Fitting: in between regular and stiff but can play either. Thoughts?

[Begbie]

Fitting said with my variable swing speed I am in between regular and stiff flex. Data was similar with a slight edge in distance (average 1-2 yards) dispersion slightly tighter with stiff. 

Tendency to get quick on the downswing (over the top). Launch angle  with 7i 20 degree. Club speed 80. Ball Speed. 107. Carry 160.

Any thoughts?

[tatertot]

Some shafts have a "firm".

 

What do you need more help with, distance or accuracy?

[2bGood]

It is rare that it is so binary as you can choose, straighter or longer, but if so choose straighter, particularly as this seems like an iron fitting.  

 

 

[Port and Starboard]

I would pay much more attention to weight, torque, and bend point than what the shaft label reads.

 

I still have a set of 981 Titleist's with stock regular shafts that play much more stiff than many newer lightweight model stiff shafts.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Port and Starboard

[Begbie]

10 minutes ago, tatertot said:

Some shafts have a "firm".

 

What do you need more help with, distance or accuracy?

 

It was an iron fitting. 

I would go it with accuracy over distance at this time.

 

It fair to say a stiff graphite is less stiff than the steel stiff?

[Is Golf Fun or Work]

Go with whatever feels best to you, have someone cover shaft labels and do a blind test.

[Pepperturbo]

16 minutes ago, Begbie said:

Fitting said with my variable swing speed I am in between regular and stiff flex. Data was similar with a slight edge in distance (average 1-2 yards) dispersion slightly tighter with stiff. 

Tendency to get quick on the downswing (over the top). Launch angle  with 7i 20 degree. Club speed 80. Ball Speed. 107. Carry 160.

Any thoughts?

Being in between flexes is quite common. 

 

When I first took up golf, I was between "S" and "X".  Over the last ten years and at 70+ yrs, now in between "R" and "S"; still driven by my faster than normal tempo and transition.  I always chose the stiffer flex for low dispersion.  It's a pain in the zzzz, too. 😛

[tatertot]

7 minutes ago, Begbie said:

 

It was an iron fitting. 

I would go it with accuracy over distance at this time.

 

It fair to say a stiff graphite is less stiff than the steel stiff?

"Stiff" is an arbitrary term between manufacturers, so it's hard to quantify steel vs. graphite ...

 

If you're looking for accuracy, I think the decision is an easy one. Opt for the stiffer of the two.

[golfinbrad]

Considering your dispersion was slightly better with the stiff and distance was nearly identical, I would so stiff.  Was there a weight difference?  That could play a factor.  Based on the numbers, being so close go with which feels best.  Not sure there is a wrong answer.

[Rapidcat]

How old are you?

 

How often do you upgrade/change irons?

[Begbie]

13 minutes ago, golfinbrad said:

Considering your dispersion was slightly better with the stiff and distance was nearly identical, I would so stiff.  Was there a weight difference?  That could play a factor.  Based on the numbers, being so close go with which feels best.  Not sure there is a wrong answer.

 

Reg 72g

Stiff 82g

[Begbie]

6 minutes ago, Rapidcat said:

How old are you?

 

How often do you upgrade/change irons?

 

50 yrs. But won't be qualifying for the Champions Tour 🙂 

 

First iron change in 10 years. Currently have DG S300.

These are graphite I am looking at.

[golfinbrad]

7 minutes ago, Begbie said:

 

Reg 72g

Stiff 82g

DG S300 shafts are around 130 grams (approx).  Both of these are a significant decrease.  Did you feel more comfortable with one weight over the other?  Which graphite shaft were to testing?

[Begbie]

Just now, golfinbrad said:

DG S300 shafts are around 130 grams (approx).  Both of these are a significant decrease.  Did you feel more comfortable with one weight over the other?  Which graphite shaft were to testing?

 

CB ATLA - for Ping G430 head

Both felt much the same. Maybe slightly lighter feel / softer with regular.

