Home » New Golf Equipment Reviews » Best Golf Clubs » 60 Vs 70 Gram Driver Shaft – (and Heavier Driver Shafts Pros And Cons)
If you are in the market for a new driver shaft, one of the factors you need to consider is the weight of the shaft.
Two of the more popular driver shaft weights on the market today are 60 and 70 grams.
Want to know which driver shaft is the right weight for your golf swing?
The Tell Me More Golf team tells you about the performance differences between 60g and 70g driver shafts and what you need to know to find the perfect driver shaft for your golf swing.
60 Vs 70 Gram Driver Shaft – (and Heavier Driver Shafts Pros And Cons)
60 Vs 70 Gram Driver Shaft – (and Heavier Driver Shafts Pros And Cons)
This swing speed typically correlates with an average drive of 250-255 yards and a handicap index in the mid-teens to a high single-digit player.
60g driver shafts are heavy enough to give golfers a sense of stability during their golf swing.
It’s important to remember that swing weight is only one part of the formula for choosing the right shaft for your driver.
Shaft flex and kick point are other vital factors to consider when looking at a driver shaft.
A good golf club fitter can help match you with the correct driver shaft to maximize your driving efficiency.
Golfers with slower swing speeds below 90 mph can still use a 60g shaft if they are satisfied with the distance and dispersion of their drives.
Golfers should use 70-gram driver shafts with swing speeds between 106-115 mph.
Golfers should use 70-gram driver shafts with swing speeds between 106-115 mph.
This swing speed typically correlates with an average drive of 285-290 yards and a high to mid-single digit handicap index.
As a golfer’s swing speed increases, so does the torque placed on the shaft during the golf swing, so this is one of the reasons why a 70g shaft helps them reduce dispersion on their drive.
Golfers with a high launch with their driver may also want to look at 70g driver shafts as heavier driver shafts tend to produce less spin and a lower launch angle than lighter shafts.
Again, it’s not just the swing weight of the shaft, but the swing weight, flex, and kick point of the shaft combined that must be considered when finding the right driver shaft for your game.
The best thing to do is to find a professional club fitter who can try different combinations that match your swing to provide the perfect shaft weight.
The Tell Me More Golf Equipment team simply calls the Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 60 Stiff Shaft the best 60g driver shaft.
It has a stiff tip, but the middle and back of the shaft are soft enough that you don’t have to swing hard to get the ball to fly off the face of the driver.
You can find the Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 60 shaft with adapters for most major driver brands, including Callaway, Ping, Titleist, and TaylorMade.
Best 70 gram driver shaft
Best 70 gram driver shaft
The Tell Me More golf equipment testers loved the Project X HZRDUS Smoke 6.0 70G driver shaft.
You’ll find the Project X HZRDUS Smoke 6.0 shaft with adapters for most major driver brands, including Callaway, Ping, Titleist, and TaylorMade.
Heavier Driver Shafts Pros And Cons
Heavier Driver Shafts Pros And Cons
If you have a faster swing speed, a heavier driver shaft may be an excellent fit for your golf swing.
However, if you have an average swing speed, the extra weight can do your swing more harm than good.
So let’s examine some of the pros and cons of heavier drive shafts.
Advantages of a Heavier Driver Shaft
Advantages of a Heavier Driver Shaft
Higher Swing Speed - For some golfers, a heavier shaft weight can help maximize muscle activation and result in higher swing speeds than with a lighter shaft.
Less Spin – When you combine a fast golf swing with a heavier shaft, the result is less spin off the clubface and a lower ball flight, which can help maximize distance off the tee.
Better stability – With a higher swing speed, there is also an increase in torque on the shaft.
Lower Ball Flight – Higher swing speeds combined with heavier waves produce a lower trajectory than lighter waves, preventing the ball from exiting the T-Balloon.
Disadvantages of Heavier Driver Shaft
Disadvantages of Heavier Driver Shaft
Lower Swing Speed - For some golfers, the heavier shaft does not go well with their swing, and they may lose clubhead speed with a heavier shaft compared to a lighter shaft.
Lower Launch – A heavier club shaft with a lower swing speed can result in a lower launch, losing distance off the tee.
As a general rule, golfers with above-average swing speeds will likely get better results with a heavier driver shaft over a lighter one.
Conversely, those with average to lower than average swing speeds will perform better with a lighter driver shaft.
For most golfers with average swing speed and pace, 70g is too heavy for a driver shaft.
According to the 2020 USGA Distance Insights Report, recreational golfers drive the ball an average of 185-240 yards.
The average male amateur golfer has a swing speed of 93, which is at the low end of what is recommended for using a 60g driver shaft.
However, if you have a swing speed of 105 mph or more, you may need the added stability that a 70g driver shaft can provide.
Several factors go into deciding how many grams your driver shaft should be.
Using the numbers above, when you hit your driver, on average, 220 yards, your swing speed is between 80 and 90 mph.
These factors mean you should be looking at a 60g driver shaft at most.
If you’re averaging 280 yards or more off the tee, you’re starting to get into 70g territory based on your swing speed alone.
Remember that swing weight is only part of the equation for finding the right driver shaft and that flex and kick point can also play huge factors in how the shaft works with your swing.
Will a heavier shaft help a slice?
Will a heavier shaft help a slice?
But, yes, a heavier shaft can help a golfer with their slice because they usually have less torque and therefore less twist than a lighter shaft.
However, heavy shafts can make it more difficult for a player to release the club during the swing, resulting in slices and blocked shots.
You also need to consider shaft flex and kick point to determine what causes you to cut the ball and whether your swing is more vertical or flat.
If you are looking for a new driver shaft, the most popular weights are 60g and 70g.
60g driver shafts are great for golfers with a swing speed between 90 and 105mph and average 250-255 yards with their driver.
70g driver shafts are good for golfers with a swing speed between 105 and 115 mph and average 285-290 yards with their driver.
Using your average drive distance, you can roughly calculate what shaft weight is right for your game.
However, golfers should not only rely on swing weight, but also the flex and kick point of the shafts when choosing a driver shaft.
The combination of factors can affect how the shaft performs for each golfer.
Lighter driver shafts promote more spin and a higher ball flight and help players release the club and close the face during the swing.
Heavier driver shafts promote less spin and a lower ball flight and will keep the shaft more stable during the swing, which can reduce hooks and draws.