Free tool
Senior flex shaft finder
Swing speed drops gradually, and most golfers never change shafts to match. A player who swung 95 mph at 40 may be at 80 mph at 65, which is two flex categories softer. Playing a shaft that is too stiff for your current speed makes it harder to load the shaft and get the ball up.
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The published ranges
These are driver clubhead speed ranges. They are consistent across the three sources listed at the bottom of this page, and this tool does not adjust them.
| Flex | Driver clubhead speed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ladies | Under 72 mph | At these speeds shaft weight usually matters more than the flex letter on the label. |
| Senior (A) | 72 to 83 mph | Often written A or M. The category is about speed, not age, and plenty of golfers under 60 belong in it. |
| Regular | 84 to 96 mph | The largest category among recreational golfers. |
| Stiff | 97 to 104 mph | Common among lower-handicap male players. |
| Extra Stiff | 105 mph and above | Mostly elite and long-drive players. |
How the estimates work
- Clubhead speed is read straight off the table above. Nothing is calculated.
- Driver carry is divided by 2.3 yards per mph. Trackman reports an average male amateur at about 93.4 mph carrying roughly 214 yards, which is where that figure comes from. It assumes a reasonably centred strike, so if you often miss the middle this will read low.
- Six-iron carry is mapped to an estimated driver speed range. This is the least precise input, because iron speed does not extrapolate perfectly to driver speed.
- Tempo only matters at a band edge. Within 2 mph of a boundary, a smooth swing is usually better served by the softer flex and an aggressive one by the stiffer flex.
Sources
- True Spec Golf shaft flex ranges, via GOLF.com
- MyGolfSpy driver shaft flex chart
- Golf Sidekick shaft flex and six-iron carry charts
Senior Golf Lab compiles published fitting ranges and does not test shafts. See how we compare things and how this site is written.