KBS C-Taper 130 X on 3/4 swings

Stinger26 · July 25, 2017

Hello all,

After failing miserably with Nippon Modus 120X and SPB X Flex, I finally went in for a professional trackman fitting.

I tried the LZ 6.5, X100 Tour issue, the new Oban steel shaft, and the KBS C-taper 130 X.

I actually gained a full club from my modus using the C-tapers. Much better launch, trajectory, control, and spin. Pretty much perfect everything. But like the dummy I am, I totally neglected the thought of a 3/4 swing. I went at everything with a full swing.

Can anyone offer any feedback/suggestions on how C Taper X's play when making a shorter swing? My buddy told me that he too was fitted for an X, but wound up switching to S+ for this exact reason.

Thanks

BearQ · July 25, 2017

Ive played X and S+

Go with the S+, far more playable shaft and you'll have no issues with 3/4 swings and knock downs. Most of the tour gaming C-Taper goes with S+ flex.

GOLF4373 · July 25, 2017

I play x c tapers straight in. No problem at all with 3/4 shots. C tapers definitelynplay different than anything else I've played. It was an adjustment in my iron game for the better. If you like them on the full shots then you will like them in 3/4 shots. You'll just have to learn how they react. The S+ actually doesn't work for me as well because I was launching them too high. They would spin only slightly more but initial launch angle was like 2 deg higher. I play X soft stepped in my 53 and 60 deg wedges right now and I'm still kind of experimenting with a wedge setup that blends well with c tapers.

Stinger26 · July 25, 2017

Lol damn it, 2 complete opposite answers. Thanks for the response though, guys.

Stinger26 · July 25, 2017

Ive played X and S+

Go with the S+, far more playable shaft and you'll have no issues with 3/4 swings and knock downs. Most of the tour gaming C-Taper goes with S+ flex.

I see you play the SPB. I tested it and it launched way too high - so now it's on BST. How would you compare it to the performance of the C Taper s+ / X?

Albatross85 · July 25, 2017

Played CTaperX for 4 years. Hated 1/2 and 3/4 shots. And when it was cold outside the shafts felt awful. I loved the flight but eventually had to move on. Been loving my PX LZ 6.5s for the last year. Great on 1/2 swings and i can feel the shaft load.

Stuart_G · July 25, 2017

Keeping mind changing flex also changes weight for the c-tapers. Generally you don't want to change weight from what you were fit into.

As for what happens for the 3/4 shots, only way to know is test it out. Some people do need to feel a certain amount of loading but most will do fine on a 3/4 shot for the shaft they will fit into for a full swing.

D0ch0l1d4y · July 25, 2017

I play X100s in my irons and soft-stepped 1x CTaperX in my wedges. If I could get my lob wedge to play as well as my gap wedge I'd be super happy with my setup.

Boricua Golf · July 25, 2017

I have C-Taper 130x in my TA Protos, never had any issues playing 3/4 shots...I am currently playing X100 Tour Issue in my iBlades and they work great...

Stinger26 · July 25, 2017

Keeping mind changing flex also changes weight for the c-tapers. Generally you don't want to change weight from what you were fit into.

As for what happens for the 3/4 shots, only way to know is test it out. Some people do need to feel a certain amount of loading but most will do fine on a 3/4 shot for the shaft they will fit into for a full swing.

Stuart, you are always there when I need you haha. You're right, I'm eventually gonna have to go test it again. But do you think soft stepping will help the feel a bit on 3/4 shots, without changing performance too much?

Stuart_G · July 25, 2017

But do you think soft stepping will help the feel a bit on 3/4 shots, without changing performance too much?

If I had to guess I'd say no. For most, it's really a very subtle change difference even with a full swing. With a partial swing it would likely be even less of a difference.

But as always, YRMV.

Stinger26 · July 25, 2017

But do you think soft stepping will help the feel a bit on 3/4 shots, without changing performance too much?

If I had to guess I'd say no. For most, it's really a very subtle change difference even with a full swing. With a partial swing it would likely be even less of a difference.

But as always, YRMV.

I have a set of SPB's that are currently on BST. Do you have any knowledge of these, and how it compares to the flight characteristics of a CTaper X?

Stuart_G · July 25, 2017

Unfortuately no. Or more accurately, I have it for the X but only have the data for the c-taper in stiff (not x-stiff) - so can't really do a comparison.

HappyGilmore22 · April 20, 2019

I previously had c-taper 125 s+ but was launching them way too high and spinning too much. 6 iron was like 7000 spin and launch 2-3 deg higher than when I tried out the 130x which spin closer to 5800. Landing angle and peak height were still high but optimal. I don't have any issues with 3/4 shots with the x's. I would highly recommend going with the 130x.