Steelfiber Disappointment

[cyr67]

I've been playing Steelfiber i95's (Private Reserve) in my 0317 Cb's for the past 5-6 rounds and have been very underwhelmed. I'm coming from Srixon 965's with ProModus 120X. The lofts are the same on both sets, but the 0317's with the 'fibers are shorter and don't feel as good. I expected to gain a few yards with these shafts as they are 25 grams lighter. This is my first time with graphite/hybrid shafts in irons. I tried them out before purchasing, but on course...well they are just not grabbing me, and I really don't think the issue is the 0317's. The Steelfiber launch higher than my 120's, are less accurate, and they just seem to lack pop. I've got osteoarthritis in my shoulder, so I decided to go lighter/graphite on the shafts, but I don't feel like they help there either. I play off a 6 and am a decent ball striker. Driver SS is around 110. Has anyone else had the same issues or concerns? I'm willing to give them more time, but I'm probably going back to my Srixons for my next round.

[ScottyGolf]

I would say your issue is they are too light for you.  You most likely cannot feel the head as why you are not hitting them well.  Our swings sound similar, I have issues with hands and elbows but I went from KBS 130x to MMT125TX.  I test the 105 and I could not hit them.

 

I honestly don't think it is SF at all but the weight.  PXG also loves to get folks into lighter shafts during the fitting which is a hard process for those coming from heavier shafts.  Takes a long time for many to get used to that large of a change and they give up and go to a different set I have many friends that did that.  IMO, it was never the head, but the shafts they went with.

 

If you are looking for lighter and whippy, I think you may gain some distance but you will be all over the course.

 

Try a SF 115FC or a MMT option.

 

Good luck!

[grinder1320]

That sucks not working out. Agreed. Weight might be the issue. Playing SF i110 and best shafts ever played. Consistent and dispersion great.

[cyr67]

45 minutes ago, ScottyGolf said:

I would say your issue is they are too light for you.  You most likely cannot feel the head as why you are not hitting them well.  Our swings sound similar, I have issues with hands and elbows but I went from KBS 130x to MMT125TX.  I test the 105 and I could not hit them.

 

I honestly don't think it is SF at all but the weight.  PXG also loves to get folks into lighter shafts during the fitting which is a hard process for those coming from heavier shafts.  Takes a long time for many to get used to that large of a change and they give up and go to a different set I have many friends that did that.  IMO, it was never the head, but the shafts they went with.

 

If you are looking for lighter and whippy, I think you may gain some distance but you will be all over the course.

 

Try a SF 115FC or a MMT option.

 

Good luck!

Lighter yes, whippy no—as in what I was looking for. The i95’s are actually stiffer than the 120X’s. I should be able to swing them faster, which should translate into a few more yards, but that has not been the case. Distance was not my main motivating factor for the Steelfibers, but actually losing distance…well I’m not ok with that. 

[NRJyzr]

2 hours ago, cyr67 said:

I've been playing Steelfiber i95's (Private Reserve) in my 0317 Cb's for the past 5-6 rounds and have been very underwhelmed. I'm coming from Srixon 965's with ProModus 120X. The lofts are the same on both sets, but the 0317's with the 'fibers are shorter and don't feel as good. I expected to gain a few yards with these shafts as they are 25 grams lighter. This is my first time with graphite/hybrid shafts in irons. I tried them out before purchasing, but on course...well they are just not grabbing me, and I really don't think the issue is the 0317's. The Steelfiber launch higher than my 120's, are less accurate, and they just seem to lack pop. I've got osteoarthritis in my shoulder, so I decided to go lighter/graphite on the shafts, but I don't feel like they help there either. I play off a 6 and am a decent ball striker. Driver SS is around 110. Has anyone else had the same issues or concerns? I'm willing to give them more time, but I'm probably going back to my Srixons for my next round.

 

I'm inclined to think the drop in club weight could be affecting you.  It's something I've seen in my own game on occasion, when trying lighter shafts.

 

Read something by Dave Tutelman, suggesting an option to approximate whole-club-MOI when dropping shaft weight.  His recommendation is to take 1/3rd of the reduction in shaft weight and add it back to the clubhead.  In your case, that means 8g to each club.

