Recoil ESX vs Dart shaft

[LetsgoGolf]

Does anybody have any experiences head to head on the Recoil ESX and Dart?  I've migrated to graphite due to body aches a couple of years ago.  I currently play the ESX in the TM Sims and like the feel and the high trajectory.  I am considering building a new set and might give the dart a try.  Looking for any relevant feedback.  If I can find previous gen heads cheap, I would like to consider some more options.  Yes, I know I can do this at a fitter, but the bonus of old stock is that I can put together a couple of combos and try them on the course over a longer trial period.  My old body doesn't always perform and I've found that hitting balls at the fitter isn't always my optimal day to get stats.  FWIW, my 7iron stats are typically 150 yds at 80-82mph speed.  My preference is a mid to high trajectory using a reg stiffness with a pretty average tempo/transition.  Basically pretty darn boring, but I am losing rotation with age.  Any relevant feedback is appreciated.  Again, I don't mind experimenting with perhaps 2 different shafts as long as they are easy on the joints.

[RainShadow]

I found the DART shaft to be a bit more accurate for that weight class. I tried the 75gm F3 (r)

However, for me, they were too light in the shorter clubs. 

Like all Recoils, they are pretty smooth....

[golfschnell]

The ESX plays significantly softer, particularly in the tip, to the Dart. The Dart is much better in the dispersion department but will launch a bit lower than the ESX.  You might want to try the 760 in F3 which kind of falls in the middle of these 2 shafts in my experience.  If you really want to try the Dart, I would advise/guess soft stepping once to get the feel you want.

[Sparty4202]

On 11/2/2021 at 10:39 AM, golfschnell said:

The ESX plays significantly softer, particularly in the tip, to the Dart. The Dart is much better in the dispersion department but will launch a bit lower than the ESX.  You might want to try the 760 in F3 which kind of falls in the middle of these 2 shafts in my experience.  If you really want to try the Dart, I would advise/guess soft stepping once to get the feel you want.

I’ve recently played both the ESX F3 and the 760 & 780 Smacwrap in F3 and I did not like the feel of the 760 or 780 to me it felt dead..not boardy but a definite lack of feel. Unfortunately I haven’t hit the Dart. 
I've hit some Recoil 95 F3 recently and they felt better than the 760/780 shafts.

[PuffyC]

I haven’t hit the ESX but I’ve hit DART 75s and I love that shaft. Man are they smooth.

[bulls9999]

Are the Darts designed to hit higher trajectory shots?  I finished early sunday and went into our pro shop to try a few irons since I've been hitting my irons well.  Problem with my irons (Rogue Pro w/Recoil 760 F3, is I don't hit them as high as I'd like to; had me wondering whether I needed softer/senior F2's?  Sometimes I can hit my irons high, other times, not, it's a 50:50 thing....and frustrating to try to hit over trees to cut a corner and end up hitting straight into the trees.  So, I went into the pro shop and only one there was a young lady worker, so I didn't bother with asking for specific shafts, just reached into the demo bag and pulled out the Left-Hand Cally Apex Pro 21, didn't even look at the shaft and took off to try on the course and starting hitting; only other left hand in that demo bag was Matrix, and wasn't interested.  Wow, sent first 2 balls way up and about 5 feet short of the green; the height of the shots got my attention; I just finished a round of 18 holes and hadn't put an iron up in the air that high all day, even though the grip was awkward, standard pencil-size grip that felt like club was turning in my hands (I use thicker oversized), but hit 2 more a bit to the left, but nice left-hand draw ending up short/left of green.  So got my laser finder and noticed I'm 170 out (should have done that first), and noticed I'm using a 7-iron (I thought 6-irons used to be the ones in fitting carts?), and shaft was a 75-gm Dart F3!!  Double surprise because I would normally use my 7-iron for a 150 yard shot, 6-iron for a 160-160, and maybe a 5-iron for a 170 yard shot. And this was with a Regular F3 flex?  I was curious because the trajectory started up higher than my regular Recoil 760 F3's, but the distance on the 7-iron was much further?.... not sure if the head (Apex Pro 21) was contributing.  So if anyone has used Recoil Darts, do they play with a higher trajectory than with say Recoil 760's?

Edited February 1, 2022 by bulls9999

[Sparty4202]

On 2/1/2022 at 10:54 AM, bulls9999 said:

Are the Darts designed to hit higher trajectory shots?  I finished early sunday and went into our pro shop to try a few irons since I've been hitting my irons well.  Problem with my irons (Rogue Pro w/Recoil 760 F3, is I don't hit them as high as I'd like to; had me wondering whether I needed softer/senior F2's?  Sometimes I can hit my irons high, other times, not, it's a 50:50 thing....and frustrating to try to hit over trees to cut a corner and end up hitting straight into the trees.  So, I went into the pro shop and only one there was a young lady worker, so I didn't bother with asking for specific shafts, just reached into the demo bag and pulled out the Left-Hand Cally Apex Pro 21, didn't even look at the shaft and took off to try on the course and starting hitting; only other left hand in that demo bag was Matrix, and wasn't interested.  Wow, sent first 2 balls way up and about 5 feet short of the green; the height of the shots got my attention; I just finished a round of 18 holes and hadn't put an iron up in the air that high all day, even though the grip was awkward, standard pencil-size grip that felt like club was turning in my hands (I use thicker oversized), but hit 2 more a bit to the left, but nice left-hand draw ending up short/left of green.  So got my laser finder and noticed I'm 170 out (should have done that first), and noticed I'm using a 7-iron (I thought 6-irons used to be the ones in fitting carts?), and shaft was a 75-gm Dart F3!!  Double surprise because I would normally use my 7-iron for a 150 yard shot, 6-iron for a 160-160, and maybe a 5-iron for a 170 yard shot. And this was with a Regular F3 flex?  I was curious because the trajectory started up higher than my regular Recoil 760 F3's, but the distance on the 7-iron was much further?.... not sure if the head (Apex Pro 21) was contributing.  So if anyone has used Recoil Darts, do they play with a higher trajectory than with say Recoil 760's?

