So on to Part 2 of the Long and Straight Crazy driver build. For those who missed it, part 1 was back here and talked about the steps to finding the right driver shaft combo and the pieces I decided on for my build. To recap, I had decided on the Golf Digest 2009 Distance Champion, the Callaway Legacy Aero to be paired up with the Crazy Longest Yard 01 in R2 (Soft Regular Flex). The Legacy Aero is a premium forged multi piece Titanium driver that produces a penetrating trajectory coupled with low spin. Crazy Shaft is the up and coming brand in Japan using premium high grade carbon to create high performance distance and control shafts.
I got the chance today to check the frequency of each driver on a Kamoshita Vibroscope using a 5″ clamp (which from reading around the web is the most common clamp size it seems). Measuring the CPM or cycles per minute of a shaft can be one indicator of how “stiff” a shaft might be. With no industry standards on flex and all different kinds of shaft designs featuring different rigidity distribution along a shaft, there are so many factors how a shaft performs, feels and bends. By measuring CPM we can get a rough idea of how a shaft bends and stores energy and releases it. Getting the right frequency shaft to match your swing and how you can load and unload the shaft with your swing speed is a good start at finding the right shaft (but only one of many factors in how it might perform).
A club with a lower CPM will bend more and feel softer meaning it is easier to load which is a good thing for slower swingers and those lacking power but not a good thing for faster swingers because a softer shaft may not unload, or square to the ball quickly enough to release its stored energy at the point of impact . For me its about finding the right balance between kick or the perceived unloading of a shaft and control. I believe a softer shaft can create more distance but it also requires more timing especially if the shaft is too soft for a player. If you cannot time the shaft at impact it results in control issues. As I had mentioned in Part 1, there are other factors that affect how the shaft square up to the ball such as torque as well. I tend to simplify and say the best distance shaft is the softest one you CAN control. So first up was the Legacy Aero with stock Callaway Speed Amorphous Regular Flex shaft. I have always felt that Callaway Japan are the softest shafts among OEM’s and the Vibroscope pretty much confirmed this with a 214cpm reading on a Regular flex shaft.
Next up we pulled the head and weighed it and it was as expected right around 200g (199.1g to be exact) which we figured since Callaway specs the driver at 45″ and D1 swing weight. We installed the Crazy LY-01 and butt trimmed to 45″ and added a Golf Pride Tour Velvet rubber grip M62 size. The reason why we went with the M62 is that not only because I have smaller hands and the M62 has thinner walls and a larger core meant for 0.620″ shaft butts. This creates a smaller feeling grip which I like, and also because the M62 is lighter at around 45g which matches up well with the original Callaway grip which was also lighter than a typical 50g grip. Total club weight came out to 300g on the dot and D1.2 at 45″. I then checked the CPM of the Legacy Aero with Crazy LY-01 R2 which came out at 239cpm.
So to summarize, the Longest Yard 01 R2 which is by other brands who use the R2 designation, a SOFT Regular or Senior flex came out at 25cpm higher than Callaway Japan’s stock Regular flex shaft. Keeping in mind again that there is no standard for flex or even for measuring proper CPM worldwide for that matter, 25CPM higher is still quite a bit firmer. Compared to some aftermarket companies like Graphite Design, Mitsubishi and Fujikura this R2 at 239CPM could be close to a high end Regular flex. Now flexing the new club in my hands, it does feel rather stout compared to any other Regular flex club I have tested. I am very interested to see tomorrow how this club performs in a hitting session. The stouter feel with higher torque plus its low spin capabilities matched with a low spin head like the Aero. Could this be straighter and longer? I sure hope so! Stay tuned for Part 3 live testing.
Great info Gocchin! That is pretty stiff compared to other brand’s R2 flex.
Great reat T. I’m glad I backed off on the flex of the Crazy FW shaft coming.
regarding “more flex = more distance” Golf Digest had this column by Tiger and while i cannot find the original article anymore but this quote :
“If I had weaker shafts I’d hit the ball farther just because there’s more flex in the shaft and more kick in a regular-flex shaft than in the stiff shafts I use.”
the reason he does not is mostly control just like you said. there is too much risk with a softer shaft that it will go all over the place if mistake is made and even if swing matches such shaft one simply cant expect the same precision from softer shafts plus softer shafts can play tricks with giving you higher trajectory if you misjudge swing speed tho its still better than than unreleased shaft at impact.
@Ant:
@TourSpecGolfer:
I’ll take 25CPM higher any day.