Graphite Iron Shafts, Comparisons

[wrmiller]

It's looking like I am going to have to switch to graphite shafts in my irons in order to save my hands and continue to play the game. This getting older stuff...

 

Anyway, years ago I tried a set of Recoils I bought used and wasn't all that impressed with them. It could have been that they were not stiff enough, but don't remember specifics.

 

I would like to get similar distance control and accuracy from a graphite shaft if possible, but save my hands/wrists and maybe swing the club a little quicker.

 

The ones I'm looking at are Aerotech Steelfiber, Graphite Design Tour AD, and Matrix Ozik Program F15.

 

I know the Steelfiber shafts are played by Freddie and a few others, and while I have no disillusions of needing a tour-rated shaft, the fact that they are played by some Champion and Tour players validates their quality to some degree. Or so I believe.

 

The other two are incredibly expensive (2x the price of the Steelfibers), and I'm wondering just how much better they can be, if any. Or is the justification for the price the fact that they are made in Japan?

 

I'd like to hear from those who have played any of these shafts, or otherwise have insights that I don't have. Thanks.

[b.helts]

Watching with interest. Great inquiry!!

[p3ga]

Are you going to build them out yourself?

 

If so, look at the offerings in the Golfworks or Hireko catalogs. Grab a few that pique your interest and experiment, reshafting a 6-7-8 (or some variation) with different models. You'll know after a few sessions which you prefer & the others can be pulled and used as tomato stakes.

 

There's a number of pretty good shafts out there that are far below the Aerotech / Recoil price points. Just need to find what works best for you.

 

If relying on a clubfitter, I'd inquire about lower $ offerings before vocalizing interest in the high dollar stuff. But I'm a cheap basstad at the core.

 

Good luck!

[Sean2]

I found the steel fibers to play “stiff”, the Oziks I found to be a bit “flexible”. The ones I really like are the Recoil 460’s. For me they balance the stiffness of the SF’s with the flexibility of the Oziks.

 

Also, I no longer have elbow issues, which at one time was so severe I couldn’t pick up a glass of water, and played no golf for 4 months.

 

Mine are +2-inches in stiff flex.

[wrmiller]

Are you going to build them out yourself?

 

If so, look at the offerings in the Golfworks or Hireko catalogs. Grab a few that pique your interest and experiment, reshafting a 6-7-8 (or some variation) with different models. You'll know after a few sessions which you prefer & the others can be pulled and used as tomato stakes.

 

There's a number of pretty good shafts out there that are far below the Aerotech / Recoil price points. Just need to find what works best for you.

 

If relying on a clubfitter, I'd inquire about lower $ offerings before vocalizing interest in the high dollar stuff. But I'm a cheap basstad at the core.

 

Good luck!

 

Yes, I'll will build/install them myself. And thanks, I'll go check out their offerings. :)

[wrmiller]

I found the steel fibers to play "stiff", the Oziks I found to be a bit "flexible". The ones I really like are the Recoil 460's. For me they balance the stiffness of the SF's with the flexibility of the Oziks.

 

Also, I no longer have elbow issues, which at one time was so severe I couldn't pick up a glass of water, and played no golf for 4 months.

 

Mine are +2-inches in stiff flex.

 

This is good information, thanks. I will do some checking on the Recoils.

[Jagpilotohio]

What do you play now in steel? What are you looking for in flex, spin, and launch?

 

I’ve tried MANY graphite shafts over the last three years in a personal quest to find graphite I like. Still searching. A few have come very close, but I have not found the exact right match. My Tour V 120x soft stepped once just fit me so well. The boring mid flight and low spin is just perfect for me.

 

Don’t forget Fujikura. The MCI series is interesting. Small diameter steel core surrounded by graphite. The Reverse of steelfiber. Steelfiber is graphite wrapped with ultra thin steel wire.

 

I could help if I knew more specifically what you were looking for. I’ve owned, or still own in the last 3 years:

 

Recoil Prototype 125 and 110 F5’s

Steelfiber 110 and 125 in X

Fujikura rombax 115 In stiff

Fujikura MCI 120 in X

Diamana thump 110x

Graphite design tour AD 115 S/X dual flex

Loomis Golf, Tour 120X and EFP 95

 

The recoil Proto 125 F5’s are still in all my wedges since I practice with them the most and I really need the deadening properties with the wedges, but I do spin them more than I would like on 100% full shots. They feel great. Probably the best feeling of all the graphite besides the rombax. Rombax are butter but hard to find. They were super expensive new. Thumps as well. VERY expensive and only sold as sets. About $100+ per shaft.

