What is torque in golf shafts?

     Torque is the property of golf shafts that resists twisting during a golf swing. The fact that the shaft attaches to the heel end of the golf club means all the club head weight is in front of the shaft. During the golf swing because of the weights location a twisting force is exerted on the shaft.

     Torque is measured in degrees. The lower the number is better the shaft resists twisting.The range on today's graphite shafts can be as high as 7 degrees and as low as 1 degree. A steel shaft's range, because of the material, is much narrower - a little more than 2 degrees to just under 4 degrees.

     The reason that torque is not a critical fitting factor today is because shaft makers design the torque of their shafts to coincide with the flex. Because a strong player with an aggressive tempo creates more twisting force on the shaft you rarely see S and X flex shafts with torque higher than 4 degrees. With R, A and L flex shafts are designed with higher degrees of torque because a slower swinger exerts less twisting force on the shaft.

    In summary for most players torque is not a factor to be concerned with in shaft fitting. For those who's swings warrant consideration of shaft torque it will apply only to graphite shafts and not steel.