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Im sure that this issue has been adressed many times, sorry for bringing it up again but here it goes.
As a rule, does the flex of the shaft have any bearing on distance or maybe more accurately on ball speed? I know that it can affect trajectory and direction (club face at impact) but should a stiff flex shaft give you more distance than a regular flex shaft? Not considering any other factors...i.e. no concern for direction or conisistency, maybe just measured in ball speed.

The flex in a shaft can very from shaft to shaft and you really can't rule out the golfers swing so there is no real answer to your questions...

Point....
If you have a guy swinging 100mph will easily be a Stiff Flex golfer but he has a very smooth swing and tempo then he will probably get more distance from the R-Flex shaft and more accuracy from the S-Flex
but...
If the golfer has a Quick Tempo and a Aggressive Swing you will find that the R-Flex will not offer more distance and bad accuracy due to the lack of stability in the shaft and more importantly the tip (weak torque).

Shafts are what you would consider the Transmisson of the Car. You have to have the right Transmission for the car to run to its full potential.....

So each golfer will cause every shaft to react differently due to the difference in attack angle, tempo, swinger or hitter, aggressive point, and release point.

Hope this helps!

Christian, what is torque all about? is it the way the shaft twists? can you have a regular shaft with a strong torque? My SS is 97mph, clubfitter told me that I can go with the assassin regular, I think I have a relatively aggressive swing, ever since i had this problem with tempo... can I get it with a strong torque so it won't twist so much so that my drives won't spray all over?

That is exactly what it is. By definition it is twisting force or angular force. A higher torque shaft will not twist as much when you hit it way off center. I guess if you look at it, there will always be some twist as you are not hitting it exactly where the shaft meets the head (ARE YOU?!! haha). But it will definitley help for those times you hit way out towards the toe.

Thanks. But is there a relationship between torque and flex? or can I get a shaft that has regular flex with strong torque like 2.5 (getting best of both worlds a sort of "whippy" shaft but not twisting) or does it mean that if I get a shaft that is regular it automatically has a weak torque?

A stiffer shaft will not let you hit the ball farther if your swing speed isn't great enough to load up the shaft. By loading up the shaft you get the benefit of shaft kick which helps to increase your distance. By using to stiff of a shaft you will rob yourself of distance and likely hit the ball left. By using to weak of a shaft you will likely hit the ball right and loose accuracy.

Hope this helps.

It varies with a regular shaft I pull everything left. With a Stiff Shaft I don't lose distance but hit the ball straighter. And my swing speed is moderate 88-95 MPH. I think a lot of it has to do with shaft weight some of the regular shafts are only 40-55 grams now adays and in my opinion act like a senior shaft. But with my moderate swing speed there is no way i can play with a stiff shaft weighing 70-90 grams. My stiff shaft on my Driver is only 57 grams and seems to be as flexible as the old regulars were.

Sorry, but you have this wrong, backwards to be exact. Torque ratings are based on how much a shaft will twist, measured in degrees, not force. The higher to torque rating, the more the shaft will twist when a load is applied to it around it's axis. For best accuracy, you want a low torque shaft.

Torque and flex are two seperate things, You can have a soft shaft with low torque, and a stiff shaft with high torque. It depends on how the layers of cloth are aligned when the shaft is made. Which means you can have a R flex 2.5 torque shaft, and you can have a S flex shaft with a 5.0 torque rating. In general, within a certain model of shaft, say the NV65, the lighter the shaft, the higher the torque, and the stiffer the shaft, the lower the torque. Check out any shaft on the Golfsmith website, and you will see this for yourself.

You are correct about the Torque. It would also explain why the NV55 regular shaft i had in my Driver turned into a hook machine.

Oneputt, guys, do I have the right idea? a driver that has a regular flex with low torque will result in a longer and straighter drive? since its going to whip but the head will to twist too much? or am I getting this whole shaft this entirely wrong?

okay, i've been reading the posts and am confused. my general understanding is that torque will cause the head to twist more...so how does this help? i just don't get the idea behind high vs low torque. i've been told that for high handicappers high torque is better...but wouldn't it twist too much? which way is it twisting? ugh! i hate physics, can anyone put all this into layman terms (and i mean layman)? thanks.