golfsmith can sst pure a shaft using computerized monitoring system that can cost you $11.00 per shaft and up, which in the end, tells you where the neutral bend point and also the thicker areas (spine) of the shaft is. you can also buy a spine finder tool which is basically a tube with a ball bearing on each end and a third bearing that is used on the end of the shaft to pull down on to find the neutral bend point. you can also feel each spine in the shaft by rotating it in your fingers. which is better, computer or feel? your opinions please!
I just bought the spine finder tool with the ball bearings and it does work. It finds the spine fairly easily. Now I'd like a better understanding of how to install the shafts now that I've found the spine. I want a neutral alignment, not one that promotes a fade or a draw. I want consistant ball flight with the shaft not influencing a fade or draw.
Any advice on how to align the spine for a neutral set up?
most club makers set the neutral position facing toward the target line or at the 9:00 position. with graphite shafts, the neutral position is the position where the shaft wants to return to the most when flexing, mark that, then roll the shaft to find the firmest spin on the shaft, mark it then find the secondarary spine, mark it(graphite usually has two spines, steel only one).
the shaft will alway rotate from the hardest spine, so if you have two spines that are close to equal hardness, you can set the neutral position at 9:00 or 3:00 , if you have a very hard spine that is on top when placed at the 9:00 position, you may opt to turn a shaft a couple degrees towards 10:00 so the shaft doesn't over rotate and always keep in mind that the as your swinging the club, the shaft is rotating counterclock wise and flexing away fron you.
if the hard spine is at the bottom, you may opt to turn the shaft a couple of degree down. if you like a draw or fade bias from what i have read,(haven't tried it yet) place the neutral at 7:00 (draw) or 11:00 for starters and adjust from there. hope this helps. mike (ps. it may not sound like it, but i'm still and always will be in the learning process , so have fun with it).
Thanks Mike, Great information. To confirm, when addressing the ball and looking down the shaft (as a right handed golfer) the 9:00 position is directly to the left, aiming at the target line. That's what I thought, but am glad to get a second opinion before installing a nice new set of shafts.
By the way, these are Rifle Project X shafts and I was surprised that they even had a spine. I emailed the factory and they didn't seem to think that they would need spine aligning, or at least they said something to the effect of "most balanced shafts made". A few of them had barely detectable spines, but most were very noticable and easy to locate. One of them (the 5 iron) even has a very slight (1/16") bow shape along the spine and thus the most noticable spine of all. I wonder if I should replace that shaft, or, as long as it is aligned neutral having a solid spine might be beneficial? Probably not, but it's a question that's beyond me at this point.
your really going to like those shafts, i have them in my 690cb's which i purchased off ebay and and were spine aligned then. the stiffer the shaft,the less important the alignment because steel doesn't flex as much as graphite and most golfers have a hard time flexing steel shafts on irons anyways. mike
March 30th, 2006, 01:06 PM
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