Lightweight shafts

[jnug]

How do you guys feel about shaft weight and the general move to lighter weight iron shafts.

I realize that the industry is trying to make it easier for people to hit the ball but does going lighter really help that much? In my case I have tried some really lightweight shafts for the fun of it. I find that at some point the club gets so light that I can no longer really feel it out there at the end of my arms. At that point I can't keep my arms out of the swing to save my life. Also I don't wonder if there is a point of diminishing return even as it relates to speed where it actually gets harder to generate SS with a really light club.

Anybody have the same experience or thoughts?

 

[johnnymo]

Personally I prefer heavier shafts because I can get too quick tempo wise with the ligher ones. I think I read somewhere that people with a little more movement in their swings (two planers, Jim Furyk, etc.) do pretty well with a lighter shaft as they can feel the head better throughout the swing.

I am sure there is a point of diminishing returns because at some point the stability of the ball strike will be comprimised. My reasoning for this is that it is pretty commonplace for tennis players to lead tape their sticks up to provide a little more stability without changing the balance point. As the weight of racquets dropped the inability to control the face at contact became more and more apparent. A lightweight stick like Andy Roddick's would have to have considerable weight added before it would be stable enough to use for anything other than loopy clay court players. Can you swing a stock one extremely fast? Yes. Would you want to try and volley a Roddick passing shot with it with any luck? No.

john

 

[maddog]

I really like the light graphite. Gives the head a nice hammer feel.

 

[bogey_russ]

id like to try a lighter shaft... my irons are heavy

 

[Sean]

I think part of it is manufacturers have pretty much done as much as they can with club heads, apart from cosmetics, so they have to find other ways to improve(?) the clubs.

 

[johnnymo]

I think part of it is manufacturers have pretty much done as much as they can with club heads, apart from cosmetics, so they have to find other ways to improve(?) the clubs.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this one. It could be argued that graphite shaft technology is just starting to come into it's own now, wasn't Tiger still playing steel shafts in his driver and woods in 2000? I think it is going to take some better marketing for it to prove to be fruitful. I doubt that average Jane and Joe Golfer walking into their local golf store are willing to pay more for the same club with what appears to be only different in the paint scheme.

 

[golf4life]

Lighter and lighter shafts should continue to offer more and more clubhead speed, but I think at some point the extra distance is gotten at the expense of accuracy and consistent distances. For me, irons (and particularly short irons) are all about accuracy. Being able to feel the clubhead and have confidence that you are going to hit it where you are aiming far outweighs getting an extra couple yards out of that club. But at the same time, if I can hit a 9 iron consistently and confidently with a lighter shaft the same distance I used to hit the 7 or 8 iron, then that certainly is worth considering.

As is often said on this forum, its best to get on a monitor and figure out your optimal performance, being a combination of launch angle, distance and dispersion among other factors. For many golfers, a 90 gram shaft (or lighter) may indeed offer the best performance characteristics for their golf game, versus a traditional 130 gram offering.

 

[jnug]

I am going to keep experimenting with both. If there is one thing I have come to realize it is that even the monitor is not more than a single data point. I absolutely believe that you should do it. I just do not believe it to be infallible. In my case I have a horrible time hitting indoors. Many people struggle with hitting indoors and in my case I am truly claustrophobic which compounds my difficulties indoors. My fitter takes one day a year and fits people outdoors and even though I have gone through the process I am going to make a point of not missing that outdoor date this year coming. Even with that I think that if you can do it, you want to try to look at and hit combinations that at least seem to make sense and might likely end up right for you. That said if the monitor says 95 grams, I guess it would be hard to believe that 130 grams is right. It surely now is a long way from the top of the range to the bottom of the range of steel shaft weights.

 

[golf4life]

I am going to keep experimenting with both. If there is one thing I have come to realize it is that even the monitor is not more than a single data point. I absolutely believe that you should do it. I just do not believe it to be infallible. In my case I have a horrible time hitting indoors. Many people struggle with hitting indoors and in my case I am truly claustrophobic which compounds my difficulties indoors. My fitter takes one day a year and fits people outdoors and even though I have gone through the process I am going to make a point of not missing that outdoor date this year coming. Even with that I think that if you can do it, you want to try to look at and hit combinations that at least seem to make sense and might likely end up right for you. That said if the monitor says 95 grams, I guess it would be hard to believe that 130 grams is right. It surely now is a long way from the top of the range to the bottom of the range of steel shaft weights.

Jnug,

I agree that the best situation is to hit on a monitor while out on the range, so you can verify with your eyes what the monitor is telling you, and to help fine tune your choices (2 different shafts may both give you great dispersion numbers and distance, but one launches at a trajectory that is more suitable to your golf game).

One of the cool things about the THP Outing is they do have a reliable launch monitor anyone can try on the range during the demo day. It certainly makes trying out different clubs and shafts more informative and useful!

