Nippon modus 3 130 vs kbs tour v golf iron shafts

[ProZoneGolf]

Iron shaft comparison:

Me: 47yrs, 105-108ss, faster tempo, firm loader at the top, 6i 175yrs

KBS Tour V 120x Soft stepped 1x Vs Nippon Modus 3 130 Stiff Straight in

Head Ping S55 6i

Both shafts are installed at D1.5 SW similar lengths, hitting into 6 mph wind

KBS Tour V 120x SS1x:
The Kbs Tour V feel 'very smooth', not like a X flex...more like stiff. My friend who is a senior golfer qualifying for the tour with S56/PX5.5 said he liked them, I was surprised. There is NO harsh feeling, the kick point feels like middle. The ball light gets up quick to a high arching flight and drop n stop. Dispersion is good, but I feel it could be better after playing these for 2 months. I feel the flight is a little 'floaty' when its up there, and not sure what part of the green it will hit within 10-15ft. The spin is low, compared to DG. I feel this plays like a Rifle FCM 6.0 but a tad firmer, very similar ball flight. Being soft stepped the flight is higher slightly, and not ballooning out.
I like the height, drop n stop (literally!) , but am wanting tighter dispersion, before I align S1 to Target I will try the Nippon Modus 130 stiff

Nippon Modus 3 130 Stiff Straight in
The Nippon Modus 3 130s build very similar length to swingweight, its negligible, only spec out 4 grams heavier, I did not notice the additional weight while swinging.
The initial feel was 'more solid', not smooth like the TourV. The feel was not harsh at all, I realize the mid section is more solid and this is were the solid feel is coming from.
The launch is a high flat line to similar height of the KBS TourV. The difference is the KBS is like a arching flight, were the Modus is a penetrating high straight flight to the same height apex. The Modus flight is high but the way it gets there is straight direct penetrating...like a flatter line with tighter dispersion, from the apex its all down to what you want...The Flag!

My Thoughts
Nippon all they way! the KBS TourV in the upper apex area are 'floaty' or have more hang time, in a bigger arch...and this is were dispersion lacks. I feel in this aera in a side wind the TourV could get blown sideways. The Nippon's are more direct to the apex, tighter. They remind me of a high flying S400Ti. I also load the shaft well and the Nippon solid stable butt and mid out preform the mid bend of the Kbs 'for me'

I will keep playing the Nippon in the 6i , and am that confident to re-shaft my 7i & 8i 3 days before our interclub Tourney...I will report back, I will also put a TourV X straight in plus come back with some fcm/flex board readings

 

[markheardjr]

I very much concur with your assessment. I have been playing the Modus130 in stiff for 9 months now. The 130's launch higher than the Modus120's but they are very penetrating and dispersion is second to none. KBS I do know what you mean by floaty and yes they do drop and stop, but that is because the spin is higher. Modus 130 I regularly release the ball 3-4 feet with mid-irons landing on the green. But the Modus is extremely consistent for length and accuracy. I also am confident with playing lower trajectory shots and allowing the ball to run up on a front pin. KBS I typically had to fly it to the hole and longer irons could balloon up a tad when I stepped on them and the ball wound up going higher but shorter. Nippons are in my bag for good. I have a spare set to try new heads, but I am not touching my gamer set build. 588 MB's w/ 130's. Love them. Word of caution, the X are STOUT! Buyer beware of the X, like PX 7.0+.

 

[SaskeyInWash]

I agree with both of you and like the Nippon Modus3 130's better than KBS. I bought my Mizuno's with KBS Tour x-flex and when trying to get a little extra out of them they would balloon big time. I swapped in the Modus3 130's in x-flex and no more ballooning with similar height and really good stopping spin on the greens.

Mark, I'm not sure I agree with you on the X's being that stout. To me they are more stout then a KBS Tour x-flex and about the same as DG X100, PX6.5 and c-taper S hs1x. The one major difference to me is they are much smoother than the X100's, PX6.5 and C-taper S hs1x and don't hurt the tendons in my elbows like the others.

