Help Me Find My Dream Shaft

[379]

I need your help to find an iron shaft with these characteristics: a traditional bend profile, 110-120 grams, and a low balance point.

 

I'm looking for iron shafts that perform similarly to my preferred wood and wedge shafts. For a few years, I have played HZRDUS Black RDX 6.0 in my woods and Ping zz115 in wedges. The shared traits of these shafts are: lightweight, traditional bend profile, and low balance point. Ping's website says of the zz115, "The PING Z-Z115 wedge shaft is made by Nippon and custom engineered with a lower balance point closer to the tip to provide lower launch with more control and enhanced feel."

[Cwebb]

Possibly the Dynamic Gold 120.  Depending on what you mean by "traditional bend profile"

[WristySwing]

11 minutes ago, Cwebb said:

Possibly the Dynamic Gold 120.  Depending on what you mean by "traditional bend profile"

 

To add onto this, I wouldn't consider the HZRDUS Black a traditional profile either, it's mega butt stiff and quite linear. OP definitely needs to clarify.  My initial thoughts were exactly yours, DG120, maybe Modus 115.

[Arlin964]

The other option that would be close is Modus 115 S.  I believe the published installed weight is about 118.  I mentioned this in another thread yesterday that I feel that DG120 Stiff is very similar to Modus 115 Stiff.  I don't know that balance point is that low per se in either one of those, but I'd think those would be considered a traditional bend profile.  Considering DG has been the "standard" for so long.

[Arlin964]

One thing I'll add is that if you really want an iron shaft to feel the same as your Hzrdus Black RDX, then a couple to consider would be PX steel and C-Taper.  Then just pick your preferred weight class:  6.0, 120 S, 115 X, etc.  Lots of people say you shouldn't necessarily pick an iron shaft that feels the same as a wood shaft considering they can be different swings, but you know your "feels" best.

 

Something to know about KBS shafts is that a Lite X isn't stiffer than the regular family S.  For example.  C-Taper 120S will be ever so slightly stiffer than C-Taper Lite 115X.  The stiffness labels are relative to the sub-family.  Go by the weight.

Edited April 30 by Arlin964

[Seidinho]

+1 to DG120. To me the Modus 115 felt different and a bit more smooth / wobbly (depending on how the individual looks at it). 

[379]

A better word than traditional would be linear. 

 

I need your help to find an iron shaft with these characteristics: a linear bend profile, 110-120 grams, and a low balance point.

[PNW]

PX 5.5 and add lead tape or tip weights for a lower balance point?

[WristySwing]

1 hour ago, 379 said:

A better word than traditional would be linear. 

 

I need your help to find an iron shaft with these characteristics: a linear bend profile, 110-120 grams, and a low balance point.

 

C-Taper Lite S, $-Taper R+, PX i/o 6.0, MMT 105.

[Valtiel]

1 hour ago, 379 said:

A better word than traditional would be linear. 

 

I need your help to find an iron shaft with these characteristics: a linear bend profile, 110-120 grams, and a low balance point.

Thankfully it would actually be easier to work backwards and eliminate shafts that *don't* fit this criteria, because steel shafts inherently will be linear and tip heavy (lower balance point) unless you go out of your way. 

Steel shafts with non-linear/less "traditional" bend profiles would include:
- Nippon Modus 120 and 130
- KBS Tour V
- Project X LZ

Steel shafts with higher balance points would include:
- Most KBS models (omitting the $-Taper HT and some of the C-Tapers)
- Modus 125

This leaves most of the usual suspects, Dynamic Gold 120, Project X Rifle 5.5-6.0, Modus 115x, the aforementioned KBS $-Taper HT, KBS C-Taper 120s, and for graphite you have the MMT and Fujia Axiom lineup which are both designed to have low balance points like steel. 

[379]

Thank you! I see a few commonalities in the recommendations.
 

Is the c-taper lite considered a low balance point shaft? 

[Urb]

Lol Mizuno thinks RDX blue and green are similar enough to cross shop.

 

 

[Whodamon1]

ACCRA iSeries Steel 115.  Similar if not better feel than the Modus. I found lower flight, lower spin, and tighter dispersion than Modus.

And, I believe they can work with the balance point to some degree.    ...Harder to come by, though.

My experience is with the iSteel Green.  I think the iSteel red is a lower flight than the Green.

[379]

On 4/30/2024 at 1:02 PM, Arlin964 said:

One thing I'll add is that if you really want an iron shaft to feel the same as your Hzrdus Black RDX, then a couple to consider would be PX steel and C-Taper.  Then just pick your preferred weight class:  6.0, 120 S, 115 X, etc.  Lots of people say you shouldn't necessarily pick an iron shaft that feels the same as a wood shaft considering they can be different swings, but you know your "feels" best.

 

Something to know about KBS shafts is that a Lite X isn't stiffer than the regular family S.  For example.  C-Taper 120S will be ever so slightly stiffer than C-Taper Lite 115X.  The stiffness labels are relative to the sub-family.  Go by the weight.

What is your knowledge of c-taper lite? 
 

