There are a ton of ways to become a better golfer, whether it be by practicing your putting, irons or chipping, or simply working on things such as your course management and mental game.

Another big one is your gear. And that doesn’t necessarily mean buying the newest clubs on the market and magically getting better, but buying clubs that are perfect for you and your swing.

It goes beyond just the brand and year made and price tag, too. For example, at GOLF’s Top 100 Teacher Retreat at The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz., last year, I asked Joey Wuertemberger, an instructor who works with juniors at The Crown Golf Academy in Arlington, Texas, how much the shaft matters for recreational players.

“I think a lot,” he said. “I think getting fit, the shaft is going to be a big piece of it because it’s going to create spin, so if you don’t have a properly-fit driver with the correct spin, I’d assume you probably lose about 10-15 yards. And the driver head is a big piece for having the right loft on the club from a launch-angle standpoint.”

I followed up by asking how many recreational players he thinks play with the correct shaft. (In short, the higher the swing speed you have, the stiffer the shaft you should play.)

“Probably 20 percent,” Wuertemberger said. “I don’t think as much because I think people think they hit it farther than they normally do, and I think it’s that ego that they hit it way farther than they do, or they swing harder than they do. Typically, if they are going to error, they are going to error on the side of too stiff because they think they hit it farther than they really do.”

As for the shaft flex you should play based on your swing speed, True Spec Golf has shared that information in the past, and we wrote about it here. Check out the above chart to see where you might fit in. And next time you buy a new club, make sure you think about the shaft just as much as the rest of the components (you can shop some below, too).

Of course, to really get the right setup for your game, which includes shaft and club specs, a proper fitting would go a long way. You can learn more about club-fittings here.

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Josh Berhow

Golf.com Editor

As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of the sport’s most-read news and service websites. He spends most of his days writing, editing, planning and wondering if he’ll ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and two kids. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.