Nippon NS Modus 3 Tour 120S help...

[cjf059]

Hi,

Would appreciate some help and advice regarding installing NS Modus 3 Tour 120S into irons

 

Background:

• I am in the process of building a new set of irons (4-pw, gap wedge) that I want to fit with NS Modus 3 Tour 120 S
  
• The shafts (I already have them...) are 3-pw standard stiff uncut
  
• I play shafts that are 3/4 -1 inch longer than standard in my irons
  
• My swing speed with my driver is 107-110 mph with a medium tempo/ transition. My ballflight with my irons is low/medium, and my miss is usually to the left. My hcp is 2.7.
  

Questions:

1. Do any of you have any experience or knowledge how the Modus Tour 3 120S compares to the KBS TourS and Nippon NS Pro 950S in terms of stiffness, dispersion, ballflight etc?
   
2. I could either use all 8 shafts that I have and install them in the heads that I have which would mean putting the 3 iron shaft into the 4 iron head etc and then butt trim to proper length. This would mean soft stepping the shafts 1X if I understand things correctly. Or I could use the 4 iron shaft in the 4 iron head etc (I would then have to buy another 9/pw shaft for my gap wedge...). Would soft stepping this shaft 1X make any noticeable difference in terms of ballflight and dispersion?
   

Thanks in advance!

[Pleasedwith3putts]

[quote name='cjf059' timestamp='1387776954' post='8338023']
Hi,
Would appreciate some help and advice regarding installing NS Modus 3 Tour 120S into irons

Background:[list]
[*]I am in the process of building a new set of irons (4-pw, gap wedge) that I want to fit with NS Modus 3 Tour 120 S
[*]The shafts (I already have them...) are 3-pw standard stiff uncut
[*]I play shafts that are 3/4 -1 inch longer than standard in my irons
[*]My swing speed with my driver is 107-110 mph with a medium tempo/ transition. My ballflight with my irons is low/medium, and my miss is usually to the left. My hcp is 2.7.
[/list]
Questions:[list=1]
[*]Do any of you have any experience or knowledge how the Modus Tour 3 120S compares to the KBS TourS and Nippon NS Pro 950S in terms of stiffness, dispersion, ballflight etc?
[*]I could either use all 8 shafts that I have and install them in the heads that I have which would mean putting the 3 iron shaft into the 4 iron head etc and then butt trim to proper length. This would mean soft stepping the shafts 1X if I understand things correctly. Or I could use the 4 iron shaft in the 4 iron head etc (I would then have to buy another 9/pw shaft for my gap wedge...). Would soft stepping this shaft 1X make any noticeable difference in terms of ballflight and dispersion?
[/list]
Thanks in advance!
[/quote]

I have used the Modus 3 for about 2 years now and love it. I am not a professional clubmaker but based on experience I would say that at that driver speed, you are on the fringe of stiff and x-stiff. I would only expect stiff to be correct if you are a smooth swinger rather than a hitter (note you see yourself as medium transition which would put you more in the x-stiff camp).

From memory soft-stepping 1X loses 1/3 flex so I would definitely not go down that route as frankly you should be looking at hard-stepping to match flex to swing-speed here whilst getting ball flight up a bit.

In terms of comparison, Modus is very smooth but stable and lower launching, spinning and more solid than the 950s. I think they play similar to the KBS tour but that is a counterbalanced shaft so feels a little different. Bear in mind that the weaker the flex, typically the wider the dispersion, higher the ballflight and increased tendency for the "lefts" to go left.

[markheardjr]

Agree with above statement. 107-110 in a driver and the Stiff is borderline too soft unless you are super smooth. The 120 is a softer shaft, stiff butt, soft middle, stiff tip. The X they say is the same profile as an R400 with different weight distribution, but they had to make a TX for tour guys. I think X straight in or soft stepped once would have been a better option. But with Stiff's I'd suggest you hard-step once. If the shafts are new, you can cut them how you like. If they are pull outs and you are trying to get to a desired length, say they are STD lenght and you want to soft-step to get them 1/2" longer, then I think you're not going to like them much.

Typically soft-stepping will create a lower ballflight. Usually the weaker shaft in the longer club will create more forward shaft lean and deloft the head. If you do your own work, I'd say try to pick up a 3 & 4i shaft and hard step them 1x.

