If you are a beginner in golf, then the basic fundamentals must be clear to you before you purchase any golf club.
Maybe you are a male beginner in golf, you may be a lady newbie golfer, or else you could be a senior golfer, you must need the best golf club set for you for practicing and playing the tournament as well.
But buying any golf club kit without understanding will be proved the boomerang for you and you could regret it as well.
So, it’s very necessary to understand each thing and the fundamentals of a golf club, this guide will explain to you the golf club shaft.
In this article, you will get to know what is golf club flex, which one is the best for you if you are a beginner then which one you should choose, and which one you should choose if you are a lady golfer or a senior golfer.
In a nutshell, this article is totally dedicated to the explanation of golf club shaft flex, so you don’t need to rely on any other source when buying the best golf iron set for you — so let’s begin to learn how to choose golf club flex.
Golf Club Flex Meaning
Most newbie golfers think that the flex would be a component placed within the golf club anywhere, but it’s not like that, flex is not any physical module of the golf club that you would find.
The flex of the club is the bending of the shaft that is done in different ways according to requirements for each category of golfers, and yes, it is chosen by golfers as per their requirements and choices.
The golf club flex is the measurement of shaft bending while swinging the golf club while hitting the ball, it means how much a shaft can bend while you hit the ball, and that measurement or rating is considered the flex.
Does Golf Club Flex Matter?
It’s a very important and crucial question that you must have the answer to it before you buy your best golf club set.
As you know that flex is the ability to bend the golf club shaft while hitting the golf club — it depends upon your swing speed.
The selection of flex is majorly relying on your swing speed and swinging style, these two factors decide which flex shaft club is suitable for you.
Moreover, your position — you are a beginner, expert, senior, or a lady golfer holds another major part in the selection of flex.
The flex affects your swinging and hits directly, a more flexible shaft bends more while swinging.
I think, still you are not clear about the importance of flex in the golf club — Let’s explore it in depth!
When you swing the golf club to hit the ball, your energy passes through the shaft to the clubhead and is then applied to the ball.
As much as your energy is dissipated, much control you lose over the club, and the opposite of this, you need more acceleration to cover the longer distance for the ball.
In this case, if you use a very stiff flexed shaft, it will not bend a little bit even, and you will not be able to get the long-distance, low-energy transformation that will not add force and speed to the ball after you hit it.
On the other hand, a very flexible shaft will bend more than needed, it will not let interact the club head with the ball correctly, and it will impact the distance and direction.
So, in a nutshell, you need a club head heaving enough flexible shaft golf club that is easy to control and can follow your mind.
We will see later on in this article which flexes you should choose according to your skills and category, the short answer to this question is that, Yes, the golf club flex matters.
Also Read:
Types of Flex in The Golf Club
There is not any certain definition published by the golf authorities, but identification is very necessary for determining the landmarks and choosing the right golf clubs.
In order to provide ease of choice, manufacturers state the flex in different variations, and different manufacturers display their flex with different measurements.
Some manufacturers differentiate the flex shaft with numbers and some with letters to convey the bend of the shaft in terms of flex to the golfers.
Generally, the flex explained with letters is easy to understand for golfers, and golfers also follow this method to understand the flexibility of the shaft.
- Regular Flex (R)
- Stiff Flex (S)
- Extra Stiff Flex (XS)
- Senior Flex (A)
- Ladies Flex (L)
Extra Stiff Flex
Extra stiff flexed shafts are very straight and harder to move while hitting the ball by the golf club flex, it doesn’t bad if your swing speed is medium or low.
You should use the extra stiff flex if your swing is very high and if you are a very long-distance hitter golfer.
Majorly, it’s recommended for very experienced golf amateurs who don’t rely on golf clubs for accuracy and perfection in shots.
If you are a beginner or senior golfer, you should avoid using extra stiff flex.
Stiff Flex
Stiff flex is widely used by most golfers as it also doesn’t bend while hitting, but its smoothness is more than the extra stiff flex.
You should choose the stiff flex if you want to hit the ball for more than 250 yards from the tee point with accuracy.
The stiff flex gives you the lower ball flight and that is why the ball determines the longer distance than the other flexes, due to this reason, most golfers prefer the stiff flex for any golf tournament.
Stiff flex is harder than the regular flex and does not bend as much as the regular flex shaft, and that is why it can provide you more swing speed and accuracy as well.
It is made by adding extra material to make it harder and non-bendable, due to adding the extra materials, it is heavier too.
