Without seeing your swing it's difficult to see what flex of shaft you require. Quicker swing speeds can cause the club head to drag too much so those people tend to go for stiff shafts. Lots of people think stiff shafts give greater distance but this is nonsense. The temptation with stiff shafts is to try hit the ball farther than you would expect and that will breed a lot of bad habits and inconsistency.

I use regular flexed shafts and they seem to suit me ... I have tried other flexes but nothing feels the same as what I am used to. My swing is not fast but neither is it lazy. Infact, if any beginners are reading, I would advise them to swing deliberately slow. Your swing may feel very slow but it may not look that way to others and the chances are you'll hit the ball just as far as you would with a good swipe at it.

As for loft, most mass manufacturers have set degrees. There are exceptions, I play a driver that has 12* instead of 10* so it's progressing towards a 3 wood. The increased loft reduces sidespin making for straighter shots. I average between 250-260 yards with it so there's no great loss in length really, but I have hit more fairways than with 10* of loft ... I'm always counting in regulation and things Anyway, that range is more than enough for the courses around where I live; why struggle for extra distance and probable inconsistency when a nice smooth shot might get a safe suitable result?

Lots of people struggle with longer clubs and I believe this is because they are anxious to see where the has gone and "come up" too quickly. I'm having a similar problem at the moment - my left knee sometimes locks on the throughswing forcing my body to "come up" but I'll get it sorted ... there's always something going wrong in golf ... the secret is to identify the problem quickly.

Regards
Paul

Thanks for that, really helpful!