Driving iron shaft, iron or graphite

[boxerdoc]

I have a mizuno no 20 hmb 2 iron that has steel shaft matching my set, what gains or benefits, if any, have you seen by going to graphite?

[MPAndreassi]

Just now, boxerdoc said:

I have a mizuno no 20 hmb 2 iron that has steel shaft matching my set, what gains or benefits, if any, have you seen by going to graphite?

I play the HMB 3 as a utility iron. I have a Mitsubishi MMT graphite shaft in it. For me, it makes it a little more versatile. I play it a little longer than I would if it were steel. It’s knocked some spin off of it while launching a bit higher. I hit it about 5-10 yards longer than when I had an $-Taper in it. I primarily use it off of the tee, but it flights just fine off of the fairway. 

[ProjectX]

I originally had a C-Taper 130X to match my iron set in my Mp 18 mmc fli hi, Switched to the Tensei CK Pro White 90 in a TX flex. The flight and spin to me is identical but I am 5 yards longer with it. That's probably a combination of the fact that A. The shaft is lighter and B. I had to add a half inch to keep the swing weight up. So longer and lighter club was worth a handful of yards. Dispersion about the same. 

 

The swing weight is the big thing to take into account. A graphite hybrid shaft is going to be 20-40 grams lighter than your iron shaft and it will also have a higher balance point. My driving iron at 40" with a C-Taper 130X came in at D6. Now with the Tensei 90 White TX it's D2 at 40.5". If I were to keep it the same length as before it would've been C9. So depending on desired length you may need to add weight to the head. 

 

Knowing what I know now on my next driving iron I will get a standard weight head rather than a b weight head even though I play everything +1". 

[boxerdoc]

I mainly hit it from the fairway as my 225-230 club but do use it from the tee maybe 2 times a round. I found a 2 iron with tenses white on eBay and was thinking about grabbing it.

[phizzy30]

I have found the benefits of a graphite shaft over steel for driving irons to be that they do tend to launch a bit higher increasing carry distance while keeping spin about the same as steel shafts.  I think it's imperative to keep launch high and spin low with driving irons in order to get as much carry distance as possible while keeping spin optimal to prevent ballooning.  This usually means more overall distance as well IMO.  Also graphite shafts have more tech/exotic materials to enhance feel over steel shafts which tend to be harsher feeling.  Lastly, graphite shafts dampen vibration as well and who wouldn't want that?   

Edited November 22, 2020 by phizzy30

[Stuart_G]

22 hours ago, boxerdoc said:

I have a mizuno no 20 hmb 2 iron that has steel shaft matching my set, what gains or benefits, if any, have you seen by going to graphite?

 

There is no benefit to graphite - other than the ability to absorb much more of the shock at impact than steel.

 

Everything else depends on the specs of the shaft you choose, not the material.  Specifically what's the weight and the stiffness profile of the particular model shaft you choose.

 

Now, that being said, once you get below about 80-90 gm, the only choices tend to be graphite since they can get them lighter without loosing stiffness like what happens with steel.

Edited November 23, 2020 by Stuart_G

[boxerdoc]

13 hours ago, ProjectX said:

I originally had a C-Taper 130X to match my iron set in my Mp 18 mmc fli hi, Switched to the Tensei CK Pro White 90 in a TX flex. The flight and spin to me is identical but I am 5 yards longer with it. That's probably a combination of the fact that A. The shaft is lighter and B. I had to add a half inch to keep the swing weight up. So longer and lighter club was worth a handful of yards. Dispersion about the same. 

 

The swing weight is the big thing to take into account. A graphite hybrid shaft is going to be 20-40 grams lighter than your iron shaft and it will also have a higher balance point. My driving iron at 40" with a C-Taper 130X came in at D6. Now with the Tensei 90 White TX it's D2 at 40.5". If I were to keep it the same length as before it would've been C9. So depending on desired length you may need to add weight to the head. 

 

Knowing what I know now on my next driving iron I will get a standard weight head rather than a b weight head even though I play everything +1". 

How do you like the tense I pro white? I loved the orange in my 3 wood a while back but the 2 iron I’m looking at has the pro white. I’m a high spin high launch player.

[ProjectX]

11 hours ago, boxerdoc said:

How do you like the tense I pro white? I loved the orange in my 3 wood a while back but the 2 iron I’m looking at has the pro white. I’m a high spin high launch player.

Should be fairly similar to the pro orange you are used to, it's just not "counter balanced" although still more "counter balanced" than a steel iron shaft. That's why it's so much lighter in swingweight than what I normally play. Otherwise it still has a little more wiggle in it than I like. Mine is tipped 1", wish I went 2". What feels boardy to most feels good to me so I might not be the best person to gauge off of.

