PURE shafts - the ultimate custom-fit
We simplify the latest 'must have' technology on Tour
Posted: 2 June 2008
by Dominic Pedler
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| Spot the difference: On the left the marks clearly define a ball struck repeatedly with precision by the pured shaft, compared to the un-pured shaft on the right
Arguably, the ultimate custom-fitting process, shaft ‘Pureing’ has swept the professional Tours around the world and is now even available to all golfers prepared to pay the price for 'perfect' equipment.
It has been controversially golf’s most mysterious equipment secret over the last few years and now some 200 top golfers have adopted the technology - with those tell-tale gold SST Pure stickers on the shafts of many winners.
The simplest definition is to say that pureing is the high-tech process of carefully aligning each shaft in its respective clubhead to reduce any distortion almost inevitable in its construction.
Named after company that pioneered it (SST Pure), the technique has emerged in response to the reality that, despite modern manufacturing methods, it is virtually impossible to make a golf shaft that is perfectly symmetrical in cross section throughout its length.
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You only need to look though a batch of raw shafts to see how wall thicknesses vary - however minuscule to the naked eye - across the diameter. So it's not rocket science to grasp that any individual shaft flexes slightly differently according to how it is aligned in the hosel.
But while skeptics claim the ‘Pure-ists’ are merely splitting hairs, the USGA were so impressed by the presentation made by SST founder, Dick Weiss to its Ball and Implements committee nine years ago, that they changed the Rules Of Golf to legalise and embrace the Pureing process.
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Pured shafts clearly labelled
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With just a handful of off-the-shelf shafts, Weiss demonstrated how a 'dodgy' shaft flex can perform, implying anything from Extra Stiff to Ladies, simply based on the position it is inserted into the hosel at the factory stage.
Crucially, the problem is not confined to graphite shafts, nor to budget or even ‘rogue’ manufacturers. Many of Weiss’s worst examples were steel shafts from major brands.
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Now the Pureing concept has steadily caught the imagination of Tour pros and their technicians who leave nothing to chance.
“Any time something can improve my game and I don’t have to do anything [change my technique] I’d be foolish not to Pure my clubs,” says Open champion Padraig Harrington, who won’t even experiment with a new club on the practice ground unless it has been pre-Pure’d.
The technology came of age in 2007 when Pure’d shafts claimed two majors. Angel Cabrera (US Open) joined Harrington among the converts which now span legends like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Greg Norman through to current stars such as Jim Furyk and Darren Clarke.
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Indeed, over half of the top-20 finishers at this year’s US Masters played with Pure’d clubs, while the $50 million in prize money won collectively by Pure’d US PGA Tour players in 2008 tells its own story. Currently there's no SST Pure facility at European Tour events, which leaves its pros’ Pureing demands required to be channeled through one of only three UK licensees.
Not to be confused with 'frequency matching', which strives for shaft flex consistency throughout a set of clubs, ‘Pureing’ is solely concerned with getting the most consistent performance out of a single shaft by minimising the random oscillations which inevitably occur.
These movements can best be appreciated by studying the accompanying photographs showing the different pattern of face markings on a driver (fitted with the same shaft in two different orientations) captured during an independent mechanical robot test.
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Given the robot’s repeating swing, you’d expect the markings to be identical for any given shaft no matter how you aligned it. However, the un-Pure’d pattern confirms the randomly-inserted shaft is not delivering the head to the golf ball quite as consistently.
While the performance differences may be negligible, equally they have the potential to be dramatic. The trouble is, you just can’t tell. Many golfers persevere unaware that at least some element of their bad shots may well be down to their equipment rather than just their swing.
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Puring bench where shafts are checked
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Tool for inserting pured shafts
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Costs can vary but, for example, to Retro-pure a shaft (take it out of an existing clubhead, check it, re-grip it and re-assemble it) costs around £35-£40 including a new grip. To fit a set of eight pre-pured shafts can cost from £350-£400 plus grips.
However, Pureing is not an instant cure for your shaft ills, as even independent custom-fitting specialists acknowledge.
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“Pureing is not a substitute for the correct fitting of shaft flex, bend profile and weight, which remain essential stages of the custom-fitting process,” says Simon Cooper of Precision Golf, one of only three UK custom fitting operations licensed to offer SST Pure technology.
