Shaft flex and weight for longer irons?

[Luchnia]

I use lighter weight 50G and regular to light flex in my GW-5 iron. I hit a fairly decent 5 iron on good contact around 180-195, but lately it seems I am flexing the shaft a bit at impact and notice some of my hits are degrading. It kind of makes sense to me due to the stronger/faster swing speed of a longer club.

I have not tried it yet, but I plan to try a 5 iron with a slightly stiffer shaft. Do any of you play different weight and flexes in your longer irons? I like the feel of the lightweight lite flex in most all of my irons, but it seems the 5 and even possibly the 6 iron could use a stouter tad heavier shaft.

Just curious as to what you folks think or have tried where this is concerned.

 

[GolfMT36]

You would be going the opposite direction of every other golfer on the planet where the longer clubs go lighter and the shorter ones go heavier. There is always a chance of course that it could work but my suspicion is that your issues stem from long irons being harder to hit well and not from an overly light shaft.

That being said, really not sure what you are doing in either light flex or 50g iron shafts if you hit a 5 iron almost 200 yards. I would be looking at heavier across the board, 50g is obscenely light for iron shafts.

 

[Luchnia]

You would be going the opposite direction of every other golfer on the planet where the longer clubs go lighter and the shorter ones go heavier. There is always a chance of course that it could work but my suspicion is that your issues stem from long irons being harder to hit well and not from an overly light shaft.

That being said, really not sure what you are doing in either light flex or 50g iron shafts if you hit a 5 iron almost 200 yards. I would be looking at heavier across the board, 50g is obscenely light for iron shafts.

Good insight and certainly something I have thought about. I don't always hit the 5 that far, but I do hit it good on solid pure strikes.

The strange thing about this is that I was fitted at CC and that shaft just worked for me the best out of everything the guy put in my hands. They are KBS TGI 50G shafts in the irons. Even a 65G heavier shaft did not work as well. Of couse, maybe it was just something about that day and the fitting.

I am contemplating trying some regular flex slightly heavier shafts because my swing speed has increased some, but being an older guy (65), not sure that is the wisest move for the long term.

 

[Summit]

I use lighter weight 50G and regular to light flex in my GW-5 iron. I hit a fairly decent 5 iron on good contact around 180-195, but lately it seems I am flexing the shaft a bit at impact and notice some of my hits are degrading. It kind of makes sense to me due to the stronger/faster swing speed of a longer club.

I have not tried it yet, but I plan to try a 5 iron with a slightly stiffer shaft. Do any of you play different weight and flexes in your longer irons? I like the feel of the lightweight lite flex in most all of my irons, but it seems the 5 and even possibly the 6 iron could use a stouter tad heavier shaft.

Just curious as to what you folks think or have tried where this is concerned.

What is happening with some of the shots? I highly doubt a shaft change in the 5/6 irons would produce any productive long term results. Is it time to look into hybrids to replace the long irons?

 

[Luchnia]

What is happening with some of the shots? I highly doubt a shaft change in the 5/6 irons would produce any productive long term results. Is it time to look into hybrids to replace the long irons?

Not sure what is actually happening. It feels like the shaft is flexing right at the moment of impact, but that is just a guess. The 6 iron is still mostly pure. Maybe I am just doing something differently now with the 5 and not realizing it. I will have to do some more research on it and see if I can pinpoint it. I do notice that since I am hitting my drives longer, I have not used it as much lately. Maybe I am rusting LOL

The shots are coming out more of a fade and not solid like my other irons. If it were one mis-hit now and then, I would get it, but I have noticed this is way more frequently. I recall hitting this iron so much better some time back. Maybe I am subconsciously changing when I hit it, or simply need to rock some more practice with it.

 

[GolfMT36]

I would take some foot spray, spray sunscreen, or dry erase marker and pinpoint where on the face you are making contact with those long irons. Sounds like you may be high or low on the face which can cause you to "feel" the shaft more than on center hits.

 

[Luchnia]

I took my 5 iron late yesterday and hit about 20 shots into my net with the launch monitor and it is showing around 182 average and 190 as my longest which was about right for my swing speeds recorded yesterday. I had already chipped and pitched about a 100 balls so I was tiring down quite a bit.

I focused more on taking my time getting the strikes as pure as possible and although I noticed I did have about 25% of them that were off somewhat. I think it is something I am doing with my swing simply not striking pure that is causing me to think it is shaft flex. Odd that it is more with the 5 iron all of a sudden.

I guess I am more sensitive now as to what is going on with my shot. The foot powder would show my impact area. I just have to remember to use that next time I test to see what my results are.

 

[GolfMT36]

I think it's just a matter of longer clubs being harder to control your contact point on and that ultra light shaft not helping. Suspect it's an issue with all the irons but the shorter ones are easier to hit square so you don't notice it. Probably swinging the long irons harder also which will make timing even more critical. At your speed I wouldn't go under 70g shafts as a rule. I would even say heavier than that (like 85g) but wouldn't want to shock your muscles with that much change. Of course you would have to get used to the weight but 70-90g is very likely a better fit. And technically still very light for iron shafts.