[Itsjustagame]

Moved to Recoils (95) last fall after playing Project X for many years. Very pleased with the Recoils.

[Jagpilotohio]

Anyone interested in recoils and wants to keep the spin and flight down a bit need to go with the Prototypes. It’s well worth the extra few bucks. I like the standard ones but they go to the moon for me.

 

Contact Will Peoples for a good deal on a set. He will give you a nice discount from retail on a full set. And beware of fakes. There are fake prototypes all over the Bay now. If they seem too cheap to be true....they are!

 

$190 for a set of 7 protos and even encouraging best offers?!? They wholesale for $30-40 a shaft. And he has a seemingly endless supply at $25 a shaft?? Less eBay fees for him??? Probably getting these knock offs for $10 bucks a piece.

 

 

Edited in December..... Some people are claiming they know who this certain seller is and he is legit and is simply dumping a massive amount of inventory he couldn’t sell through a string of custom shops. I have no idea. I just know it’s extremely strange to be selling so many shafts for less than their wholesale price when the shafts haven’t been discontinued.

 

[wrmiller]

What do you play now in steel? What are you looking for in flex, spin, and launch?

 

I've tried MANY graphite shafts over the last three years in a personal quest to find graphite I like. Still searching. A few have come very close, but I have not found the exact right match. My Tour V 120x soft stepped once just fit me so well. The boring mid flight and low spin is just perfect for me.

 

Don't forget Fujikura. The MCI series is interesting. Small diameter steel core surrounded by graphite. The Reverse of steelfiber. Steelfiber is graphite wrapped with ultra thin steel wire.

 

I could help if I knew more specifically what you were looking for. I've owned, or still own in the last 3 years:

 

Recoil Prototype 125 and 110 F5's

Steelfiber 110 and 125 in X

Fujikura rombax 115 In stiff

Fujikura MCI 120 in X

Diamana thump 110x

Graphite design tour AD 115 S/X dual flex

Loomis Golf, Tour 120X and EFP 95

 

The recoil Proto 125 F5's are still in all my wedges since I practice with them the most and I really need the deadening properties with the wedges, but I do spin them more than I would like on 100% full shots. They feel great. Probably the best feeling of all the graphite besides the rombax. Rombax are butter but hard to find. They were super expensive new. Thumps as well. VERY expensive and only sold as sets. About $100+ per shaft.

 

I have KBS C-tapers, stiff, in my iBlades. I'm still a high-ball, high-spin hitter even though the SS is slowly coming down (right at 90mph 7 iron). Which is why I like the C-tapers as they keep my ball out of the clouds. :)

 

But I injured my left hand playing them a couple of weeks ago (dislocated a joint/bone or something) and need to step down to something a bit easier on the hands. I went to the driving range the other day to see how the hand is coming along, but I'm getting this popping/snapping and a bit of pain out of the area where my little finger joins the hand. I can hit the ball well, but don't want to further damage the hand.

 

And as long as I can grip a club and swing it, I want to keep playing. I tried my wife's Ping Serene irons and they feel pretty good on the hand, if a bit short and wimpy. Surprisingly, I hit them pretty well. :D

 

EDIT: Yea I saw that GeGolf guy on Ebay. I had alarm bells going off in my head just reading that. Figured them to be fakes. Thanks for the confirmation though. If it looks too good to be true...

[Mob]

I just did a graphite shaft fitting today. I had already narrowed down my choices to: Aerotech Steelfiber 110cw, Recoil Prototype 110, and the Fujikura Pro 95 and 115 Tour Spec (also tried the non tour spec). I have a few sets with both Steelfiber shafts and Recoil shafts and like them both, though they play very differently. The Recoils are a "livelier" shaft; you can feel the kick and may feel a tiny bit looser, but pack a lot of punch. The Steelfibers have a tight solid feel to them. My dispersion is better with the Steelfibers. I just hit the Fujikura Pro TS 95 and 115 today and liked them both a lot. Very solid feel and tight feeling throughout the swing. My 7 iron spin with the Steelfiber was around 6000, the Recoil was around 6200, and the Fuji Pro was 5800. Launch angle was around 18 degrees for all 3. Ball speeds and distance was slightly higher with the Fuji Pro, and dispersion was equally bad with all 3 (Indian not the arrow on this one). My club builder and I both thought that the Fuji Pro TS 95 turned out to be the best for me.

