950GH- How to determine .370 vs .355?

[brew4eagle]

Have a DBM Forged 8 iron with 950GH shaft on its way to me.  Just wondering if there's a way to differentiate a .355 vs .370 950gh shaft without removing the grip?  The DBM heads are able to be shafted with both tips so wondering if step patterns or silk screen on bottom of shafts are different?

Edited January 17, 2021 by brew4eagle

[cristphoto]

Simple.  Just take a pair of calipers and adjust them for the shaft diameter at the ferrule.  If you can slide the calipers up a few inches then you you have 370 (parallel).  If you can't slide them up you have 355 (taper).  If you don't have calipers a simple crescent wrench will do. 

Edited January 17, 2021 by cristphoto

[Stuart_G]

36 minutes ago, cristphoto said:

Simple.  Just take a pair of calipers and adjust them for the shaft diameter at the ferrule.  If you can slide the calipers up a few inches then you you have 370 (parallel).  If you can't slide them up you have 355 (taper).  If you don't have calipers a simple crescent wrench will do. 

 

Sorry, No, I don't believe so.  Measuring at the top of the hosel wont likely tell you anything.  Most Nippon parallel tip shafts are discrete length, not single length blanks with a long parallel tip section.   Only way to tell is to pull and measure the diameter of the very tip  or check the etching /labels under the grip.

Edited January 17, 2021 by Stuart_G

[cristphoto]

You may have read my post wrong.  I've tested this way for years with no problems.  Just checked a couple clubs. On DG taper with caliper on the shaft next to the ferule I can only move less than 1/2 inch up the shaft. With DG parallel I can slide several inches up to the first step. I can't speak to Nippon parallel as I don't have any on hand.  

[brew4eagle]

12 minutes ago, cristphoto said:

You may have read my post wrong.  I've tested this way for years with no problems.  Just checked a couple clubs. On DG taper with caliper on the shaft next to the ferule I can only move less than 1/2 inch up the shaft. With DG parallel I can slide several inches up to the first step. I can't speak to Nippon parallel as I don't have any on hand.  

Golfworks does have discrete lengths available for the 950GH parallels, rather than 1 raw blank, so what above poster indicates has merit.  Regardless, seller got back to me and his original order indicates .370 parallel (38.5" 3 iron), which leaves me confused as club is an 8 iron.  Hopefully it's not soft stepped 5x, haha.

[Stuart_G]

8 hours ago, cristphoto said:

You may have read my post wrong.  I've tested this way for years with no problems.  Just checked a couple clubs. On DG taper with caliper on the shaft next to the ferule I can only move less than 1/2 inch up the shaft. With DG parallel I can slide several inches up to the first step. I can't speak to Nippon parallel as I don't have any on hand.  

 

I didn't mis-understand.    He wasn't asking about DG's.   Just because something works for one model of a .370 shaft doesn't mean it will work for every other .370 shaft.

 

Even for other models that have a taper tip, it still might not work.  Most taper tip shafts are only tapered for the last 1/2" (completely inside the hosel bore).  So a taper tip shaft can still stay parallel for quite a while above the hosel.  Changes in diameter above the hosel is more often about managing the tip stiffness and little to do with whether the tip is tapered or not.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by Stuart_G

[brew4eagle]

Since the 950gh parallel and taper tips are offered in discrete lengths, would either be constant weight or does that still just apply to taper tips?

[Nessism]

Nippon is one of the few shaft manufacturers to offer constant weight .370 shafts.  You can expect both taper and parallel to play identical.

Edited January 22, 2021 by Nessism