ProjectX Catalyst 100 graphite iron shaft review-Pretty impressive shaft

[mogc60]

There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot on here about the PX Catalyst 100 iron shafts. I wanted to post my experience so far with these shafts. This will be kinda long but I want it to be thorough for the guys looking for something to alleviate some joint pain or looking for a lighter option in a tour profile shaft.

 

About me...Been playing golf for 30 years now. Started at 15, was playing national jr events at 17 and had a college scholarship at 18. Turned pro at 22 and was a club pro for 17 years. Solid ball striker, long but no bomber, good wedge game and strong putter who goes bucket boy when I get hot. I’ve been a solid player for a long time and due to some pains in The thumb, wrist and elbows have not played much the past 4-5 years. I’m trying to get my game back and have been tinkering with different shafts and weights to find something to help me practice without pain. I’ve hit every tour profile iron shaft made basically the past 30 years...I’m a true wrx’er when it comes to changing equipment. X100 and PX 6.5 have been my go to’s for a long time in between trying new stuff. I’ve tried other graphite’s and haven’t loved any of them but there are some great shafts out there for sure.

 

To the Catalyst 100’s...

Looks

Very nice looking ion plated shaft with nice clean graphics and the Catalyst writing is slightly raised and feels cool. They are more silver than the Recoil finish but not quite a chrome look. Still has that nice darkening look in the right light.

 

Weight and swingweight

These are a constant weight 100 gram shaft. I have the 6.5 flex that I installed straight in at standard steel lengths. They are half inch intervals starting with a 36.5 pw shaft at raw length. The wedge and 9 iron shafts are different lengths, unlike most these days. I did not add any weight to my Cobra Mb/Cb iron heads and used 1/2” gaps and 1/4” between wedge and 9 iron. They came out at D2 swingweight and the balance of the club feels fantastic. Very similar to a lighter steel shaft like Pxi. I love lead tape so I figured if I need to add head weight I can do it anytime. But I may not need any they way these came out.

 

Performance

I’ve hit a few buckets with these now and my initial impression is I’m impressed. The overall weight is an adjustment, having less weight in the grip end coming from 125 gram steel shafts. But swinging the club feels very good with plenty of head weight and the balance feels great. I had to focus a bit more on my takeaway because it took much less effort to move the club away but once I hit a few it became more natural.

The feel of these shafts is best described as a crisp/flush. Not as soft as Recoils and similar to Steelfiber but in my opinion much better feedback. The closest I can compare to a steel shaft would be the Modus120 as far as feedback.

The ball flight is where you start to know it’s a Project X shaft. Nice mid flight, no ballooning and easy to move the ball down or hit it higher with little adjustments. My 80% stock shot with a little hold on for control produces the same piercing flight as the steel Project shafts. On fuller shots the ball flight is slightly higher however but with what seems to be lower spin. I’ve noticed no upshooting in the flight. It is very consistent on flighting the ball up and down. Something I’ve struggled with in trying other graphite. The dispersion on these shafts is the absolute best I have ever had with a graphite iron shaft and rivals any steel I have hit. Every shot I have hit I have watched the flight and the ball just doesn’t move much and is very easy to start on line. Whatever they have done with the tip technology for these is for real. It is a very very stable shaft through impact and they are very accurate. This shaft is not “soft” it’s strong and fits the 6.5 frequency. I am very happy with them so far and think I may have found a shaft that gives me the ballflight and feedback I want in a lower weight that will help alleviate some of the strain on my old beater parts. My wrist and thumb have felt great after hitting balls with no flare ups or pain. This is a good sign. The overall weight I think I can adjust to fine because they don’t feel light to swing and the balance during the swing feels similar to what I feel with steel but requires less effort. I’ve felt a huge difference at the top and transition. I don’t feel the discomfort in my wrist and thumb like I’ve felt which I think is just the lighter weight.

I would recommend the Catalyst 100 to anyone looking for a lighter weight option in a tour profile. If you have any questions on anything I will do my best to answer them on my experience with the build and performance. Cheers!