 

[jlukes]

Love love love my Tour 130s. And the way they are built they definitely don't feel as heavy as similar shafts in that weight range (DG300 and PX)

 

[markheardjr]

Mark, I'm not sure I agree with you on the X's being that stout. To me they are more stout then a KBS Tour x-flex and about the same as DG X100, PX6.5 and c-taper S hs1x. The one major difference to me is they are much smoother than the X100's, PX6.5 and C-taper S hs1x and don't hurt the tendons in my elbows like the others.

From the guy with the 8.2TS, HM3 & Oban Tour Limited X... hehe.

I have a set of X. I have 2G18 protos in stiff, retail 130's in stiff and retail 130's in X. The X's are incredibly stiff to me Knuckle balls and 7irons releasing off greens. And the X's I had I tried in a set of 2005 RAC TP forged irons which are soft and older grooves with spin. I did play with someone, Guy, who has the X's in a set of Titleist 712 AP2's and he hit them solid. High with low spin. Which is nice, but for me, yikes. I play p9003's in my FWY and usually played heavy & stiff and the X's to me are really tight. Definely lower the shaft bend during the swing. I am a late release, hold the load kind of guy and they just wouldn't load well for me.

 

[ProZoneGolf]

After re shafting my 7i & 8i the results were awesome...at first I shafted the logo at 12 o clock like my 6i, however they were stiffer and pulling left 10y.
So pulled down the shafts and I located the N1 position and set it down the line or 9 o clock to get the softer side of the shafts, then finally twanged for flo close to that..BINGO
they are playing just like my 6i AWESOME. The logo's are not up but that's ok

I am so impressed with these shafts that nearly 'everything' I have tried DONT EVEN COME CLOSE!...
If you load firm and strike well these are the ticket. When I was offline with my 6i today it was by 3-4 feet! I covered the pin and thought I had a hole in one coming!
They are standard yardage / distance to me, not short or long, approx 6i 175, 7i 165, 8i 155 etc. My driver SS is 103-108 about 105avg. My distance control was very good, but I need more time with them to write about that more.

Tangent: I also have Nippon made springs in my Cayenne S called 'swift springs' they are made with similar techno multi metal steel that react faster to bumps, have more sensitivity to road conditions, and grip the road more, ride like a Bently with near track dampening firmness...not to mention my tires dont wear out!... from some cheap hard steel spring, not reacting and thus my tires getting shreaded up!...ok its golf I know but Nippon corporation have better steel material, metal technology...the result is a pure strike with laser dispersion. No wonder Sergio is throwing darts, so am I on my good swings...it seems easy, no I just have to putt them in
I have ordered the 3,4,5i shafts next...will report. Nippon Modus 3 130 are it!!! Open your wallet!...get your golfing prioties in order

 

[jlukes]

So rotating a shaft 180 degrees can be the difference of 10 yards off target?

 

[ProZoneGolf]

So rotating a shaft 180 degrees can be the difference of 10 yards off target?

A solid 5 yards sometimes 10y...they were out of flo and were pulling, plus they were a lot stiffer in the previous orentation. YES that's what was happening. Being a club builder 24yrs I know how to correct this...google search my username. People think all shafts are good glued in anywhere...answer NO. Every shaft is different, none are the same, acctually out of a set of iron shafts 3 out of 8 may suit my liking for various reasons. The manufacturing tolerances are not there to make exact same shafts. At least Nippon are a higher quality. You can't expect a shaft manufacturer to spine n flo a shaft the apply a logo 'exactly' to this. the process would be too costly. Some do with driver shafts that are close, however they are costing $200 plus for 'one' shaft...you get what you pay for. Years ago I would order 10 sets of rifle fcm shafts, sort, then return 5-6+ sets back! That's why you have some irons that work well, your confident with, know their traj, ball flight and some that dont work well. I am sure many readers can straight away know which one they are. Some players lay up to them.
Long story short my Nippon 6i, 7i, 8i are all awesome, and my buddies are going to lose some Nassau's. Nippon/S55's are a good combo

NB: Today I see Susanne Patterson swinging Modus 3, and in the hunt for a win at the Wegmans LPGA Champ, we will see the result. Some of the highlights from Sat has her throwing darts with Modus 3 at the pin

 

[jlukes]

Me and several other thpers got to spend time with the folks out at Callaway where we got to demo tons of head/shaft combos while getting feedback and information from their top club fitters and builders. Not once did they mention anything about having the shaft rotated the wrong way causing dispersion issues.

