Need some advice on iron flex for son

[4rheel]

Got a 13 yr old son that is currently using his sisters set (Cally XR) and was told he will have to move over to R-flex at the end of the year.

 

Would it be worth my while to get him into some Senior-flex for the time being or just continue to use the Ladies-flex until the end of the year when I intend to get him fitted for a set? I ask because I let him try my dad's old RBZ (1st Gen) with a Senior flex and he was killing it. Took him to hit some drivers at Roger Dunn and his SS got up to 88 mph. Not bad for a little runt. Lol

[leezer99]

88 mph clubhead speed with driver typically indicates an R flex shaft. The game you're going to have to play is the weight of the shaft and that you're not going to know until you get him fitted.

[Cwebb]

In general, since there is no standard for flex,....I'd lean towards the the 'R'. A regular flex is not going to hold him back

[4rheel]

88 mph clubhead speed with driver typically indicates an R flex shaft. The game you're going to have to play is the weight of the shaft and that you're not going to know until you get him fitted.

Thanks for that. This brings up another issue. He prefers graphite shafts but at what point do I switch him to steel shaft?

[4rheel]

In general, since there is no standard for flex,....I'd lean towards the the 'R'. A regular flex is not going to hold him back

 

So just wait until the end of the year and get him fitted to a R-Flex or maybe find him a used set with Senior-flex for the time being? He's panning to play a bunch of tourneys in the next couple of months.

[heavy_hitter]

88 mph clubhead speed with driver typically indicates an R flex shaft. The game you're going to have to play is the weight of the shaft and that you're not going to know until you get him fitted.

Thanks for that. This brings up another issue. He prefers graphite shafts but at what point do I switch him to steel shaft?

 

He needs to be in steel now.

 

In general, since there is no standard for flex,....I'd lean towards the the 'R'. A regular flex is not going to hold him back

 

So just wait until the end of the year and get him fitted to a R-Flex or maybe find him a used set with Senior-flex for the time being? He's panning to play a bunch of tourneys in the next couple of months.

 

He needs to be in R-Flex now.

[4rheel]

Thanks Heavy-Hitter. Probably should've PM'd you directly about this.

[propredicr]

Demo everything and definitely get the “regular” flex. He’s only going to get stronger. My 11 yo swing speed is about the same ans is in regular flex shafts for all his woods. Was fit into Senior Flex for irons, but, I ended up finishing his irons with 70g graphite regular. Perfect! I didn’t want to go back in 2-3 months and have to buy another new set and sell the current new set. He will learn to adapt.

 

If money is no object, find a set you like, once he outgrows them that set becomes yours??!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got a 13 yr old son that is currently using his sisters set (Cally XR) and was told he will have to move over to R-flex at the end of the year.

 

Would it be worth my while to get him into some Senior-flex for the time being or just continue to use the Ladies-flex until the end of the year when I intend to get him fitted for a set? I ask because I let him try my dad's old RBZ (1st Gen) with a Senior flex and he was killing it. Took him to hit some drivers at Roger Dunn and his SS got up to 88 mph. Not bad for a little runt. Lol

[4rheel]

Demo everything and definitely get the "regular" flex. He's only going to get stronger. My 11 yo swing speed is about the same ans is in regular flex shafts for all his woods. Was fit into Senior Flex for irons, but, I ended up finishing his irons with 70g graphite regular. Perfect! I didn't want to go back in 2-3 months and have to buy another new set and sell the current new set. He will learn to adapt.

 

If money is no object, find a set you like, once he outgrows them that set becomes yours!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got a 13 yr old son that is currently using his sisters set (Cally XR) and was told he will have to move over to R-flex at the end of the year.

 

Would it be worth my while to get him into some Senior-flex for the time being or just continue to use the Ladies-flex until the end of the year when I intend to get him fitted for a set? I ask because I let him try my dad's old RBZ (1st Gen) with a Senior flex and he was killing it. Took him to hit some drivers at Roger Dunn and his SS got up to 88 mph. Not bad for a little runt. Lol

 

Good advice as well! Like all parents, I want the best chance for my kid to succeed. That's why I'm considering senior flex shafts right now but you all have convinced me to get him into R-flex rather now than later.

