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KBS C-Taper Lite Iron Shaft - Review Thread

Nippon Shafts
Distance could have had something to do with spin as well. I would imagine that the difference could be quite large between those two shafts.
 
Hawk said:
Distance could have had something to do with spin as well. I would imagine that the difference could be quite large between those two shafts.
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No doubt at all there. GREAT point.
 
AWESOME write up Jman! I knew you would not disappoint in the least.

My immediate reaction when hearing the characteristics of this shaft was "uh-oh" as high launch scares the heck out of me mainly because I play in a lot of wind here in So Dak. Holes into the wind have long been my nemisis. But then you say this: "flight was also unaltered by the wind." and that makes me quite happy. In the back of my mind I was hoping that would be the case. Sure a super windy day and we'll see it, but a nice 10 mph breeze sounds like we'll still be just fine.

As long as I can still flight the ball lower into the wind I think I'll be money, playing the irons you are now I'm guessing flighting a ball low isn't something you really do a lot of huh? I imagine with the X Forged it should still be quite easy to accomplish (I hope).


 
Puttin4Bird said:
AWESOME write up Jman! I knew you would not disappoint in the least.

My immediate reaction when hearing the characteristics of this shaft was "uh-oh" as high launch scares the heck out of me mainly because I play in a lot of wind here in So Dak. Holes into the wind have long been my nemisis. But then you say this: "flight was also unaltered by the wind." and that makes me quite happy. In the back of my mind I was hoping that would be the case. Sure a super windy day and we'll see it, but a nice 10 mph breeze sounds like we'll still be just fine.

As long as I can still flight the ball lower into the wind I think I'll be money, playing the irons you are now I'm guessing flighting a ball low isn't something you really do a lot of huh? I imagine with the X Forged it should still be quite easy to accomplish (I hope).
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Thanks good sir!

Actually, I can play the altitudes back (6 on up) and flight them down a bit, not as much as I could with my i20's or J40's naturally, but enough. I've slowly discovered that high isn't always bad in the wind depending on the spin you get, I like you am eager to get them out in a windy day and see though. We get those same damndable winds that you do, we should blame Hawk on that. Its always his fault.
 
As the nexus of the universe, it's not surprising to me that areas outside my domain are a bit turbulent. Sucks to be you guys!
 
Very nice intial write up Jman. I like what you saw in the ball flight yesterday. Interesting to see how it plays after you get more time with these. Glad to see this distances did not drop off, as you initially thought might happen.
 
Hawk said:
As the nexus of the universe, it's not surprising to me that areas outside my domain are a bit turbulent. Sucks to be you guys!
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Best post ever.

I really wish I could get out again today with these, but I know I've got plenty of time. Plus my ankle is killing me.
 
Jman said:
Best post ever.

I really wish I could get out again today with these, but I know I've got plenty of time. Plus my ankle is killing me.
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I've already ran a couple scenarios through my head, including leaving the kids at daycare for an extra hour and taking them to the range with me. Neither is going to work though. I may just have to leave work early tomorrow.

You are right though. Plenty of time to work with here.
 
Very nice Jman! I love hearing how you get a stable feel out of these but still manage a mid-high flight. I love shafts that feel stout and solid, but still are able to get the ball up and out there like a more whippy shaft would. I've found that same contradiction in my B. Asha 4x in my driver, and that's a big part of the reason I love it so much.

I'd be very interested to hear if you could figure out for sure why you are seeing the same distance as you did with the stock shafts. Initially I tend to think it must be ball speed, though we can't say for sure yet. Thanks for the writeup buddy!
 
Great job JMan! Really looking forward to hitting these.
 
Damaikis said:
Very nice Jman! I love hearing how you get a stable feel out of these but still manage a mid-high flight. I love shafts that feel stout and solid, but still are able to get the ball up and out there like a more whippy shaft would. I've found that same contradiction in my B. Asha 4x in my driver, and that's a big part of the reason I love it so much.

I'd be very interested to hear if you could figure out for sure why you are seeing the same distance as you did with the stock shafts. Initially I tend to think it must be ball speed, though we can't say for sure yet. Thanks for the writeup buddy!
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They feel "connected" (struggling for the right words this early) the whole way through the swing for me, not boardy at all, but not as active feeling as the 90s were either.

I too really think its got to be a ball-speed and spin thing. We shall see!!!
 
Swinging these out in the back yard just now ignites the urge to get out again, luckily tomorrow there's a round scheduled. Looking forward to getting back and updating again more than anything.

Plus, I want the Hawk thoughts!!!
 