 

 

[schimmel]

can you compare these to kbs tour v? - EI profiles are similar and I have found my dispersion to be tighter with the tour v

[mogc60]

I can’t unfortunately. I have never hit the tour v...I’ve never had much luck with kbs shafts, $taper was my favorite of theirs. The tour v though actually might have been the one I should have tried. The Catalyst launches lower than the $Taper on my normal swings. It seems to be low on the spin side too because their is no ballooning at all that I’ve noticed. My dispersion is much tighter with these than the Staper I was using before these.

[jokerusn]

Nice review! I've been using the 80g in my 790UDI and it's amazing. Like you, I get very flat piercing flight and it feels so solid. I could easily play a whole bag of Catalysts with 100s in my irons.

[mogc60]

I just got back from the range again and these are feeling better all the time. It’s hard to describe but they are extremely balanced. A lot of graphite’s I have tried you feel some head weight and the grip weight and it’s not real balanced in between. These feel like the weight is very well distributed throughout the shaft and it feels more similar to steel. There is no issue with swingweight and they felt less light overall this afternoon than my first few sessions. The dispersion on these is so good. But I can still shape it when needed.

[Sir Stymie]

What is your swing speed?

[mogc60]

> @jokerusn said:

> Nice review! I've been using the 80g in my 790UDI and it's amazing. Like you, I get very flat piercing flight and it feels so solid. I could easily play a whole bag of Catalysts with 100s in my irons.

 

 

I have an 80 on order to try in my driving iron. Thought I would try lighter in it to coincide with what my weight progression was with the steel shafts. 20 grams lighter in the driving iron. Glad to hear you’ve liked yours.

[mogc60]

> @"Sir Stymie" said:

> What is your swing speed?

 

My driver swing speed measured two days ago at 109-114. I never have hit irons on a launch monitor so don’t know my iron speeds

[Sir Stymie]

> @mogc60 said:

> > @"Sir Stymie" said:

> > What is your swing speed?

>

> My driver swing speed measured two days ago at 109-114. I never have hit irons on a launch monitor so don’t know my iron speeds

 

Okay thanks....I am typically around 110-112mph...but tend to swing my irons a little more controlled...just trying to figure out what flex might be a good fit....generally play PX LZ 6.0's these days....would you say 6.5 might be a good fit then? I find I need to play a flex stiffer with graphite.

[mogc60]

If you are playing 6.0 in the LZ I would think 6.0 in these would be great. I played 6.5 in the LZ, and PX steel. This shaft is not soft feeling in anyway. It plays to me like the other PX shafts frequency wise. You could maybe even hard step them one time with the 6.0. Just my opinion of course but I’ve felt some other graphite’s feel a bit soft or kick more, but these are very stable with less tip action.

I’ve played Recoil Prototype125 F5, Steelfiber 110x, Rip Tour115 S (everything I read these were stout) flex was good feel was a dud to me. To me the Catalyst has better feedback than the Recoil and plays stiffer overall. It plays stiffer than the Steelfiber slightly with a similar feel at impact, but a better sense of contact. It’s a cleaner feeling is best I can describe. Feel is hard to describe. I am loving the feel and feedback though. It’s similar to steel but softer. I wish I could describe it better but the overall balance and weight distribution on these is much better than any graphite I’ve tried.

[Sir Stymie]

> @mogc60 said:

> If you are playing 6.0 in the LZ I would think 6.0 in these would be great. I played 6.5 in the LZ, and PX steel. This shaft is not soft feeling in anyway. It plays to me like the other PX shafts frequency wise. You could maybe even hard step them one time with the 6.0. Just my opinion of course but I’ve felt some other graphite’s feel a bit soft or kick more, but these are very stable with less tip action.

> I’ve played Recoil Prototype125 F5, Steelfiber 110x, Rip Tour115 S (everything I read these were stout) flex was good feel was a dud to me. To me the Catalyst has better feedback than the Recoil and plays stiffer overall. It plays stiffer than the Steelfiber slightly with a similar feel at impact, but a better sense of contact. It’s a cleaner feeling is best I can describe. Feel is hard to describe. I am loving the feel and feedback though. It’s similar to steel but softer. I wish I could describe it better but the overall balance and weight distribution on these is much better than any graphite I’ve tried.

