Steelfiber i95's in irons, going i110 in wedges - What flex?

Hey!

Just curious to see who has gone down this road previously and any thoughts you might be able to share.

I am playing SF i95's stiff's in my irons and loving them. I am looking to switch my wedges over to some Steelfiber's as well, but not sure what flex to go in the i110's.

According to the Aerotech fitting chart my SS is right between an S and R in the i110's.

Should I stick with the stiffs as I have in the i95's or go regular flex with i110's?

I do take a ton of full shots with wedges as well as use them around the greens, I think the i110's will be a good weight for that as I am coming out of some DG 115's. I just don't want the stiff's to be too rigid of a transition between the two.

Thanks in advance!

-Nick

i am not a fan of 110 steelfiber, they seem to be the most problematic of all 3 weight classes. If you do go 110, go R

I would go 125s steelfiber in wedges … they are amazing (like the 95)

Thank you so much for the response and advice. I've never swung something in that weight class, could be a great option for sure!

I'd go R as you're in between and many prefer slightly softer shaft in wedges, including myself.

Much appreciated, that is great feedback. I am leaning that way for sure, just wanted to see if that would be the correct route.

Another vote for going softer flex in the 110's. And I agree with the other comment -- the 110's seem to be the most problematic fit of the entire Steelfiber line up in my opinion.

I have i95s and I went modus 115 for my 50 and 54 degree wedges and modus 125 for my 58 degree wedge.

I 95 in irons. DG steel wedge shafts. Looking to re shaft flop and maybe gap. Curious as to suggestions.

Thanks for the input! Did you end up playing the 110’s regular flex in your wedges? If so, how was it?

I know this will throw a wrench in everything, but I actually went to X in my wedges in the 110CW and play stiff 110CW in my irons. It is extremely stable and has plenty of spin. I am not recommending you to up in flex for your wedges, but I think you should match your irons.

Quick amend to my post: I would stick with your iron shafts in the wedges. Kuch and snedeker play 95 in their wedges and have no issue. If you do decide to go to the 110, then I still would match your flex.

I had a similar discussion with Aerotech Club builder and he said they are getting more and more requests for wedge shafts and that in the wedge, flex is minimal difference at that club head speed. I was between going up to a 125S or 110S/X. I found a deal on the X flex for half the price which is why I was curious.

Long story short, he recommends keeping the same flex in wedge shafts but said they haven’t found a massive difference if you are between S/X or R/S. I actually found the 95 to be harder to load than the 110 in stiff but I suppose to each their own.

This is super helpful information, thank you a ton! I am totally open to keeping wedge shafts at 95g, my only hesitation is green side and feel shots with such a light shaft. The little bit of extra weight could help with feel, but then again you never know until you try it. I could build one 95g and one 110g and just see what feels better, etc. As we all know these shafts aren't hard to resale :)

This. I have I95 Stiff in my 4-9 and i125 Stiff for 52 and 58 wedges. Tried the i110 and they did not work for me. I was coming from 130 gram steel shafts.

I actually did this vey thing. I have 95 stiff my irons and the 110 stiff in my wedges. For me it’s been a great combo in my wedges. I actually really like the feel of the 110 and at times wish I’d done 110 across the whole set. That is going to be polar opposite of most I imagine. At any rate, I only have a 50 and 56 for wedges but I do hit a lot of full shots and small shots with them. My swing speed puts me at the lower end of the recommended swing speed for stiff shafts but I don’t find either the 95 or 110 to be too stiff. Ymmv. Good luck with your choice.

What is "problematic" about the "fit" of the 110s? (I ask as someone who's played the 110s in my irons/wedges for the past couple of years, but who also wonders if the 95s might feel/work better.)

There is a lot of threads about 110 being strange

plus I was told the same by three Different long tome master fitters up here

the 95 and 125 are close to flex progression for each shaft in a set when they get a set for a build ... but 110 sets are most often all over the map. I know for me the 95 and 125 perform great but the 110 felt very off / harsh in some irons

Nick, I have been an Aerotech fitter for more than a decade, and did seminars on Aerotech SteelFiber shafts (with Chris Hilleary, Aerotech's President and Chief Designer) at the PGA Merchandise Show. I generally recommend going with the same weight and flex shaft in the Gap Wedge as the golfer is using in the rest of his/her irons. If the golfer then wants to go with heavier shafts in the more-lofted wedges, and wishes to stick with SteelFiber shafts, there are three possible options:

1.) If using taper-tip (CW) shafts, stay with the same flex and soft-step one or two steps for those wedges (9-iron or 8-iron shaft in these wedges).

