Injured shoulder - should I replace my x100s?

[tmz016]

I have a bad left shoulder (righty golfer) after many years of different sports.

I've played x100 for a long time but after last season my shoulder started to get worse.

Would changing to a lighter or smoother shaft be more gentle on my shoulder? If so - any recommendations? As I haven't played anything else then x100 and C-Taper 130 I don't have anything to compare with.

 

[cavemeister]

Just had my left shoulder replaced. ct130 were the straightest and killed my shoulder and elbows. I used x100 until recently--I am told the graphite 125tx mmt are x100 like. I may change to graphite to save what's left of my shoulder....

[Stuart_G]

2 hours ago, tmz016 said:

I have a bad left shoulder (righty golfer) after many years of different sports.

I've played x100 for a long time but after last season my shoulder started to get worse.

Would changing to a lighter or smoother shaft be more gentle on my shoulder? If so - any recommendations? As I haven't played anything else then x100 and C-Taper 130 I don't have anything to compare with.

 

 

Lighter weight is likely to help more than changing stiffness but you never know for sure until you try.

 

Going to graphite is another likely way to ease the aggravation of the swing on the injury so worth considering.   I'd give the steelfiber i95 and test and see how well you can manage the change in weight.   They are generally available in some of the OEM fitting carts so should be able to demo one.

[tmz016]

10 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

 

Lighter weight is likely to help more than changing stiffness but you never know for sure until you try.

 

Going to graphite is another likely way to ease the aggravation of the swing on the injury so worth considering.   I'd give the steelfiber i95 and test and see how well you can manage the change in weight.   They are generally available in some of the OEM fitting carts so should be able to demo one.

 

Thanks. Lighter weight was my first thought as well, but I don't know how much lighter I'd need to go for it to help. I've played 130g shafts for so many years so whenever I've tried anything in the 115-120g range it feels so much easier to swing. Would something in that weight range work or is it still too heavy?

[Stuart_G]

Just now, tmz016 said:

 

Thanks. Lighter weight was my first thought as well, but I don't know how much lighter I'd need to go for it to help. I've played 130g shafts for so many years so whenever I've tried anything in the 115-120g range it feels so much easier to swing. Would something in that weight range work or is it still too heavy?

 

No way to know until you give it a try.   Each injury is unique and each person can respond differently to changes in weight (or changes in stiffness). 

 

Easiest way is to get a light weight shaft and build a test club (lighter than you think might be ideal) and use lead tape around the shaft (about 4-5" below the bottom of the grip) in 5 gm or even 10 gm increments to test out different "shaft" weights.     Just realize with steel, it's hard to go lighter without also loosing stiffness.   So if you want to test a lower weight w/o also dropping the stiffness, graphite (like the steelfibers) is the better way to go.

 

[jomatty]

I would definitely try to find a graphite shaft you can get along with.  The steelfiber 110’s were the first graphite I used and I found it to be a very easy transition from steel and helped tremendously with the various things that were hurting.  After gaining confidence with the 110’s I’ve since went to recoil 95’s and am very happy.  I do think that the steelfibers are probably a more natural fit for a player coming from x100’s but if you have a smooth swing then the recoil 110’s or 110 proto could work well.  I’m sure the 95g offering from either company would be even easier on your body, but you would have to hit them to see if they were too light.  Overall I found the steelfibers to be stouter and not quite as easy on the body as the recoils, but they were approximately a bazillion times easier on my back, wrist, and elbow than any steel I have tried.   I’ve got enough mileage on my 43 year old body that I will definitely not be going back to steel.

The mmt’s are also getting really good reviews and if I were in the market for new shafts I would definitely have them at the top of my list to try.  As I’m sure you can tell I’m a big fan of graphite for people that have any sort of injury.  Graphite has made me able to play much more golf with much less pain and for me there was no compromise in performance.

[Aviador Naval]

@Stuart_G following your recommendations here with interest but wondering about the impact of increased vibration in lighter steel shafts.  It’s been a while but I once demoed a set of otherwise soft forged CB (MP-60 I believe...) with the DGSL S300 that Miguel Angel Jimenez played for a while.  The THEORY was the it would be ‘just like DG S300 only lighter’ but in practice even the slightest miss sent a horrific shock into the wrists and elbows.

 

To what extent does the greater mass absorb/dampen the vibration and/or at what point does lighter become worse than heavier?

 

I recognize that graphite is a different game for the most part...

[phizzy30]

4 hours ago, cavemeister said:

Just had my left shoulder replaced. ct130 were the straightest and killed my shoulder and elbows. I used x100 until recently--I am told the graphite 125tx mmt are x100 like. I may change to graphite to save what's left of my shoulder....

