Review/Sharing: Steelfiber J88 (yes J) vs Recoil 95 vs Mitsubishi OTi 95 vs Fujikura MCI 100

[joehoe8]

Hi guys,

 

I reckon this would be something quite a number fellow Golfwrx members would be keen to know because graphite irons shafts are not as common as steel shafts in irons that most of our buddies or friends would have that we can try. So let me try and share my experience with these 4 shafts I've played.

 

Rather than breaking them down into Feel, Distance, Trackman numbers, I am just gonna give my personal experience with these 4 shafts.

 

I'm a 4 handicaper and my driver speed on Trackman as of this week range, low - 106 to high - 113. I've played golf long enough that I can adjust the swing to get results from a particular club and shaft, if that makes any sense to you guys.

 

1) First up - Steelfiber J88-S untipped in my Onoff Kuro Forged Irons. Yes it's not the I-series, the J-series is a special shaft available only in Singapore, it's the same as I-series but is 2 grams lighter and 0.2-0.3 lower in torque compared to the I-series.

 

Of the 4 graphite iron shafts this one feels most like an Iron, and its also the last one I tried (just got them installed this week and had 2 range sessions with them so far). I was expecting a smooth shaft with alot of kick like the Recoils and OTi but was a lil shock to feel such a firm, stiff and stout shaft. My first 15-20 shots with my 7 irons felt like swinging a project X because i was swinging smoothly like I have been with my OTi shafts expecting the kick to help launch and compress the ball. So i decided to go to my more aggressive swing with more lag and this shaft just outright came alive, 7 irons flew 155-160 meters but from the ballflight I could tell the spin rate was definitely lower, with very very good dispersion, probably the best of the 4 shafts.

 

(just to add, my Onoff before this had NS Pro steel shafts and felt very soft, but with the Steelfibers they suddenly felt like a hard Ping i25 irons to my hands)

 

2) Second is - UST Recoils 95-F4 untipped in my golf coach's Callaway Apex Pro. This is the first graphite Iron shaft I hit 8 months back that got me so interested in graphite iron shafts and has since got me on this adventure to try all 4 of these top shafts available in the market currently.

 

It's smooth, balanced, great kick through the ball without feeling loose and compresses the ball nicely at impact. Some people think a more active shaft makes you loose feedback, I am on the other end, shaft that flex gives me more feedback and Recoils are great. 7 irons flew about 155-160 meters as well but what I feel for me is a drawback with Recoils is that the front to back distance gap can sometimes pop up where you flush one and get 170 and hit another shot you felt you flush but ends up 160, and sideway dispersion is also the widest of the 4.

 

3) Third one - Mitsubishi OTi 95-S in my Epon 303s. Ok i don't know if it's my Epon's head softness or it's the OTi shafts but dannggg these things are by far the smoothest shaft and head combination I've hit. Ive hit prob majority of soft forged iron heads (Epon, Mizuno, Yururi, Vega, Miura, Onoff, and whole loads more) but this is by far the softest, bar none the softest iron and shaft combo i've ever hit, and best feeling iron set I've had to date.

 

The OTi feels somewhat like a Tour AD iron shaft but even smoother and not as loose, it's got a very unique feeling where you hit it and you know it kicks and compress but you don't have to worry about the ball balooning or going offline. It's the longest of the 4 shafts here, 7 iron flies 165-170 meters easy and it makes you feel like some Henrik Stenson compressing the ball, just feels awesome to me. It's also the most effortless iron shaft of the 4 and my personal favourite. (hey these guys make damn gd shafts like Kurokages, Diamanas, Fubukis and Tenseis so I guess they know what they are doing with these shafts!!)

 

4) Last one Fujikura MCI 100-S in my Epon 302s. The MCI has a little bit of all 3 of the shafts above, it's got some kick but not as much as the Recoil and OTi, stout/firm but not Steelfiber stout/firm, dispersion is tighter than Recoils but not as good as the Steelfibers, gives the iron head the softness still unlike the Steelfiber but not as buttery soft as the OTis.

 

It's the one where I thought it's not bad in most department but not spectacular in any, if you are looking for a good all rounder and it's your first set of iron graphite shafts, the MCI could be a good shaft. But if you know what you want of you'd like to feel something more different relative to the traditional steel shafts then the other 3 could be your next potential iron set shafts.

 

Right now the Epon 303s with OTis are getting the most play times but if I have more dinner money game coming up and looking for more control and better dispersion the Onoff Kuros with Steelfiber could be going into the bag with more practise time with them of course. Still too new to know how they flex, load and unload from the rough or off the tight lies.

 

I have been searching alot and reading alot about graphite shafts in irons, hopefully this can add to the library of future golfers looking to venture into graphite shafts in their irons.

 

To end this thread - I do not see myself going back to steel shafts anytime soon.....

[onwrd2vctry]

Great post. I really appreciate you sharing this. I really want to give the OT shafts a go this year.

[joehoe8]

Hey no prob happy to share.

 

It's been fun and very interesting shaft trial process. If cost is not an issue I really think graphite in irons are the way forward, especially for working guys like me who can't practice and play as much but want to get the most out of our irons. The lighter shafts makes me swinging smoother n the better rhythm in turn makes me more accurate/less wild, yet the kick and compression gives you similar or better distance.

 

Every golfer is different but that my 2 cents.