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Thoughts on C-Tapers

Nippon Shafts
Brianbigoats

Brianbigoats

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I have been thinking about changing out my X100 for some C-Taper S+. I was wondering if anybody has played them and what there feeling are about them. I hit a friends Irons with them in them and like the smoother feel vs my x100
 
Brianbigoats said:
I have been thinking about changing out my X100 for some C-Taper S+. I was wondering if anybody has played them and what there feeling are about them. I hit a friends Irons with them in them and like the smoother feel vs my x100
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They definitely play strong a flex, flight will come up a touch from most from the X100's but you will also see a drop in spin, which is the reall winner. Plus, as you said, they feel better. Now, they aren't KBS Tour feel, but they are unique to themselves and STABLE. With them its all about the individual swing and IMO the transition, the 5% thing initially talked about has gone by the wayside as they CAN fit more golfers than that, but the flex is usually the main issue for people.
 
Brianbigoats said:
I have been thinking about changing out my X100 for some C-Taper S+. I was wondering if anybody has played them and what there feeling are about them. I hit a friends Irons with them in them and like the smoother feel vs my x100
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I've gamed both.

A lot has been made about the C-Tapers being for a smaller % of golfers, or some 5% business, but in my experiences, it's simply not the case.

What I have found with C-Tapers, is that you can get away with going less stiff and promoting less spin vs the X100s. Both are all kinds of stable, and if you get a bit overzealous with flex you're probably going to hate them, but the notable stability and reduced spin is a great benefit if you get yourself into the right C-Taper flex for your swing.

Comparing the two directly, I believe I launch the x100 shafts low, but spin the C-Tapers(s+) less.
 
Jman said:
They definitely play strong a flex, flight will come up a touch from most from the X100's but you will also see a drop in spin, which is the reall winner. Plus, as you said, they feel better. Now, they aren't KBS Tour feel, but they are unique to themselves and STABLE. With them its all about the individual swing and IMO the transition, the 5% thing initially talked about has gone by the wayside as they CAN fit more golfers than that, but the flex is usually the main issue for people.
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hah, basically hitting on the last three shafts I've gamed, and I absolutely agree. The KBS tours in X have all the weight, they just crank up the spin. Can't wait to see what the V2's are like.

Brian, what reasoning are you gaming x1's? Flighting? Spin? Weight?
 
I tend to have a very agressive transition. I think that the S+ would make more sense than S
 
For whatever reason I was losing C-tapers to the left and hitting a consistent push draw with the X-100's. X-100's seem to react better to my swing but that is a personal thing. Brian, are you playing Dynamic Gold or Dynalite Gold X-100's?
 
Canadan said:
hah, basically hitting on the last three shafts I've gamed, and I absolutely agree. The KBS tours in X have all the weight, they just crank up the spin. Can't wait to see what the V2's are like.

Brian, what reasoning are you gaming x1's? Flighting? Spin? Weight?
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All three I am a high ball hitter so X1 keep it down while keep the spin sort of in check. the heavier weight helps slow my transition
 
Smithfaced said:
For whatever reason I was losing C-tapers to the left and hitting a consistent push draw with the X-100's. X-100's seem to react better to my swing but that is a personal thing. Brian, are you playing Dynamic Gold or Dynalite Gold X-100's?
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Dynamic Gold
 
Brianbigoats said:
All three I am a high ball hitter so X1 keep it down while keep the spin sort of in check. the heavier weight helps slow my transition
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For the most part we suffer similar issues. I'm not crazy fast but I think my attack on the ball being a bit steeper is where I generate a ton of spin. It's not ideal hahaha!

Either way, I think the X1's are great shafts, and while I think many companies are catching up, is still one of the absolute best options for high spin/high launch golfers with ample swing speed. I had fully expected the C-Tapers to bring everything down, but I don't see that as the case. Much of what has reduced is spin, and for an FCM that is less than the X100, I am quite pleased with that.