“But it is an increasingly popular addition to the club-building process for all standards of golfer. It ensures that a correctly chosen shaft performs in a way that is more predictable and repeatable,” he adds, referring to the greater dynamic stability of the golf club, especially in the transition from backswing to downswing.
The Pureing process itself involves measuring a shaft’s frequency variation (the profile of vibrations around a shaft’s circumference) using highly-sensitive sensors, while SST Pure’s elaborate software locates the most neutral orientation, or ‘Plane of Uniform REpeatability’ (PURE).
The shaft is then carefully aligned by the club builder into the head in a process that takes some 15 minutes per shaft.
Ultimately, for all the technical justification, there’s no doubt that the rise of Pureing is partly down to the way it taps into the psychology of today’s sporting perfectionists.
As the icing on the cake in a complete custom-fitting makeover, it dispels any element of technical doubt. It reassures the golfer that their clubs have been set-up to the most precise specifications, leaving them free to focus on that other elusive component - a pure golf swing.
For more information on Pureing, contact:
Precision Golf, Egham, Surrey:
017844 70088; www.precisiongolf.co.uk
Golfsmith Europe, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire:
01480 308800
TrueFit Golf,(David Fernley), Warrington: 01925 727076
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Discuss this story
PURING isn't anywhere near as important as having the correct length, grip size, lie angle and clubhead. I'm reading Tom Wishon's latest book, The Right Sticks, at the moment. In it he busts myth after myth about club fitting and the lack of it. One of these is the myth that the shaft is the engine of the swing and the most important component. He claims he could, with the correct head, fit anyone with a club they'd hit well whatever shaft they brought to him - whatever weight or flex - if he could fit the clubhead. If, on the other hand, someone had the best shaft fit for them and an inapropriate and badly fitted clubhead they'd struggle. Shaft length is the most important thing. The actual shaft the least. That's not to say it's unimportant. That all being said spine aligning does the same thing for far far far less outlay.
Posted: 03/06/2008 11:08
Unless someone can get me one of those robots that give a consistent swing I honestly don't think that I would notice any difference! My swing is far too inconsistent for it to make any difference! BB
Posted: 03/06/2008 12:28
Its not just Spining, you need to Flo the shaft after with a laser to get exactly the SAME result as PURING. If you tinker with clubs and are always changing shafts, set ups etc ,it is ALOT cheaper to buy the equipment to Spine & Flo from the US and DIY. PURING and S&F make a clear difference to the quality & consistency of sweet spot contact and distance control. Almost all Tour Pros use it and Long Drivers but there are always those amateurs who 'know more through gut feel' about it, who think PURING is BS. Bottom line is, if your swing in very inconsistent, you wont notice any difference but if you are a better player, it makes a BIG difference and gives you more confidence to attack pins for example, as the ball flight and spin/trajectory are more predictable.
Posted: 03/06/2008 14:51
Ok Guys!! im a 14 h/cap and have had the puring done, to be honest havent really noticed any difference to clubs that are'nt Pured. I would hazard a guess, that unless your a very low h/capper or Pro then i dont really think it matters and will not make you a better player, its about swing plane for me and ball striking. I had mine done at PRECISION GOLF and they sold it well. To be honest fitting is the best thing to do as mentioned earlier post. and its expensive, oh well suckered in again by the golf jargon LOL. it would be interesting to hear if a low h/cap has had it done and does it work for them, but for me i cant tell at all.
Posted: 03/06/2008 16:12
Makes a big difference?
Sorry, I don't buy that at all. There is not one shred of evidence anywhere in the world that floing improves dispersion. With all the money available to worlds top R+D depts they cannot prove this at all. They can demonstrate mathematical differences in oscillation but how on earth does that translate to a golf ball flying through the air?
Tour pros use it because its FREE, and they are a superstitious bunch and will just think what the hell, so they just do everything.
I do not doubt they is a spine left in graphite and to some extent steel. I have no doubt finding the spin in some shafts, particularly cheaper ones, but also high end, can make a difference to the face angle at impact. Where I have a problem is in taking anecdotal evidence for floing and then saying because pros do it and in a lab they can show a mathematical oscillation figure of 8 - change by puring he shaft, and that this automatically translates to an improvement in shot dispersion. THIS IS NOT PROVEN IN ANY WAY. The only thing I have heard time and time again is 'pros do it'. So what?