 

Great info....thanks for sharing your thoughts...much appreciated!!!!

[mogc60]

Hahaha...Obviously I’ve done some searching. And gone broke. So trying to share as much as I can.

[phatchrisrules]

Your comments mirror my experience with these as well. I played a round with a friend and fellow WRX'r who has Catalyst 100 in some Hot Metal Pros and I compared them to my New Levels. Now I can't say whether it was the head or the shaft but every single shot I hit with his irons was dead straight at the flag and on a piercing flight. Weight wise they felt similar to mine (as I only use DG105) but I did notice a much better sensation of where the clubhead was and better feel through the swing. I could easily see myself swinging a set of these and am going to look into them further.

[mogc60]

Hit balls again today and am really feeling good about these shafts. The feel and feedback are so good and the ball flight is a solid mid flight. I seem to be getting about 5 more yards of carry but it’s very consistent. No hot shots or jumpers. The stability in the tip is really good. Any other graphite’s I’ve tried I’ve had to add weight to get the feel right. I’ve added nothing to these and they are the lightest I’ve tried. Something to the balance of these shafts.

[tobybear]

These shafts are the real deal for distance & trajectory control. I have a set for the exact reason to help with vibration dampening and after trying so many different graphite options ( my favourite used to be the OG PX6.0 - the all blue one arounds 95g ) the 100g CW Catalyst is the winner and has been the winner since I got them. Considering putting them into another set.

 

For reference I'm high 80's in 6 iron swing speed and use 6.0 100 CW's straight in.

 

[ObiwanForAll]

Curious about the lengths you chose for the shafts. You mentioned standard length steel shafts but your PW is 36.5"? I might be using the wrong standard length metric but my PW is 35.5". I love my Recoil Prototype 110 F5 but had to introduce a ton of lead tape to get the swingweight at D4.

[mogc60]

> @ObiwanForAll said:

> Curious about the lengths you chose for the shafts. You mentioned standard length steel shafts but your PW is 36.5"? I might be using the wrong standard length metric but my PW is 35.5". I love my Recoil Prototype 110 F5 but had to introduce a ton of lead tape to get the swingweight at D4.

 

Sorry for the confusion. My wedge is 35.5”

A lot of shafts now use a raw length pw and 9 iron shaft at 37” uncut. I was trying to share that uncut this wedge shaft is 36.5 and the 9 is 37”.

So yes my lengths are standard and the overall weight and balance is very good

[ObiwanForAll]

> @mogc60 said:

> Sorry for the confusion. My wedge is 35.5”

> A lot of shafts now use a raw length pw and 9 iron shaft at 37” uncut. I was trying to share that uncut this wedge shaft is 36.5 and the 9 is 37”.

> So yes my lengths are standard and the overall weight and balance is very good

 

Thanks for clearing that up. Very fascinating. Might have to get my hands on one to try. Heavier swingweight and torque at 2.0 for 6.5 flex....might be amazing

[mogc60]

> @ObiwanForAll said:

> > @mogc60 said:

> > Sorry for the confusion. My wedge is 35.5”

> > A lot of shafts now use a raw length pw and 9 iron shaft at 37” uncut. I was trying to share that uncut this wedge shaft is 36.5 and the 9 is 37”.

> > So yes my lengths are standard and the overall weight and balance is very good

>

> Thanks for clearing that up. Very fascinating. Might have to get my hands on one to try. Heavier swingweight and torque at 2.0 for 6.5 flex....might be amazing

 

It’s just a very well balanced shaft and the reduced weight has not given me any issue. Weird to say, but it plays heavier than it is. The ballflight is every bit as good as any steel shaft I’ve used. Very consistent mid piercing flight.

[gioguy21]

> @mogc60 said:

> > @ObiwanForAll said:

> > > @mogc60 said:

> > > Sorry for the confusion. My wedge is 35.5”

> > > A lot of shafts now use a raw length pw and 9 iron shaft at 37” uncut. I was trying to share that uncut this wedge shaft is 36.5 and the 9 is 37”.

