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Finally found some time to play a quick 9 holes with the Recoil Dart shafts this afternoon. Kind of windy, but 65 degrees and beautiful out there so I decided to play some hooky from work and put these new shafts through their paces. Put these into my Callaway Apex DCBs (5-AW at 90g) and my Callaway CB wedges (54/60 at 105g).
Prior to this I played Recoil Dart 75g shafts and DG Spinner steel shafts in the wedges. I got these shafts because of the UST Mamiya Shaft Up #1 event coming up at Victoria National in a few weeks. Really huge thanks you to THP and @DannyLe for these things. I finally got the last few grips on my clubs yesterday when the weather turned warm enough again. They were all dry and ready for their maiden voyage this afternoon.
So why go heavier? I honestly got the idea from a free Paradym AI Smoke fitting event. As the fitter was getting a driver set up for me to hit he handed me an AI Smoke 7 iron with a 115g DG shaft in it to get loose. I don't think I'd ever hit a shaft that heavy but I was hitting shots farther than I've ever hit a 7 iron before. That set a light bulb off in my head and got me thinking about going heavier. Since December of 2022 I've lost 56lbs to date. I've really ramped up the weight lifting to use it as a tool to lose weight, stay fit and feel better. I feel stronger than I've felt in probably 20 years and it shows. In the last 6 months alone I can just tell I have more strength when I hit shots on a simulator and elsewhere. So that got me thinking maybe the inconsistency in my game was because things were too light. I discussed this with Danny Le, sent him some swing videos and he agreed that 90 and 105 seemed more in my wheelhouse. He even said I had a fairly smooth swing and that blew my mind, LOL.
So I had a couple wedge shots early on. Par 5 into a crosswind (driver was great, fariway wood not so great) - had about 85 yards left for my third. I pulled out my 54 degree CB wedge. Last year I would've pulled my AW in that situation but I wanted to see what I could do. I hit a nice full shot, gave it a bit extra and saw a nice draw that worked it's way to the center of the green to about 20 feet. Felt great. Threw another ball down to see if it was a fluke. Hit that one a little more heel side, ended up left of the flag but almost exactly the same distance from the pin.
That leads me to the thing I think I'm gonna see from the heavier shafts. Consistency. Last year with the lighter shafts I felt like I could lose control at times. Even though I hit them well for the most part, I just could see weird differences from time to time. These heavier shafts just feel more stable and more consistent than what I played previously. Now the Recoil Darts in general have been my favorite shaft for quite awhile now. They're so smooth, they give instant feedback and the golfer elbow issues I had previously have disappeared. None of that has changed after this first 9 holes with heavier weights. They still feel smooth and they still provide that feedback I love, maybe even more so.
Another example I had today was a 5 iron shot on a dog leg left short Par 4 (280-ish yards) 17th hole. I dreaded hitting 5 iron last year on this hole. So inconsistent, in most case I'd just hit an easy UW because that club is so easy to square up. Ideal shot for this hole is something about 180 to 185, get a bit of roll and to get you to the corner and leave you about 80-90 yard wedge into the green. A younger me used to hit driver and cut the corner (over a corn field) but there's gotta be a lot of wind behind me to try that anymore. Hit two different shots. One pure perfect shot into the center of fairway putting me in the ideal position (85 out) and a second shot that I toed a bit and ended up just off the right fringe but still the same distance. Now I hit my 54 degree wedge last time at this distance, but going into a strong 15 mph wind in my face I chose the AW and hit an easy shot that left me about 12 feet. Actually made birdie on this hole.
Just kinda blown away by these iron shafts, again. I think it's gonna be a fun year.
Prior to this I played Recoil Dart 75g shafts and DG Spinner steel shafts in the wedges. I got these shafts because of the UST Mamiya Shaft Up #1 event coming up at Victoria National in a few weeks. Really huge thanks you to THP and @DannyLe for these things. I finally got the last few grips on my clubs yesterday when the weather turned warm enough again. They were all dry and ready for their maiden voyage this afternoon.
So why go heavier? I honestly got the idea from a free Paradym AI Smoke fitting event. As the fitter was getting a driver set up for me to hit he handed me an AI Smoke 7 iron with a 115g DG shaft in it to get loose. I don't think I'd ever hit a shaft that heavy but I was hitting shots farther than I've ever hit a 7 iron before. That set a light bulb off in my head and got me thinking about going heavier. Since December of 2022 I've lost 56lbs to date. I've really ramped up the weight lifting to use it as a tool to lose weight, stay fit and feel better. I feel stronger than I've felt in probably 20 years and it shows. In the last 6 months alone I can just tell I have more strength when I hit shots on a simulator and elsewhere. So that got me thinking maybe the inconsistency in my game was because things were too light. I discussed this with Danny Le, sent him some swing videos and he agreed that 90 and 105 seemed more in my wheelhouse. He even said I had a fairly smooth swing and that blew my mind, LOL.
So I had a couple wedge shots early on. Par 5 into a crosswind (driver was great, fariway wood not so great) - had about 85 yards left for my third. I pulled out my 54 degree CB wedge. Last year I would've pulled my AW in that situation but I wanted to see what I could do. I hit a nice full shot, gave it a bit extra and saw a nice draw that worked it's way to the center of the green to about 20 feet. Felt great. Threw another ball down to see if it was a fluke. Hit that one a little more heel side, ended up left of the flag but almost exactly the same distance from the pin.
That leads me to the thing I think I'm gonna see from the heavier shafts. Consistency. Last year with the lighter shafts I felt like I could lose control at times. Even though I hit them well for the most part, I just could see weird differences from time to time. These heavier shafts just feel more stable and more consistent than what I played previously. Now the Recoil Darts in general have been my favorite shaft for quite awhile now. They're so smooth, they give instant feedback and the golfer elbow issues I had previously have disappeared. None of that has changed after this first 9 holes with heavier weights. They still feel smooth and they still provide that feedback I love, maybe even more so.
Another example I had today was a 5 iron shot on a dog leg left short Par 4 (280-ish yards) 17th hole. I dreaded hitting 5 iron last year on this hole. So inconsistent, in most case I'd just hit an easy UW because that club is so easy to square up. Ideal shot for this hole is something about 180 to 185, get a bit of roll and to get you to the corner and leave you about 80-90 yard wedge into the green. A younger me used to hit driver and cut the corner (over a corn field) but there's gotta be a lot of wind behind me to try that anymore. Hit two different shots. One pure perfect shot into the center of fairway putting me in the ideal position (85 out) and a second shot that I toed a bit and ended up just off the right fringe but still the same distance. Now I hit my 54 degree wedge last time at this distance, but going into a strong 15 mph wind in my face I chose the AW and hit an easy shot that left me about 12 feet. Actually made birdie on this hole.
Just kinda blown away by these iron shafts, again. I think it's gonna be a fun year.
