[Yoda]

I watched Jason Zuback give an exhibition as a long-drive competitor and as a trick shot artist. He had a special ultra-flexible shaft that could bend into a C-shape. When he swung with that rope-like club he could hit the ball >250 yards - but only if his timing was perfect. He had to get the rope-like clubshaft to become straight at impact - so that the clubhead became like a flying object perfectly timed into impact. However, during the downswing, the clubhead was lagging behind his hands by a variable amount that varied considerably from swing-to-swing, and therefore there was no clearcut relationship between effort and effect (clubhead's sweetspot movement in space) until impact.

[Bold emphasis by Yoda.]

Trust me, Jeff, that rope being swung by Jason Zuback had no trouble staying straight. If you had some footage of that event, I'm confident your 'captured images' would attest to that. Swing a pen knife 'round and 'round on a string, and you'll get the idea.

Of course, you lose certain advantages, e.g., the rope acts as an Impact Cushion (6-C-2-C) and also, Clubface Control becomes problematic (at the very least, this True Swing procedure demands a precise Ball Location). In fact, the whole drill sounds to me like a good argument for stiff shafts.