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Rifle vs Stepped (traditional) steel iron shafts

Nippon Shafts
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denverd1

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Just traded for a set of Mizuno blades. MP 69. Have been hitting current set of mizunos for a couple years. Thinking of going to a combo set of blades and muscle backs.

Blades have traditional shafts in S
Backs have 6.0 rifles

Will a guy who hasn't broken 80 in a while even notice?
Will flex be similar? (all are stiff flex)
should I just take the blades to the nearest pawn shop and retain my sanity?
 
I think making sure the shafts are a similar weight would be the most important thing.

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I always got along great with Rifle shafts....much more so than lets say a DG S300 but then again, these shafts played completely different in my opinion. Tough call but I believe the only way you will answer your questions is if you take them to the range/course and hit some shots with each. The way two shafts feel and perform is usually a very subjective topic no matter what is stated on paper by the manufacturer....and when it comes to shafts, it is almost impossible to predetermine what one's outcome may be. Personally, I don't think the combo would be all that bad for a fun experiment. Who knows, it may work out really well for you.
 
sigm22 said:
I always got along great with Rifle shafts....much more so than lets say a DG S300 but then again, these shafts played completely different in my opinion. Tough call but I believe the only way you will answer your questions is if you take them to the range/course and hit some shots with each. The way two shafts feel and perform is usually a very subjective topic no matter what is stated on paper by the manufacturer....and when it comes to shafts, it is almost impossible to predetermine what one's outcome may be. Personally, I don't think the combo would be all that bad for a fun experiment. Who knows, it may work out really well for you.
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one issue is spending a little coin to get the shafts extended/gripped and ready to play, then later learning the whole thing was a fool's errand. once that's done, offing them to another golfer becomes slightly more difficult.
 
I have always wondered and never fully gotten an answer what if any was the benefit to rifle shafts over stepped.
 
NVGOLFER80 said:
I have always wondered and never fully gotten an answer what if any was the benefit to rifle shafts over stepped.
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good point. I'd like to hear an explanation as well.

from golfalot.com:
The main difference with Rifle shafts is that the steel is smooth from top to bottom and has no steps.
The shaft design and construction uses different technologies to provide greater performance and consistency. Frequency Matching of each shaft perfectly matches the flex throughout a set of clubs using electronic calibration. Flexes in Rifle shafts can also be more exactly tailored for the average golfer as they use decimals to meaure stiffness (eg 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, etc). The stepless design technology eliminates the energy-robbing steps' found on most other steel shafts, which Rifle manufacturers claim provides greater accuracy. Some Rifle shafts offer 'flighted' versions that can produce variable ball trajectories for different clubs within a single set.

this discussion of shafts has made me realize I need to get a shaft fitting instead of just going with what's familiar. guy I got the irons from had rifles pulled and N.S.Pro shafts installed which he says better fit his (slower) swing speed. May stop by Ed Watts to see what they can tell me.

Are shafts selected on swing speed alone?
 
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The steps are just hammered out. The differences come from the performance characteristics of the shafts, not whether they look stepped or smooth.

DB TT said:
As far as stepped vs stepless, there is no performance or design advantage. In fact all stepless shafts start out as stepped shafts and then we hammer the steps out of them. Stepless is purely a cosmetic choice when it comes to designing shafts.

DB
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Stepped vs Stepless Iron Shaft - Differences?

Aside from the cosmetics are there any discernible performance differences between stepped vs stepless iron shafts? I ask because the new Callaway Steelhead XR's come stock with True Temper XP 95 Stepless shafts. They also have XP 95 stepped shafts as an option. So my question is what the...
www.thehackersparadise.com
 
sigm22 said:
I always got along great with Rifle shafts....much more so than lets say a DG S300 but then again, these shafts played completely different in my opinion. Tough call but I believe the only way you will answer your questions is if you take them to the range/course and hit some shots with each. The way two shafts feel and perform is usually a very subjective topic no matter what is stated on paper by the manufacturer....and when it comes to shafts, it is almost impossible to predetermine what one's outcome may be. Personally, I don't think the combo would be all that bad for a fun experiment. Who knows, it may work out really well for you.
Click to expand...

If you've played DG S300 shafts and Rifle shafts, which model and flex Rifle did you have ?
For a few years I played the original Royal Precision Rifle 6.0 and found them to produce very accurate shots, but stiffer feeling than DG S300.
 
I played the rifle 6.0 for years and love them. I have played the S300s for years too, even in my driver and 3 wood (s200).

Swing speed will determine stiffness of the shaft, but you will need more than that; i.e. launch angle, spin. S300 launches higher with higher spin than the rifles for me.

If you check out True Temper's website, the shafts will show what trajectory and spin they are designed for.
 
I played two mixed sets, one blade/muscle back, the other muscle back/cavity back. BUT both had matching or very similar shafts.

Blade/muscle had Flighted Rifle 6.0 shafts throughout and the muscle/cavity had Flighted Rifle 6.0 in the 5i and 6i, standard Rifle 6.0 in 7-PW. Standard Rifle launched higher, not significantly but clearly noticeable.

Rifle worked well for me but so did DG S300 over the years. But their dynamic characteristics were different for me so I always hesitated to combine them within a mixed set. S300 flew higher and spun more and I had a greater tendency to hook them at times. Both felt very solid and sturdy, the Rifles a bit more stout.
 
DG_1234 said:
If you've played DG S300 shafts and Rifle shafts, which model and flex Rifle did you have ?
For a few years I played the original Royal Precision Rifle 6.0 and found them to produce very accurate shots, but stiffer feeling than DG S300.
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Project X 5.5

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