Have you hit PXi in 6.5 or 7.0 yet? How about Aerotechs or Recoils?
 
Canadan said:
For the most part we suffer similar issues. I'm not crazy fast but I think my attack on the ball being a bit steeper is where I generate a ton of spin. It's not ideal hahaha!

Either way, I think the X1's are great shafts, and while I think many companies are catching up, is still one of the absolute best options for high spin/high launch golfers with ample swing speed. I had fully expected the C-Tapers to bring everything down, but I don't see that as the case. Much of what has reduced is spin, and for an FCM that is less than the X100, I am quite pleased with that.

Have you hit PXi in 6.5 or 7.0 yet? How about Aerotechs or Recoils?
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This! I thought the C-Tapers would help me here but that wasn't the case. I love the look of them but the numbers weren't quite there.
 
Smithfaced said:
Any other reason for wanting to change other than the smoother feel?
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no feel was the main reason the x1 feel a bit harsher as the weather has gotten a bit cooler
 
Canadan said:
For the most part we suffer similar issues. I'm not crazy fast but I think my attack on the ball being a bit steeper is where I generate a ton of spin. It's not ideal hahaha!

Either way, I think the X1's are great shafts, and while I think many companies are catching up, is still one of the absolute best options for high spin/high launch golfers with ample swing speed. I had fully expected the C-Tapers to bring everything down, but I don't see that as the case. Much of what has reduced is spin, and for an FCM that is less than the X100, I am quite pleased with that.

Have you hit PXi in 6.5 or 7.0 yet? How about Aerotechs or Recoils?
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I have not hit the PXi but i have never liked the feel of any Project X shaft. The Aerotechs and Recoils look very intresting but the cost always gets me
 
Brianbigoats said:
I have not hit the PXi but i have never liked the feel of any Project X shaft. The Aerotechs and Recoils look very intresting but the cost always gets me
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Check out PXi. It's massively different than any PX I'd ever swung before it, and for equitable launch/spin numbers, a huge advantage to that design.

I was shocked at how reasonable it felt, even at 6.5 (which is 7.0 FCM, 0.2 above x100 6.8).
 
Canadan said:
I've gamed both.

A lot has been made about the C-Tapers being for a smaller % of golfers, or some 5% business, but in my experiences, it's simply not the case.
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I wont get into who they are right for or are not right for, but its not "5% business". It was a direct quote from the man that created the shafts and fits people every day for the shafts that said these were not right for 95% of the golfers.

Have you fit a lot of golfers into them? Or could it be that they are right for you and you fall into that 5% category?

I dont understand how that comment always comes up as "incorrect" when it is directly from the guy that created the shafts.
 
JB said:
I wont get into who they are right for or are not right for, but its not "5% business". It was a direct quote from the man that created the shafts and fits people every day for the shafts that said these were not right for 95% of the golfers.

Have you fit a lot of golfers into them? Or could it be that they are right for you and you fall into that 5% category?

I dont understand how that comment always comes up as "incorrect" when it is directly from the guy that created the shafts.
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I don't fit golfers to anything, I just let people swing what I have and do the same in return. Simply a matter of personal experience, that people have had some great results with them. Higher than 5% in my experience.

Meant no disrespect to anyone at KBS or in the shaft industry. The entirety of shaft design fascinates and overwhelms me. I honestly didn't even know that % came from the creator, simply heard the number in passing a handful of times.
 
Canadan said:
I don't fit golfers to anything, I just let people swing what I have and do the same in return. Simply a matter of personal experience, that people have had some great results with them. Higher than 5% in my experience.

Meant no disrespect to anyone at KBS or in the shaft industry. The entirety of shaft design fascinates and overwhelms me. I honestly didn't even know that % came from the creator, simply heard the number in passing a handful of times.
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The number always said is actually "Less than 10%". Here ya go.

