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Senior and lady golfers typically produce slower than average clubhead speeds, requiring a soft, flexible golf shaft. In this post, I examine the Senior vs Ladies flex golf shaft’s features, benefits, and downsides.
Before assessing their performance, I will take you through these golf shafts’ flexibility, weight, and torque differences. By the end of the post, you will know what swing speed suits each shaft flex.
Overview of Golf Shaft Flex
TPT Golf reports that shaft flex refers to the level of up or down bend produced by your golf shaft on your backswing and downswing. Highly flexible golf shafts provide added spring into the golf ball at impact to optimize energy transfer and impart maximum speed on the golf ball.
Conversely, a less flexible shaft offers limited spring assistance, resulting in less energy transferred at impact. Designs with reduced spring typically carry a stiffer profile, like stiff or extra stiff shafts, best suited to higher swing speed.
Meanwhile, slower swing speeds best suit senior or ladies flex shafts that offer optimal spring and club head speed on the downswing.
How Important Is Golf Shaft Flex?
Golf shaft flex impacts your launch, distance, ball flight, and accuracy. Playing with the correct shaft for your swing helps you boost energy transfer and ball speed while controlling spin. Conversely, the incorrect golf shaft can prompt a loss of ball speed, excess spin, and an open or closed clubface at contact.
When your clubface opens or closes at impact, you set yourself up for a hook or slice, sending your ball well off target.
How Does Golf Shaft Flex Impact Your Performance?
Golf shaft flex is integral to a powerful strike, high launch, and straight ball flight. If you employ a stiff shaft flex for your swing, you fail to optimize energy transfer and square your clubface at impact leading to a powerless launch and a wayward strike.
On the contrary, golfers playing with excessively flexible shafts lose an element of control, giving the added torque. As a result, you generate an impressive whip leading into impact, which may cause you to balloon strikes, lose carry distance, and produce an inconsistent shot shape.
Differences Between Senior vs Ladies Flex Shafts
Flex
As the name suggests, a significant difference between a ladies and senior shaft is flexibility. A senior’s shaft is slightly stiffer than a ladies design but weaker than a regular flex construction. They provide exceptional whip into the ball at impact to enhance energy transfer and produce an accelerated pace.
Torque
Torque dictates the degree of twist the shaft produces under pressure, which is different from the up-and-down bend of flex. Naturally, the flexible senior and ladies golf shafts typically have enhanced torque. Moreover, the twist improves your ability to unload the club from the top of the swing.
However, despite the ability to let loose and accelerate your clubhead speed, shafts with increased torque are challenging to control. As a result, you remain prone to the odd slice or hook, given the golf shaft has a mind of its own.
Weight
The greater the flex and torque of a shaft, the lighter they tend to be. Therefore, a ladies flex shaft is more lightweight than a senior design and works wonders for super slow clubhead speeds, looking to gain mph on the downswing.
It becomes harder to release from the top and accelerate downwards as the shaft weight increases, which results in less clubhead speed. However, some players may find the heavier shafts are easier to control and produce a clean strike. Despite a clean strike, the lost club head speed will cost you a few yards.
What Swing Speed Suits A Senior Flex?
Golf players that swing a driver between 72 and 83 mph should utilize a senior flex shaft, according to True Spec Golf. However, if your swing speed matches this level but you desire a lower flight, you can upgrade to a regular flex.
What Swing Speed Suits A Ladies Flex?
Sticking with the advice of True Spec Golf, we see that players with a driver swing speed below 72 mph suit a ladies flex shaft.
Can A Man Use Ladies Flex Shafts?
Yes, a man can use a ladies flex shaft. In fact, I highly recommend it if the seniors flex is delivering inconsistent results. A ladies flex helps if a seniors shaft slows your clubhead speed down and does not square your clubface at impact, launching your ball low.
The softer design of a ladies flex shaft provides optimal spring into impact, and the lighter construction boosts clubhead speed.
Can Ladies Play Senior Flex Shafts?
Yes, ladies can utilize senior golf shafts if a ladies flex is too light and flexible for your swing. If a ladies shaft delivers an excessively high apex, and you lose distance and control, think about the senior flexes lower, controlled launch.
Females with higher swing speeds will find that a ladies flex provides excessive torque and whip into impact than they need. As a result, the stiffer design of a senior flex will improve your control of the golf club.
Should Seniors or Ladies Play Stiff Flex Shafts?
Some professional ladies and seniors play stiff shafts for reduced torque and a lower controlled launch. However, the average lady and senior golfer is better suited to playing with Senior and ladies flex golf shafts because stiff shafts reduce clubhead speed and make it difficult to square the clubface at contact.
How Do I Calculate My Swing Speed?
The easiest solution to calculating swing speed is to employ the services of a golf launch monitor or a swing speed radar.
But, if you lack the instruments to measure your swing speed, you can divide your distance by 2.5. Therefore, a 225-yard drive divided by 2.5 equals an estimated swing speed of 90 mph.
FAQs | Ladies Flex vs Senior Flex
Is the senior shaft stiffer than a ladies shaft?
Yes, a senior shaft is stiffer than a ladies shaft and is typically suited to men with slower swing speeds. A senior construction is the second most flexible design for adults after a ladies model and is generally offered in a graphite shaft.
What Flex suits high handicappers?
The best golf club flex for a high handicapper is a senior or ladies flex to provide the added whip into impact and launch elevation. If these shafts deliver an excessively high apex or spin, consider the stiffer design of a regular flex shaft at a push, but start with a senior or ladies flex.
What does ladies flex mean?
Ladies golf club flex refers to the most flexible golf shaft for adults, built for players with slow swing speed. These shafts are generally graphite and offer exceptional flex leading into impact to boost energy transfer.
What Flex do LPGA players use?
LPGA Tour players use shafts with regular flex or stiff flex to achieve greater stability at impact for a lower launch and enhanced control.
Is senior flex the same as ladies flex?
No, the substantial difference between a senior flex vs ladies flex is flexibility. A senior golf shaft flex is slightly stiffer than a ladies flex but weaker than a regular flex construction.
Here are the standard golf club flexes from least stiff to most stiff flex options: L (ladies flex), A (senior flex or amateur flex), R (regular flex), S (stiff flex), X (extra stiff flex), and TX (most stiff flex).
Should a senior golfer use ladies clubs?
Senior ladies with faster swing speeds will find that a ladies flex provides excessive torque and whip into impact than needed in their golf swing. As a result, the stiffer design of a senior flex shaft will improve your overall control of the club.
Male senior golfers can also use a ladies flex shaft. A ladies flex helps if a senior shaft slows your clubhead speed down. It does not square your clubface at impact; launching your ball low. The softer design of a ladies flex provides optimal spring, and the lighter construction helps boost clubhead speed.
Final Thoughts on Senior vs Ladies Flex
After examining the features and benefits of a senior vs ladies flex golf shaft, I am satisfied that the average veteran will thrive with a Senior flex shaft. These designs offer ample spring into impact to maximize energy transfer and impart superior speed onto the golf ball.
However, if you lose clubhead speed with a senior flex shaft, and struggle to square your clubface at impact, think about the ladies flex. It’s lightweight, easy to unload from the top, and helps slower swing speeds produce a powerful strike.
