A Ping senior flex is a type of golf club made with a shaft that bends substantially to aid players with slower swing speeds. Unlike most golf club manufacturers, Ping labels its senior flex shafts as "soft regular" shafts, perhaps to remove the stigma of the senior designation that discourages some people from equipping themselves with the right type of clubs for their game.
Shaft Flex
Golf shafts are manufactured with five different flexes. Traditionally, they have been called, in order of the most to least flexibility, ladies, seniors, regular, stiff and extra stiff. The slower your swing speed, the more flex you want in your clubs. More flex gives a club a whiplike effect at impact, also known as a trampoline effect. In short, a slow swinger will hit the ball farther with a whippy shaft. At the other end of the spectrum, an extra stiff shaft hardly bends at all. It is for the most powerful swingers, such as a Tiger Woods or John Daly, who generate tremendous clubhead speed at impact.
Swing Speed
There are charts that match your swing speed to the appropriate flex for your clubs. If your swing speed is in the range of 70 to 85 mph, and you hit a driver about 180 to 210 yards, a senior flex, or Ping's soft regular flex, should work well. Don't be put off by the labels. A child might need a senior flex, an older man might need a ladies flex and a skilled and powerful teenage girl might need a stiff flex. if your shaft flex is too soft, says Scott Hennessy of True Temper, the leading shaft maker in America, as of 2011, "you'll spray the ball all over the place." But most golfers overestimate their swing speed and choose shafts that are too firm, losing distance as a result.
Ping Shafts
Ping Golf is known for custom fitting its clubs. You can order a Ping set, at no extra charge, that will be custom fit in terms of shaft flex, grip, lie and loft. Flex graphite shafts are easier to bend and lighter than steel, so they often are the best choice for golfers with slower swing speeds. They also vibrate less on mishits. The Ping website offers a questionnaire to help you to select the right shaft for your game.
New Models
The latest Ping clubs, as of 2011, give you an array of options in the senior -- soft regular -- category. For woods, you can choose the Ping G15 driver or the K15. The Ping G15 received a gold medal from "Golf Digest" as a game-improvement club designed for the average golfer. The Ping K15 received a gold medal as a super game-improvement club designed for a high-handicap golfer.
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