 

[TC]

I wanted to bump this thread back up (I searched and found it as opposed to starting my own....what a novel idea!) b/c for the past few months I have been playing the Taylormade Burner 2.0 irons. They come equiped with the 85gram steel shaft in stiff flex and I quite like them.

At any rate, I am thinking about shafts for a future iron set and am wanting to stay with the lighter weight iron shaft. Who has experience with some light weight shafts? What would you recommend?

My list of options right now include the following:

-Dynamic Gold S300 XP
-KBS Tour 90
-Nippon Pro 950GH

Who has experience with the above mentioned? What are your pros and cons?

Thanks.

 

[One-T]

I wanted to bump this thread back up (I searched and found it as opposed to starting my own....what a novel idea!) b/c for the past few months I have been playing the Taylormade Burner 2.0 irons. They come equiped with the 85gram steel shaft in stiff flex and I quite like them.

At any rate, I am thinking about shafts for a future iron set and am wanting to stay with the lighter weight iron shaft. Who has experience with some light weight shafts? What would you recommend?

My list of options right now include the following:

-Dynamic Gold S300 XP
-KBS Tour 90
-Nippon Pro 950GH

Who has experience with the above mentioned? What are your pros and cons?

Thanks.

you know what my vote would be, but I have not hit with the other shafts so I am a bit biased.

 

[Tmex]

By chance, have you considered graphite TC? I love your list, just wondering is all.

 

[TC]

By chance, have you considered graphite TC? I love your list, just wondering is all.

No, I have not Yoccos. I'm sure I should but there seems to be so many fine steel offerings in light weight that I'm not so sure I want to pursue graphite as of yet.

 

[One-T]

No, I have not Yoccos. I'm sure I should but there seems to be so many fine steel offerings in light weight that I'm not so sure I want to pursue graphite as of yet.

maybe in about 30 years!

 

[coolbreeze]

I've hit the Nippon Pro 950GH in a Mp-53 and really love the feel of that shaft, great ball flight and you could really feel the club head. Did not like the head though.

 

[TC]

I've hit the Nippon Pro 950GH in a Mp-53 and really love the feel of that shaft, great ball flight and you could really feel the club head. Did not like the head though.

Can you elaborate a bit more cool?

 

[coolbreeze]

Can you elaborate a bit more cool?

When I did the Mizuno shaft optimizer it fit me to the Nippon Pro 950GH in a stiff flex. At first I was hitting the MP-53's with the DG S300 and with the 6 iron I was seeing 160 carry but a lower than optimal launch angle and height. When we switched to the Nippon Pro 950GH my launch angle, swing speed, and ball speed all improved, but more importantly the shaft "felt" better. I was seeing about 165 carry but with a much better ball flight. I think because of the lighter weight of the shaft I was able to feel where the club head was more through out the swing, and at the top I was able to feel the shaft loading which I have never been able to do with the S300. I like lighter shafts in general which is odd I suppose because I am a bigger guy, but with a smooth swing I thought this shaft was fantastic and to be honest had never really thought of Nippon as a shaft option for me. I'm just not a serious enough golfer though to game the 53's though.

 

[tnc200]

In my case I have tried some really lightweight shafts for the fun of it. I find that at some point the club gets so light that I can no longer really feel it out there at the end of my arms.

I've got graphite shafts in mine. My ideas are that a lighter shaft will give a higher swingweight. Since there is less weight from hosel to grip, the head feels heavier than it would with a heavier steel shaft. I'm playing with that feeling right now as I'm trying to link up some tempo/timing in my swing. I also like the muted feel graphite gives me on both good hits and bad. That being said, I have heard a complaint of inconsistency with graphite and in my next set I will be trying both shaft types before I decide.

 

[TC]

When I did the Mizuno shaft optimizer it fit me to the Nippon Pro 950GH in a stiff flex. At first I was hitting the MP-53's with the DG S300 and with the 6 iron I was seeing 160 carry but a lower than optimal launch angle and height. When we switched to the Nippon Pro 950GH my launch angle, swing speed, and ball speed all improved, but more importantly the shaft "felt" better. I was seeing about 165 carry but with a much better ball flight. I think because of the lighter weight of the shaft I was able to feel where the club head was more through out the swing, and at the top I was able to feel the shaft loading which I have never been able to do with the S300. I like lighter shafts in general which is odd I suppose because I am a bigger guy, but with a smooth swing I thought this shaft was fantastic and to be honest had never really thought of Nippon as a shaft option for me. I'm just not a serious enough golfer though to game the 53's though.

Thank you sir, that was some good information.

tapatalk: even available for lefties!

 

[Sean]

A lighter shaft "forces" me to swing more smoothly. If I overswing it gets real ugly real fast.

 

[Tmex]

I did the shaftfit online from TrueTemper and I'm really intrigued by this option:

GS75 S200 Shafts

I was looking at different wedges, wedge shafts and ended up on the online fitting. I love the internet. Anyway, I also would be interested in checking out the 85 gram version as well. This shaft option intrigues the sweetspot out of me. Anyway use these?