NSPRO 950GH HT and Aerotech SteelFiber

[Zerp]

Currently playing JPX921 Forged in SR-flex.  The trajectory isn’t quite as high as I hoped but is acceptable.  I bought a used JPX919 LW with a R-flex SteelFiber i95vshaft and really like the feel of the club.  So I read a bit about the Aerotech line and think maybe the Fc90 might be more what I’m looking for.  
 

I used to play the 950GH HT in my Speedblades, a R-flex hard-stepped once and really liked the feel and trajectory.  The SR-flex in the Forged JPX921 is flying a bit lower, but the feel is good. I put a R-flex 950GH HT in a JPX919 SW and the trajectory is a bit high and the shaft feels a tad whippy on some shots.  I’m currently carrying my 7i about 150-155yds with a club head speed of 78-80mph.

 

I’m thinking about putting the R-flex i95 in both my GW and SW.  Then either hard-stepping a R-flex, or soft-stepping a S-flex in the Fc90.  I live in Japan so doing a demo of these shafts pretty much isn't going to be a happening thing. Ordering the Aerotech shafts from the US is a $500 proposition, not to mention the time it will require for me to pull and install the new shafts, thus, here I am.

 

Suggestions?

 

 

[me05501]

Those Nippons play about a half flex soft and the SteelFibers play about a half flex stiff, IMO. I think stiff flex in the Nippons would be roughly equivalent to R flex in the SteelFibers. 

[NRJyzr]

The profile for Steelfiber i95 is very close to DG, in both regular and stiff flexes.  Per Brother @Stuart_G the FC models play a bit softer than the "regular" SteelFiber models.

 

If you go with the FC90, you may be able to go with your planned R flex idea, if you're looking to match up reasonably with the Nippons (IMHO anyway).  I've tagged Stuart so he might chime in....

 

[Zerp]

14 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

The profile for Steelfiber i95 is very close to DG, in both regular and stiff flexes.  Per Brother @Stuart_G the FC models play a bit softer than the "regular" SteelFiber models.

 

If you go with the FC90, you may be able to go with your planned R flex idea, if you're looking to match up reasonably with the Nippons (IMHO anyway).  I've tagged Stuart so he might chime in....

 

That’s helpful to know about the DG profile. I can compare that with the HT profile on the Japanese site.

 

[Zerp]

27 minutes ago, me05501 said:

Those Nippons play about a half flex soft and the SteelFibers play about a half flex stiff, IMO. I think stiff flex in the Nippons would be roughly equivalent to R flex in the SteelFibers. 

When you mention the Nippons play about a half flex soft, are you referring to the standard 950GH, the 950GH HT, or Nippons in general?  With my 7i swing speed do you think I might have to soft-step the R SteelFiber? The i95 R-flex in that LW feels about right, so in my 5/6/7 irons with the Fc they might be flexible enough?

[me05501]

1 minute ago, Zerp said:

When you mention the Nippons play about a half flex soft, are you referring to the standard 950GH, the 950GH HT, or Nippons in general?  With my 7i swing speed do you think I might have to soft-step the R SteelFiber? The i95 R-flex in that LW feels about right, so in my 5/6/7 irons with the Fc they might be flexible enough?

 

I have 950GH's but non-HT (I think). I use the reg flex in my 4/5/6 irons to get a higher launch and more kick. They would be borderline too soft in my mid and short irons but I like being able to make a smooth swing with my long irons and get a high trajectory. 

 

I haven't tried the FC's from SteelFiber, but I had a set of irons with i95's in stiff and they were too stiff for me. I could comfortably play the regular flex i95's and certainly wouldn't expect them to be too soft. 

[Zerp]

25 minutes ago, me05501 said:

 

I have 950GH's but non-HT (I think). I use the reg flex in my 4/5/6 irons to get a higher launch and more kick. They would be borderline too soft in my mid and short irons but I like being able to make a smooth swing with my long irons and get a high trajectory. 

