The Reference Tables Behind Your Sheet
Every band we publish, every term we use, and the ranges we consider normal. Printed here so you can check our work rather than take our word for it.
Shaft Weight Classes
Weight does more to shape a golfer's timing than the letter stamped on the flex band. These are the classes we work in and who typically lands in each.
| Class | Range | Common Use | Typical Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultralight | 40–54 g | Driver, fairway | Slower tempo, seeking launch |
| Light | 55–64 g | Driver, fairway, hybrid | Moderate speed, smooth transition |
| Mid | 65–79 g | Fairway, hybrid, graphite iron | The broadest band; most amateurs |
| Heavy graphite | 80–99 g | Hybrid, iron | Aggressive transition, needs stability |
| Light steel | 95–110 g | Iron | Wants steel feel without the mass |
| Standard steel | 111–130 g | Iron, wedge | Stronger players, consistent strike |
Tolerance Bands We Publish
A reading inside its band is not a problem and we will tell you so. These numbers appear on every sheet next to the measured value.
| Specification | Band | Read To | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron loft | ±0.5° | 0.1° | One degree is roughly two to three yards |
| Iron lie | ±0.5° | 0.1° | Directional error grows with club length |
| Wedge loft | ±0.5° | 0.1° | Gaps are only four degrees to begin with |
| Putter lie | ±1.0° | 0.1° | Affects face aim more than most expect |
| Putter loft | ±0.5° | 0.1° | Governs how early the ball starts rolling |
| Playing length | ±0.125″ | 0.01″ | Changes dynamic lie and swingweight |
| Swingweight | ±1 point | 1 point | Perceived head feel through the set |
| Total mass | ±3 g | 0.1 g | Set consistency club to club |
Torque, Bend Profile and What They Actually Change
Torque is a measure of how far a shaft twists under a stated load, expressed in degrees. Lower numbers indicate a shaft that resists twisting more. It is not a quality rating, despite being marketed as one for about two decades.
A player with an aggressive transition and a strong grip pressure will generally sense a high-torque shaft as unstable. A smoother player will often find a very low-torque shaft lifeless, and will lose feel and consequently timing. Neither outcome is a fault in the shaft.
Bend profile — where along the shaft the greatest flexing occurs — is the more useful specification of the two, and the harder one to get from a manufacturer's published material. We measure it on the frequency analyser rather than trusting a marketing label.
Manufacturers measure torque under different loads, so cross-brand comparison of published figures is unreliable. Ours are measured in-house on one rig.
Vocabulary Used on Your Sheet
Plain definitions for the terms that appear in the left-hand column of a spec sheet.
Playing length
Measured from the heel edge along the shaft to the butt end with the club soled in playing position. Not the same as raw shaft length, and not the same as the number in the catalogue.
Dynamic lie
The lie angle presented at impact rather than at address. We derive it from sole marking on a lie board, since it is the number that actually influences where the ball starts.
Swingweight
A ratio describing how head-heavy a club feels, expressed on a letter-and-number scale. Two clubs of identical total mass can sit two full points apart.
Frequency
Cycles per minute of a clamped shaft under load. It gives a comparable stiffness figure across brands, which flex letters emphatically do not.
Grip build-up
Layers of tape under the grip, counted in wraps. Changes hand size fit and adds mass at the butt, which lowers swingweight.
Drift
Our term for the change in a measured specification between one gauging and the next. The whole reason we keep the ledger.
See Where Your Clubs Land on These Tables
Reading a tolerance band is one thing. Watching your own 6-iron read a degree and a half outside it is considerably more persuasive.