 

I like the R-flex graphite route but curious to know why Heavy-Hitter advised to get him into steel now. My boy is scrawny and only 5'2". I could understand if my kid was bigger and stronger;)

[propredicr]

There are some lighter weight steel shafts. Recoil I think is 90ish grams. KBS has a 90’s steel. They tend to get the ball up. I knew I was going to drop over a grand, so, this time I had him professionally fitted. You can try all the free demo days in your area, to get an idea. I was pressed for time, as it’s tourney season, so I went with efficiency and had the irons in-hand in a week. Good luck!

[leezer99]

There are some lighter weight steel shafts. Recoil I think is 90ish grams. KBS has a 90's steel. They tend to get the ball up. I knew I was going to drop over a grand, so, this time I had him professionally fitted. You can try all the free demo days in your area, to get an idea. I was pressed for time, as it's tourney season, so I went with efficiency and had the irons in-hand in a week. Good luck!

 

The Nippon Zelos 6 is a 68g steel shaft... they also have the Zelos 7 (74g) and Zelos 8 (84g).

[4rheel]

That might not be a bad idea. Find something they have on hand and then maybe get him properly fitted after the summer.

[4rheel]

There are some lighter weight steel shafts. Recoil I think is 90ish grams. KBS has a 90's steel. They tend to get the ball up. I knew I was going to drop over a grand, so, this time I had him professionally fitted. You can try all the free demo days in your area, to get an idea. I was pressed for time, as it's tourney season, so I went with efficiency and had the irons in-hand in a week. Good luck!

 

The Nippon Zelos 6 is a 68g steel shaft... they also have the Zelos 7 (74g) and Zelos 8 (84g).

 

Yikes, I don't like where this is heading. The Zelos shaft sounds a little more exotic then I had in mind and not ready to introduce my boy to golfwrx yet;P

[tiger1873]

Be careful about shafts flexes. A regular flex could actually be a stiff or senior flex with another manufacture. Truthfully you can't even trust the same manufacture to be consistent. I wish there was some standard but there is not.

 

If you changing existing irons out, order 1 shaft in the flex you think you need and try it out. If you can find a fitter cart somewhere you may be able to try out some more shaft combos to get an idea.

 

It all very confusing and time consuming. Roger Dunn should have fitting carts at their bay. Go there and ask them if you lucky they will just let you grab the shafts and hit away yourself on the launch monitor.

 

Also don't over analyze the flex too much and fit for swing after 9 holes and on the course which in many cases is less then what you may see on the range.

[4rheel]

Be careful about shafts flexes. A regular flex could actually be a stiff or senior flex with another manufacture. Truthfully you can't even trust the same manufacture to be consistent. I wish there was some standard but there is not.

 

If you changing existing irons out, order 1 shaft in the flex you think you need and try it out. If you can find a fitter cart somewhere you may be able to try out some more shaft combos to get an idea.

 

It all very confusing and time consuming. Roger Dunn should have fitting carts at their bay. Go there and ask them if you lucky they will just let you grab the shafts and hit away yourself on the launch monitor.

 

That's what i was afraid of. Guess I should leave it to the experts and get him properly fitted. Guess I know what I will be doing this weekend.

[tiger1873]

Be careful about shafts flexes. A regular flex could actually be a stiff or senior flex with another manufacture. Truthfully you can't even trust the same manufacture to be consistent. I wish there was some standard but there is not.

 

If you changing existing irons out, order 1 shaft in the flex you think you need and try it out. If you can find a fitter cart somewhere you may be able to try out some more shaft combos to get an idea.

 

It all very confusing and time consuming. Roger Dunn should have fitting carts at their bay. Go there and ask them if you lucky they will just let you grab the shafts and hit away yourself on the launch monitor.

 

That's what i was afraid of. Guess I should leave it to the experts and get him properly fitted. Guess I know what I will be doing this weekend.

 

If he has a instructor start there. Stay away from experts at Roger Dunn or other large retailer. With a lot those guys you might as well throw darts to get fitted or buy the latest deal on golfwrx for him.

[4rheel]

Yeah, his golf instructor is the one that said he will have to move over to R-flex at the end of the year. He also said graphite so I wasn't even considering steel until now. I mean, eventually he will need to move over but not sure when.

[heavy_hitter]

There are some lighter weight steel shafts. Recoil I think is 90ish grams. KBS has a 90's steel. They tend to get the ball up. I knew I was going to drop over a grand, so, this time I had him professionally fitted. You can try all the free demo days in your area, to get an idea. I was pressed for time, as it's tourney season, so I went with efficiency and had the irons in-hand in a week. Good luck!

