Golfers have been playing with steel putter shafts since time immemorial. Yet there was a time when driver shafts were almost universally made of steel, yet today, all of the top-performing, industry-leading driver shafts are all composite graphite shafts.
There are good reasons for this, and the same conditions are starting to affect the corner of the market that concerns putter shafts. While it is true that many putter shafts are still steel, there is an increasing number of adherents that choose graphite.
But why? Let’s take a closer look.
Steel: Time-Tested Performance
To understand why some golfers prefer to outfit their putters with graphite shafts, we must first understand what makes steel putter shafts good, as well as not so good.
Among other things, steel is heavy and comparatively cheap. But, price notwithstanding, it’s the stiffness and consistency of steel that has kept steel putter shafts prevalent.
There are some intransigent golfers who may putt with steel shafts simply because “that’s what we do”, but to be fair to them, steel has some serious advantages when it comes to consistency.
Steel is very stiff and you can expect very reliable, replicable results and accuracy from a steel putter shaft. The high-stiff and low torque don’t make steel forgiving, but they do make it very, very accurate with good form and accurate contact. A square putter head and a consistent swing stroke with a steel shaft will produce very accurate putts.
With that said, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows with steel putter shafts. For all their stiffness and consistency, they are heavy in the hand, and worse, even though steel is stiff, it doesn’t have a soft feel and it certainly doesn’t offer very good sensitivity.
So, what is it that draws golfers to the allure of graphite putter shafts?
Graphite Putters Shafts: Matching the Performance of Steel and Beyond
A lot of what attracts golfers to graphite putter shafts is that they can mimic, and in some cases outdo the performance of steel, while offering far better balance, feel and sensitivity.
As stated, steel is heavy. While to some golfers the heft of steel is a reassuring testament to its stability, to other golfers, it just feels clunky. Advanced graphite putters can be made lighter. For instance, our Stability ONE only tips the scales at 115 grams. Compare this to the True Temper Premium Stepless, which weighs between 120 and 127 grams, almost 10% heavier.
With graphite, it’s also not just about the weight itself, but how the putter shaft is weighted. Because the lay and density of the fibers in a graphite shaft can be manipulated, swing weighting and balance can be customized in ways that steel does not allow.
Composite putter shafts can also be designed and developed to rival the stiffness of steel, ensuring that the putter squares on contact with the ball, upholding a high degree of accuracy. In addition to being super-stiff, premium graphite putter shafts can exhibit 1° or less of torque, delivering exceptional consistency, just like, or even better than steel.
In cases in which the torsional stiffness of graphite putter shafts exceeds that of steel, it helps prevent the putter from deflecting on off-center shots. Even when the effect here is infinitesimal, it can have a significant impact on the accuracy of the putt.
Golfers that have played with graphite putter shafts have remarked that it produces the same consistency and performance, with respect to stiffness and torque, as steel, putting them on equal footing, if not giving graphite the edge.
But with respect to sensitivity, that’s where the gulf between them grows. Steel often feels dead in the hand and does not produce either the sensitivity or the feedback so crucial to golfers, which can be used to educate them on where their putt went wrong, in the case of a wide putt.
Graphite is much more sensitive than steel and transmits the vibrations incurred during contact through the shaft and grip into the golfer’s hands. Graphite shafts also deliver a softer feel that many golfers find more pleasant than steel.
Specifically, this soft feel preserves the sensitivity of graphite putter shafts without producing the harsh vibrations that sometimes occur with steel on off-center strikes, preventing those vibrations from interfering with the feedback that the shaft offers.
Contact Us If You Have Questions About Our Putter Shafts
Here at Breakthrough Golf Technologies we have helped pioneer graphite putter shaft technology with models like the Stability ONE and Stability Tour. If after reading this you still have questions about why you might want to consider re-outfitting your putter with a graphite shaft so you can see what it’s like, contact us and we will be more than happy to assist.