2.) If using parallel-tip shafts, stay with the same flex and tip-trim about 1/2" less than the recommended tip-trimming instructions for wedge use.

3.) Go with the next-heavier weight and drop down a flex, knowing that this will essentially have the same effect as triple soft-stepping (e.g. - using a 7-iron shaft in those wedges).

Since the i110 SteelFibers do play slightly stiffer than the i95s, dropping down a flex for the wedges if you are puting 110s in those wedges with 95s in the rest of the irons won't quite have the same effect as triple soft-stepping; it will be more like a double soft-step (e.g. - 8-iron shaft in the wedges).

I hope that this helps!

Interesting. What about if they used an 8-iron stiff flex in the 110 for then”wedge shaft trick?” Or would they be better off in a 95S 8 iron for that?

So grateful for your insight, thank you! This is super helpful in every way possible. My iron set is the i95's parallel-tip.

Of the 3 recommendations you made, do you think going the 110 in a regular flex is the simplest way of getting there? The weight thing around the greens is just something my mind keeps going back to and is what is making me hesitant with going i95's in the whole set.

Thanks in advance for your expertise, it is so appreciated.

Cheers,

-Nick

So interesting to me with the 110's being so off. I wonder what could cause that? Thank you so much for your input, definitely helps narrow it all down.

One thing I will say, if it puts your mind at ease, go with what you want. If it’s heavier than so be it. You could also buy one wedge shaft in 110R and see how it goes? Can resell like you said for ~70% of cost which is better than most wedge shafts

I really appreciate your feedback - Thanks! This is also super helpful in taking everything into consideration. Cheers!

Your release plays a more important part

How you playing your wedges? You a shoulder guy or are hands your go to? You early release on full? Shaft lean @impact?

The softer/light I went - the more height/spin I added. The heavier I went - the more controlled flight appeared with way less launch/spin

I suggest 110s or even 125s - maybe ssx1

Great question - Curious on thoughts about this!

Just to clarify (my apologies on the lack of technical knowledge) -

If I go i110, go regular flex in 8-9 iron shaft or a wedge shaft? Given my current setup as referenced above, i95's parallel-tip.

Thanks!

If the player wanted heavier shafts in his/her wedges, then I would say go with the 110-S 8-iron shafts (or, with parallel-tip shafts, tip-trim the 110-S parallels to 8-iron trimming spec's (e.g. - 3" maximum tip-trim). In this specific instance, I may even suggest only tip-trimming the parallel 110-S shafts 2.5" to 2.75" for use in the wedges.

Nick,

Do your wedges also take parallel-tip shafts, or do you need taper-tips for the wedges? If they take taper-tip shafts, I would go with the 8-iron shafts in S-flex, not in R-flex. If they take parallel-tip shafts, please see my response to taylormade4life above (S-flex parallel-tip shaft, but use 8-iron tip-trim, or a little less, for your wedges).

I hope that this is clear and also helpful to you.

Doug

P.S - The 8-iron shafts that you would order if your wedges take taper-tip shafts will be 37.5" long, and all trimming will be from the butt only after assembly.

By the way, you do have another option in the SteelFiber lineup -- the "flight control" SteelFiber shafts. In your case, I would suggest the fc115 shafts for your wedges. With these 115 gram "flighted" iron shafts, you would either use the fc115-S 8-iron shafts (37.5" long) in your wedges, if you need taper-tip shafts, or the fc115-S parallel-tip shafts, tip-trimmed 3-1/8", if your wedges take parallel-tip shafts.

With the SteelFiber fc115 shafts, you'll get even a bit more shaft weight, and the flight will be very similar to what you'd get with the SteelFiber i110 shafts. The fc model gives a higher launch and ball flight in the longer irons, with the "traditional" slightly lower ball flight that you would also get with the i110 shafts in the short irons and wedges.

Doug

I have done this but many like many have said it already, go heavier weight like 125 and just stick with either stiff our you can go regular. You probably won’t feel the different in flex

Hey Doug,

Thank you so much again for taking the time to help me out, I appreciate it a ton.

A couple of thoughts/answers for you -

My wedges take a .355 taper tip.

Is this screen shot of an 8 iron SF i110 in a stiff the ticket?

Thanks a ton!

-Nick

Yes