 

KBS has an 80 gram steel.

[jj9000]

Good advice as well! Like all parents, I want the best chance for my kid to succeed. That's why I'm considering senior flex shafts right now but you all have convinced me to get him into R-flex rather now than later.

 

I like the R-flex graphite route but curious to know why Heavy-Hitter advised to get him into steel now. My boy is scrawny and only 5'2". I could understand if my kid was bigger and stronger;)

 

He swings a Driver at 88 MPH.

 

Assume a 6 iron is 15 MPH slower.

 

Yes, he needs to be in steel, otherwise he's likely going to overpower the graphite, and you're going to be in the same position you're in right now.

[tiger1873]

Good advice as well! Like all parents, I want the best chance for my kid to succeed. That's why I'm considering senior flex shafts right now but you all have convinced me to get him into R-flex rather now than later.

 

I like the R-flex graphite route but curious to know why Heavy-Hitter advised to get him into steel now. My boy is scrawny and only 5'2". I could understand if my kid was bigger and stronger;)

 

He swings a Driver at 88 MPH.

 

Assume a 6 iron is 15 MPH slower.

 

Yes, he needs to be in steel, otherwise he's likely going to overpower the graphite, and you're going to be in the same position you're in right now.

 

I am not sure if steel will is a good option for anyone under 90mph with a driver. Graphite is a lot better then it was in the past. To me it sounds more like A (senior) flex in some shafts. Also steel makes the bag much heavier so not good if walking even with a cart in tournaments.

[jj9000]

Good advice as well! Like all parents, I want the best chance for my kid to succeed. That's why I'm considering senior flex shafts right now but you all have convinced me to get him into R-flex rather now than later.

 

I like the R-flex graphite route but curious to know why Heavy-Hitter advised to get him into steel now. My boy is scrawny and only 5'2". I could understand if my kid was bigger and stronger;)

 

He swings a Driver at 88 MPH.

 

Assume a 6 iron is 15 MPH slower.

 

Yes, he needs to be in steel, otherwise he's likely going to overpower the graphite, and you're going to be in the same position you're in right now.

 

I am not sure if steel will is a good option for anyone under 90mph with a driver. Graphite is a lot better then it was in the past. To me it sounds more like A (senior) flex in some shafts. Also steel makes the bag much heavier so not good if walking even with a cart in tournaments.

 

I would consider A flex graphite shafts kicking the can down the road for a short amount of time before dumping graphite for steel.

 

Get the kid in steel, and acclimated to steel, as soon as possible.

 

Take a close look at the folks in this thread that have already walked this walk.

 

OP...KBS makes several shafts which are designed for Jrs. in the 80-90 gram weight class at Regular flex.

 

Soft-stepping is also an option.

[4rheel]

Just wanted to update he got fit into a nice set of M2 irons with their stock REAX 88 R-flex steel shafts. Seemed to be the most consistent and tightest dispersion for him. Also had a nice high flight with soft landing. My only concern is it looked to fit him well now and he didn't have to swing any harder. He claims the NSPro 950 and KBS 90 made him swing harder which I can attest.

 

So the question is do I get him the REAX 88 he hits well now or NSPro or KBS 90 he can grow into? Going back tonight to pick up the set as he hit a ton of balls during his fitting.

 

Also, any of your junior golfers using the Ping G400 Max driver? He tried that one for fun and was killing it.

[jj9000]

Just wanted to update he got fit into a nice set of M2 irons with their stock REAX 88 R-flex steel shafts. Seemed to be the most consistent and tightest dispersion for him. Also had a nice high flight with soft landing. My only concern is it looked to fit him well now and he didn't have to swing any harder. He claims the NSPro 950 and KBS 90 made him swing harder which I can attest.

 

So the question is do I get him the REAX 88 he hits well now or NSPro or KBS 90 he can grow into? Going back tonight to pick up the set as he hit a ton of balls during his fitting.

 

Also, any of your junior golfers using the Ping G400 Max driver? He tried that one for fun and was killing it.

 

I would get the stock REAX 88 R flex. Especially if the NS-Pro 95s and the KBS 90s are upcharges.

 

There's not a whole lot of difference between these (3) shaft profiles. They're more similar than they are different.

