Golf club shaft

Abstract

Golf club shafts are flexible. The flexibility varies from very flexible for ladies to very stiff for men professionals. The midpoint of flexibility also varies depending on the level of skill of the golfer. The flexibility of a shaft is controlled primarily by variations in material, diameter and thickness of its walls. The flexibility is approximately equal in all directions from the axis. This article discusses only the flexibility in two planes around the bottom edge of the club head face as defined below: Parallel—The plane parallel with the flight of the ball Perpendicular—The plane perpendicular to the flight of the ball The shaft bends in both the parallel and the perpendicular planes (and various combinations) during the swing. Figures I, II & III from Ben Hogan's “Power Golf” shows the enormous amount of club head movement (around the line through the center of the grip) during various stages of the golf swing. Figure I shows that the club head is pointed toward the ground and the flex is primarily in the perpendicular plane at the top of the golf swing. Figure II shows that the flex is primarily in the parallel plane at this point in the down swing.

1 . If a golf club shaft is designed and constructed to give less flexibility in the perpendicular plane than the parallel plane, the probability of hitting the ball on the sweet spot of the club head will be increased.