Life Span of Golf Shaft

Hi there. I have couple of queries which I hope some of u may be able to help answer -

1) Does golf shaft has a life ? as in how long can i use a set of irons before the flex of the shaft starts to deterioate

2) Once the flex of the shaft starts to deterioate, what is the most significant impact on the club ? as in - loss of distance, more difficult to handle, etc

3) Once the flex of the shaft starts to deterioate, it is worthwhile to change just the shaft or replace the whole iron set taking into consideration costs, etc

Reason for asking is that I realised that my distance with my irons have been getting worse. I have not changed my swing. My driver and fairway woods still get me the same distance. Thus I am wondering what is the cause of my reduced distance. Someone suggested that my irons have lost some of its flex and thus the reduced distance. Just wondering if this is the case or I need to go get some professional advice on my golf swing.

Thanks in advance

Cheers/Loy

are the shafts on your irons steel or graphite?

DGman

Think better to look for a coach or some season player to take a look at your swing. My opinion is irregardless what irons you are hitting, as long as you have a sound swing, you should be getting around the same distance.

I have the Yamaha Impress D with graphite shafts. The clubs are abt 3 - 4 years old now.

Cheers/Loy

dear loy,

do you keep the set in your house when not playing or is it in your car boot?

how often do you play and do you go to driving range at all?

in the 3 years that you have played golf, have you been gaining confidence and hitting harder than before.

last question...how old are you now?

DGman

Hi there. I always keep my clubs in the house, I clean the clubs every week, I play every week n go to driving range every week. My distance has been farily consistence for the last few years n I am not a hard hitter. Earlier in the year, I thot my irons were pretty sharp n the distance was satisfactory. But lately, I found that while I still hit it pretty straight, my distance is getting shorter by abt 10- 30m. I am 48 years old n I play off a strong 20, weak 18 handicap.

Thanks yr help in advance

Cheers/Loy

in your case Loy, there are several possibilities:

1. graphite shaft do lose its elasticity or harden over time. in the '80 most shaft uses Boron which last longer.

2. 10 to 30 m is pretty severe and it might not be just the shaft.

3. because the iron is forged, the loft can be weaken over time, but this will change up to 3 degrees and maybe 8 to 10 yards loss in distance.

a few more questions:

do you feel the same after a 18 hole game now compared to the beginning of the year or 2 years ago?

did you change your ball position or change the type of ball you used?

and finally does you ball go higher or is the same as before the loss of distance?

DGman

Thanks fr yr replies. As to yr questions

- In the beginning of the year, I think I was much fitter as I was working out more in the gym every week compared to like once every 2 weeks now

- In my quest to gain or maintain distance, I have changed 3 types of balls - frm Srixon AD333 to Nike Power Soft and lately Titleist Pro V 1X

- Yes, I noticed that my short irons, in particular my 9 iron n PW tend to go higher

Thanks again fr taking the time on this

Cheers/Loy

i think we may have some answers and it is possible that:

1. it could be partly due to your physical state.

2. the pro v 1 x is for high club head speed, you may not benefit from it. also i hope you bought those from the authorised source.

3. check your stance, make sure its not too narrow.

4. finally you may want to check the shafts and loft.

good luck.

DGman

Thanks for yr input. I think that through this conversation, I have also arrived at some of the conclusions tat u have outlined

- Fitness - definitely play an important part in so far that it helps with concentration and strength

- stance - could also be the cause.

- ball - did not know that Pro V 1X is fr high club head speed. My club speed is definitely not fast becos I am not a hard hitter. In this case, in yr opinion, what would be a good ball fr medium club head speed, bearing in mind that feel is important to me as I believe thet the short game is paramount in getting low scores

- clubs n shaft - think I will bring out my other Yamaha set which I hardly use and see whtr there is any difference


Once again. Thanks for yr patience and advice. Much appreciated

Cheers/Loy