A lot of golf tuition and fitting is grown from anecdote, smoke and mirrors, what feels right, placebo, etc etc, fitters can go with the player and run with what works, it that is a floed set then fine. It can't do any harm.
But please don't tell me a better player can feel the difference between a floed and none floed shaft, thats total and utter conjecture with not one piece of scientific or real test facts to support it. I am not saying puring is BS, I just think this debate does not have to be defined by those that believe its fact, and the other side by definition think its bs. There are those like myself who have a balanced view and keep and open mind. I accept spines are there but I object to be having my intelligence insulted after 30 yrs grinding out a swing on the practice ground, to be told if you oscillate the shaft in a figure of 8, find the spine etc etc , ie flo it, I can suddenly 'go for pins, and it will make a BIG difference to my game. Lets be clear, I can put 28 from 30 7 irons to 160 on a green. A big difference would put me on tour.
If it was that sensational, and definite the first thing my pro would tell me to get every 7 iron within 10ft is to have my irons floed. He didn't obviously.
I keep an open mind. Spining why not, its proven that shafts have spines, floing? maybe, who knows, but pros using them because tour vans do it for free does not mean those like myself think its bs. Personally, even after this rant, if someone offered me a pured set of shafts I would gladly take it, as Is ay, who knows. But no fitter in the world will fit you on puring alone and state it will improve your dispersion dramatically or any way at all.
ps edit to add, the title, 'the ultimate custom fit'? You have to be kidding right? Length, loft, flex, grips, lie angles, putter, drivers, all sorts of things. Lie angles can be proven to alter the dispersion rate, 1 degree out can be proven to miss a green by yards. Yet puring is the ultimate what exactly?
Posted: 03/06/2008 16:19
Probably worth linking to the old SST PURED shafts thread I started a while back on the subject. I do agree, more indepth testing of both robotic and human swings would be nice. SST seem to only quote one study by Golf Science Consultants, Inc (carried out by J. Howard Butler, president of GSC and former VP of shaft technology at True Temper). That supposedly found 39-51% increase in centre face impact repeatability for different handicap golfers, but only tested a very small group. I don't know if they actually measured dispersion during the study or just made an assumption it will improve it due to better central hits. There was an article in Golf Today a few years back, that posted some numbers which seemed to show evidence of increased accuracy (if not distance) by PUREing. http://www.calgolftech.com/whats_new/driver9.html The data shows that PUREing has no provable effect on distance but a clear effect on factors that indicate increased accuracy such as decreased sidespin. Sidespin was reduced by over 60% with the LFE. The data presented physical evidence that PUREing improved accuracy, as has been the claim. I would like to say that it improved feel, but you can't quantify that. I do agree that it might have less of a benefit on better quality shafts. There is a youtube clip comparing a very stable Fujikura shaft and an unstable Taylormade branded shaft. I think some feel that PUREing is also about consistency throughout the set, rather than just improving a single club. So each shaft reacts or feels a similar way? In the US, Golfsmith charge $49.99 to retrofit a club, $24.99 if you send them the pulled shaft, or $12.99 if you buy a new shaft from them.
