Stupid Question: Can an iron head not be suitable for a graphite shaft?

i*windows · March 21, 2019

so some time ago I bought some Xcalibur Axe shafts and had them fitted to my Nike Covert 2 forged heads. They felt terrible, like each shot was hit thin. The fitter said the shafts should be fine, but some heads just don't take a graphite shaft well, this sounded a bit odd to me. Is this remotely possible?

Stuart_G · March 21, 2019

Well, as far as performance goes, definitely not.

Did you use impact tape or something else to actually check where impact was happening? it may have felt thin because it was thin?

Also, be aware that a lot of what we think of as feel, actually comes from the sound we here - and some indoor fitting bays can do strange things to the sound. Did you try the same head with a steel shaft in the same bay?

Regardless, "Feel", especially the feel at impact can be quite complicated and very subjective and there are a lot of contributing factors - shaft, head, ball, swing, etc... The biggest complaint in that respect with graphite is that it can mute or muffle the feel at impact and people don't get the same amount of feedback about the quality of the strike as they are used to. It's rare for graphite to make the feel more harsh/unpleasent than steel. But It's certainly possible that for any individual, there may be certain combinations that just don't work. But that doesn't mean that it will be common for that combination to also not work for everyone.

i*windows · March 21, 2019

Thanks, we both hit the irons, I was hitting them out of the middle and the fitter who is also a pro hit them and we both thought they felt thin, and not just a groove thing but a couple. I play graphite shafts and the Xcalibur was very odd. I have some Lynx clubs I want to put graphite in, so will try again and see what happens.

Nessism · March 21, 2019

Was the swingweight correct for your needs with the graphite shaft clubs?

i*windows · March 22, 2019

yes, all swing weighted correctly and fit by the same fitter who works with Lee Westwood.

Jc0 · March 22, 2019

Was the tip size correct? I have hit clubs were they put a .355 in a .370 and while the bonding held it felt odd. Had the builder redo the install with a shim (as it should have been done) and it felt way better.

Stuart_G · March 22, 2019

Jc0 said:

Was the tip size correct? I have hit clubs were they put a .355 in a .370 and while the bonding held it felt odd. Had the builder redo the install with a shim (as it should have been done) and it felt way better.

Nice thought - but the Covert Forged heads were .355 tp - unless someone bored them out.

Kelco · March 22, 2019

Could this have something to do with the tip section being too stiff or the torque being too low for the player? i believe I have read that both of these will create a harsh feel at impact?

rgolf06 · March 22, 2019

what kind of grips ? i have had customers who used winn change to a rubber composition grip and the sound/feel improved

i*windows · March 25, 2019

Grips where 2G Wraps, and the shafts 80g R Flex - which were replaced with Steelfiber i95.

The shafts have been sitting in the basement for a couple of years and I have some nice heads on the way I would like to try them in, I guess I could try one and if its not good, just take it out and buy new shafts.

thanks all for the replies.

TT2017 · March 25, 2019

I had the same issue sort of when I played Recoil 95 Protos. In my irons the shaft were great but when I put one in a Vokey 52 wedge it was just horrible. I then tried a Proto 110 and then a Proto 125 yet same degree of horrible. Back to steel in the same head and as if by magic it felt fine again. I've never managed to get to the bottom of it, and now I no longer care :) But thought I'd at least give you some comfort that what you are experiencing isn't necessarily unique.

p.s. I build my own clubs so it wasn't a build error or swing weight issues or any other similar related issue.

Socrates · March 25, 2019

I ran into this replacing steel shafts in a set of my Ping i20's. Replaced with Grafalloy ProLogic's (I had used them for years in other heads) and in the i20's they were terrible. Had to bring the SW up considerably to make them feel decent. I'd used D2 in the other heads and needed to go to D4 with the Ping's. Resolved the problem by selling the i20's.