Regular Flex
The regular shafts are easy to bend while hitting the ball with the club — they do not overbend like the light shafts, so you can get about to the exact required ball speed and angle as well.
A regular flex club is recommended for beginners, and mid to high-handicapper golfers who are used to driving the ball from 210 to 240 yards generally.
If your swing speed is between 75 mph to 84 mph, the regular flex is very recommended for you, and it is mostly available made from graphite and steel (alloy steel and stainless steel).
Senior Flex
The senior flex is recommended for the slower swing speed golfers whose swing speed is between 60 mph to 75 mph and who are used to driving the ball from 180 yards to 210 yards.
As the name suggests, mostly, the senior flex clubs are used by senior (older) male and female golfers because they can not generate very high swing speed, but they need to drive the ball to the destination.
Moreover, the golf clubs for senior golfers are supposed to be the most lightweight and that is why the shaft for these is made from graphite majorly.
Ladies Flex
You might be thinking that the ladies’ flex can only be used by female golf lovers, none apart can use it, but it’s just a myth.
Why?
Let’s Explore!
Ladies flex is the most flexible shaft amongst all shaft flex, and it’s preferable for very low swing speed golfers, and ladies are not able to generate higher swing speed.
So, this shaft flex has been structured to provide the ease of distance while hitting the ball, and that is why it is called the lady’s shaft flex.
Even if you are a male golfer and your swing speed is around 70 mph, you can use the ladies shaft flex for your golfing.
Golf Club Flex Guide
As you have come to know about the types of flex and function of the same as well, it’s very easy to determine which one is the best for you according to your position.
Shaft flex selection depends upon your skills, category, swing speed, and the nature of your game, less swing speed requires a more flexible shaft, and more swing speed requires less flexible speed.
If you are a beginner golfer, you should choose either stiff flex or regular flex shaft as it has not too much flexibility and not too much stiffness.
Or else you are a senior golfer, you should choose either the senior flex shaft or ladies flex shaft as it has more flexibility which works with a slower swing speed to provide more distance to the ball.
Best Flex Golf Clubs For Beginners
For beginners, the golf club selection matters a lot, and within the club, selection flex plays a very major role, so you must know which flex is the best for you as a beginner.
Typically, the suggested and recommended flex is stiff for beginners, but if you want to be precise in the selection, first you need to determine your swing speed.
If your swing speed is higher to near high, you should choose the stiff flex, but if your swing speed is not very high and not very low, you should choose the regular flex.
In addition, if you are a female beginner golfer, either you should choose a ladies flex shaft golf club, or a regular or a senior flex.
These three shafts have enough flexibility to bend the shaft while swinging the golf club which provides more force to the ball to determine the long distance.
FAQs:
Q1: Can men golfers use ladies’ flex?
Ans: Yes, definitely they can use it if their swing speed is around 70 mph, you should not follow the name of flex, ladies flex means it has the most flexibility amongst all flexes.
Q2: What Flex is Best For Golf Clubs?
Ans: The flex choice depends upon your category and position.
Senior golfers – Senior Flex and Ladies Flex
Beginner Golfers – Regular Flex and Stiff Flex
Ladies Golfers – Ladies Flex and Senior Flex
Q3: What does Flex do in a golf club?
Ans: The flex is a measurement of bend in the shaft that is done while hitting the ball with the golf club.
When you swing the golf club to hit the ball, the club is bent from the shaft according to the flex added to the shaft.
Q4: What is the best flex for beginner golfers?
Ans: If you are a male golfer with high swing speed, you can choose the stiff flex shaft golf club, it would not impact your game.
But if your swing speed is not high, you should choose a regular shaft that will provide you the long ball distance with your normal swing speed.
And if you are a lady golfer, it’s understood that your swing speed will not be as much as male golfers, so you should choose the golf club that can give you more distance with a low swing speed – that is ladies flex club.
Final Words
The flex plays a very important role in golf club and yes, it also impacts your golf score, it’s directly related to your swing speed.
It’s very important to consider your gender, position, age, and swing speed while selecting the golf club.
I should not say, but you should not try to satisfy your ego while doing such stuff, if you are a male golfer, and your swing is speed is around 70 mph, you should not keep an approach to buy the regular or stiff flex because you are a male golfer.
You should buy the ladies flexed golf club as it’s the most appropriate for your swing speed, and practice more and more on it, make yourself the most comfortable for it, and then you should go for the next one.
This strategy will improve your game, and you will become the better, not just better, but the best golfer in a very short time.