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OldandStiff's search for iron graphite!

Nippon Shafts
Since making the switch to the Recoil Darts 🎯 my dispersion has been tighter, my misses are smaller & my descent angle is adding some stopping power to them. I can stop long iron into the green no problem. I don't mind firing at flags no matter where they are, knowing my miss isn't going to be far off, if I do.
 
OldandStiff said:
No they're Steelfiber. I don't get along with.. well Recoils in general I guess. I've tried the protos in the past and have tried to make the Dart Vs work more recently. Paint the SF in my irons so going to try to match that feel a bit throughout.

I notice the difference after that many shots between steel and graphite so I wouldn't doubt it.
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Ah got it. I've tried both the SF i125 and the SF Private Reserve Wedge shafts and prefer the i125s. I think you'll like them. Now if only SF would offer the i125 in a black finish 😅
 
Evolvingwildes said:
Ah got it. I've tried both the SF i125 and the SF Private Reserve Wedge shafts and prefer the i125s. I think you'll like them. Now if only SF would offer the i125 in a black finish 😅
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Oh God wouldn't that be a dream..
 
Then it would be called Black Fiber instead of Steel Fiber.
 
Spent a while on the range yesterday trying out some different shafts: My normal SF I125x, SF i110x, MMT 125tx, LAGP L-Series, Axiom 105.

Still keep coming back to the SF options, although the MMT continues to intrigue me. Feels smoother and usually produces a really nice ball flight. I often look up thinking the shot will be moving quite a bit just to find it tracking on target. Only issue is that I tend to flip over from time to time and get a big pull.

Also felt like the lighter weight options were working really well for me. I was hitting the i110 better than usual. Ended up taking the i110 and the MMT out on the course and hit them well. Knowing the i110 is an option for Callaway means I may end up going that route when I order my Apexs, rather than Recoil Proto 125. Another option is the MMT 105TX, but I haven't hit them so not sure how they compare to the 125tx other than being a bit lighter. Given how I feel about them I'm not sure that a lighter version would be a good idea.
 
I ordered a KBS TGI 110 gram shaft to test out this week. I've heard they have a similar profile to Project X, which is my favorite steel shaft. @OldandStiff have you tested these out? I searched the thread for any mention of them and didn't see anything.
 
So it's been a little challenging to put some numbers together for evaluation on this because it's been a bit of a weird year. I didn't play as much, and haven't been able to play as well the last couple months physically, but I'm confident in this Year 1 conclusion:

I'm not as good with graphite.

Trying to compare when at my best and at my worst and similar in betweens and on the same courses year over year, the numbers strongly imply that some things just aren't quite as tight. I had to play with steel some a couple weeks ago too, and it was kind of shocking how easy that was. How little I had to think about it, and how well it went. One of the times was a shaft I played for a couple years, recently. One of the others wasn't. Heavier, but a familiar profile and that went surprisingly well too.

Here's what else I know - I'm sticking with it.

The only more shocking thing than how much easier it was to play steel recently was how quickly I noticed the physica effects. My back is in rough condition right now, but some other things actually feel a little better than usual at this point of the year. That wanted to change WITH A QUICKNESS after those recent experiences. Man, I can feel after 1 session/outing. Not going back. No sir.

What I will do is continue trying to find the best graphite for me. This was only year one. Not sure what that will look like, but oddly, in the near future it might be going back a little heavier. The i110cw was the lightest I'd played in years and light and very stiff just didn't seem like the best in terms of timing and consistency. Not knocking it, just maybe not the best combo for me. I'm still shocked at how well I hit plain old X100 recently. So I might throw some i125cw back in for a bit. In the end though I'd probably be best served by trying to get more comfortable with something in the 110 range that has a little more feel. So I'll probably work towards that some this winter too.
 
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I have been following this journey of yours (quietly) for a while as I am convinced that I am going down the graphite path as well. Told myself that I get through the MC and then start the search and use the graphite over the winter. If you dont mind will really pick your brain on this as it’s clear you have a ton of insight and a wealth of knowledge in this area.
 
I get the familiarity argument. I really like the X100 feel in the 105g weight. It feels a little softer and tip active to me than the S300 in 105g. But they destroy my elbows and hands. It’s a curious thing since I’m firmly in S, but the X100 just does it for me on the feel side. I think I need to go to a Club Champion type fitter to get a good graphite shaft fit. If nothing else, it’ll give me a little peace of mind during the offseason.
 