Posted: 03/06/2008 19:43
Without trying to sound patronising....  ) It works..... if anyone doesnt have the ability to understand the physics/science behind it then thats a matter for them. I cant see why this is such a seemingly contentious issue ?. To explain it unequivocaly in laymans terms is nigh on impossible it seems and the nonbelievers get confused between facts, gut feel, irrelevant detail and misconceptions about the RELEVANCE of the Puring process to most golfers. You cant polish a turd 'swing' as they say. In simplistic terms, do people notice when they drive at 70mph with an unbalanced wheel, due to the lead weight falling off ? OK.... some will say it doesnt matter and they cant notice but most can...... but you can still get to your destination. Sure, it depends on your speed and a whole host of other factors, tyre pressure yada yada. This is still a wheel 'oscillating' under load in motion, like a shaft. Balancing the wheel and aligning the shaft, PURING, allows the oscillations to be far less pronounced and in 'simple harmonic motion' hence improved accuracy, dispersion and a feeling of smoothness. As an aside, 31,000 Scientists including 9000 with Phd's sighed a petition to say Global Warming is NOT 'significantly' caused by man made pollution products. Most peeps still believe it is, cos they are more worried whats happening with the Soaps tonight and believe Govt hype and cant really be arsed to find out the facts, as its not that interesting and too much trouble. Excuse the rant just my 2p worth 
Posted: 03/06/2008 22:26
PURING is NOT the ultimate custom fit IMO. Surely once you have learned the fundamantals and have developed a reasonably repeatable swing, custom fitting of your clubs is most important. Taking this further, the clubs would then get BLUEPRINTED and PURED/Spine & Floed by a master club fitter before final assembly. Its gonna cost you £500 to do + the cost of the actual club components but if you take your game seriously, its worth it. If your swing changes significantly, then you may need to get the equipment adjusted again or replace it with something better suited. John Foster...the first time I went to the range after DIY Spine & Floing my irons I could not believe how much better I was hitting the ball. I was playing well at the time. However, when your swing goes off as it does, there is no amount of PURING that is gonna help, you have to fix your swing first, the source of the problem, before you see the bens of puring.
Posted: 03/06/2008 23:24
S+F
I do not doubt that shafts have spines, and shaft spining can and has helped players, I have a real problem exptrapolating floing, or harmonics if you like, will have noticably effect on flight. For a start the flo can move after trimming and even then many fitters who still believe in floing then still put their logos up?!
But I accept feel in golf is important and clearly can give a player a big boost, so I would even go as far as to say big improvement s can be had for improving feel. But who is to say that harmonics have any bearing on this, we do not swing harmonically and the shaft does not oscillate in any way during the swing.
I only enter these threads when someone difinitively states big improvements can be had for spine and flo, and then we get a link to budget graphite shafts from 5 years ago, which no doubt benefted from simply aligning the spine.
Can floing do any harm? No, it MAY even work. But lets keep it factual, we are taking about the oscillation of a shaft in a lab after spining, we are not talking about anything more than that, certainly NOTHING that warrants such wild claims of big improvements in shot dispersion.
And er, yes, my shafts have been spined and floed Did I feel or notice anything. NO. Some players and fitters state they have seen an improvement, and some big names state its nonsense.
I personally feel a lot of fitters do it because;
a) everyone else does so they have to
b) you can charge more
c) why not?
d) if even a placebo works its worth doing
e) there was evidence from years ago and many players still remember it
f) golfers are superstitious so will do anything
g) it can proven in a lab, so looks good in adverts
h) pros do it because its free so again why not
Posted: 04/06/2008 08:44
Beat me to it W-b  How does an oscillating shaft bear any relationship to a shaft loading out unidirectionally (or possibly bidirectionally with droop)?
Posted: 04/06/2008 08:57
"I have a real problem extrapolating floing, or harmonics if you like, will have noticably effect on flight." Thats exactly it harmonics is used to determine the PURED plane or Flo plane - one and the same. Its just that the first is done by computer analysis during twanging and the latter by the human eye and a laser to magnify the oscillations on a wall ~ 20ft away during twanging - with practice the results of both are indestinguishable. Puring is just the application and 'patenting' for commercial purposes in the golf industry of a well known engineering phenomenon - its nothing new at all. Engineers have studied and known about the significance of harmonics and resonant frequencies since the Tacoma Suspension bridge disaster of 1940. Would you fly in a jet in stormy skies, that did not effectively have a 'pured' fusellage ? "For a start the flo can move after trimming and even then many fitters who still believe in floing then still put their logos up? " Lets keep the goal posts steady here. You spine and flo or PURE after the shaft is cut to length. With graphite shafts some proponents suggest orientation of the spine to target line at 12-6 rather than 9-3 to reduce toe head droop during impact. "Can floing do any harm? No, it MAY even work. But lets keep it factual ( agreed always best to deal in FACTS not conjecture , we are taking about the oscillation of a shaft in a lab after spining, we are not talking about anything more than that, certainly NOTHING that warrants such wild claims of big improvements in shot dispersion". I would suggest reading about the subject in detail in a decent Physics book then. It will make clear sense. If the shaft is already of a very high quality like and Ozik, then Puring proportionally, will have a less beneficial influence over your shots accuracy as it is already close to ideal/consistent. If like most players, their shafts are cheap OEM jobs, then puring can and will make a difference if and ONLY IF they have a repeatable swing.Its simply a case of which factors are having the greatest influence over the shot, a poor swing or poor shaft or a combo of both.
