Torque is for Mechanics

Torque is for mechanics?

I will probably get some flak for this statement, but the most overused and least known term in golf equipment today is torque. Before you fill the comment section with cries for my head or my position, let me explain.

Can you tell me what torque means? Can you tell me why I should use a low or a high torque? Better yet, can you tell me what will happen if I play 3.2 torque vs. 3.3 torque? I mean if I told you I was a 1 handicap and had a swing speed of 97+ MPH on most driver swings, played a 9.5* driver at 45” with a 65g shaft and I didn’t know what torque I should be playing, you could tell me right? What if I told you that my typical ball flight was straight to a power fade. You could tell me straight away, right? Ohhhhhhh or better yet, I can go hit on your launch monitor and you can tell me then what torque I should be using. That will do it. Okay, I know that torque is important in some capacity. I kid when I say it is immaterial, but am I so far off?

Lets define torque and march through this together. Torque is defined as the shafts resistance to twisting. The lower the number, the less it twists and the higher the number the more it twists. Torque is “fitted” by testing contact and ball spin. A lower torque typically spins the ball more than a higher torque does. So spin is bad and so we should all play the lowest torque possible, right? Well there is more to it than that.

If you make consistent ball contact, you hit the middle or close to the middle of the golf club every time you make contact, lower torque might be right up your alley. But if you hit it like my buddies, you are all over the face. One is off the heel, one out on the toe, torque might not hurt you if that is the case. In fact, torque can help you. A higher torque might afford you some forgiveness on those off-center hits. Your club could attempt to correct some of those impact faults.

I know what you are saying…”Tom you sounded like you thought torque was a joke earlier and now you are making it seem like it makes sense to take into account.” Well I don’t think it is a joke and I certainly do not think it is something to take into account…for all golfers.

Let me put it this way. If you are a 20 handicap and have trouble finding the fairway. Maybe you slice the golf ball and are just trying to get it in play so you can find it and hit it again. Why would you be concerned with the torque of the golf club you are playing? Is this torque thing going to magically produce Tiger-like drives from your over the top reverse pivot golf swing? No. This is just another variable to confuse you in an already confounding game.

Now if you are a low handicapper or even a golfer that makes consistent contact with the sweet spot of the golf club, maybe torque is something you should consider when purchasing your next driver. Be very cautious though. Do not let torque override the more important aspects of the shaft such as weight or flex.

Torque is not going to make you hit the ball 10 yards further like weight can. Torque is not going to produce a higher ball flight like flex point can. Torque is not going to turn heads like even the color of the shaft will. Torque has and will continue to confuse the average golfer, but can be a variable that the consistent player might want to examine.

I choose to play a Cobra X speed Driver. I play the D version (deep face) with an Aldila VS proto shaft in stiff flex at 65 grams. They tell me it is a 3.2 torque. I have no idea what that means to me, but I hit it well and like the way it feels. It is SOOOOOOOO important to golfers everywhere that Cobra does not even print the torque of that shaft on their website when giving the specifications of the golf club.

I guess it isn’t first on their mind and they were the ones that built the club. Makes me think…maybe it should not be first on my mind.

HIT EM WELL!