And even if there are efficiencies to be gained, 5 to 10 yards with your short irons is a hell of a lot of dispersion.

 

[WardF]

Got the 8 iron shaft coming in these to try and replace the DG s400. I had the modus 3 120 in the Pings, but really like the weight on the S400 shaft in the new Srixons. Just want a bit higher flight and if possible the old feel I had from the 120. This shaft may be the ultimate marriage of feel and weighting for me--TBD....

 

[markheardjr]

Got the 8 iron shaft coming in these to try and replace the DG s400. I had the modus 3 120 in the Pings, but really like the weight on the S400 shaft in the new Srixons. Just want a bit higher flight and if possible the old feel I had from the 120. This shaft may be the ultimate marriage of feel and weighting for me--TBD....

Oh boy, I think you are really going to like the 130's!! They should like exactly what you are looking for.

 

[ProZoneGolf]

Me and several other thpers got to spend time with the folks out at Callaway where we got to demo tons of head/shaft combos while getting feedback and information from their top club fitters and builders. Not once did they mention anything about having the shaft rotated the wrong way causing dispersion issues.

And even if there are efficiencies to be gained, 5 to 10 yards with your short irons is a hell of a lot of dispersion.

The dispersion was consistant left, the shafts were stiffer, and for my swing it squared the face well or shut...hence left with 'every shot'. After finding the softer side of the shaft and getting flow there they played better...now I am nutting them dead straight. when you rotate the shaft you get different flex profiles and the shaft in and out of flo. there are a few sides of the shaft that can work well...not just one side. A roller bearing spine finder/flex board combined will show this.
OEM's dont want to acknowledge this, as bluprinting equipment would cost them more in production, and also the equipment would be too good so they would not sell next years models.
They install shafts and make OEM shaft quality at a bare low quality for profitability. Its probably made in china, glued in by some low budget worker...to OEM's... 'hopefully you don't stripe it perfect' , that you do buy again...they want you to buy next years equipment or they would go broke

 

[JB]

The dispersion was consistant left, the shafts were stiffer, and for my swing it squared the face well or shut...hence left with 'every shot'. After finding the softer side of the shaft and getting flow there they played better...now I am nutting them dead straight. when you rotate the shaft you get different flex profiles and the shaft in and out of flo. there are a few sides of the shaft that can work well...not just one side. A roller bearing spine finder/flex board combined will show this.
OEM's dont want to acknowledge this, as bluprinting equipment would cost them more in production, and also the equipment would be too good so they would not sell next years models.
They install shafts and make OEM shaft quality at a bare low quality for profitability. Its probably made in china, glued in by some low budget worker...to OEM's... 'hopefully you don't stripe it perfect' , that you do buy again...they want you to buy next years equipment or they would go broke

For what it worth, this was the Grandaddy, they met with the tour fitter. Saying an OEM does that is no different than saying a fitter is the only one to push this anymore because they want to make a buck off something. Calling out one side without the other is short sided.

 

[jlukes]

The dispersion was consistant left, the shafts were stiffer, and for my swing it squared the face well or shut...hence left with 'every shot'. After finding the softer side of the shaft and getting flow there they played better...now I am nutting them dead straight. when you rotate the shaft you get different flex profiles and the shaft in and out of flo. there are a few sides of the shaft that can work well...not just one side. A roller bearing spine finder/flex board combined will show this.
OEM's dont want to acknowledge this, as bluprinting equipment would cost them more in production, and also the equipment would be too good so they would not sell next years models.
They install shafts and make OEM shaft quality at a bare low quality for profitability. Its probably made in china, glued in by some low budget worker...to OEM's... 'hopefully you don't stripe it perfect' , that you do buy again...they want you to buy next years equipment or they would go broke

So are you trying to drive business to your shop? Can people send you clubs to be pured?

