Adjustable Shaft Tips.

A new twist to golf shaft technology.  For several years now we’ve had the ability to adjust club heads and hosels so that one club, generally a driver but also some irons and wedges, can be set-up in any number of configurations to achieve draw, fade and loft variations.  In other words one club can be adjusted to accommodate any style of golfer.  Great in theory but not always so good in practice. 

TaylorMade have always been at the forefront of these developments and now they’ve lodged patent for a golf shaft with variable tip stiffness.      

"Golf Club Shafts Having Selectable-Stiffness Tip Regions, and Golf Clubs Comprising Same.”  The application goes on to say. “golf clubs have a shaft and clubhead. The shaft has a tip-end coupled to the clubhead, a butt-end, a reduced-EI portion located adjacent the tip-end, and a remaining portion extending between the butt-end and the reduced-EI portion.”

"The portions are coupled together at an interface. The remaining portion exhibits a respective rate of stiffness reduction as a function of distance from the butt-end. The reduced-EI portion is typically shorter than and has less stiffness than the remaining portion. A stiffener is coupled to the shaft, such as in the reduced-EI portion, to add stiffness locally.

"The reduced-EI portion exhibits a respective rate (which can be zero) of stiffness reduction as a function of distance toward the tip-end. These rates can be similar or different. The interface can exhibit a greater rate in stiffness reduction than the other portions. The stiffeners can be user-selectable, from a kit supplied with the club, for example. The clubhead can be removable from the shaft to facilitate stiffener exchange.''

Wowee!  Won’t be long before caddies will be required to be qualified technicians able to adjust a players equipment for every course and for all types of conditions.

Way back, life was so simple.

 "Players had hickory clubs, the bunkers weren't raked, there were sheep on the course and a fellow cut the greens with a scythe. Yet still they went round St Andrews in 73 or 74." (Peter Alliss)

Poses the question;    Are the technical advances in golf equipment and balls out-weighing the down right enjoyment we had when we first picked up a club and struck a ball?