Yes the MMT 125 TX are similar to the X100.  I have the MMT 125 TX and would recommend to the OP.  I have hand and wrist issues and the MMT reduce vibration significantly.  Toe mishits don't hurt nearly as much as any steel counterpart. 

Edited March 9, 2021 by phizzy30

[Stuart_G]

44 minutes ago, Aviador Naval said:

@Stuart_G following your recommendations here with interest but wondering about the impact of increased vibration in lighter steel shafts.  It’s been a while but I once demoed a set of otherwise soft forged CB (MP-60 I believe...) with the DGSL S300 that Miguel Angel Jimenez played for a while.  The THEORY was the it would be ‘just like DG S300 only lighter’ but in practice even the slightest miss sent a horrific shock into the wrists and elbows.

 

To what extent does the greater mass absorb/dampen the vibration and/or at what point does lighter become worse than heavier?

 

I recognize that graphite is a different game for the most part...

 

There is really no direct relationship between weight and increased vibration and shock, at least not a significant or noticeable one.  Stiffness profile can have a small effect but with the high frequency vibrations that cause that shock, the material (e.g. steel vs composite) is going to be the most significant determining factor.  Although the use of foam inserts (like Prosoft) in the shaft has been known to help some as well.

 

The thickness and stiffness of the grip material can play a part as well.

 

You're not the first I've seen that had that complaint about that particular shaft so I wouldn't be surprised if there was something else (other than weight) that was a factor.   With steel shafts, wall thickness plays a big factor in both weight and stiffness so it's much more likely the harshness comes from what they had to do to the design to maintain the stiffness with the reduced weight.

 

But indirectly weight (and stiffness for that matter) can potentially effect the consistency of the delivery and therefore the consistency of the impact and the amount of hits that do give more jarring results.

 

So stick to picking the weight and stiffness to be a good fit for the dynamics of swinging with the bad shoulder and to get good quality and consistent face impact.   And then if you need additional relief from the vibrations, 1) move to graphite or 2) try the Prosoft inserts and/or 3) try different grips.

 

 

Edited March 9, 2021 by Stuart_G

[driveandputtmachine]

Like Stuart said test with a fitter.  If you cannot do that you can take the long way round.  See if you can find a or a couple demo iron heads of your type.  Grab some shafts.  I was able to do it with Bridgestones a few years back.  I grabbed three "extra" iron heads from ebay.  I tried the Steelfiber in 125 and 110, recoil in standard and proto in 110 and 125 in standard and 95 in standard.  I could have tried more weights, but one in 95 grams and I realized that I couldn't go that light.  I wanted graphite due to a wrist injury.

 

I settled on the Recoil standards in 110.  I was coming from Project X 6.5.  The recoil did a few things for me.  The weight and balance smoothed out my swing, I did not have to add a bunch of lead tape or anything to the head, and I got the balance and overall weight I wanted.  I got a little more launch height and a touch more spin.  I went from a guy that hit 7 or 8 greens a round to a guy that averaged 13.  I was also able to flight and hit shots with the recoils better than previously.  They helped my timing for all shots.

 

I am not saying they will do this for you, but if you cannot go to a fitter, do it right and take the time, or else you will buy shafts early in the process and waste the money.  You can get a low priced graphite shaft puller for under 100 bucks.  I took me over a month testing multiple times a week to be sure I had the correct shafts.  I soft and hard stepped a few times during the process as well.  I am in Recoil 110 F5's soft stepped once.  

[Deuce78]

I went through a shoulder injury years ago.  Having done it myself and I have  played the steelfiber 125x 110x and MMT 125tx... I'd recommend steelfiber 125x. They really absorb a lot of vibration and I could practice and play twice as long just with the switch.  Steelfiber are a little more tip light so the swingweight wont pull as much as the MMT.  If you really need to drop static weight go steelfiber 110x.  If you are looking to test some shafts I have a recoil 125x and a MMT125TX you could pick up from me.  Any other questions reach out to me.  Good luck!

[tmz016]

Thanks for the replies guys, I really appreciate it.

I live in Sweden and as far as I know the MMT's aren't that easy to get a hold of here. I guess I need to find a fitter and try the Steelfibers and see what other options there are.

13 minutes ago, Deuce78 said:

I went through a shoulder injury years ago.  Having done it myself and I have  played the steelfiber 125x 110x and MMT 125tx... I'd recommend steelfiber 125x. They really absorb a lot of vibration and I could practice and play twice as long just with the switch.  Steelfiber are a little more tip light so the swingweight wont pull as much as the MMT.  If you really need to drop static weight go steelfiber 110x.  If you are looking to test some shafts I have a recoil 125x and a MMT125TX you could pick up from me.  Any other questions reach out to me.  Good luck!

Appreciate it. I would definitely considered it if I didn't live in Sweden, lol