Posted: 04/06/2008 12:47
"Some players and fitters state they have seen an improvement, and some big names state its nonsense." Which big names are these then ? We are not talkin about the vaguaries of Homeopathy of Astrology here - PURING WORKS - and thats a fact. Wether a players swing is consistent enough to benefit in real terms, or his ability to notice the improvements in dispersion on the course or range is sharp enough, is neither here nor there - IT works - end of "I personally feel a lot of fitters do it because;
a) everyone else does so they have to Disagree, many cant be arsed and its not relevant unless the player has a repeatable swing, which ~ 90% of players dont have. b) you can charge more Sure
c) why not? ??
d) if even a placebo works its worth doing, Placebos work in ~33% of cases and are a recognised human phenomenon e) there was evidence from years ago and many players still remember it Agreed
f) golfers are superstitious so will do anything true
g) it can proven in a lab, so looks good in adverts EXACTLY... IT WORKS !!!
h) pros do it because its free so again why not . A slap in the face is free too, so why not give the Pro a few hard slaps before he tees off LOL Along with the I can drive it 300 yards threads, PURING seems to get peeps going like nothing else...
Posted: 04/06/2008 12:47
Lol, so lets talk facts, Give me one piece of evidence that oscillation, or harmonics, which are experiments done in a lab, can and does effect ball flight.
You talk about harmonics as if its a proven golfing technique. It isn't, its a test done in lab after the club has been spined. I have said I accept spining to some degree, but there is not ONE SHRED OF EVIDENCE that puring or floing the shaft can effect ball flight. There is anecdotal evidence from fitters in the US that there players prefer the feel after floing. I am not dissing that at all. I am just trying to keep this in perspective.
It isn't a magic formula as you seem to suggest when you clearly state it will give a player BIG improvements. That is just nonsence.
Proving oscillation changes on a machine in a lab proves diddly bleeding squat, sorry to be blunt, but I aint fick, I've been to University, so please don't treat me like a fool (no offense , but come on, this a labratory test that some believe will further tweak the shaft after its been spined, thats all it is!
I believe in mechanics, not harmonics, I am not a physicist. Lets just keep this in perspective, thats all I am saying.
And you are technically wrong, you keep stating the effect will reduce if they swing is non-repeatable, yet its believed its the the way round, the more inconsistent you are, the more likely you are to benefit from spine and floed shafts. So please don't tell me to do anymore research, I have read this gumph for years on line, this is the trillionth threads on the subject and has got quieter and quieter over the last 3 in particular since as shafts continue to improve. And yet I still keep an open mind and neither do I have any inkling to read a bloody physics book? I repeat, a labratory test that demonstrates that oscillation changes as the shaft is rotated around its spine is NOT EVIDENCE OF ANYTHING.
Posted: 04/06/2008 13:07
I'm sure the last thing I read about puring was that only a small % of Pro's have their clubs pured? I can't find any stats but on their site it has a news section and going by the tour winners that they list using it there certainly isn't that many. Make of that what you will.
Posted: 04/06/2008 13:50
From the SST newsletter this week: 15th Victory for SST PURE
Kenny Perry (who has a history of having SST PURE his clubs) finally
made it to the winner’s circle last week, and he did for the second time
at Jack Nicklaus’s Memorial Tournament. But that’s not the total story.
Players who have asked SST to PURE their clubs dominated the top
20. Start with Justin Rose (who is the defending European Order of
Merit Champion), Mike Weir and Jerry Kelly tying for second place.
Then add in Rocco Mediate, Steve Lowery, Luke Donald, Brent Quigley
(yes another top-10 finish for him) Robert Allenby, Matt Kuchar and
Tom Lehman.