Put together an Axiom test club again because I just don't think I like my current shaft feel in wedges. It's just not right. I'm so much better with a couple others on those 40-110y yard shots. And the feel of the Axioms has me curious there.
 
I am so much better with DG 120 X100 than any graphite I've ever tried. It's incredibly frustrating.
 
OldandStiff said:
I am so much better with DG 120 X100 than any graphite I've ever tried. It's incredibly frustrating.
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I went back to steel as well. was kinda bummed.
 
Templet0n said:
I went back to steel as well. was kinda bummed.
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It drives me insane. My body wants no part of it but my swing wants it so bad.
 
OldandStiff said:
It drives me insane. My body wants no part of it but my swing wants it so bad.
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What body issues does the steel cause? I know your username says old and stiff, but there's plenty of champions tour guys still in steel. Tiger's still in 130g steel, and he's got quite a broken body at nearly fifty.
 
JonMA1 said:
Why is going back to steel such a bad thing? Is it because there's more joint pain?
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Yes! More everything pain. Especially indoors. Off a mat I feel like I can feel every piece of hardware and every unrepaired thing in my body. It just isn't great.
 
JonMA1 said:
Why is going back to steel such a bad thing? Is it because there's more joint pain?
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It’s not a bad thing. At all. Just a little disappointed that graphite didn’t work how I had hoped.
 
wavey said:
What body issues does the steel cause? I know your username says old and stiff, but there's plenty of champions tour guys still in steel. Tiger's still in 130g steel, and he's got quite a broken body at nearly fifty.
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See above. I'm not as healthy inside as I tend to look. My body has had a rough life.
 
OldandStiff said:
Yes! More everything pain. Especially indoors. Off a mat I feel like I can feel every piece of hardware and every unrepaired thing in my body. It just isn't great.
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So you play better with steel but it brings about more pain. I can see how that would suck.
 
JonMA1 said:
So you play better with steel but it brings about more pain. I can see how that would suck.
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Exactly. I've tried so hard to find a graphite I can play well with to save some of it, but. grr.

Perfect example. I was at The Kingdom for a thing in October. My back was a mess from hurting it a month or two prior, Morgan Cup is a around the corner and I'm trying to just not make things worse. Could hardly move after I got off the plane. But got to hit some stuff and how often does a guy have that chance? Didn't see my i110 or i125 near me so I'm trying to find a graphite similar. All stuff I've hit before, but it was a struggle. Frustrating in that moment. See something set up with X100 and decide to try it. Boom, boom, boom. Still the hurt body and swing, but totally different results.

And same thing yesterday. An iron that's being released soon comes with 120 X100 and I wore out the center trying every shot I could think of. Pisses. Me. Off.
 
Aaaand I can absolutely feel that I was hitting steel yesterday in my hands and elbow. And shoulder.

Ugh Frustrated GIF by Equipe de France de Football
 
That’s no good. The health thing really takes its toll. A month ago, I was feeling physically invincible... like I could play all day long and swing as hard as I wanted. Today, I’m wondering if I’ll swing another club again. That's a little melodramatic, but that’s the sort of **** that runs through my mind when I'm injured.

I tried graphite shafts a few years ago after learning how easy it was to put shafts on club heads (not the same as club building, I know). This was after re-shafting a set of Mizunos with a lighter steel shaft (TT Dynolite 95gr, if memory serves). I really couldn't swing them very well so I gave that set away and have since replaced them with less expensive heads and graphite shafts (75 gram R flex). Through purely random luck, I liked the combination, and they were nothing like I thought graphite would feel like.

I didn't make the switch due to any health reasons, more to try something new and maybe get a little club head speed back. But I think if I switched back to steel, I'd feel more pain in my wrists, elbows and shoulders.

Anyway, good luck on finding something that will cause you less pain and allow you to play at the level you're accustomed to.
 
I'm not to where O&S is physically but trying to delay that as long as possible. I committed to graphite the last season and a half and I've certainly had my struggles. Most recently in the scoring irons and wedges. I'm just hitting moon balls with these things, even when I'm taking good divots. I'm sure part of that is me but having trouble with distance consistency. It's weird too because the longer irons are pretty money.

I'm coming from 120g range steel shafts for a good while, most recently Modus. I would love to get my hands on some heavier MMTs to see if that helps what I'm seeing. All but convinced I'm going back to Tour V 125s in my wedges at this point. Probably need to go see a fitter to see what my real options are with my irons. Would be criminal to ruin these beautiful black Apex irons with some shoddy club work, so I'll likely have to do it myself.
 
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