Choosing iron shafts

[nsxguy]

So here's what's just confounding to me. I went to Roger Dunn, tested some Ping I210 mainly because there were two used sets, one with Recoil 660 F3 (71 gram) and one Pings AWT S, 104 gr. I thought hitting these very different shafts would give me a starting direction. I hit 7 iron with each shaft many times. After I got warmed up, the ball speed on the two was almost identical (within 0.5 MPH). The steel shaft launched a little higher and had a little more spin but the distance difference was about a yard. They had pretty similar dispersion although the Dunn monitors don't detail out that data. I was swinging pretty well once warmed up.

 

These are two very different shafts, weight wise. They performed almost identically. That makes no damn sense to me. With the lighter shaft, it's easier to swing, no doubt. With the heavier shaft, I am more aggressive and when I get it going, that's maybe a better swing.

 

I have no clue what to think. It kinda mind-fuggs me. If you made me pick, I think I'd say a lighter shaft might be more reliable because it takes less effort. At 66, although I am still pretty strong (thanks to pretty consistent gym workouts/stretching), my inclination is to go lighter. Maybe not all the way down to the 70's but maybe 90-95.

 

Thanks to any of you willing to wade through these ramblings. It really helps me to talk this through with people.

 

Couple of things.

 

You mention a Roger Dunn. Pretty big retailer no ? Don't they have a demo Apex MB Pro and a barrel full of demo shafts ? It IS a 2018 model, no ?

 

I know I've posted this before but I can't find it so you get the "short" (LOL) version. Lucky you. :lol:

 

I am older than you and in relatively good health & shape. I swing the driver 95 MAX, usually around 92-93. I play Dynamic Gold S300 in my new (to me) AP-1s, just changed to from my beloved G20s of 6+ years.

 

Being a Sunday golfer during my working days I played everything off the rack. If it felt good and I hit it well and consistently I'd deal with any other issues on the golf course. :rolleyes:

 

6+ years ago, now retired, I fit myself for Ping G20s. Went to Golfsmith at least 5 different days (to account for day-to-day differences). I'd already settled on the G20 head and tried between 5 and 7 different shafts each session.

 

I don't care much about spin rates, height or much of anything else other than consistency of distance & dispersion and feel (however one defines feel).

 

All the other shafts gave me between 1-3 yards more carry than the DGS300. The dispersion of the DGS300 was CLEARLY much better than the others. At a distance "loss" or 1-3 yards at most the DGS300 was truly a no brainer.

 

So recently, when I decided to try the AP-1 I, of course, tried to find a set with DGS300. Not easy as it's a very unusual combination. Found 'em, bought 'em and they've replaced my G20s.

 

On a whim, a couple of years after getting the G20s I swapped in C-taper Stiff for about 6 months. Not bad, very comparable performance, but after a while I couldn't really get used to the "boardy" feel of the shafts. Possibly it was just a case of my simply not being able to load them as KBS intended. So back to the DGS300s for the last 4 years (until the AP-1s).

 

I think if you find a shaft you absolutely get along with, sans the ability to really try others under mostly the same circumstances, you go with the shaft.

 

Personally I think you really need to try the shafts with the same head you're playing. But if you absolutely can't, at least a very similar head. You're hitting a blade. I wouldn't want to go trying shafts with a GI. Just my opinion.

 

I personally wouldn't go very light, or even lighter for that matter, unless you have some physical issues.

 

Good luck. :good:

[Pepperturbo]

Thx guys. I’m en route on big azz flight from half a world away and it’s a great to read this input en route! For some reason, getting irons right has been the hardest thing for me. I’m going to play competitively next year and really want to settle in my mind what I am doing and why.

 

Ziggy here’s my dilemma: I can play anything (within reason). Maybe my swing will let me get basically the same results from a range of weight/flex. But that doesn’t make sense. There should be shafts that are better or less suited for me, but to date I haven’t figured out how to recognize these.

 

Better golfers can play anything but we must identify and adapt to the shaft profile. We should not have to adapt to profile, it should adapt to our mechanics.

 

Generally, iron shafts have high, mid-high, mid, mid-low and low bend profiles. Figure out which of those fits your mechanics and desired trajectory and then look for the matching bend profile.

 

My swing never reachs parallel plus tempo/transition is faster than normal and even at my age still accelerate just before impact = high bend, stiff tip (PX Flighted, KBS C-Taper or DG) or mid-high bend, stiff tip (PX). Shaft weight is only a factor with tempo/transition. My 2i shaft is 129 grams, my PW is 115 grams = two different profiles that fit my mechanics.