 

[ProZoneGolf]

So are you trying to drive business to your shop? Can people send you clubs to be pured?

No I am not trying to drive business to my shop, actually there is not much money in clubs, I have other businesses. I just get upset to see year in year out OEM's produce clubs that are not loft n lie calibrated, shaft flex & weight differences, spine/Flo out of wack, poor shaft quality, differing swingweights, tips weights drawing center of gravity toward the heal and higher up because the head and shaft weights don't match, club lengths not spot on...etc etc.
They get paid a lot of money to make inferior clubs and do it deliberately. Ping are the exception, or at least try to do it better (but not perfect). Japan equipment is better quality, but OEM's dont want that here.
My advise is to seek a 'very good' local clubmaker who makes clubs top ameters/pro's use, get fit and test various setups, shafts, heads at a real outdoor range FIRST, going into a retailer with your pay check is not a good idea unless you have done your homework.

 

[jlukes]

No I am not trying to drive business to my shop, actually there is not much money in clubs, I have other businesses. I just get upset to see year in year out OEM's produce clubs that are not loft n lie calibrated, shaft flex differences, spine/Flo out of wack, poor shaft quality, differing swingweights, the tips weights drawing center of gravity toward the heal and higher up because the head and shaft weights don't match, club lengths not spot on...etc etc. They get paid a lot of money to make inferior clubs and do it deliberately. Ping are the exception, or at least try to do it better (but not perfect)

It's one thing to try to argue that shafts need to be spined/pured to maximize performance.

It's a whole other ballgame to say that top manufacturers (other than Ping) DELIBERATELY sabotage their own equipment. I just cannot wrap my mind around what I am reading here.

 

[WardF]

I think we can find a happy medium here. I do get the perfectionist and desire for quality from years of seeing things come through "off" if even by a little. One of my local shops continues to complain of lie and fit tolerances being off on clubs from the factory. I will also add that most amateurs won't ever know that or notice it. I don't believe its done on purpose, but there is some quality control that could be handled better. I lean toward the perfectionist side and try to remove as many variables as I can--lord knows I have enough of my own swing issues to add anything else. Like anything else its not worth the extra cash for some to do this, and that's your choice as a consumer.

 

[JB]

They get paid a lot of money to make inferior clubs and do it deliberately. Ping are the exception, or at least try to do it better (but not perfect). Japan equipment is better quality, but OEM's dont want that here.

That is a bold statement. I would love to know what actual facts you have to support that. As someone that meets and spends time with every OEM out there, I find this incredibly inaccurate. And as someone that claims to only want the best out of the equipment for the consumer, incredibly irresponsible.

 

[WardF]

That is a bold statement. I would love to know what actual facts you have to support that. As someone that meets and spends time with every OEM out there, I find this incredibly inaccurate. And as someone that claims to only want the best out of the equipment for the consumer, incredibly irresponsible.

Agree, I am hoping it may just be something said in frustration of seeing a lot come off the lines with quality control issues. I think its part of the manufacturing process and general quality control for some. I have to choose my words wisely when speaking about competitors in my line of work--sometimes the frustration and problems causing headaches in my daily grind can cause me to take liberties in saying stuff like X company puts out crap software or whatever-- when typically its less dramatic than that in reality. I think a defensive line may have been taken here in defending another statement on the original topic of the thread--I do understand the need to be careful in how things are put into print as well.

I would like to explore the topic of this shaft more however and don't want to see this turn in to a debate on OEM manufacturing... :angel:

 

[GoIrish17]

FYI- I worked at a golf shop for a time a little while back. Sometimes, when things were slow, I'd pop wedges on the loft/ lie machine to check the accuracy, and adjust them accordingly if they were out of whack. Really out of boredom, and to practice adjusting loft and lie. I think people would be shocked at how rarely the loft and lie were accurate on wedges- of every brand. I only say this because, there was no exception amongst the major OEM's. Ping included. In fact, I found Ping to be one of the worst "offenders" in stamped lofts not being accurate. Not that I think this offense to be egregious, meditated, or shoddy quality control. Things happen in getting a golf club from it's origin to it's final retail resting place. I won't speak to the shaft issues spoken of here, I have no experience with/ knowledge of this subject. Just making a comment contrary to what the OP has stated as fact here.