Nicely done brother James! I've never used a KBS shaft ever. So pardon my ignorance, but that's what I have you guys for. Guidance out of the land of the lost. I've hit the CTapers previously and felt like I had to really go after them. So can you step these to keep the look, and feel to bring the ball down a bit? Or am I confused and mixing apples and oranges
 
T2GRN18 said:
Nicely done brother James! I've never used a KBS shaft ever. So pardon my ignorance, but that's what I have you guys for. Guidance out of the land of the lost. I've hit the CTapers previously and felt like I had to really go after them. So can you step these to keep the look, and feel to bring the ball down a bit? Or am I confused and mixing apples and oranges
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Thanks for the kind words buddy.

I would imagine that these could be hard-stepped like the regular C-Tapers and it would come down a bit, I'll shoot an email to Conrad tomorrow and het his thought on it all because I know they kind of intended the C-Tapers to be stepped one way or the other, but I don't think that is the case with these (I could be dead wrong though), I'll find out for you.
 
Pondering these in my next clubs due to launching the 90s a little high
 
Hmm the more I think about these, makes me kinda want to try them in my 4/5 irons.

~Joseph~
Via Tapatalk
 
Clubs are loaded up and I should be able to get these on the range and maybe a nine-holer today. Work is trying to make things difficult at the moment, but should be good to go by the afternoon.
 
Hawk said:
Clubs are loaded up and I should be able to get these on the range and maybe a nine-holer today. Work is trying to make things difficult at the moment, but should be good to go by the afternoon.
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Curious to see you compare these to your 90s
 
I'll start by saying I don't have a whole bunch to say. My apologies in advance. It's just one of those times where I'm struggling to find words to go with what I experienced. Not trying to be mysterious. Just not going to throw out buzzwords just to throw them out there. Either way, I don't think one day's worth of practice/golf can tell you all that much about a set of iron shafts. Not as much as some of you probably want to know at least.

Jman said something interesting in his last update that I think is a good point. Those of you thinking, "well I am looking for a little lower launching shaft than the Tour 90 with similar feel" are probably not going to find that with the C-Taper Lite. In fact, I don't know that I can think of much about them that really reminds me of the Tour 90's. If that's what you are looking for, I think the Tours (possibly in a lower flex) might be the first place to look. I'm going to take out a 7 iron with the Tours, hopefully next time I go out to see how they compare since they are the same weight (Tour R vs CTL Stiff).

That being said, I did notice a lower ball flight. Not bullets or even a huge lowering of the ball, but a noticeable reduction in height and what appeared to be less spin. The only way I was able to judge that was by looking at where my ball ended up in comparison to where it landed and think about my normal results in those situations. Take that for what you will.

I can't say much about dispersion. Good swings went where I wanted them and bad ones did not. Misses were fairly consistent - most being a straight push. Slightly higher and obviously righter. Not a weak fade, just a push. Certainly was able to flight a lower ball with ball position, partial swings, and a smaller follow through. I hit some very nice 7:30 Pelz swings using 7-PW on the pitch and putt. Didn't get a really fast stopping ball there. Handy to have that shot in the wind we seem to have constantly - very low flight.

There isn't the 'kick' that I perceive with the Tour 90's for sure. It's a more stable, or just plain stiffer, feel through the ball than the 90's. Nowhere near the divide that you'd see going to the non-Lite CT's. Still, quite nimble and nicely balanced. Not boardy in any way. Just different. That's really the most appropriate word that comes to mind when considering my experience with the Tours and the 90's. I think KBS is right when they say they didn't just put a shaft out there to put one out. It fills a spot that some may find quite useful, where others will gravitate towards the Tour/90 realm. That's my take on it from one time out and a little pow-wow with Jman at least.

I like to take my time reviewing, so that's what I'm going to do. Stay tuned and have patience :D
 
I like what you are saying Hawk. You are right it takes more than just 1 range session to really give you a whole lot to go with. I'm interested to see where they fit for you because I know you've done the Tour 90s and the Tour in the past.
 
Hawk... You rock bro!

My set is in the mail to Jman as we speak. I miss them already but I know they'll come back ready to rock.

This testing is coming at a time that I'm hitting the ball better than I ever have. I can't wait to see what these shafts offer me.
 
You know Jake, I think you are really going to like these. I have that feeling for some reason.
 
ddec said:
I like what you are saying Hawk. You are right it takes more than just 1 range session to really give you a whole lot to go with. I'm interested to see where they fit for you because I know you've done the Tour 90s and the Tour in the past.
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Thank you sir. Don't get me wrong. I hit a ton of shots, including some on an exec course. It's just hard to learn and describe much with one day's swing.
 
Hawk said:
You know Jake, I think you are really going to like these. I have that feeling for some reason.
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I hope so man. I'm always freaked out by the high launch tag on an iron shaft because I have to work to keep my flight down. But as I told Jman on the phone today, it's not the height but the ballooning especially into the wind that kills me. That doesn't seem to be the case with these from what I'm hearing from you guys so far.
 
Awesome, Hawk. Between what you and JamesMan have said, thus far I really look forward to swinging/owning these at some point. I can't wait to see more feedback as you continue your testing. Have you swung the regular C-Taper before?
 
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