I’m currently gaming kbs tour S. Just put them in the bag. Any insight would be appreciated. 

[Arlin964]

On 5/2/2024 at 6:47 AM, 379 said:

What is your knowledge of c-taper lite? 
 

I’m currently gaming kbs tour S. Just put them in the bag. Any insight would be appreciated. 

 

I played both CTL 110S and 115X for a couple months each.  115X is the better fit for me.  I also played regular C-Taper 120S in a couple of my clubs for about a year.  I've also played Project X steel 6.0 120 in a set for a while.  I view them as similar, just different weights.

 

I went to a KBS fitting in Carlsbad a few months ago where the fit was 115X.  That was probably one of the best shaft fittings I've ever had.  David is incredibly knowledgeable.

 

I really liked all those shafts and they work well for me.

 

However, I've moved into some different shafts recently only because I wanted a little bit more feel in the shaft.  Feeling the shaft deflect just a little bit more actually encourages me to have a better pressure shift.  A better pressure shift helps me with my contact and low point.

 

Those two shafts I've recently started liking are Modus 115 S and DG120 S300.  Both tend to be around the 118g range with a perceptible deflection.  Helps me feel the head a lot better.

 

I've tested the KBS Tour S 120 before and I liked it, but I never gamed them.  They are helpful for me because they give me some extra height that I sometimes need.

[robbie91]

I mean, seems like it would make sense to simply hit a bunch of iron shafts and decide what works best based on the data. Just because you prefer a certain shaft profile in a wood or wedge doesn't mean that you'll get the best numbers with a similar shaft in a set of irons. I played some of my best golf with counterbalanced driver shafts and very low balance point iron shafts. DG 120 would seem to fit the bill as a good starting point based on what you have mentioned though. 

[379]

On 5/3/2024 at 3:09 PM, Arlin964 said:

 

I played both CTL 110S and 115X for a couple months each.  115X is the better fit for me.  I also played regular C-Taper 120S in a couple of my clubs for about a year.  I've also played Project X steel 6.0 120 in a set for a while.  I view them as similar, just different weights.

 

I went to a KBS fitting in Carlsbad a few months ago where the fit was 115X.  That was probably one of the best shaft fittings I've ever had.  David is incredibly knowledgeable.

 

I really liked all those shafts and they work well for me.

 

However, I've moved into some different shafts recently only because I wanted a little bit more feel in the shaft.  Feeling the shaft deflect just a little bit more actually encourages me to have a better pressure shift.  A better pressure shift helps me with my contact and low point.

 

Those two shafts I've recently started liking are Modus 115 S and DG120 S300.  Both tend to be around the 118g range with a perceptible deflection.  Helps me feel the head a lot better.

 

I've tested the KBS Tour S 120 before and I liked it, but I never gamed them.  They are helpful for me because they give me some extra height that I sometimes need.

It sounds like you gravitate toward very similar shafts. 
 

When you got fit at kbs, why did he recommend CTL 115x verses other options? 

[Arlin964]

1 hour ago, 379 said:

It sounds like you gravitate toward very similar shafts. 
 

When you got fit at kbs, why did he recommend CTL 115x verses other options? 

 

 

I thought I had posted this in detail somewhere before but I can't find it...

 

Fitter determined very quickly that I was quite sensitive to weight and around 115g range was best for me.  He said I'm not necessarily aggressive in my transition (I always thought I was).   Tour V 110X, CTL 115X and CT 120S were my top three.

 

He determined I release late so the C-Taper models tended to be a better match.  CTL115X ended up being the best.

[379]

On 5/3/2024 at 3:09 PM, Arlin964 said:

 

I played both CTL 110S and 115X for a couple months each.  115X is the better fit for me.  I also played regular C-Taper 120S in a couple of my clubs for about a year.  I've also played Project X steel 6.0 120 in a set for a while.  I view them as similar, just different weights.

 

I went to a KBS fitting in Carlsbad a few months ago where the fit was 115X.  That was probably one of the best shaft fittings I've ever had.  David is incredibly knowledgeable.

 

I really liked all those shafts and they work well for me.

 

However, I've moved into some different shafts recently only because I wanted a little bit more feel in the shaft.  Feeling the shaft deflect just a little bit more actually encourages me to have a better pressure shift.  A better pressure shift helps me with my contact and low point.

 

Those two shafts I've recently started liking are Modus 115 S and DG120 S300.  Both tend to be around the 118g range with a perceptible deflection.  Helps me feel the head a lot better.

 

I've tested the KBS Tour S 120 before and I liked it, but I never gamed them.  They are helpful for me because they give me some extra height that I sometimes need.

How would you compare project x 6.0 and modus 115 stiff in on-course performance?

[Arlin964]

1 hour ago, 379 said:

How would you compare project x 6.0 and modus 115 stiff in on-course performance?

PX was just a little bit lower launch and spin for me. Not by a lot, but enough that the Modus 115S is probably a better fit for me when coming into greens. I am finding that the Modus is almost as stable in the feel and also just as stable in ball flight. Ball doesn’t really curve that much. Both shafts were played with ping i230s (literally the same heads) so it’s a fair head to head comparison.