 
JB said:
The number always said is actually "Less than 10%". Here ya go.

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I must have pulled the 5% number off all their advertising or something.

10% is a pretty wide margin in comparison to ALL golfers, so I feel more confident about that. Was there anything suggested that % increased upon the release of CTL?

Admittedly, most of the golfers who I've watched try out the C-Tapers are in the 0-12/13/14 handicap with a pretty solid swing speed. I suppose I was doing a bit of cherry picking making that comparison.
 
I've played X100 for the past 8 years. It's a shaft I have come to enjoy and found to be relatively stable with my swing. Over the past year I had taken a few swings with the CTapers in the Mizuno MP64, MP59 neither felt really good for me. Then I was able to swing the CTapers in the Bridgestone J40 DPC, with various clubs. The feel was totally different. So I'm wondering if the shaft/head pairing is a point to consider. I don't get caught up in the percentages of golfer these are fit for really. It comes down to my own experience with any given piece of equipment. Granted I follow many different equipment threads just to see how people are reacting to any given piece of equipment.
 
Smithfaced said:
For whatever reason I was losing C-tapers to the left and hitting a consistent push draw with the X-100's. X-100's seem to react better to my swing but that is a personal thing. Brian, are you playing Dynamic Gold or Dynalite Gold X-100's?
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Hi. You state that you are loosing the ball to the left with the c-taper and not the DG.
This is an individual case, and I have never seen you swing.
I believe there is a simple explanation. For a very complex process.
And we will hear from others.
The KBS is a 50/50 balance shaft the when built, swing weights lighter than the DG. The change of swing weight can and does cause a pull, straight/draw, and pull/draw.. The heavier swing weight of the DG is your push/draw.
It has to do with the change of rate of face closure due to the swing weight change.
To prove this, start adding lead tape to the hosel until you get a push/draw ball flight. Then add more lead tape until you see a straight flight.
I profiled the tour v Kbs. I fit a +6 handicapper, and the numbers on the flightscope were very similar the KBS tour v Stiff to the DG tour issue S400.
 
I went from playing x-100's in my razr fit's to the KBS c-taper in the x-flex and found the C-tapers had about the same launch with reduced spin and a much tighter dispersion than the DG's. If you were to go with the S+ in the C-tapers you'd probably experience a bit of a higher launch with a reduced spin. The feel isn't quite as nice as the x100's, but the added control and dispersion more than makes up for that!
 
kmanc said:
Hi. You state that you are loosing the ball to the left with the c-taper and not the DG.
This is an individual case, and I have never seen you swing.
I believe there is a simple explanation. For a very complex process.
And we will hear from others.
The KBS is a 50/50 balance shaft the when built, swing weights lighter than the DG. The change of swing weight can and does cause a pull, straight/draw, and pull/draw.. The heavier swing weight of the DG is your push/draw.
It has to do with the change of rate of face closure due to the swing weight change.
To prove this, start adding lead tape to the hosel until you get a push/draw ball flight. Then add more lead tape until you see a straight flight.
I profiled the tour v Kbs. I fit a +6 handicapper, and the numbers on the flightscope were very similar the KBS tour v Stiff to the DG tour issue S400.
Click to expand...

It wasn't described to me that way but it makes perfect sense. Again, love the c-tapers but the x-100's flat out perform for me and my swing.
 
Canadan said:
I'm really enjoying your opinions guys... kmanc, that idea of weighting on the head is absolutely fascinating.
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I read about it first in Maltby's book, then again in a Wishon fitting book, then again in Jeff Sheets fitting book.
The idea of swing weight, and watching the changes of swing weight on the flightscope and high speed video is pretty amazing.
When i do a fitting, if I have to add more than 5 grams of lead to the hosel, I change shafts to a shaft with a different balance point. Then start again. I carry now 75 shafts in my iron fit cart.
As far as the KBS TourV. Seems like a shaft that gets really nice responses from my guys.
 
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