 

The individual nature of weight and its effect on swinging a club being what it is, what works for you may not be a literal translation of this concept; you could need less added weight, or more.  Or, it does nothing for you.  Might be worth a shot.

 

I've applied this myself, both in irons and in driver, with a fair bit of success.  When I initially tried NV105, coming from DGS, I had to add about 8g to each clubhead.  When I tried a lighter shaft in driver, I added some lead tape to the clubhead.

 

[boycer]

The private reserve are softer and launch higher then normal steelfiber. I had the private reserve and didn't like them either. The stand i110 and fc are a different animal. 

[jonr38632]

Been playing SF for years. Like you I first tried i95 and things just felt weird coming from DG X100. Went to i125 and things were great. More accuracy and distance for me from i125. I also have some MMT 125 that are great. 

 

Based on my personal results, I believe lighter shafts are not always better. I have tested this with woods too. 60g driver shaft and I start spraying left/right...70g and things are much better with distance and accuracy.

 

YMMV

[Honman]

Reading between the lines you weren't fit for them. If I got that wrong, then apologies. But just dropping weight doesn't guarantee anything. Different weights, balance points, swing weights, are all going to affect your timing. Going lighter doesn't mean more speed if you can't time the strike as well. I'm guessing it's too big a weight jump.

 

I've heard similar about the private reserve shafts being softer. While I have hit them, I've not hit them at the same time as the Standard i95. I do know they are more stable than the FC90 which are junk (for me). 

 

[cyr67]

19 hours ago, Honman said:

Reading between the lines you weren't fit for them. If I got that wrong, then apologies. But just dropping weight doesn't guarantee anything. Different weights, balance points, swing weights, are all going to affect your timing. Going lighter doesn't mean more speed if you can't time the strike as well. I'm guessing it's too big a weight jump.

 

I've heard similar about the private reserve shafts being softer. While I have hit them, I've not hit them at the same time as the Standard i95. I do know they are more stable than the FC90 which are junk (for me). 

 

True, I was not fitted for them, but I did try them out at the range. Some good points you have raised because I just thought lighter should transform into farther, or at least the same distance with less effort, which was really what I was looking for with my shoulder. That has not happened, and I do not notice much improvement with my shoulder on impact/follow-through with the Steelfibers either, which was the other reason I thought going to graphite might help. So disappointed all round!

[jarediogolf]

I have 95g shafts (not fitted for them) and I was starting to think I needed to go for heavier shafts. I added some lead to the 5 iron and 9 iron and started hitting them straighter, longer, and higher. Added lead to the rest of the irons and now the itch to swap shafts is gone. 

[ChipNRun]

On 9/30/2023 at 5:10 AM, cyr67 said:

The lofts are the same on both sets, but the 0317's with the 'fibers are shorter and don't feel as good. I expected to gain a few yards with these shafts as they are 25 grams lighter. This is my first time with graphite/hybrid shafts in irons. I tried them out before purchasing, but on course...well they are just not grabbing me,

 

25 grams lighter... Club designer Tom Wishon has long cautioned golfers: If you finally go lighter on shafts, don't go too light! One problem of too light: it's harder to feel clubhead at top, and can increase distance dispersion due to inconsistent hand drop.

 

I tried them out before purchasing, but on course... If you're considering SFs, see if you can purchase a similar iron set with SF shafts of interest and try it out on course. Plenty of quality used iron sets with SF shafts.

Edited October 1, 2023 by ChipNRun
Syntax.

[Phabs]

I’m in the middle of graphite trials and I’ve been pretty underwhelmed.  Playing 6.5 proj x’s and because of an elbow that’s flaring up from time to time I decided to try and figure out graphite.   Distance is better which I don’t need but accuracy isn’t there with what I’ve swung so far.  
 

I’m only hitting balls outside after buying a shaft and installing it in the same 7i head for all the shafts to limit variables.  