[3step]

[quote name='cjf059' timestamp='1387776954' post='8338023']
Hi,
Would appreciate some help and advice regarding installing NS Modus 3 Tour 120S into irons

Background:[list]
[*]I am in the process of building a new set of irons (4-pw, gap wedge) that I want to fit with NS Modus 3 Tour 120 S
[*]The shafts (I already have them...) are 3-pw standard stiff uncut
[*]I play shafts that are 3/4 -1 inch longer than standard in my irons
[*]My swing speed with my driver is 107-110 mph with a medium tempo/ transition. My ballflight with my irons is low/medium, and my miss is usually to the left. My hcp is 2.7.
[/list]
Questions:[list=1]
[*]Do any of you have any experience or knowledge how the Modus Tour 3 120S compares to the KBS TourS and Nippon NS Pro 950S in terms of stiffness, dispersion, ballflight etc?
[*]I could either use all 8 shafts that I have and install them in the heads that I have which would mean putting the 3 iron shaft into the 4 iron head etc and then butt trim to proper length. This would mean soft stepping the shafts 1X if I understand things correctly. Or I could use the 4 iron shaft in the 4 iron head etc (I would then have to buy another 9/pw shaft for my gap wedge...). Would soft stepping this shaft 1X make any noticeable difference in terms of ballflight and dispersion?
[/list]
Thanks in advance!
[/quote]

Hi-

Eventhough this is a site that is all about on-line shaft selection, fitting shafts is not such a static endeavor, but more based on your PERSONAL interaction with a given shaft weight, shaft flex, and shaft design. HOWEVER, here is a place to start-

I have hit all of these combinations many times, and have fitted them thousands of times, and here is what I can say;

1) Fitting an iron shaft model to a driver speed, is not so definitive,

2) It is not fair to compare these three models, 950GH, KBS TOUR, and MODUS³ TOUR120, as they are quite different geometries. The real FITTING answer with regards to your question of dispersion is........ [u]The shaft that is the best match for your swing is the model that will yield the tightest dispersion[/u].

3) A shaft does not hit the ball left- an incorrect path, an incorrect face angle, an incorrect alignment, or a shaft that is incorrect for you, can stress your face angle, path or alignment to MORE LEFT.

4) Regarding the question of which model is the best for your swing, the only definitive answer is based on actual testing, However, in general, the following observations can be made about each of these models-

[b]NS PRO 950GH[/b]

- 98 grams = Lighter than your Dad's Dynamic Gold,which can help your speed, but heavier than today's graphite, which for high speed golfer's is typically out of control.
- Mid/Hi Launch Profile = if you struggle with getting the ball to a full trajectory
- Early to Mid Release SWING Type

[b]KBS TOUR[/b]

- 120 grams = Mid weight steel
- Mid Launch Profile
- Mid Release SWING Type

[b]NS PRO MODUS³ TOUR120[/b]

-114 grams = this shaft plays slightly heavier than the stated raw weight, due to the extra weight in the tip section
- Mid Launch Profile
-Mid Release SWING Type

The reason so many golfers like the TOUR120 is that many golfers fall into the MID Release SWING Type category, AND, find that this shaft feels substantive in weight, but, swings faster due to its overall light weight.

5) Regarding flex? Hard to say. If you have always preferred X-Stiff models, then I think you should follow that trail of successful experience, and stay with an X flex. If you have always been more successful with S flex in your irons, you are probably good with S. Some golfers feel this shaft model, because of the softer butt section, that they need a stiffer flex to achieve the same swing FEELING that they have had in the past. But the extra-stiff tip section makes this model play to its flex for most golfers.

You might think about installing one of your shafts into your 6 or 7 iron head and note the feel, trajectory, distance and dispersion and compare these results to your previous experience.

One last thing- when you find the ideal combination of shaft weight, flex and design, this game is way easier!

3step

[cjf059]

Thanks for the great advice sofar!

Based on all the advice, I will put the 6 iron shaft into the 6 iron head and try it out before deciding what to do. From what you guys write about the Modus, I am really excited to give it a try.

I like to feel the shaft "load" and therefore usually play stiff instead of x in my irons. Had a set of irons PIng S57s with S300 hardstepped 2x and felt like I had to swing hard to get any distance out of them. They felt heavy (maybe partly because 3/4 inch extra length...) and no feel.

I will keep you posted how things go.

[cjf059]

[quote name='markheardjr' timestamp='1387821145' post='8339747']
Agree with above statement. 107-110 in a driver and the Stiff is borderline too soft unless you are super smooth. The 120 is a softer shaft, stiff butt, soft middle, stiff tip. The X they say is the same profile as an R400 with different weight distribution, but they had to make a TX for tour guys. I think X straight in or soft stepped once would have been a better option. But with Stiff's I'd suggest you hard-step once. If the shafts are new, you can cut them how you like. If they are pull outs and you are trying to get to a desired length, say they are STD lenght and you want to soft-step to get them 1/2" longer, then I think you're not going to like them much.

