Shaft flex, torque rating, kick point, launch and spin profiles. These all affect the performance of a given golf shaft, as well as its suitability for a player. So does the tempo rating, even the weight.
For instance, a golf shaft with a lightweight design might generally perform better in the hands of a beginner golfer or an aging golfer with a slower swing speed, as the lower swing speed would be easier to swing faster.
That much is obvious, but in some instances, it’s not just the objective weight of the shaft, but how the shaft is weighted.
PING golf shafts like the Alta CB 55 Black make an excellent illustration of this. Typically, PING clubs were outfitted with aftermarket shafts from other manufacturers, but the company has started to make its own shafts, and models like the PING Alta CB 55 Black have stolen the show for their counterbalanced performance.
In this case, as explained, it’s not just about the weight. It’s where the weight is. Let’s take a closer look.
Big Driver Heads: It’s All About the Balance
Some driver heads are not just big, they are also massive – literally. As in, they’re not just large, but they’re heavy.
Heavy driver heads can transfer a lot of energy. That much is good, which should be easy to understand. But all that extra mass has other implications on the swing, which is something you need to consider.
One thing about heavy driver heads is that they impart a lot of force on the golf shaft. This can cause undesired oscillations that make it a challenge to get the head to square with the ball at impact.
Understandably, this is frustrating for golfers as they may need to tinker with their swing mechanics to keep everything consistent. If they don’t, accuracy can suffer as a result – but you know what also happens when golfers try to make adjustments to form.
Fortunately, the PING Alta CB 55 Black is a very stable shaft with a relatively low torque rating (across the board) that helps keep shot dispersion under control.
But more importantly, as mentioned previously, is how these shafts are weighted. It’s not necessarily that they’re lightweight, but that they’re counter-weighted. That’s where the CB comes from in the name – these are “counterbalanced” shafts.
The counterweighting in these shafts helps to offset the extra mass of a heavier driver head. While it doesn’t eliminate the complications associated with a bigger, heavier driver, it does help smooth them over.
With extra mass strategically countered, and concentrated around the butt section of these golf shafts, there’s more mass farther away from the head of the shaft. As a result, even when you don’t mess with the overall mass of the outfit, it feels like the driver head is much lighter.
That is a big consideration. Helping to balance out the weight added by the driver head means that any given golfer could swing it faster, without making any changes to their form or mechanics.
All in all, if you swing a particularly big or heavy driver, such as a PING G440 MAX or G430 MAX 10K, then a counterbalanced option, such as one of these PING golf shafts, might be just what you need.
Where to Learn More About These PING Golf Shafts
Thinking you might possibly be in the market for one of these PING golf shafts, but you’re not sure where you can learn more? Check Dallas Golf Company first; there you can learn more about these shafts, or you can work directly with their fitters to determine if they might be a good match for you, considering the nature of your swing and what golf clubs you use.