 

I haven't tried the FC's from SteelFiber, but I had a set of irons with i95's in stiff and they were too stiff for me. I could comfortably play the regular flex i95's and certainly wouldn't expect them to be too soft. 

It sounds as if the Fc90 in R-flex, or even a soft-stepped R-flex, would work for me.  And I have rather smooth transition and a tempo of about 3.4. How far do you usually carry your 7i?  

[jeffrey r]

5 hours ago, me05501 said:

Those Nippons play about a half flex soft and the SteelFibers play about a half flex stiff, IMO. I think stiff flex in the Nippons would be roughly equivalent to R flex in the SteelFibers. 

 

I think this is in the ballpark.  I play Steelfiber i95 R extensively, and also have an iron set with Nippon 950 S.  The SF 95 R might launch slightly lower than the 950 S, and is probably a bit firmer/boardier than the Nippon 950 S, but I think they are pretty comparable.  I've also played the FC 90 S in a set of Epic Forged irons, and I would compare those similarly to the i95 R and 950 S. 

 

Hard to peg all of these exactly, but generally speaking, flex for flex, the Nippon 950 will be softer and launch higher than the i95, and be similar to the FC 90.  All great shafts, but I prefer the i95 to the FC 90, and due to the benefits of graphite, prefer the i95 to the Nippon 950.  Surprisingly, the 950, even with prosoft inserts, still gives me some joint pain.  Steelfiber 95 is such a good shaft in all respects, IMHO.  YMMV.

Edited May 12, 2021 by jeffrey r

[me05501]

44 minutes ago, jeffrey r said:

 

I think this is in the ballpark.  I play Steelfiber i95 R extensively, and also have an iron set with Nippon 950 S.  The SF 95 R might launch slightly lower than the 950 S, and is probably a bit firmer/boardier than the Nippon 950 S, but I think they are pretty comparable.  I've also played the FC 90 S in a set of Epic Forged irons, and I would compare those similarly to the i95 R and 950 S. 

 

Hard to peg all of these exactly, but generally speaking, flex for flex, the Nippon 950 will be softer and launch higher than the i95, and be similar to the FC 90.  All great shafts, but I prefer the i95 to the FC 90, and due to the benefits of graphite, prefer the i95 to the Nippon 950.  Surprisingly, the 950, even with prosoft inserts, still gives me some joint pain.  Steelfiber 95 is such a good shaft in all respects, IMHO.  YMMV.

 

I still fight some trail elbow tendonitis. I have an older set of irons on NV Pro 105 shafts. May need to put them back in the bag. 

[jeffrey r]

7 minutes ago, me05501 said:

 

I still fight some trail elbow tendonitis. I have an older set of irons on NV Pro 105 shafts. May need to put them back in the bag. 

 

I still have plenty of steel-shafted sets in the basement, but for long-term play, I must say that these 48 year old bones and joints simply need the graphite.  And thanks to iron shafts like Steelfibers, Recoils, Catalysts, MMT, etc., there is really no compromise necessary.  I am sure those NV Pro 105 shafts are great.  I have Kuro Kage 105 in a set of Titleists, and those are great shafts as well.

[NRJyzr]

58 minutes ago, jeffrey r said:

 

I still have plenty of steel-shafted sets in the basement, but for long-term play, I must say that these 48 year old bones and joints simply need the graphite.  And thanks to iron shafts like Steelfibers, Recoils, Catalysts, MMT, etc., there is really no compromise necessary.  I am sure those NV Pro 105 shafts are great.  I have Kuro Kage 105 in a set of Titleists, and those are great shafts as well.

 

I just demonstrated this to myself last Friday, rather starkly.  Have been playing my steel shafted sets most of this year, and most of last year as well, took another steel set out for play Friday.  Got to the point where I wondered if I'd be able to finish, so I swapped in my own NV105-shafted set for the back nine, with irritation-mitigating success.

 

I have a couple reshaft projects ahead of me, need to get on task.  🙂