Typically soft-stepping will create a lower ballflight. Usually the weaker shaft in the longer club will create more forward shaft lean and deloft the head. If you do your own work, I'd say try to pick up a 3 & 4i shaft and hard step them 1x.
[/quote]

Interesting, I thought a softer shaft would create more spin and a higher ball flight (my knowledge about this subject is limited however...). Having said that, my personal experience is in line with what you write. I have played the NS 950 S and hit them great in the higher irons, but had some issues hitting them high enough with the 3-5 iron, particularly from tight fairway lies where I hit down on the ball a bit more than normal. Could be because of what you write about forward shaft lean...

[markheardjr]

On tour, before the last 3 or 4 years or so if a guy really needed to lower ballflight they would install stiffs and tip the shafts slightly to counter the spin. It's different with every shaft because if it is a really tip stiff shaft and you tip it then you're cutting the stiffest section of the shaft out. If it's a tip soft shaft you can tip it and get lower spin.

Nippon Modus 130 is a shaft designed for late release folks. For me, it is the prefect shaft. It is very stiff in the upper section and mid section but soft with many steps just near the tip. The Stiff is comparable to an X100, the X is comparable to a DG Tour X700! I am debating, next year I may tinker with trying a stiff shaft tipped a little to see if I can lower spin and flight further. But if you're a late release guy, I can't suggest enough the Modus130. They are the shafts I've been waiting for forever!

[johnnyb123]

[quote name='cjf059' timestamp='1387858976' post='8342421']
[quote name='markheardjr' timestamp='1387821145' post='8339747']
Agree with above statement. 107-110 in a driver and the Stiff is borderline too soft unless you are super smooth. The 120 is a softer shaft, stiff butt, soft middle, stiff tip. The X they say is the same profile as an R400 with different weight distribution, but they had to make a TX for tour guys. I think X straight in or soft stepped once would have been a better option. But with Stiff's I'd suggest you hard-step once. If the shafts are new, you can cut them how you like. If they are pull outs and you are trying to get to a desired length, say they are STD lenght and you want to soft-step to get them 1/2" longer, then I think you're not going to like them much.

Typically soft-stepping will create a lower ballflight. Usually the weaker shaft in the longer club will create more forward shaft lean and deloft the head. If you do your own work, I'd say try to pick up a 3 & 4i shaft and hard step them 1x.
[/quote]

Interesting, I thought a softer shaft would create more spin and a higher ball flight (my knowledge about this subject is limited however...). Having said that, my personal experience is in line with what you write. I have played the NS 950 S and hit them great in the higher irons, but had some issues hitting them high enough with the 3-5 iron, particularly from tight fairway lies where I hit down on the ball a bit more than normal. Could be because of what you write about forward shaft lean...
[/quote]

Older thread, but what were your results with the Modus 3 installation. I'm about to install Modus 3 stiff in Cobra Amp Cell Pro blades (full set). I have been playing KBS stiff which has been my go to shaft for overall dispersion. 6 iron swing speed 84-85 mph. Scratch handicap. Complete swing change from 2 degree upright last year to 3 degree flat this year. GIR went from 52% to 67%, can't say enough about that. Distance gain was about 5 yard per club also. Anyhow, what are your throughts about the soft-stepping versus straight in?

[jming]

[quote name='markheardjr' timestamp='1387908058' post='8344139']On tour, before the last 3 or 4 years or so if a guy really needed to lower ballflight they would install stiffs and tip the shafts slightly to counter the spin. It's different with every shaft because if it is a really tip stiff shaft and you tip it then you're cutting the stiffest section of the shaft out. If it's a tip soft shaft you can tip it and get lower spin.

Nippon Modus 130 is a shaft designed for late release folks. For me, it is the prefect shaft. It is very stiff in the upper section and mid section but soft with many steps just near the tip. The Stiff is comparable to an X100, the X is comparable to a DG Tour X700! I am debating, next year I may tinker with trying a stiff shaft tipped a little to see if I can lower spin and flight further. But if you're a late release guy, I can't suggest enough the Modus130. They are the shafts I've been waiting for forever![/quote]

I sort of disagree with this. I play modus 130s in X and don't think they are that stiff due to the tip being softer. If anything the weighting during the swing feels different from DG as the 130s are butt stiff. There's no way i could play DG Tour x700. And actually I am about to soft step X100 Monaco's in my backup set. I can hit x100 but the ss1x felt slightly better for me.