This was the 15th victory this year for SST and the players with
SST PUREd clubs fared so well throughout the field they boosted the
money won this year by players with a history of SST PUREd clubs to
more than $59 million.
Posted: 04/06/2008 14:26
I am not trying to prove anything. It is merely in response to the previous post (Richard). My views on spine/FLO/PUREing are very simple: I do it on every club I assemble/reshaft, I charge no extra for it, I believe it takes a variable out of the game, and I know that by doing this I have assembled a set/club to the highest possible degree once I add that into everything else I do, and the only person that can tell me if it works for them is the customer. Not what any PGA tour pro does. But here is a non-scientific "test", I have about a dozen or so people that have sent me "misbehaving" clubs to try spining/FLOing/PUREing. All of them feel that the club is more consistent, plays better (specifically tighter dispersion), and just plain feels better. I do not push anyone to have it done, merely explain what the process is and let them decide. Here is another non-scientific test: I also have 2 demo 6 irons, one spine/FLO'd, the other not. There are some golfers I can give it to and if I ask them which they like best, they invariably choose the spine/FLO'd one, and when they don't choose it they say that they cannot tell the difference. Not one person has identified the non-spined/FLO'd 6 iron as being the one they like best. Make of that what you will.
Posted: 04/06/2008 14:53
just to add something.... I'm one of rgjusa's customers who sent him some shafts to spine and flo. After reassembling my clubs myself I believe that there is a subtle difference to the feel of the clubs. Its not night and day and it wont cure a bad swing or an incorrectly fitted set of clubs. But it IS a small part of the entire club fitting/building process and if you put together several small incremental benefits then its not unusual to end up with a larger benefit. Like I say....this isnt something that I've read in a book, its something that I've experienced for myself. The spine of a shaft is something that physicaly exists and is easy to find, and making a logical progression, if the spine is so significant and easily findable then it can potentially have some effect on how a club bends during the swing. Floing is possibly a little more vague/tentative...I'm pretty sure that spining a club can get you pretty close to the same result as floing. Pureing I believe is some expensively licensed process that does much the same thing. In fact the very term "Pureing" seems to indicate that something is physically done to your shaft to make it more balanced...something akin to the guys at KwikFit putting lumps of lead round the rim of your car wheel. I dont believe that this is the case though am happy to be corrected. I've just bought myself a spine finding tool and fully intend to use it on every club I build in the future.
Posted: 04/06/2008 21:40
I tell you what WB, as an experiment, I will take your irons off you and rebuild them with the worst shaft orientation possible. I have the gear to do so and I wont adjust SW or tipping or any funny business...honest .... but I will make sure they kick in all the wrong directions. It would help if you tell me if you play with a fade or draw and I will make sure its affected for you, on at least some of the irons. Some shafts may be fairly good as std but not all, thats for sure. And all you have to do is play them a few times and tell us all here they are exactly the same as before, no difference. Are you on ? I will do this free but you have to pay someone else to get them reset back to the way they were originally, Spined I guess. IF you think they need it. Which you seem to suggest you wont. The original positions will be marked with tape. The proof of the pudding... yada... yada
Posted: 04/06/2008 23:35
I am not suggesting anything, I am even accepting that a poorly spined driver will have an effect on flight. I even accept feel may be improved, as I said, I keep an open mind. But this doesn't mean that every driver needs spining, nor does it mean a nine iron needs floing, you get my drift, its the crazy wild extrapolations that lead onto from these that need someone to at least balance the arguement. You present the arguement as if every player has a useless set of clubs that spray the balls around and if they have them spined and floed they will suddenly straighten out, well thats a big improvement isn't it.
But your offer is fatally flawed. My old set was spined and floed, but my current set isn't, because I built them myself using shafts off Ebay. My dispersion improved just by being fitted properly using TLT and MOI swingeweights, and using the correct shafts. SO THE SHAFTS ARE ALREADY TOTALLY OUT OF OF LINE NOW. Funny that? Everyone in this forum is using put of line shafts yet not one pro has told them the one big thing they can do to improve their accuracy isn't a full fit, or some lessons, or some new clubs, its actually a physics book and to learn about harmonics.
