The pressure on golf equipment manufacturers to drive technology forward is unrelenting. Large companies have entire divisions devoted to working on products you may not see in stores for five or even ten years. Algorithms, artificial intelligence, and robots are working, probably at this very moment, to make all of us a little less terrible at this game. Still, some great ideas are around for the long haul. Depending on your age, there’s even a chance you’re playing something that was created before your first day of grade school.
Here’s something kind of mind blowing. With 2024 right around the corner, we are coming up on 25 years since the Nippon N.S. Pro 950GH steel shaft was introduced. You may not know that the 950GH is considered to be the original lightweight steel shaft or that it inspired an entire market segment. Lightweight steel is so pervasive today that we’d find it downright unusual to find a game improvement iron set with a full set of 120-130g shafts, but that wasn’t always the case. For years, it seemed like your options weren’t really options at all and lightweight steel was just a pipe dream.
Though graphite iron shafts have roots going back to the 1960’s, in the 1990’s there was a renewed interest that posed a threat to steel shaft companies, especially in Japan. Graphite’s lighter weight-to-strength ratio and ability to improve launch conditions started making waves and Nippon began looking for ways to retain its customers. It wasn’t an easy road. Reducing weight was easy enough, but it came at the cost of durability, rigidity, and appearance. Nippon’s first pass was universally rejected by consumers and professionals alike. Though surely disheartening, the feedback the company’s engineers received gave them the inspiration needed to bring a better product to market.
They took elements of steel design and married them with concepts learned from manufacturing graphite shafts to build what, at the time, was considered an “ultra-lightweight” shaft that felt and looked great but was stiff enough to be viable on Tour. In addition, the company gained more understanding of distributing stiffness in different parts of the shaft. While this is almost “Shaft 101” at this point, Nippon was walking on the cutting edge with these concepts. By doing things like making the section under the handle a little softer, they could improve feel and save weight for use elsewhere. As another example, they could increase launch angle and distance by manipulating flexibility in the tip section. All this work came to a head with the N.S. Pro 950GH. At less than 100g, it was an instant success, and its introduction paved the way for a new era of steel shaft design.
I understand you probably didn’t wake up today looking for a history lesson on Nippon shafts, but recent events brought this timeless classic into my life, and I was inspired to learn more. Earlier this year, I looked into the unique way Nippon synergizes their steel and graphite shaft lines. As part of that article, I began working with the company’s N.S. Pro Modus Tour 105 shafts. The Modus line’s roots go back to things Nippon learned from the 950GH, drawing off Tour feedback to build a comprehensive line of shafts with different weights and flex profiles.
Unfortunately, if you know much about me, you’ll know I don’t swing the club with much speed and am always looking for ways to hit the ball higher. Even the Modus Tour 105 proved to be a little more shaft than was optimal for me, so I reached out to Hiro at Nippon for some advice. My request was for something a little smoother to swing that helped me get the ball up in the air. He didn’t hesitate for a second before recommending the 950GH, and I was installing a set by the end of the week. What I found was almost instant improvement. The lighter weight and unique flex profile felt like the shaft was working for me rather than against me, and I saw improvements in my launch conditions across the board. Unfortunately, shafts aren’t magic (let me know if you do find one that is), so most outsiders would still say I’m “slow and low” even with the 950GH’s in my irons, but it’s a tangible difference. Better yet, my confidence at address has increased without having the nagging concern that I need different iron shafts in the back of my head.
It all goes to show that great ideas have staying power, and this shaft that Nippon built almost 25 years ago doesn’t seem like it will be going away any time soon. There are many of you out there that are in the same predicament I am, and a look at this timeless classic may be worth your time. More information on the entire line of Nippon steel and graphite shafts can be found on their website, nipponshaft.com.