[Vinsanity23]

I'm actually a little different than most posts here. I currently have a Recoil 125 Proto in my 3 iron, which I use primarily like a driving iron, and I'm not sold on it yet. I wanted to make the switch after the season (WI) so that I can use it all winter in sim league to see how I feel about it. I agree that I have picked up a little bit of distance that is appreciated, BUT, so far my dispersion has been less than ideal. I'm nowhere near giving up on it yet, but if I cannot learn the club so I feel great about hitting it off a teebox on a tight fairway (otherwise why not just hit driver), I may go back to a $-Taper.

 

As a side note, I also used the Steelfiber FC115 brief stint but the ball flight was too high for my liking.

[extrastiff]

15 hours ago, vstensrud23 said:

I'm actually a little different than most posts here. I currently have a Recoil 125 Proto in my 3 iron, which I use primarily like a driving iron, and I'm not sold on it yet. I wanted to make the switch after the season (WI) so that I can use it all winter in sim league to see how I feel about it. I agree that I have picked up a little bit of distance that is appreciated, BUT, so far my dispersion has been less than ideal. I'm nowhere near giving up on it yet, but if I cannot learn the club so I feel great about hitting it off a teebox on a tight fairway (otherwise why not just hit driver), I may go back to a $-Taper.

 

As a side note, I also used the Steelfiber FC115 brief stint but the ball flight was too high for my liking.

I dunno if the weight of that 125 Proto is ..well.. 125 grams, but I hate anything over 120 grams in driving iron. At that length, the heavy weight makes the club hard to be considered consistent, definitely in swing speed, and that trickles into dispersion.  
 

it’s why I like graphite, cannot find a 100-120 gram steel shaft that can play as stiff as my iron shafts (close to as stiff at least)

[phizzy30]

31 minutes ago, extrastiff said:

I dunno if the weight of that 125 Proto is ..well.. 125 grams, but I hate anything over 120 grams in driving iron. At that length, the heavy weight makes the club hard to be considered consistent, definitely in swing speed, and that trickles into dispersion.  
 

it’s why I like graphite, cannot find a 100-120 gram steel shaft that can play as stiff as my iron shafts (close to as stiff at least)

I have the recoil proto 125 in my irons.  They are composite shafts and very stable.  I do agree that they would probably be too heavy in the driving iron and that lighter graphite options would probably be a better choice. 

[extrastiff]

5 minutes ago, phizzy30 said:

I have the recoil proto 125 in my irons.  They are composite shafts and very stable.  I do agree that they would probably be too heavy in the driving iron and that lighter graphite options would probably be a better choice. 

Yea Please forgive the humble brag, but I’m swinging 125 with driver. I was positive a couple years ago that I would just be Cameron champing it, irons only, steel shafts in everything. now you could not pay me 4 times what my gapr lo with tensei white is worth, it’s that important to me. 
 

I dream of the day I’m good enough to get hzrdus smoke green or lagolf trono in a 105 gram option 
 

[phizzy30]

33 minutes ago, extrastiff said:

Yea Please forgive the humble brag, but I’m swinging 125 with driver. I was positive a couple years ago that I would just be Cameron champing it, irons only, steel shafts in everything. now you could not pay me 4 times what my gapr lo with tensei white is worth, it’s that important to me. 
 

I dream of the day I’m good enough to get hzrdus smoke green or lagolf trono in a 105 gram option 
 

No need to apologize.  My ss is 119 on my good days and has been as high as 122, 10 years ago.  When you're long off the tee, you're long.  I think shaft choice has to do more with what you're comfortable with weight wise and profile wise, not so much skill level. 

[Vinsanity23]

2 hours ago, extrastiff said:

I dunno if the weight of that 125 Proto is ..well.. 125 grams, but I hate anything over 120 grams in driving iron. At that length, the heavy weight makes the club hard to be considered consistent, definitely in swing speed, and that trickles into dispersion.  
 

it’s why I like graphite, cannot find a 100-120 gram steel shaft that can play as stiff as my iron shafts (close to as stiff at least)

I appreciate your guys' input. My thinking for the 125g shaft was that it wouldn't be a harsh transition from my normal iron set, and swingweighting wouldn't be awful to match. But like I said, I appreciate the input, because I like playing around with shafts as much as the next guy. Maybe I'll scour for a deal on a lighter shaft in a profile I like as another test period before deciding between shafts for the season.

[NRJyzr]

I'm a fan of heavier shafts, almost across the board.  I'm not opposed to 100g shafts in my driver, and have a Steelfiber i125 that I'm thinking of loading in a hybrid, to use with the irons I'm putting together with Recoil Proto 125s.  I have a 105g iron shaft in a hybrid that I use with my 105g shafted iron set.

 

It's all about personal preference IMHO.

 

If it matters...  my swingspeed is in a lower rent district than extrastiff or phizzy.  My driver probably doesn't hit 110 any longer, and I'm largely a DGS-and-similar-flex iron shaft user.  I don't see performance issues using the heavier shafts.  In fact, my use of lighter shafts was such that I started looking to the heavier options.

 

Just thought I should offer an alternative point of view.  🙂