[johnnyb123]

We'll I just tried out the Modus 3 120 stiff straight in on my Cobra Amp cell blades and compared them to my Cobra S3 CBs with KBS Tour stiff. Results:
Feel: Modus 3 felt much different, slightly stiffer, but not bad.
Flight: Modus 3 lower flight overall, carry distance 1-2 yards shorter.
Dispersion: Tight, Tight, Tight!!!

Just last week I tested the Cobra S3s on Trackman with 7 iron and my dispersion was 3 yards verticals and 4 yards horizontal (10 balls) after warm up. My guess is the Modus 3s would best this. I'm going to pull the shafts and soft step them. Hoping to get the feel right and increase distance without losing dispersion.

Has anyone have an opinion on ss versus straight in installation? Again, 6 iron swing speed is 84-85.

Former shafts played:
TT x100ss (hated feel)
TT s300 (hated feel, to high flight)
Rifle 6.0, 6.5. 7.0ss
PX 6.0 (both PX produced severe tendinitis, but we're great performing shafts)
PX 5.5
TT Tour Concepts Stiff and Xss ( love feel and flight, but carry distance was lacking)
Aerotech Siff 85, 95, 110, and 125
Aerotech Xss 110, 125
Nippon 1150GH Xss (felt great, but ballooned and generally short)
Nippon 1050GH stiff
KBS Tour Xss
KBS Tour Stiff
KBS C-Taper Lite Regular (ballooned, 5-7 yards shorter than anything)
KBS Tour 90 Stiff (lower flight than Tours, and shorter as we'll)

Go to shaft so far out of all of these is KBS Tour Stiff straight in, but I would like a bit lower ball flight and a more control when playing a slight cut, as well as knock downs as we'll. KBS Tours seem to give the same flight no matter what. I think the Modus3 120 might be the one I'm looking for.

[johnnyb123]

Well, guess I'm replying to my own posts. Hopefully some else will find this info useful. Soft stepping was the wrong way to go on the Modus 3 120s in the Cobra Amp Cell blades. I put the shafts straight in soft stepped 1x and left them 1/2 long. results...straight up balloons 5-10 yard loss of distance into a 10 mph headwind. Cobra S3 CBs mentioned above went right through the wind with lower flight. Pretty shocked actually!

[johnnyb123]

Update 7 iron findings into 5-10 headwind

Modus 3 120 stiff
High flight balloon
(Hard stepped 1x 8 iron = same flight / shorter distance) So flight would have been technically lower in 7 iron.

Super peening Blue stiff
Medium high flight slight balloon
(Hard stepped 1x 8 iron = lower medium flight / 5 yards farther than 7 iron)
Really, everything about this set up was perfect!

C Taper stiff 7 iron
Dull medium high flight, felt too boardy

C Taper stiff SS1x in 8 iron
Medium flight - longer than super peening blue by 2-3 yards consistently, but not quite as accurate (maybe just going back and forth
Between the heavier and lighter shafts???)
Feel was actually not bad, but not as good as Modus 3 or Blues. I definitely could game this set up.

Summary
Going to try a full set of hard stepped blues in my Amp Cell Pro Blades and full set of soft stepped C Tapers in my Cobra Pro MBs

To be continued...

[Bill3508]

I had ordered my 2014 Yamaha cb tours with Modus 3 120 stiff and they were a disaster. They are more like regular flex shafts. Sent them to Joe to have Super Peening blues put in them.

[johnnyb123]

[quote name='Bill3508' timestamp='1399844126' post='9274947']
I had ordered my 2014 Yamaha cb tours with Modus 3 120 stiff and they were a disaster. They are more like regular flex shafts. Sent them to Joe to have Super Peening blues put in them.
[/quote]

I loved everything about the feel of the modus, just couldn't get a respectable distance into the wind with them, the blues were definitely different. Heavier, with the ability to go after harder without overly increasing spin. Wish I had the side by side Trackman numbers to confirm was I was seeing in the ball flight.

My swing speed is around 86 with a 6 iron. Based on my testing as noted in my last post, don't go too soft with the blues. I had much better performance with the hard stepped stiff vs the stiff straight in. I had been playing kbs tour stiff and probably should have hard stepped those also. I have been looking for the flight of a project X between a 6.0 and 6.5 with better feel, distance, and dispersion. I think the blues are going to work for me.