[kauffee]

When I went down to 95g graphite shafts (SF fc90), I had to increase my swingweights from D2 to D4. Although the overall club is still lighter, that let me feel the head again and things “felt” normal. Like others suggested, I would try adding some lead tape to increase the swing weight until it feels right. Luckily with PXG they can change the weight screws so you don’t need to stay with the lead tape. Actually just had them do that with my 0317s. They charged me $50 + shipping, which was kind of lame since I *did* get fit, but whatever.

[vman]

It's a big move to go from 120g constant weight to 95g descending weight shafts. It's probably not gelling with your rhythm/transition/timing.

[NHenson815]

ProModus 120 can definitely be the ex girlfriend who is hard to get over at times.

[Stuart_G]

On 9/30/2023 at 6:10 AM, cyr67 said:

I expected to gain a few yards with these shafts as they are 25 grams lighter.

 

There is the first mistake.    Some people might gain some speed but not everyone will.  Some might even loose distance when going lighter.  Or worse, loose accuracy and consistency.

 

 

On 9/30/2023 at 6:10 AM, cyr67 said:

 

The Steelfiber launch higher than my 120's, are less accurate, and they just seem to lack pop.

 

As others have said, they are too light for you - and the lack of pop most likely means they are probably too stiff for you as well.  You didn't say what flex you got, but even the i95 stiff flex is actually stiffer than the Nippon 120x.

 

19 hours ago, cyr67 said:

or at least the same distance with less effort, which was really what I was looking for with my shoulder. That has not happened, and I do not notice much improvement with my shoulder on impact/follow-through with the Steelfibers either,

 

Everyone is different but most of us are not like robots.   When the feel of the club changes, the swing will change.  So both the weight and the stiffness can act as triggers for how we control are swing.   But exactly how the swing changes can be very different between different individuals.  Lots of possibilities in general.   But two possible reasons this is happening for you in this case are:  

 

First, a stiffer feeling shaft can sometimes trigger the "need" (conscious or sub-conscious) to swing harder in order to get the shaft to load as much as we are used to it loading.  So a softer shaft is more likely to help put less stress on the shaft IF it helps slow down that transition (results in a feel that seems like it might be loading the shaft too much).    But even that could back-fire for some people.  Too soft could completely mess up the release timing and face control or consistency.  You never know until you try.

 

Second, a lighter feeling shaft can make it seem like we should swing it faster - and that attempt to swing it faster can put as much stress (or even more) on the shoulder as the heavier shaft.   e.g. It can take an aggressive transition and make it even more aggressive.    Even putting the same effort into the swing with a lighter shaft isn't really going to decrease the stress on the shoulder.   We're only talking about a drop in weight of 35 gm's or 1.2 oz.   Or only a small percentage of the total weight of the club.   That's not going to have any direct effect on how much stress the shoulder takes during the swing.

So what might happen to the shoulder is really going to be ALL about what happens to your swing because of the change in feel from the club.  And (IME) the shoulder is too far from the hands to get any benefit from the shock absorption properties of graphite.  

 

And that's assuming the irons are even contributing to the shoulder problems at all during the round.   The tee shots are usually the club that's going to put the most stress on the shoulders.   Nothing you do to the irons is going to take away from that.

 

Edited October 2, 2023 by Stuart_G

[dalillama47]

9 hours ago, Stuart_G said:

 

There is the first mistake.    Some people might gain some speed but not everyone will.  Some might even loose distance when going lighter.  Or worse, loose accuracy and consistency.

 

 

 

As others have said, they are too light for you - and the lack of pop most likely means they are probably too stiff for you as well.  You didn't say what flex you got, but even the i95 stiff flex is actually stiffer than the Nippon 120x.

 

 

Everyone is different but most of us are not like robots.   When the feel of the club changes, the swing will change.  So both the weight and the stiffness can act as triggers for how we control are swing.   But exactly how the swing changes can be very different between different individuals.  Lots of possibilities in general.   But two possible reasons this is happening for you in this case are:  

 

First, a stiffer feeling shaft can sometimes trigger the "need" (conscious or sub-conscious) to swing harder in order to get the shaft to load as much as we are used to it loading.  So a softer shaft is more likely to help put less stress on the shaft IF it helps slow down that transition (results in a feel that seems like it might be loading the shaft too much).    But even that could back-fire for some people.  Too soft could completely mess up the release timing and face control or consistency.  You never know until you try.

