Inland Empire Golfer - March 2008 - (Page 36)

GOLF PRODUCTS Is Torque Important In Choosing the Right Shaft? T he term "torque" is taken to mean the shaft's designed resistance to twisting during the downswing. The torque value is expressed in degrees, so the lower the degrees of torque, the more resistance the shaft will have to being twisted from the force of the downswing on the clubhead attached to that shaft. The higher the degrees of torque, the less resistance the shaft will have to being twisted by the mass of the clubhead on the downswing. In steel shafts, because the type of steel material is the same throughout the entire shaft, the torque exists in a very narrow range of degrees, one that is much more narrow than in graphite shafts. Graphite shafts can be and often are made with a wide variety of different graphite fiber strength, stiffness and position on the shaft. This allows the torque in graphite shafts to range from as high as 7 or 8 degrees to as low as 1 degree, while in steel this range is only from a little more than 2 degrees to a little under 4 degrees. Therefore, torque is not a factor to worry about in the selection of a steel shaft, but it is a point to keep in mind for some golfers when selecting a graphite shaft. Fortunately, the fitting ramifications of torque even in graphite shafts are not that severe. Simply stated, it means that if you are a big strong, powerful person with an aggressive swing tempo and a late release, you never want the torque in a graphite shaft to be any higher than 4 to 4.5 degrees. Otherwise, your strength and downswing force may cause the clubhead to twist the shaft, causing the clubface to be more open at impact, and resulting in a shot that hangs or fades to the right of your target. Conversely, if you have a very smooth, rhythmic swing without a very aggressive downswing move, you do not want to use graphite shafts with the torque below 3.5 degrees or else the impact feel of the shot can be stiff, harsh and not solid, and the height of the shot may be too low. So for most golfers, as long the torque of a graphite shaft is between 3.5 and 5.5 degrees - which is the case for the vast majority of graphite shafts today - the golfer will be OK and torque will never be a factor to worry about in the shaft fitting. IEG ~ by Tom Wilson Tom Wishon is a highly respected member of the golf equipment industry. He specializes in clubhead design, shaft analysis, and clubfitting research and development, and is the owner of his own golf equipment company. You can view his full range of products and services at: www. twgolftech.com 36 March 2008 INLAND EMPIRE GOLFER www.inlandempiregolfer.com http://www.twgolftech.com http://www.inlandempiregolfer.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Inland Empire Golfer - March 2008

Inland Empire Golfer - March 2008 Contents Cover Story: Shenzhen China & The Inland Empire The Looming Water Shortage Artificial Turf Demand Grows Leisure Living Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Mechanics Of The Bunker Shot The Proper Golf Swing Motion Callaway Squareways What's New? How Well Do You Know The Rules? Golf Course Reviews IE Golf Course Directory

Inland Empire Golfer - March 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.