Its NOT definitive out of line spines can effect your clubs, please don't say it is, its not. Yes in some cases it improves the dispersion or feel but not ALL. However, there is NOTHING to prove that floing adds anything to at least give the player this unique big improvement in dispersion you speak of.
I fully accept fitters like RGUSA have had experience to the positive with this, I said so right at the start.
But I will tell you what. I will send my clubs to you for spine and floing, you can decide how much you wanna charge. Leave the swingweights alone and grips off, I will swingweight and grip them myself. I will even send you the new ferrules to keep the cost down. There are no shaft labels so there is nothing else to do. I will report back with a full review. An honest review
Posted: 05/06/2008 08:07
as with most technology the better you are the more you will benefit - take cor .860 for most guys it makes not a jot of diff ( and there was no real need to inforce the change, other than for commercial reasons ) but for a pro it can make a big difference because of his consistency of strike pattern. most ams dont have this consistency so the cor has little or no effect
Posted: 05/06/2008 23:45
WB I respect your POV and beliefs from your own experience and generally am a fan of your postings . I have laboured on this specific issue, as I have read mis information for years on forums from people, who it turns out didnt know what they were talking about. Only last week I bought an Ozik shaft from someone off Ebay and found out it was a .350 tip. I told the seller who argued the point that I was wrong and refused a refund etc. He decided to post on a US site for clarification, not knowing that I frequent that site too. As it turns out this US site 'know it all members agreed with the seller, that Ozik only made 335 tip shafts....however the owner of the site piped up that Ozik do indeed make 350 tip shafts for hybrids and Callaway Tour heads. I got my refund in the end. Maybe its just cos its my pet subject but I find it irksome when someone who is tremendouns contributor on this forum, as you are WB, mis understanding the actual process and mis representing the beneficial principles of Puring/S&Fing of golf shafts.I made it abundantly clear that they are simply another variable that can be improved to improve your consistency of strike, accuracy, feel and sweet spot contact and ultimately enjoyment of the game. When the day comes when all shafts are made of a one piece homogeneous construction, with a consistent bend profile throughout 360deg, then PURING will be a WOT. Steel shafts are tubes with a seamed weld foring a spine and graphite shafts are rolled up layers usually with a number of hard and soft spots. Check JBs link below. I also saw some RJUSA postings on Flo on Youtube which will help to exlain why this works too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fOEnprofIM I had Puring done to my woods for a few years and immediately noticed the bens in consistency.I read posts on forums that steel shafts were so low torque 1.7, that it was a waste of time PURING them and I never bothered until recently. Some of my old set up irons were always bothering me eg 8i an 4i but my 5i for some reason was always so accurate.
Posted: 06/06/2008 00:54
I wasted time on the range for YEARS trying to tinker with my swing, hitting shot after shot to get these irons to go where I was aiming. I had little consistency in my set compared to what I wanted. It was only when I spined/Floed the shafts that I realised why, see link above. EVERY shaft was orientated incorrectly but 2 shafts seemed to be more consistent the PW and 5i - my fav go to clubs. Once I had Spined them properly and Floed them to perfection - I will never forget that night down the range. I was swinging well but shot after shot went the same traj, distance and with a much much tighter dispersion than ever before. I started laughing out loud. A much better player than me and even the Pro noticed and came over for a chat, not knowing what I had done different. All they could see was some seriously consistent ball striking which was unusual for me - my BEST ever on the range. Cue some smart ass comments as to why i'm not a better player etc etc This good player has since had all his clubs done, as have many of my mates. This process has massively improved my iron play.The effect of spining/Floing is magnified in longer shafts so these are more critical to check.
Posted: 06/06/2008 00:55
Ok, some fair points. As I've said, I love golf and keep an open mind to all these things, but if even SST can't support any claims whatsoever, I take floing with a pinch of salt. Finding the spine seems to be sensible, can't argue with that, but none of this will correct a bad swing. However, in my own mind the worse the player the more they need any advantage this can bring, a better player will be nearer the sweetspot so their gains are likely to be miniscule, whereas miss the sweetspot by half and inch with a non-repeating and inconsistent swing, and there is more room, percentage wise, for this to work. But I could be wrong, I am only summising.
Its this claim, that it works the better you get, that I still have a problem with tbh. I have never hit a bad shot with a good swing, this is why this I suppose its difficult to accept this totally (the floing part, not spining).