It's unfortunate that the OP chose this forum to air his grievances with golf OEM's (other than Ping). It turned this thread from a short, informative shaft review into one that reeks of bias and written by someone with an axe to grind/ a hidden agenda. I have been interested in Nippon Modus shafts for quite some time, and chose to read this thread to gain more knowledge on the subject. This thread was especially interesting to me because I have experience with the KBS Tour-V shaft. Unfortunately, after reading a little, I can't in good conscience give this review much credence.

 

[ProZoneGolf]

I agree lets stay on topic...sorry for my rant about OEM clubs...I just see a wide range of clubs that are far from perfect all the time, or inferior to custom fitting designs. I am always on the search for a better arrow and good combo's of head and shafts. No hidden agendas, I want good fit clubs for everyone, and that usually means you have to take your bag/equipment to a custom fitter.
Quite often you can have last years models play better with re-shafting and custom fitting than go to the big box store and buy the latest

My Ping S55's and Nippon Modus 3 are a 'very' good combo. I recommend Nippon Modus 3 130's as a re-shaft than buying new irons
I am finding the 130's extreemly straight, and yesterday they realy shined on the back 9 going east into the wind for the last 4 holes, the penetrating flights, that held its lines and gave me GIR to win some skins. One shot a 6i, was over a tree from a lie with the ball above my feet, sometimes I may pull/draw this shot more than I like. The stable shaft (midsection) reduced this draw flight, over the TourV and I pulled off a good shot that did not go much left. I hit the green front left and walked away with a par, knowing the Nippons got me closer to the hole

I will post some CPM numbers of both shafts, but it 'feels like' the Nippons in stiff flex straight in are firmer than the KBS Tour V 120 X flex SS1x, both on N1

 

[WardF]

Well the 8 iron Nippon Modus3 Tour 130 shaft I got was .370 tip and I did not know the new 545 iron would be .355 DOH! Going to have to wait until I can trade this for a .355 or sell it and get the right one. Hopefully will get back with info when I can..

 

[kc720]

Ive got some nippon modus 3 130 in stiff flex on the way. From what ive read is the butt and middle sections are very stiff with a "shorter" tip section that is softer. I play dynamic gold x100 soft stepped once. Was going to hard step the 130 stiff but if the stiff in modus 3 feels stouter than tour v in x maybe straight in is best?

 

[markheardjr]

Ive got some nippon modus 3 130 in stiff flex on the way. From what ive read is the butt and middle sections are very stiff with a "shorter" tip section that is softer. I play dynamic gold x100 soft stepped once. Was going to hard step the 130 stiff but if the stiff in modus 3 feels stouter than tour v in x maybe straight in is best?

I'd say try them straight in. They feel very stable in your hands because of the beefy butt/middle section. If you hardstep them you'll lose maybe 1/2" on each shaft fo that softer tip section and they may be a bit tight. I have always been an "X" player and the Stiffs straight in are perfect for me.

 

[ProZoneGolf]

I'd say try them straight in. They feel very stable in your hands because of the beefy butt/middle section. If you hardstep them you'll lose maybe 1/2" on each shaft fo that softer tip section and they may be a bit tight. I have always been an "X" player and the Stiffs straight in are perfect for me.

I agree stiff straight in...I did get my 5i which was set N1 to target feel tad soft so I rotated to a firmer side of the shaft, I have 6-GW all N1 to target, havent messed with my 4i yet due to the lack of use. The 5i was hitting great just a bit lower Traj...now the shaft is firmer with a different orentation and 1 deg weaker I should be fine. Again these are the BEST shafts I have ever played...by a country mile...I am still throwing darts, I look like a different player