Home of Senior Softball-USA and Senior Softball World Championships
Advertisement: Queen Kapiolani Hotel

Message board   »Message Board home    »Sign-in or register to get started

Online now: 1 member: Rangview85; 9 anonymous
Change topic:

Discussion: 2 FLEX or NOT 2 FLEX

Posted Discussion
Nov. 30
?

121 posts

Help!

I have read and heard that having a Stiff Bat handle is what is desired in a bat.

On the other hand...

I have read and heard a bat with lots of Flex in the handle is the way to go!
In fact some people will step on the bat handle to give it more flex.

So which is it?

Thanks for any input you may give!
Nov. 30
wdodge22
Men's 60
164 posts
Here is my thought process, keeping in mind I coached High School golf for 10 years and my kid played in college and worked at Roger Dunn for 4 years.

I look at it this way. Do I have the swing speed to swing stiff shafts in a golf club, no. Therefore I swing regular shafts.

I have had more success using a 2 piece or endloaded bat than I have had swinging a heavier balanced bat.

Hope that helps.

Bill
Nov. 30
crusher
Men's 75
524 posts
In Golf, if I try to swing a Senior Shaft (Flex) the club face if open and behind my hands causing a slice. BAD.

I am not convinced in softball flex actually helps. You need swing speed to actually cause FLEX. If you have power/speed to cause flex in a softball bat I would think the bat would be pointed back some and not strike the ball as good. I do not like the feel of a flex bat. Oh, my measured golf club head speed is 109 mph.

In fishing flex is good.good.good.
Dec. 1
0

70 posts
Lots of bat handle flex helps giving the bat more whipping action
Dec. 2
Full Monty

88 posts
It seems that the bat handle flex would give the bat a type of "trampoline effect" similar to that of when the ball hits the barrel. Whereas a stiff handle won't do that.
Dec. 2
Hit the gap
Men's 70
154 posts
One of the best bats I ever had was the Easton Flex SCN3. Lots of handle flex.
Dec. 2
PJ3P
Men's 50
93 posts
Handle flex absorbs energy that would instead be flexing the barrel. Stiff handle for power. Flex handle may feel better [or not :-)] but it robs power. The contact of bat and ball happens way to fast for handle flex to react in a positive way. The bat is simply flexing back from the ball at contact and rebounding long after the ball has left the bat.The barrel on the other hand does react and trampoline the ball quick enough to matter. So handle flex has more to do with feel than overall performance. Disclaimer; My opinions are my own and I only pretend to know what I am typing about on the Internet.
PJ3P
Dec. 2
Home Plate

35 posts
10 or 12 years ago I saw a high speed picture of Mark McGwire hitting a baseball...

Talk about bat handle flex...

Before I saw that pic, I would NEVER have thought a wood baseball bat could bow that much and not break.

That pic definitely convinced me about bat flex!

By the way, is a wood baseball bat considered to have a "stiff handle"?


Dec. 2
PJ3P
Men's 50
93 posts
Home Plate that was camera lens distortion.
Dec. 15
Wayne 37
Men's 65
773 posts
If you want bat flex, you should be able to snap your wrists through the swing. Harder to do the older you get, though.
Dec. 15
DOERBAUM
Men's 55
86 posts
PJ3P IS CORRECT IN HIS ASSUMPTIONS. AS HARD AS HE HITS THE BALL, HE IS NOT

"FLEXING THE HANDLE" TO ANY APPRECIABLE DEGREE. THE BARREL IS THE KEY. THE

ONLY THING I HAVE FOUND THAT THE "FLEX BATS" DO (THE OLD "CONNECTION", THE

COMBATS WITH THE HARD RUBBER COUPLING, ETC) IS ROB POWER THAT SHOULD BE

TRANSFERED AT THE BARREL. I TOOK B.P. TODAY AFTER OUR LOCAL LEAGUE HERE IN

WINTER HAVEN AND VIDEOED MYSELF TO WORK OUT A COUPLE OF ISSUES I WAS

HAVING WITH MY FOOTWORK. I ACTUALLY GOT LUCKY ENOUGH TO CATCH ONE

PARTICULARLY GOOD SHOT RIGHT AS IT WAS FULLY COMPRESSING THE BARREL OF THE

BAT. I WAS ASTOUNDED AT THE DEGREE OF FLEX THESE NEW BATS HAVE. WITH THE

CONTRAST OF THE NEW BLACK MIKEN AND THE BRIGHT YELLOW OF THE BALL IT WAS

EASY TO SEE. ANYTHING THAT WOULD TAKE AWAY FROM THIS "ENGINEERED

ADVANTAGE", TO MY MIND, WOULD BE A WASTE OF ENERGY !!
Dec. 17
0

70 posts
Ok

HOW ABOUT A LITTLE INFO FROM ALL YOU BAT GUYS, BAT TESTERS AND YOU TUBE STARS.

Which type of bat has the STIFFER HANDLE?
1) The ONE Piece bat?
or
2) The TWO Piece bat?

If the ONE Piece bat has the stiffer handle then explain the rising popularity of the TWO Piece bats?


Thanks...
Dec. 18
Pull My Finger

81 posts
C'mon you bat geeks. Tell us if the handles of the 2 piece bats have more or less handle flex than the single piece bats.

Inquiring minds want to know.


Dec. 18
OZ40

550 posts
It's not that easy of a question per say. A lot depends on the individual swinging the bat. Sure, given the length and thin-ness of a golf club shaft and the overwhelming head weight of a driver, anyone can flex a golf club with a swing. Heck, grab a modern golf club with on hand and wiggle it and you will flex the shaft. A bat is totally different in what it take to flex the handle, a large part of that being speed and wrist snap. A two piece bat can be made to be stiffer than some one piece bats. Therefore a faster swinger with great wrist snap could flex a stiff handle more than a batter with slower bat speed and less wrist snap could flex a less stiffer handle. It's all about knowing yourself as a batter as to what bat works best for you and your swing.
Dec. 18
Tri18

352 posts
OZ,
You are on track with your statement. It's not a simple question to answer unless you ...simplify it. By and large a one piece bat is stiffer than a two piece bat but....even that can be variable due to different lay ups in the handle area itself. Another thing that players sometimes mistake barrel flex for handle flex. Again, depending on design, this can be a different feeling from bat to bat.

AlanTanner
Team 1 Sports
Sign-in to reply or add to a discussion or post your own message and start a new discussion. If you don't have a message board account, please register for a free nickname. It will only take a moment.
Senior Softball-USA
Email: info@SeniorSoftball.com
Phone: (916) 326-5303
Fax: (916) 326-5304
9823 Old Winery Place, Suite 12
Sacramento, CA 95827
Senior Softball-USA is dedicated to informing and uniting the Senior Softball Players of America and the World. Senior Softball-USA sanctions tournaments and championships, registers players, writes the rulebook, publishes Senior Softball-USA News, hosts international softball tours and promotes Senior Softball throughout the world. More than 1.5 million men and women over 40 play Senior Softball in the United States today. »SSUSA History  »Privacy policy

Follow us on Facebook

Partners