 

He can grow into the REAX 88s just as he'd be growing into the NS-Pro 95s and KBS 90s. He'll be outgrowing the REAX 88s at or around the same time as he'll outgrow the other (2) shafts.

 

Lastly...If the dude is nuking the G400 Max...spring for it...and he'll have a really really good Driver for years to come. All you'll need to do is change PING shafts as he grows.

[leezer99]

 

Also, any of your junior golfers using the Ping G400 Max driver? He tried that one for fun and was killing it.

 

Not for a junior but my buddy has the G400 Max and has been driving it better than ever and he's the type of guy that gets a new driver every month... the G400 has survived the longest in his bag.

[heavy_hitter]

Just wanted to update he got fit into a nice set of M2 irons with their stock REAX 88 R-flex steel shafts. Seemed to be the most consistent and tightest dispersion for him. Also had a nice high flight with soft landing. My only concern is it looked to fit him well now and he didn't have to swing any harder. He claims the NSPro 950 and KBS 90 made him swing harder which I can attest.

 

So the question is do I get him the REAX 88 he hits well now or NSPro or KBS 90 he can grow into? Going back tonight to pick up the set as he hit a ton of balls during his fitting.

 

Also, any of your junior golfers using the Ping G400 Max driver? He tried that one for fun and was killing it.

 

I would get the stock REAX 88 R flex. Especially if the NS-Pro 95s and the KBS 90s are upcharges.

 

There's not a whole lot of difference between these (3) shaft profiles. They're more similar than they are different.

 

He can grow into the REAX 88s just as he'd be growing into the NS-Pro 95s and KBS 90s. He'll be outgrowing the REAX 88s at or around the same time as he'll outgrow the other (2) shafts.

 

Lastly...If the dude is nuking the G400 Max...spring for it...and he'll have a really really good Driver for years to come. All you'll need to do is change PING shafts as he grows.

 

You need to post over here in this section more often. You obviously know your stuff. Club Fitter?

[jj9000]

You need to post over here in this section more often. You obviously know your stuff. Club Fitter?

 

Thanks man.

 

I'm not a club-fitter...but....I know more than I should about golf equipment.

 

I just built a 37" Cally XR16 Driver with a Mitsubishi Bassara 42g L-Flex Driver for my dude. 13.5* stock head with the face closed and turned up 2* to 15.5*.

 

Those Cally XR16s are some of the lightest "real deal OEM" heads on the market.

 

...and I'm 100% positive it will be better than the US-Kids Steel Drivers.

[heavy_hitter]

You need to post over here in this section more often. You obviously know your stuff. Club Fitter?

 

Thanks man.

 

I'm not a club-fitter...but....I know more than I should about golf equipment.

 

I just built a 37" Cally XR16 Driver with a Mitsubishi Bassara 42g L-Flex Driver for my dude. 13.5* stock head with the face closed and turned up 2* to 15.5*.

 

Those Cally XR16s are some of the lightest "real deal OEM" heads on the market.

 

...and I'm 100% positive it will be better than the US-Kids Steel Drivers.

 

Yep. XR16 driver head is very light. I have one that I should put in the marketplace.

[nbg352]

88 mph clubhead speed with driver typically indicates an R flex shaft. The game you're going to have to play is the weight of the shaft and that you're not going to know until you get him fitted.

Thanks for that. This brings up another issue. He prefers graphite shafts but at what point do I switch him to steel shaft?

 

He needs to be in steel now.

 

In general, since there is no standard for flex,....I'd lean towards the the 'R'. A regular flex is not going to hold him back

 

So just wait until the end of the year and get him fitted to a R-Flex or maybe find him a used set with Senior-flex for the time being? He's panning to play a bunch of tourneys in the next couple of months.

 

He needs to be in R-Flex now.

May I ask why, given today's excellent quality in graphite shafts, why you feel he "needs" to be in steel now?

[heavy_hitter]

May I ask why, given today's excellent quality in graphite shafts, why you feel he "needs" to be in steel now?

 

Same reason JJ9000 gave. He is going to get him graphite and within 6 months wish he hadn't. Would have to turn around and buy new clubs again. Get in steel, get acclimated, and move on. Junior girl's playing tournament golf at that age aren't even using graphite. Dispersion is much better with steel.

[4rheel]

I totally agree now. I didn't realize it as first but when he got fitted, he was losing some shots with his graphite set. At least on the launch monitor, the steel shafts were way more consistent.