> > > So yes my lengths are standard and the overall weight and balance is very good

> >

> > Thanks for clearing that up. Very fascinating. Might have to get my hands on one to try. Heavier swingweight and torque at 2.0 for 6.5 flex....might be amazing

>

> It’s just a very well balanced shaft and the reduced weight has not given me any issue. Weird to say, but it plays heavier than it is. The ballflight is every bit as good as any steel shaft I’ve used. Very consistent mid piercing flight.

 

how do these play to flex? - reason i ask: i play PX 7.0 and know these come in discrete lengths -- not sure if they can be tipped or should be tipped to play 'hardstepped' of sorts.

 

thanks for the write-up; much appreciated!!!

[mogc60]

They play very true to the 6.5 frequency in my opinion and I’ve played 6.5’s for a long time in several PX models. I don’t believe they could be tipped much if any but it’s a strong shaft and plays very true to flex. I think tapers can be tipped 1/4”??? Howard or Stuart G would know better and hardstepping is an option

[vman]

My 6 iron swing speed is 88mph and I have the Catalyst 100 6.0. Great shaft, similar in performance to my previous Steelfiber i95 but with a slightly firmer feel. Flight is penetrating, if anything maybe a little too low in the 4 and 5 iron for me, but I can hit these hard and they're going where I aim so I can't complain too much.

[jokerusn]

> @gioguy21 said:

>

> how do these play to flex? - reason i ask: i play PX 7.0 and know these come in discrete lengths -- not sure if they can be tipped or should be tipped to play 'hardstepped' of sorts.

>

> thanks for the write-up; much appreciated!!!

 

I have the 80 6.5 in my 790UDI. You're welcome to give it a try if you want. Just have to find a good day to meet up.

 

[gioguy21]

> @jokerusn said:

> > @gioguy21 said:

> >

> > how do these play to flex? - reason i ask: i play PX 7.0 and know these come in discrete lengths -- not sure if they can be tipped or should be tipped to play 'hardstepped' of sorts.

> >

> > thanks for the write-up; much appreciated!!!

>

> I have the 80 6.5 in my 790UDI. You're welcome to give it a try if you want. Just have to find a good day to meet up.

>

 

thanks for the offer -- i was actually looking to try one in my 718 T-MB 2i...

[jokerusn]

> @gioguy21 said:

> > @jokerusn said:

> > > @gioguy21 said:

> > >

> > > how do these play to flex? - reason i ask: i play PX 7.0 and know these come in discrete lengths -- not sure if they can be tipped or should be tipped to play 'hardstepped' of sorts.

> > >

> > > thanks for the write-up; much appreciated!!!

> >

> > I have the 80 6.5 in my 790UDI. You're welcome to give it a try if you want. Just have to find a good day to meet up.

> >

>

> thanks for the offer -- i was actually looking to try one in my 718 T-MB 2i...

 

I went through Will Peoples so he can give you a good idea of what would work with a PX 7.0.

[mogc60]

> @vman said:

> My 6 iron swing speed is 88mph and I have the Catalyst 100 6.0. Great shaft, similar in performance to my previous Steelfiber i95 but with a slightly firmer feel. Flight is penetrating, if anything maybe a little too low in the 4 and 5 iron for me, but I can hit these hard and they're going where I aim so I can't complain too much.

 

I feel the same way compared to the steelfibers. It’s a firmer more solid feel to me. I feel like I don’t have to hold back anything with these but can hit controlled shots too

[ObiwanForAll]

Bought these based on feedback and put them in play. Recoils are going on sale.

Straight ball flight. Accurate and consistent distance. Feel is better than Recoil for me. They feel a lot more stable.

[mogc60]

> @ObiwanForAll said:

> Bought these based on feedback and put them in play. Recoils are going on sale.

> Straight ball flight. Accurate and consistent distance. Feel is better than Recoil for me. They feel a lot more stable.

 

You just summed up my big long post pretty well. Haha. I’m happy to hear your experience with them is as good as mine has been. They really are a great iron shaft. The flight is better than any graphite I’ve tried.

[double or triple?]

I think for those playing recoils wondering how these stand up, my experience is 6.0 play like F5 but without the stout feeling. You can load them without needing to increase your tempo

[Jwoz09]

Got 6.0 100 cw's if anyones interested