Originally Posted by
npham
Jesus, where to begin with this...What does "swing weight balanced" mean? If you know what swing weight you like, just order your irons with that SW. Telling a fitter you want something 'balanced' shows you absolutely don't know what you're talking about. Go somewhere good, shut up, and let them fit you.
Tolerances are very tight these days, so getting irons (which never needed it) spine aligned, is just a waste a money. In fact, it's also worthless to get done for graphite shafts. Burn a couple hundred bucks in a fire and you'll see the same amount of impact on your golf game.
In the same thread, I do agree that finding a shaft that works for you is vital. However, shaft A in driver head A, is going to play differently than shaft A in driver head B. You mentioned you liked a Diamana X-Stiff shaft, but there are a ton of variations to consider. First, there are 3 different shaft profiles in the Diamana range - Whiteboard, Blueboard and Redboard. Then you've got multiple weights, flexes and then there are multiple generations within the Diamana range. Finally, you can purchase 'made for' shafts and the 'real deal' versions of exactly the same shaft. The 'real deal' Diamana's have more premium materials than the off the shelf/stock offerings - these go for $3-350 USD for the shaft alone. However, you do get a few more options in stiffness/weights, which sounds like you could make use of, if you are truly in the 115-120 range (not some GolfTown or cheapo swing speed reader).
Then, if you decide to try a different brand or model of shaft out, the flexes are not the same. Something that plays Stiff in one brand, might be closer to X-Stiff in another brand. Much like that random 4.6 torque rating you threw out there. It's arbitrary because you can have a very tip stiff shaft, but a soft butt which will feel and play wildly different than something with a stiff handle and stiff tip. Something might 'load oddly' because the shaft profile might not be for you.
Throw everything you think you know aside and get fitted or you need to start buying a ton of equipment and figure out what works best for you. Nothing wrong with the later, I'm a club ho myself (but have been fitted multiple times).