 

Second, a lighter feeling shaft can make it seem like we should swing it faster - and that attempt to swing it faster can put as much stress (or even more) on the shoulder as the heavier shaft.   e.g. It can take an aggressive transition and make it even more aggressive.    Even putting the same effort into the swing with a lighter shaft isn't really going to decrease the stress on the shoulder.   We're only talking about a drop in weight of 35 gm's or 1.2 oz.   Or only a small percentage of the total weight of the club.   That's not going to have any direct effect on how much stress the shoulder takes during the swing.

So what might happen to the shoulder is really going to be ALL about what happens to your swing because of the change in feel from the club.  And (IME) the shoulder is too far from the hands to get any benefit from the shock absorption properties of graphite.  

 

And that's assuming the irons are even contributing to the shoulder problems at all during the round.   The tee shots are usually the club that's going to put the most stress on the shoulders.   Nothing you do to the irons is going to take away from that.

 

Stu, let me start off by saying that I value a lot of your opinion and agree on most, but on the effect of graphite or steel in irons effecting any shoulder type issues, I must disagree with you on that.  I have had both shoulders replaced and have been playing graphite shafted iron for several years up to a month or so ago.  Took the chance of going back to some Modus Tour 120's because they just felt so much more solid and what felt like a nice powerful hit.  Needless to say, after this time frame, I'm definitely feeling more aches in the shoulder since going to steel, no question.

Keep up the good posts.

[Stuart_G]

13 hours ago, dalillama47 said:

but on the effect of graphite or steel in irons effecting any shoulder type issues, I must disagree with you on that.

 

That's fine.  That's why I said "IME"  (In my experience).    They did nothing to help with my shoulder issues  (bicep tendon tear and adhesive encapsulitis that needed to be surgically repaired.

 

 

13 hours ago, dalillama47 said:

Took the chance of going back to some Modus Tour 120's because they just felt so much more solid and what felt like a nice powerful hit.  Needless to say, after this time frame, I'm definitely feeling more aches in the shoulder since going to steel, no question.

 

Were you playing 120 gm graphite shafts before switching to the Modus?   You didn't specify, but I'm guessing not.  

 

Which means I'd suspect it was much more likely the change in shaft weight that lead to the aches - and not really anything about the graphite material and their shock dampening properties.   But impossible to say for sure unless you do ever decide to test graphite vs steel with both shafts having the same weight and stiffness profile.

 

Edited October 3, 2023 by Stuart_G

[dalillama47]

1 minute ago, Stuart_G said:

 

That's fine.  That's why I said "IME"  (In my experience).    They did nothing to help with my shoulder issues  (bicep tendon tear and adhesive encapsulitis that needed to be surgically repaired.

 

 

 

Were you playing 120 gm graphite shafts before switching to the Modus?   I'm guessing not.  

 

Which means I'd guess it was much more likely the change in shaft weight that lead to the aches - and not really about the graphite material and their dampening properties.   But impossible to say for sure unless you do ever decide to test graphite vs steel with both shafts having the same weight and stiffness profile.

 

I did.  Played PX LZ 5.5 115g for a bit, then Modus 120 114g. after that

[Stuart_G]

3 minutes ago, dalillama47 said:

I did.  Played PX LZ 5.5 115g for a bit, then Modus 120 114g. after that

 

Sorry.  Not following.  Those are both steel iron shafts.   Which graphite shaft were you playing in your irons before switching to the Modus?

 

[dalillama47]

33 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

 

Sorry.  Not following.  Those are both steel iron shafts.   Which graphite shaft were you playing in your irons before switching to the Modus?

 

SF i110 stiff

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

I went from DG 120 X100 to SF i95 Stiff and it worked out great. Hit them higher, yes, but they have great L/R as well as B/F dispersion and are longer. 
 

Hit my 32° 7i 155m/170y and my driver 240-250m/260-273y. 

[ob1soccer]

anyone directly compare SF 95 to Private reserve 90?