5 replies to this topic

[timmy1190]

How do I decide what torque is best for me?

[JB lefty]

Torque is how much the shaft is prone to twisting etc. Less torque is means stronger stiffer shaft. It will come down to your swing. If you are a smooth guy with a medium swing speed then mid torque is for you. Bear in mind there is no specific torque measure between companies so a 2.7 torque on one shaft may be equal to 3,3 on another.

[Manz60]

Torsional stiffness (graphite) is about feel and accuracy.

In terms of feel, torsional stiffness modifies the stiffness of the shaft but does not control it entirely. It can make a correct flex recommendation feel solid or dead.

Accuracy is debatable. Some believe you should use the lowest torque that still feels solid. Others believe the ball is not on the clubface long enough (.0005 secs) for the head to twist and cause mis-direction. True, But what about during the downswing? True Temper believes the amount of torque is so slight it does not open or close the clubface. Others believe that the forse applied by the golfer during the downswing is enough to twist the clubface. Fit for lower torque (<5°) and having the correct overall flex can help accuracy.

Hope this helps.

[NRJyzr]

In the early days of graphite shafts, you needed to worry about torque (which is really torsional stiffness).  Some shafts were north of 10°, not conducive to quality shots.

In the modern world, and it's been true for at least a dozen years, torque has been removed as an issue for accuracy; there are no shafts on the market that have a high enough torque such that you will have problems.  Torque is now just about feel.  A shaft with too low torque for your swing will have a less than ideal feel.  It won't have a performance effect.

It's MUCH more important to pay attention to the flex profile and how it fits your swing.  Don't worry about torque.

Even if you want to care about it, the numbers published by manufacturers are all pointless.  You can't compare between companies, they all measure differently.  Company A's shaft at 4° might truthfully be lower than Company B's shaft listed at 3°.

Repeating myself, but don't worry about torque.  It's a non-player.

[Ri_Redneck]

Lower torque IS a "feel" issue, but ANYTHING that affects the feel of the club can affect ball flight. The reason is because the feel makes you change your swing.

For a baseline, I LIKE THE FEEL of a shaft with these specs: 255 - 265 finished CPM and 2.3* - 2.7* torque. It has a nice kick, but feels stable through the ball. If I try to play a shaft that has CONSIDERABLY higher torque (4.0+) then I FEEL like I lose control of the clubhead during the swing. My mind will MAKE me slow down so that it feels more stable. This screws up my timing and I start having dispersion problems because of inconsistent speed and release. I can fix this, to some extent, by going stiffer, but then my distance suffers because I'm not loading the shaft correctly. Even in my preferred ranges, if the torque is on the higher end of the range, I like the CPMs higher to even things out.

Now, can I hit a nice long straight drive with a high torque shaft? Sure, I just have to keep it all under control. But I am much more at ease with my preferred specs.

BT

Edited by Ri_Redneck, 07 November 2012 - 12:54 PM.

[NRJyzr]

No offense, but that still sounds like placebo, and/or power of suggestion.   You think the shaft has X torque so you go into it with those expectations.  But, two shafts that could be listed as widely different might be the exact same in the real world, due to the lack of standardization in measuring torsional stiffness.