[wrmiller]

I just did a graphite shaft fitting today. I had already narrowed down my choices to: Aerotech Steelfiber 110cw, Recoil Prototype 110, and the Fujikura Pro 95 and 115 Tour Spec (also tried the non tour spec). I have a few sets with both Steelfiber shafts and Recoil shafts and like them both, though they play very differently. The Recoils are a "livelier" shaft; you can feel the kick and may feel a tiny bit looser, but pack a lot of punch. The Steelfibers have a tight solid feel to them. My dispersion is better with the Steelfibers. I just hit the Fujikura Pro TS 95 and 115 today and liked them both a lot. Very solid feel and tight feeling throughout the swing. My 7 iron spin with the Steelfiber was around 6000, the Recoil was around 6200, and the Fuji Pro was 5800. Launch angle was around 18 degrees for all 3. Ball speeds and distance was slightly higher with the Fuji Pro, and dispersion was equally bad with all 3 (Indian not the arrow on this one). My club builder and I both thought that the Fuji Pro TS 95 turned out to be the best for me.

 

More good info, thanks. What's your SS with a 7 iron?

[Mob]

I just did a graphite shaft fitting today. I had already narrowed down my choices to: Aerotech Steelfiber 110cw, Recoil Prototype 110, and the Fujikura Pro 95 and 115 Tour Spec (also tried the non tour spec). I have a few sets with both Steelfiber shafts and Recoil shafts and like them both, though they play very differently. The Recoils are a "livelier" shaft; you can feel the kick and may feel a tiny bit looser, but pack a lot of punch. The Steelfibers have a tight solid feel to them. My dispersion is better with the Steelfibers. I just hit the Fujikura Pro TS 95 and 115 today and liked them both a lot. Very solid feel and tight feeling throughout the swing. My 7 iron spin with the Steelfiber was around 6000, the Recoil was around 6200, and the Fuji Pro was 5800. Launch angle was around 18 degrees for all 3. Ball speeds and distance was slightly higher with the Fuji Pro, and dispersion was equally bad with all 3 (Indian not the arrow on this one). My club builder and I both thought that the Fuji Pro TS 95 turned out to be the best for me.

 

More good info, thanks. What's your SS with a 7 iron?

 

84-86 mph

[wrmiller]

One more thing: All of my irons are .355 and I'm not sure I'm really up to trying to sand down .370 tips. :shok:

[DaveMac]

If you aren’t wanting to save weight the Steelfiber i125 has the closest bend profile match to your C Tapers.

[Jagpilotohio]

Coming from C taper do not consider NON Prototype Recoils for one second. Cross those off the list. Very spinny and very high.

 

Agree with previous post. Recoils have a nice lively kick to them. Steelfiber feel kind of dead. Perhaps My least favorite feeling graphite but a lower trajectory that many stronger players look for.

[wrmiller]

If you aren’t wanting to save weight the Steelfiber i125 has the closest bend profile match to your C Tapers.

 

Thanks. This the second time I had heard that the Steelfiber 125s are similar performance-wise to my C-tapers. But I was looking at the i95s to maybe take a little of the strain off my left hand.

 

All good information though, thanks.

[Hack Daddy]

Matrix Program series.

 

You can find 130 singularly, and give a try.

[DigitalizedOrange]

Currently play the i95 reg steelfibers and love them so far. Played a 120g stiff steel shaft before these. They feel much stiffer and heavier than they actually are, but you get the smooth feeling of a graphite shaft. My swing speed with a 7 iron is about 80mph.

[Mike_C]

Coming from C taper do not consider NON Prototype Recoils for one second. Cross those off the list. Very spinny and very high.

 

Agree with previous post. Recoils have a nice lively kick to them. Steelfiber feel kind of dead. Perhaps My least favorite feeling graphite but a lower trajectory that many stronger players look for.

