Question on shaft Flex

raggmann54

What effect will lengthening the shaft of a club have on shaft Flex??? If I lengthen shaft 1/2" or 2" I still have a 3" insertion depth of the shaft extension...using graphite extension on graphite shaft. I'm curious, was asked by playing partner to lengthen his Taylormade Aeroburner irons with Senior Flex shafts by 1/2"...Thanks for advice...

shokosugi

I extend all my irons about an inch and I think the difference is negligible in terms of flex. Technically, .5" long would be slightly softer but I doubt one would notice. I think the weight of the club head might be more noticeable but i doubt a flex change would be discernible. 2", that's a different story - I would guess that change the flex a bit, but I am no expert.

sdandrea1

You'll add at least one additional swingweight point. I doubt the flex change or swingweight change would be noticeable with a 1/2" length increase.

DC300

In theory, about half a flex rating..

That said, if you are swinging a senior flex, the difference is HIGHLY unlikely to mean a damn thing. Its pretty unlikely you are subjecting the shafts to much load in the first place.

shokosugi

DC300

You sure? If 0.5" is half a flex then is 1" a full flex weaker? Hard to believe but what the hell do I know

Weirfan

DC300 theory, about half a flex rating..

That said, if you are swinging a senior flex, the difference is HIGHLY unlikely to mean a damn thing. Its pretty unlikely you are subjecting the shafts to much load in the first place.

This is correct.
1/2 inch equates to about 1/2 a flex, you are increasing the swing weight by 3 points and adding to the total weight of the club. All of these or any one could or could not be a factor, it really depends on the individual swinging the clubs.

In terms of flex change, the only real differences between a soft and a stiff shaft are:
1. Feel is firmer with stiffer shaft
2. Trajectory is lower with a stiffer shaft.

DC300

shokosugi Yeah, thats the generalization of the effect of length on flex. Essentially, by going 1/2 inch longer, you are mimicking a soft step of the set, but not truly because your tip trim is the same, so in this case its probably going to be closer to a 1/4 flex in reality. With profiles being different, its not possible to give a real answer, but we're not talking about a custom fitting here.

Typhoon

My LD shaft is 2.5" longer than I normally play. It is a 2x compared to me playing stiff.

ptjn1201

Flex won't change much with a butt extension -- nothing noticeable. With a graphite extension, you'll have a few extra grams inside the shaft as a counterweight, so your swingweight might not change as much as if you had the trimmed the shaft 1/2" or whatever longer to begin with.

Par4QC

Why would any Senior want to lengthen the shafts? Seniors get shorter as they age, sometimes several inches.
FML 😥

Myself, I have never seen 'graphite' shaft extenders; they are always plastic for graphite shafts and steel for steel shafts. If it is plastic, it will negate any flex change, unless adding weight to the head. And, it may make the club feel lighter due to a backweighting. Even a few grams can make a difference.

raggmann54

Thanks for the replies...Reason for adding length is the shafts were cut down before he purchased them and he actually wants them back to standard length for that set...

PA-PLAYA

You have to be careful when going beyond 1" on a butt extension for graphite. Splintering is definitely an issue, and most club builders highly discourage it. If they're inexpensive shafts that you can replace without a major cost, then the risk assumed is obviously convenience over cost.

I had my my driver extended 1.5 inches and it splintered after about 3 months of use. The club builder warned me ahead of time, but I went against his better judgement. When I looked up the replacement cost for the exact shaft, it was over $200.

That was an expensive lesson learned.

shokosugi

PA-PLAYA

For awhile I was extending my drivers 2-3" using old graphite shafts. For a 3" extension I'd use at least a 6" piece- never had any issues with splintering. I've also extended buddies drivers up to 4". Maybe I've just been lucky.😉

PA-PLAYA

shokosugi

Perhaps. I tried it once, and for me - it failed 100% of the time. Replacing a $200 shaft wasn't something I was prepared to gamble with again.

My swing speed, although I'm not sure how much that matters, was around 97 mph with driver. It stands to reason that less torque being applied might offer a different result.

garyt1957

shokosugi For awhile I was extending my drivers 2-3" using old graphite shafts. For a 3" extension I'd use at least a 6" piece- never had any issues with splintering. I've also extended buddies drivers up to 4". Maybe I've just been lucky.😉

Me too, I've gone 3" without problems. Small sample size, though.

DC300

Never had an issue extending, used both the plastic and old graphite shafts. Plastic is the easy way, nice to have the matching profile, but I would only use that for short extensions, longet than 1.5" it seemed less than ideal, so I just chopped up other shafts to make it happen.