In The Weeds - Episode 3 - Shaft Anatomy In The Weeds Golf Podcast

Butt


The name of the end of the shaft with the larger measured diameter and the end where the grip is installed

Middle


The middle of the shaft

Tip


The end of the shaft where the clubhead is installed.  It also has the smaller measured diameter of the two sides

Weight


Simply how heavy the shaft is.  It is almost exclusively measured in grams.  A heavy shaft for irons and wedges is 130g and a lightweight would be 70 or 80g.  A heavy metal wood shaft would be 85 or 90g while a light shaft could be as light as 40g.  While evolving manufacturing and material combinations are somewhat changing this, a shaft weight is still highly correlated to the overall flex of the shaft.  A stiff flex shaft that is 100g is almost certainly going to be stiffer than a stiff flex shaft at 80g.  In my experience, getting the weight of the shaft correct is the single most important factor in a shaft fitting.

Flex


The flex of the shaft is a metric that attempts to educate the player on how flexible the overall shaft is.  In General, a more flexible shaft will help a player draw the ball more easily and hit it higher while the opposite is generally true with stiffer shafts.  The flex of the shaft is usually indicated by a single word or letter.  The order of general flexes from most flexible to least is L or Ladies, A or SR flex for senior, R for regular, S for Stiff, and X for Extra Stiff.  There are other methods for indicating flexes and there are additional shaft flexes apart from those provided but those are what is seen the majority of the time.  Shaft flex is not standardized from one company to the next or even from one product line to the next.  Shaft flex is most useful for quickly narrowing in your selection of shaft that will potentially fit you as a player and while it is not a perfect indication of performance having that and a narrower range of weights will give you a very useful starting point.

Torque


Torque is the rotational twisting of a shaft along the length axis of the shaft.  While a club is being swung it not only bends but also twists.  Torque is measured in degrees and a shaft with a higher number is going to twist more and will likely also have a softer shaft flex.  A shaft with a lower torque number twists less and will likely have a stiffer shaft flex.

Kickpoint


Kickpoint is a term for the general location on the shaft where it is designed to flex the most.  Generally, shafts can have high, middle, or low kick points although middle positions are also fairly common.  There are no standards for kick point and each company will have a slightly different take.  However, it is a common convention that a shaft with a higher kick point will make the ball fly lower and a shaft with a lower kick point will generally make the ball fly higher.

Flighted shafts

Tip sizes

Parallel tip vs. taper tip shafts

Tip trimming 

Butt trimming

Raw length and cut length

Swing weight

Counterbalanced

Materials

Shaft PUREING

Made-For / OEM shafts vs. Aftermarket

Step vs. Stepless shafts








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