Which Recoil 760s do you play? The ES, ESX or Smacwrap? 
The ES & ESX are both high launch, the Smacwrap and the Dart are both Mid-high launch. I played Rogue Pros for 3 years with the Recoil ES and they are defiantly high launch. Also, the f3 would be a regular flex. The new Dart shaft is actually about a 1/4 flex stronger than the ES or ESX according to GolfWorks. 

[bulls9999]

On 2/3/2022 at 1:22 PM, Sparty4202 said:

Which Recoil 760s do you play? The ES, ESX or Smacwrap? 
The ES & ESX are both high launch, the Smacwrap and the Dart are both Mid-high launch. I played Rogue Pros for 3 years with the Recoil ES and they are defiantly high launch. Also, the f3 would be a regular flex. The new Dart shaft is actually about a 1/4 flex stronger than the ES or ESX according to GolfWorks. 

 

Funny, I have the Recoil 760 ES F3 (68 gm) and I can't get them to launch high consistently.  Like I said, often I'm trying to go over trees on a dogleg corner, I'm back far enough and wham, I send it right into the middle of the tree (other times, I clear easily).  When I took the Dart 75 F3 for a spin, although different head... Apex 21 Pro, it seemingly went well higher than I had been hitting all day (this was immediately after a round of 18 holes.

[Sparty4202]

8 hours ago, bulls9999 said:

 

Funny, I have the Recoil 760 ES F3 (68 gm) and I can't get them to launch high consistently.  Like I said, often I'm trying to go over trees on a dogleg corner, I'm back far enough and wham, I send it right into the middle of the tree (other times, I clear easily).  When I took the Dart 75 F3 for a spin, although different head... Apex 21 Pro, it seemingly went well higher than I had been hitting all day (this was immediately after a round of 18 holes.

It might be worth your while to get on Trackman to compare the two clubs/shafts and see what your numbers produce. I recently switched to SteelFibers and also a little heavier shaft…. It helped with dispersion, they also brought my flight down a bit which was ok for me. I never liked my Recoils in the short irons.

[bulls9999]

3 hours ago, Sparty4202 said:

It might be worth your while to get on Trackman to compare the two clubs/shafts and see what your numbers produce. I recently switched to SteelFibers and also a little heavier shaft…. It helped with dispersion, they also brought my flight down a bit which was ok for me. I never liked my Recoils in the short irons.

 

Good Idea.  My club has an indoor swing analyzer (not a Trackman by any means) and perhaps I should compare several irons with my own.  

[soxflyer80]

Anyone try the Dart against the MMT 80? I’ve used the MMT quite a bit, but at times think it feels a bit boardy. 

[Sparty4202]

22 hours ago, soxflyer80 said:

Anyone try the Dart against the MMT 80? I’ve used the MMT quite a bit, but at times think it feels a bit boardy. 

I haven’t compared those two but I have compared the Darts cousin, Recoil ESX to the MMT 70. I found the MMT to be more lively than the ESX. The MMT 70 gave me more head and shaft feel than the ESX more like a Modus 120, but me dispersion was not as tight. I’ve played a Recoil for the last 5 years but at times it has lacked feedback for me. I’ve recently switched the Steelfiber i70s, the i70 gives me a better feel for where the shaft and club head are in my swing. 

[tbowles411]

22 hours ago, soxflyer80 said:

Anyone try the Dart against the MMT 80? I’ve used the MMT quite a bit, but at times think it feels a bit boardy. 

I have.  I feel the same way.  The MMT felt boardy to me and was hard to control the iron of where I wanted it to go.  I just couldn't elevate it and I got way more run than I wanted.  The Dart felt way better and did what I needed it to do.  For me, there was no-contest.

[soxflyer80]

1 hour ago, Sparty4202 said:

I haven’t compared those two but I have compared the Darts cousin, Recoil ESX to the MMT 70. I found the MMT to be more lively than the ESX. The MMT 70 gave me more head and shaft feel than the ESX more like a Modus 120, but me dispersion was not as tight. I’ve played a Recoil for the last 5 years but at times it has lacked feedback for me. I’ve recently switched the Steelfiber i70s, the i70 gives me a better feel for where the shaft and club head are in my swing. 

Thanks for the feedback. I might give the i95 a shot and see how I like those. 

[soxflyer80]

1 hour ago, tbowles411 said:

I have.  I feel the same way.  The MMT felt boardy to me and was hard to control the iron of where I wanted it to go.  I just couldn't elevate it and I got way more run than I wanted.  The Dart felt way better and did what I needed it to do.  For me, there was no-contest.

Thanks, I might give them a try. Only real concern is the lighter weight. 

[soxflyer80]

One other question about the Dart shaft….does it have graphics on both sides? I can’t seem to find any pics online of both sides of the shaft. Graphics seem a little busy if I have to stare at that over every shot. Lol

[mac12]

There are only graphics on one side of the dart shaft.  I have a set of Mizunos with the esx 460 shaft in F3 and also a set of Callaway Apex DCB with the 65g Dart shaft in a F3.  As others have said here the Dart doesn’t launch as high and there is better dispersion.  I prefer the Dart.