing" launch and spin. The shaft is changing where you hit the ball on the face, which in turn changes launch and spin. High impact on the face launches high with low spin, low impact on the face is high spin low launch. Different weight and flexes of shafts are just changing the impact location,.they don't do anything themselves to change those characteristics.

[@2ndswing]

Correct. That's why club head changes such as loft is much more valuable - Thomas

[@golffit3066]

At 216g the Ping head may not be the complete story. Perhaps repeat the process with e Sim2, rad speed, TSi etc?

[@2ndswing]

For sure, clubhead weight will also play a factor. In this test we tried to control those variables though and focus solely on the shaft and loft. Results may waver a little with a different driver head.

[@golffit3066]

@@2ndswing I appreciate that. I wonder if the heavier head has a bigger influence on the shafts? I think I've measured the PING is as much as 216 g vs about 193 g for the SiM 2. Just throwing it out there for ideas

[@joeb5958]

What about going one step further and seeing if adding weight to the sim2 to get it closer to the 216g of the Ping could get a similar performance. That might open a can of worms though by messing with shaft “stiffness” by changing head weight.

[@golffit3066]

@@joeb5958 in my mind, the heavier weight of the Ping G425 would have a more exaggerated effect on shaft lead deflection as well as droop (toe down through impact). My thinking is the Ping is the heaviest from all the major manufacturers, where as the others seem to be all bunched up at the lighter end of the range. I think Rad speed is among the lightest. It would be interesting to repeat the experiment with one or two of the other drivers to see what results will reveal themselves. In my experience, shafts and shaft preferences aren't independent when moving from head to head.

[@jazzyjay4595]

Ping tour shaft didn’t make you spin it less, it made you turn it over a bit more. Closed club face = less spin. Be completely honest with all the number. That dispersion clearly had a left bias compared to the other 2 which means it’s going to have less spin

[@pedroc6823]

ball position also plays a role.

[@klaymoon1]

75g X-stiff shaft is a cheap, really cheap shaft. It literally belongs to 10 years ago. Ping definitely plays with the cheapest shafts compared to all other major OEM companies.

[@buaya111]

No wonder low spin more distance, this is what equipment manufacturer try to sell

[@swardmusic]

First. Yay

[@chennings]

Is it just me or is Thomas speak-ing mu-ch slow-er here???

[@jayscott1380]

The answer is "C", the players swing.

[@matthewcoy195]

Curious how spin would be affected by going to an 8 degree head.