Nippon 970

[SureShot81]

Who has hit it???

I'm about to be fitted for some new AP1's. Unfortunately the fitting cart here is not equipped with the Nippon offerings for Titleist. I was just wondering, having never swung a Nippon, how they perform and feel. I already hit the ball fairly high and feel that I don't need the stock DG HL's. I'm really considering either the Project X's or some Nippons, but have no experience with Nippon and was wondering if you guys could fill me in.

[eggs]

I had a set of 755s with the Nippon 970 shaft and hit them very high and I can't/don't normally do that.

Re-shafted them with DG SL and they were better.

 

I like Nippon iron shafts a lot and currently use them in my r7 Forged. They generally play a little weak to flex compared with most out there. Flights/trajectories attained are also a little on the higher side and they are known for their smooth, springy feel.

 

If you hit high already I'd be looking elsewhere.

[SureShot81]

Is the weakness in the shaft so great that a person using a S shaft in DG should maybe look at X in Nippon. Or is the weakness minimal and a S in Nippon is more like a R/S?? Thank you for your response.

[eggs]

Hard for me to answer as I've never swung an X flex Nippon and have limited experience of the DG R300 iron shaft.

I'd say the Nippon is much nearer the R300, it may even play the same (I beginning to wonder if it is actually softer, technically).

 

The problem is that the 25% lighter weight and the totally different, smoother feel and flex profile of the Nippon makes direct comparisson to the DG very difficult in purely descriptive terms.

 

I'm finding this hard to explain, the best (and only) way might be to try them out side by side.

 

Here are some points to consider relating the Nippon 950 and 1050 to the DGs:

 

Nippon is considered a 'swingers' shaft; the DG is a 'hitters' shaft.

Nippon has a softer tip for a steel iron shaft; DG a firmer tip.

Nippon is very lightweight for a steel shaft; DG is Tour weight (heavier).

Nippon produces a mid to high ball flight; DG a mid to low flight...

 

You get might point - these things really are chalk and cheese.

 

The stoutest of the commonly available Nippons is the 1150; has a firmer tip and the same (listed) weight of a Rifle 5.0 - this and the S Flex 1150 might well be between the R and S DG flexes although I have no idea if it's an option for the AP1.

The PX 5.0 might be an option for you - again, I don't know the availability of this from Titlsist.

Explore, try and decide.

I hope the above helps a little.

[MojoEd]

I would strongly suggest that look to pick up an individual Titleist 803.os iron on ebay. The standard steel offering for that club was the 970. Even the most thoughtful opinions of other golfers doesn't compare to personal experience. My inexpert opinion is that there are too many variables for someone to make the right call on the proper shaft without actually hitting the shaft. That being said, FWIW, for my personal swing, I have never swung an iron shaft that gave me better performance than the Titleist NS Pro 970 (my brother had an 803.os set). For me, the shaft produced a long, boring mid-level flight. Good luck.

[3step]

It is a common and misguided notion that Nippon Shafts play softer.

 

One of the posters described it well- if a shaft is lighter, versus a heavy Dynamic Gold, and if a shaft has a higher launch, than a Dynamic Gold, then you will have a difficult time comparing them. They are two different shafts, and you can adjust the flex any way you want, but they will still play different.

 

Regards, 3

[SureShot81]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I'm really considering waiting to get fitted when I go on vacation now as opposed to somewhere local so I can try more of shaft offerings than I would be able to here. Thanks again, look forward to trying the Nippons.