By E. Michael Johnson
Reprinted from Golf World Magazine
September 2002

Every golf shaft is as unique as a fingerprint. The vagaries of the manufacturing process (for both steel and composite shafts) leave a spine or seam that runs the length of every shaft. And since shafts are installed into clubheads randomly, many sets have shafts with spine positions that vary from club to club. Enter spining or what tour pros call "PUREing."

Spining is a process by which a shaft is taken out of a club and reinserted with the spine -- a line where there is a weight imbalance -- in a neutral position. For a golfer standing at address, a neutral position would be at 3 or 9 o'clock, with 9 o'clock (facing the target line) the most common option.

An SST tech can locate the spine and reinsert the shaft in about 20 minutes.

This process is used to minimize "droop," or the downward bowing of the club as it approaches impact. Reducing droop allows the shaft to deliver the clubhead to the ball in a consistent manner. Those who believe in spining say the best way to do that is take the strongest part of the shaft (where the spine is) and point it at the target.

Although there is some debate as to the effectiveness of spining, the concept has caught the attention of tour pros. Miami-based Strategic Shaft Technologies' tour van has aligned the shafts of more than 150 players over the last three years, including Jack Nicklaus, his son Gary, and Ryder Cuppers Scott Verplank and Sergio Garcia. The company also recently brought its van onto the LPGA Tour. More than 20 LPGA players, including Karrie Webb and State Farm champion Patricia Meunier-Lebouc, brought their clubs in.

Tour players, however, can afford the luxury of a "can't hurt, might help" attitude since they get their shafts aligned for free. But what about the golfer at large?

A segment of players clearly have bought into the theory of spining. And have paid to do so. The cost for taking existing shafts out, aligning them, and reinserting them into the clubhead is $40 per club. According to Dick Weiss, founder of SST, his company and its 19 licensees, including Golfsmith, have aligned more than 100,000 shafts in the last three years.