Posted: 06/06/2008 06:59
I have tested pre PURED shafts from Frozen Rope/Golfsmith, as have others on forums and S&F is the same thing as PURING, as the end result is the same. It takes some practice rotating the shaft tiny fractions TBH to get the laser to flat line 4/5 cycles horizontally in succession perfectly. After you have spined the shaft the Flo ( Flat Line Oscillation - ie Harmonics ) position is usually pretty close to it, a few deg of rotation either side clockwise or counter CW. Like others, I have found you need to magnify the laser oscillation pattern on a wall some 10-20ft or so away. This final Flo position is = PURED position. The only difference is the orientation of PURED shafts, is that the Spines (S) are typically aligned at 9-3 to target line, giving a harder feel and lower traj.It also enhances the ability to work the ball. I set this up with the woods and shorter irons. BTW - I dont work my short irons in case anybody was confused but pref a lower traj. My personal choice with the rest of the clubs is to have the N point at 9-3 target as it keeps the clubface square as long as possible through impact but BOTH positions are at 180 deg to each other OK so the shaft is stable, with no strange kick through impact, which is the whole point of taking so much trouble. This hastle, all results in more sweetspot contact and feel, more distance as you are reducing unwanted unpredicatble side spin, more consistency and improved accuracy. It wouldnt take OEMs that long, ~ 5-10sec extra per steel shaft, to spine align them prior to club assembly. I can only assume apart from a time cost issue they actually want inconsistency in peoples games so they keep endlessly buying new sets of clubs ?. Same thing with IMIX shafts, you cant pull them from the connector piece and PURE them perfectly, you get pot luck with shaft orientation in it  WB we are not just talking about good swings hitting the sweetspot, if the shaft is kicking way open at impact due to its inherent torsional defect, you will still spray the ball with extra cut spin out to the right, reducing accuracy.Which IMO is a pity because you deserved a perfect flight. IF your swing is poor and very inconsistent, it will be hard to notice much difference ( But it will still be there ! ) and you should deal with these swing issues FIRST but there is no harm in starting out with a PURED /S&F set from the outset. I would if I was a beginner. Thankfully my last post on this
Posted: 06/06/2008 10:40
Well, I do disagree, I think if you are inconsistent you are more likely to feel a benefit someone on the sweetspot all the time won't, but anyway, thanks for the reply.
But I still have a problem with statements like this, "it also enhances the ability to work the ball", I just can't get my head around the claim that laser oscillation in a shaft can lead to any enhancement to the ability to work the ball. You said yourself its tiny fractions to give minute change in oscillaltion, yet this is supposed to enhance the ability to work the ball? I simply do not relate to that at all, in any way, so maybe this is also my last post. Seems little else to say apart from just getting all worked and the thread is on an even keel so that would be pointless, its been heated but a good debate. My thoughts on these tiny and minute changes in shaft rotation that lead to a minute change to an oscillation graph, is a trillion miles away from what I know about working a golf ball through the air, so these thoughts need to be kept to myself for the sake of the thread. How on earth you can measure this and be so definitive about the end results is beyond me.
Posted: 06/06/2008 11:08
WB.. I lied about the last post ok I can appreciate its complex but not that much surely ? I had to spend alot of time researching and downloading stuff off the net before I understood it myself and comitted to spending a small fortune on the gear. I am a sad git for being interested in such things maybe - my dad was a Grad Engineer At the end of the day, you remain sceptical, as I am sure many others do. No amount of scientific or engineering data or maybe it my poor explanation ?? will make a blind bit of difference to you. You know what works for you and thats all that really matters. Enjoying the game is whats important
Posted: 06/06/2008 11:29
LOL, dont u just love internet forums..... for what its worth, i had my shafts pured at golfsmith, they do 'seem' more solid but when i re-shafted my xtours with the new DG hi launch i never bothered.I have built a wedge for my friend and he wanted it pured just to see ,he hits it really solid and straight and likes the feel, but then again he plays off plus 1 so..... It all boils down to how the individual feels... i have now got grafite shafts in my irons and love them,ooh and there not pured so....
Posted: 06/06/2008 13:23
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