[Bill3508]

I've got blues in some Yonex mbs and they are as nice a shaft as I've ever played. Controlled with great feel.

[johnnyb123]

We'll I'm eating my words here, but after further testing I have change my thoughts on the SPBs. Took the hard stepped SPBs in Cobra Amp Forged Pro Blades to the course. Way too stiff, especially in the wedges. Came home and ripped them out of the heads. Just got a set of J40 CBs with PX 6.0 Flighted. Ok, but not acceptable in flight or feel. Ripped them out. Discouraged and ready to go back to the tried and true KBS tour stiff straight in, I went out on a limb and put the SPBs stiff in the J40s soft stepped just as the were. Clubs came out + 1/2 inch (almost) and D5. Took them to the course today 80 degrees with winds 10-15. AlI can say is, my search for a shaft / club head combo is over!!! 2 years, 18 or so club heads and god knows how many shafts behind me. What I have found is the Perfect Flight, Perfect Carry (into and down wind), and Perfect Feel for my swing. Dispersion is amazing. ( the 6 iron frequencied at 304 for those of you that care). Time to clean out the golf shop (my wife would call it the garage). I'm done tinkering.

[gregoire56]

IMPORTANT QUESTION:

 

I just bought a set of mint condition irons that were built for someone else's specs, and am trying to work out how I am going to alter them to meet my own specs. These irons have Nippon modus3 Tour120 stiff shafts that I would like to keep, if possible. My problem is that I do not have enough practical knowledge about the modus3 Tour120 shaft, and there's not enough info on its webpage.

So.. since I bought a set that was built for someone else, it is +1.0" longer than I need it to be, although it is the proper weight and bend profile; however I was fit to 6.5 iron shaft frequency (which can be achieved by hard stepping a Tour120 stiff shaft 1x) which is perfect for the X or TX flex, but not the S flex which needs to be hard stepped once to achieve a 6.5 frequency. My plan is to remove the heads and take -0.5" from the tip and also -0.5" from the butt.. but here is my problem: since I am going to be pulling these shafts, I do not know if they will THEN be able to be tipped -0.5" and still fit the iron heads. If these were 0.370" parallel shafts I know this wouldn't matter at all and I could do exactly that, but since they're 0.355" taper tip shafts and they've already been installed once I'm not sure if they'd still be able to be tipped -0.5" more, or even at all, and still fit the iron heads.

 

So...…… my question is whether or not anyone has any knowledge that could be relevant to helping me get this set built to my specific specs: 6.5 iron shaft frequency, -0.5" from std length, std lie/loft. I am trying to achieve that result from the spec of the current set: standard Tour120 stiff flex frequency (unknown), +0.5" from std.

 

If anyone can offer any sage advice I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks very much.

 

Drew G

[Matt J]

You can't tip taper tip shafts. Well, you can, but only up to 3/8 and it's not advised.

 

 

[dunn]

I thought modus 120 and kbs 120 were very very close with modus just being hair softer overall....modus feels more tip heavy where as kbs is opposite.....but it's a feel thing and everyone may differ

 

To me modus is weird shaft....125 and 130 feels "normal" whereas other modus feel strange....but that is just me and my swing

[dunn]

Agree with above statement. 107-110 in a driver and the Stiff is borderline too soft unless you are super smooth. The 120 is a softer shaft, stiff butt, soft middle, stiff tip. The X they say is the same profile as an R400 with different weight distribution, but they had to make a TX for tour guys. I think X straight in or soft stepped once would have been a better option. But with Stiff's I'd suggest you hard-step once. If the shafts are new, you can cut them how you like. If they are pull outs and you are trying to get to a desired length, say they are STD lenght and you want to soft-step to get them 1/2" longer, then I think you're not going to like them much.

 

Typically soft-stepping will create a lower ballflight. Usually the weaker shaft in the longer club will create more forward shaft lean and deloft the head. If you do your own work, I'd say try to pick up a 3 & 4i shaft and hard step them 1x.

agree, softer shafts I tend to hit lower and I think its becuz of forward kick at impact, been my experience anyways....it only goes bit higher if I timed it "correctly" idk if that's correct term but

[dunn]

I think sometimes it's hard to overcome ones swing dynamics.....if you have exhausted 15 different shafts and make ups than well maybe you....

 

Hitting ball high isnt bad, God knows pros launch it a mile in air....

 

Or maybe some just looking for something their swing wont produce

 

I've never had much luck with shafts altering my ballflight much...some spin or spin less but flight doesnt change whole lot....

 

Maybe tweak the lofts a bit. Idk