 

I second this. I played C taper 120s for many years but needed to go graphite for elbow issues. I had hit recoil protos in 125 in F4 but wanted to go lighter. Ordered a set of i200s with regular Recoils 110 in F5 thinking they might play similar to the heavier protos. Big mistake. They spin way too much. Now playing 95 protos in F4, so much better for my swing.

[tobybear]

One more thing: All of my irons are .355 and I'm not sure I'm really up to trying to sand down .370 tips. :shok:

 

Its a pretty easy job, just go slow and test fit back and forth until snug. Sanding the tips is exactly what the manufacturers do, except not by hand.

[cz13X4]

Look into accra as well. I love mine. Better than recoil by a mile and also steelfiber for me.

[Golf64]

KBS now offering graphite shafts. I haven't hit them, so I can't offer an opinion. Seen a few on the LPGA Tour so far.

[otw]

When you get a chance try the new Steelfiber FC115 iron shaft. After cutting the 5 iron shaft it weighs approx 105 grams. They have a different feel in the longer irons. They also come in lighter raw weights

[raggal62]

Look into accra as well. I love mine. Better than recoil by a mile and also steelfiber for me.

Agree ... Accra is worth looking into.

[coreyl]

Made the switch to Fuji MCI 120 earlier this season, don't regret it one bit. C-tapers are the reason my elbow got so f'd up.

[Reb58]

Not often spoken about but exceptional graphite iron shafts are Kuro Kage tini. I use 85g regulars as they play a little stiff to advertised flex. They were (are) an optional shaft on AP2.

 

I was struggling to find a shaft I liked, even paying for a fitting and these were not shown to me. I stumbled upon them one day, hit them and fell in love. I have purchased and tried recoils, steelfibers, program 15s, and a variety of others.

 

At least give them a try, great on hands and elbows, smooth and consistent

[27x10.5]

Coming from C taper do not consider NON Prototype Recoils for one second. Cross those off the list. Very spinny and very high.

 

Agree with previous post. Recoils have a nice lively kick to them. Steelfiber feel kind of dead. Perhaps My least favorite feeling graphite but a lower trajectory that many stronger players look for.

 

I second this. I played C taper 120s for many years but needed to go graphite for elbow issues. I had hit recoil protos in 125 in F4 but wanted to go lighter. Ordered a set of i200s with regular Recoils 110 in F5 thinking they might play similar to the heavier protos. Big mistake. They spin way too much. Now playing 95 protos in F4, so much better for my swing.

 

Well to confuse you more, I don't agree with either of these...it has to be pretty individual.

 

I came from C taper 120S and settled on Recoil 125 F5 and they are amazing. I do fine into the wind, balls don't back up like crazy, my accuracy seems the same and distance vs C taper is the same. If there is a lot of spin going on then it isn't hurting me.

 

I will say that I tried the non-prototypes and they were horrible. Extremely high flight and about a full 1 to 1-1/2 clubs short.

[wrmiller]

Coming from C taper do not consider NON Prototype Recoils for one second. Cross those off the list. Very spinny and very high.

 

Agree with previous post. Recoils have a nice lively kick to them. Steelfiber feel kind of dead. Perhaps My least favorite feeling graphite but a lower trajectory that many stronger players look for.

 

I second this. I played C taper 120s for many years but needed to go graphite for elbow issues. I had hit recoil protos in 125 in F4 but wanted to go lighter. Ordered a set of i200s with regular Recoils 110 in F5 thinking they might play similar to the heavier protos. Big mistake. They spin way too much. Now playing 95 protos in F4, so much better for my swing.

 

Well to confuse you more, I don't agree with either of these...it has to be pretty individual.

 

I came from C taper 120S and settled on Recoil 125 F5 and they are amazing. I do fine into the wind, balls don't back up like crazy, my accuracy seems the same and distance vs C taper is the same. If there is a lot of spin going on then it isn't hurting me.

 

I will say that I tried the non-prototypes and they were horrible. Extremely high flight and about a full 1 to 1-1/2 clubs short.

 

Thanks, I think. ;)

 

Do you know your 7 iron swing speed? Trying to compare apples to apples. :D

[salmon2]

I just switched to Accra 80 gram shafts from X100 Tour and the difference has been great so far. They don’t feel whipping like graphite used to and I’m hitting it straighter and considerably further (12-15 yard carry per club).