[golfinbrad]

1 minute ago, Begbie said:

 

CB ATLA - for Ping G430 head

Both felt much the same. Maybe slightly lighter feel / softer with regular.

Personally, I would go stiff.  Only because a 60 gram drop at once is huge.  50 is still significant, but not quite as bad.  Hitting your 7i 160 means you are still getting good distance.  If in doubt, talking to your fitter.  Good luck. 

[Rapidcat]

24 minutes ago, Begbie said:

 

50 yrs. But won't be qualifying for the Champions Tour 🙂 

 

First iron change in 10 years. Currently have DG S300.

These are graphite I am looking at.

 

Ok, in that case, unless your are implementing a regime to achieve more clubhead speed like the Stack system or some such, you may be better off going with the softer shaft, as your swing speed is likely in decline now or soon and you hang on to your irons.

 

I'm 60 and have been through this, you can't halt Father Time, let the right equipment slow him down a little.

 

Graphite shafts are sooo good re golfer's elbow and other joint age issues, so you're thinking there is spot on (I'm in the process to switching to graphite iron shafts over the next 6 months).

[st1800e]

CB Alta, go with STiff.  I have those in regular in mine, and my swing speed is quite a bit lower than yours, and I find the them a little loose. 
Probably a typo, but a G430 7 iron is either 29 or31 deg.  

[Jeff58]

Did you also have the opportunity to try something more mid-weight, in the 95-105 range?

[Begbie]

1 hour ago, Jeff58 said:

Did you also have the opportunity to try something more mid-weight, in the 95-105 range?

 

Yes, I tried:

1. Modus 105 Regular - did not feel as soft as the graphite, struggled with launch, distance not as good as with graphite.

2. DG 105 Regular and stiff - similar to Modus, hard feel at impact.

3. Elevate 95 Reg and Stiff - preferred to this to the Modus and DG 105. Nicer soft feel. Better distance. Not as long the reg / stiff graphite. These would be my second choice after the graphite.

4. AWT 2.0  Reg and Stiff - firmer feel but preferred the regular AWT vs Stiff AWT.

[Streuner]

a lot of golfers call the Modus 105 firm to flex. It depends on the style of swing I guess.

the elevate is on the softer side in my opinion, I had irons with Elevation R shafts and the flex felt to soft for me. the DG 105 feels stiffer in Regular

 

have you try out the steelfibers? the i95 you can play in regular for sure, it is a very stable shaft

[Stuart_G]

16 hours ago, Begbie said:

Fitting said with my variable swing speed I am in between regular and stiff flex. Data was similar with a slight edge in distance (average 1-2 yards) dispersion slightly tighter with stiff. 

Tendency to get quick on the downswing (over the top). Launch angle  with 7i 20 degree. Club speed 80. Ball Speed. 107. Carry 160.

Any thoughts?

 

There is no standard for flex.   For some models the stiff flex can actually be softer than the R flex in other models.  So don't get so fixated on just the flex label - by itself it doesn't really mean much.  

 

But that also means that being in between flexes for a particular model shaft does not mean you're going to be in between for all shaft models.   So expand your search to find a model where you are not in between.

 

Other than that, just go with what feel gives you the most confidence.   If there is no difference there, and the difference in the results isn't significant - it's really not worth worrying about (other than maybe a difference in price).  There are no inherent benefits (or negatives) for going stiffer or softer.  

 

For most, shaft weight is way more important than stiffness anyways.  So you should focus on shaft weight first before worrying about stiffness.

 

 

1 hour ago, Streuner said:

a lot of golfers call the Modus 105 firm to flex.

 

Some might - but not a lot.  And in reality when you look at actual stiffness data, they are a full flex softer than other OEM's shafts of the same flex. Particularly when comparing to shafts with a similar weight.

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by Stuart_G

[seis]

Back in the day, (old guy phrase), shafts that were 5.0 were regular and 6.0 were stiff. Now I see that regular flex has graduated to 5.5 for some reason. I have several driver shafts in 5.5 and this seem to fit the requirements between regular and stiff flex for me in my opinion.