rf53

I put the long shaft in play yesterday. There is definitely something to this. I hit nine fairways. At least four of my drives were significantly longer than usual. On those four I gained fifteen to twenty yards each. I only had one really awful drive that went way right on me. I noticed that with the longer shaft a more controlled swing at 75% yielded the best results. Really going after it tends to make the club head stay behind. All in all the driver felt fine. It did not feel too heavy or freakishly long as reported in some of the YouTube videos I saw with people attempting to use longer shafts. I would say my results were better than expected, but we will see how it goes in the long haul. For now, the long shaft will be staying in my bag

Hey, I don’t want to jinx the experiment by calling victory, but it worked. I used a regular flex and much lighter shaft that weighs 48.5 grams. It has a med/high launch and is cut to 46.5” and plays at 47.5”. I put it on the TaylorMade M6 head in the upright setting. I did not remove the weight screw or tinker with the head at all. My first two drives were a hook and a fade/slice. However, once I became use to the feel and slowed down my swing to about 75% the results were impressive. The ball flight settled in at a mid launch draw. I definitely picked up yards. I don’t know how many because at my range we hit into a lake, but I know where my drives usually end up and this was well beyond that even into a decent breeze. The lighter, more flexible shaft must have compensated for the added swing weight. The strikes were on the screws. I am encouraged by the results. We will see what happens when I put it into play.

Based on what you are saying it sounds like I might be headed in the right direction. The shaft I have my eyes on will play at 47.5 inches. It is 10 g lighter and more flexible. Right now I am playing a taylormade M6 driver. It does not have slider weights, but it does have a weight at the back which is interchangeable. The stock factory weight is 3.5 g, and they do make an aftermarket 2 g weight, or I can just take out the 3.5 g and see how that works.

That is exactly what I was thinking. Since all the reviews I have seen indicate that with a longer shaft the swing weight is increased and at a certain length swing speed is actually diminished, I was thinking of trying a longer, but more flexible and lighter shaft to see if I can mitigate the additional swing weight and pick up a little swing speed and a few more yards. I have also read that the additional swing weight could shallow your swing a bit, which depending on your swing might not be a bad thing. I imagine there could be some club fitters out there who are reading this thread and rolling their eyes, but hey, what the heck! There are some pretty decent older shafts out there at low prices that one can experiment with. We might as well have a little fun as the world implodes around us! LOL.

Did you find any change in accuracy?

Has anyone gone to a longer driver shaft and found the transition successful? I understand that the gain in distance may be mitigated by loss of accuracy. I also understand it should be a process worked out within a fitting session. However, leaving those two things aside, I’m just wondering what the experiences have been for those people who have simply purchased a new longer shaft, plugged it in and started to play it? Given the current 2020/2021 circumstances where a fitting session is not always possible or advisable, I’ve been thinking about trying this experiment and going from 45.5” to 47” just to see what it is like. I am a decent ball striker, so I’m hoping the additional length won’t hurt my accuracy too much. Who has done this and how did it turn out?

After thinking that I did not need a new dynamic fitting session for the purchase of my new irons, the members here, and others have convinced me I should probably undergo a new fitting... so I will. I had planned to rely on the results of my last fitting which was over a decade ago. I have realized that despite what I may have thought about the matter, many things have changed in that period of time. Additionally, I am moving in a new direction with my game. Although my scores are still those of an 8 handicap struggling to make the next jump and get down to consistently scoring in the mid to high 70's, Father Time has become a bit of a factor, and I don't think I will be purchasing "player's" irons this time out. I will be looking into some type of GI irons instead like the Ping G's or the Callaway XR's which are both at the top of my list right now. All things considered, a new fitting is probably the best thing I can do for myself. I am the type of person who likes to make informed decisions. This means I will want to know what the numbers coming out if the fitting mean so that I will have confidence in the process. The last time I underwent a fitting I was less engaged and I put my complete trust in the fitter because I had no clue what the information my swing was generating meant. For this go-around I have read quite a bit about the process and I am hoping to educate myself as much as I can so I will be a part of of the process, and not just the guy hitting the ball. Does that make sense? Having said that, what is the most important thing I should key on during the fitting? I have heard that finding a club/shaft combination that provides good carry distance and achieves optimum spin rates is among the more important aspects of the iron fitting. Finding the closest spin rate to 1000 X the iron number is what I understand I should be looking for. Is there anything else that I should concentrate on? Thanks for your advice!

I guess it is your right not to understand, but the fact is, as I explained, that I have gone through a full fitting in the past. If you are suggesting that everyone should go through a full fitting everytime they buy a new set of clubs I would respectfully disagree. I am simply asking others who may have the knowledge, or others who have gone through the experience to comment on what the likely results of switching to a lighter shaft could be. Notwithstanding the fact that every swing is different, blah, blah, blah, there are constants. This is the perfect forum to explore such an issue. I knew when I posted this question that a cacophony of "go get fitted again" responses would be the likely result. Nevertheless, a few good suggestions have come in, and I look forward to hearing other observations.

Thanks, but I think you are not understanding my point, or perhaps I am not communicating it correctly. I have gone through a dynamic fitting. Based on that, I know that the standard for my 5 iron should be: Length 38in, Lie 61 degrees read, Shaft DG S300 (130g), Swing Weight D2/D3, Grip .580 std. This all presupposes that I deliver my club to the ball in the same way I did that day forevermore, which is unlikely even from day to day. In any case, I'm just wondering if I should consider any slight changes like reducing the shaft weight a little. I'm not sure I have to pay $150 to get an answer to that question and then receive a piece of paper with pretty much the same information as cited above.. So my questions are: 1. Why have OEM's reduced the weight of the shafts they are using over the last ten years? 2. Should I consider reducing the weight of the shaft I am using a few grams, or leave well enough alone?

I appreciate your response and I totally understand what you are saying. I am trying to educate myself as much as possible before making a decision. As for the places in my area that conduct a free fitting as long as you buy their clubs, I have a few of those retail outlets available. However, the 25 year old sales associate that conducts the fitting is just some guy who works there and has been taught how to run the launch monitor. Those places tend to rely pretty heavily on the static fitting and then they push the clubs/shafts that they have in stock, which tend to be outrageously overpriced as opposed to the prices one can find online. There are also some very knowledgeable golf shops around that charge big for their services. I used one of these years ago and I was happy with the results, but I am trying to avoid that expense this time around and piggyback on the old results plus some newly acquired knowledge...so here I am.

In another thread I asked members here to comment on how often they buy new irons. I did so because it has been quite a long time since I have purchased a new set, and I am starting to wonder if I an missing out on all this new technology? Interestingly enough, so far over 71% of the responses to my other thread stated that they wait 6-10 years (about 52+%) with approximately 18% saying they wait over 11 years. Anyway, since I am 13 years into my current set, I have been doing quite a bit of homework on new irons, and I have quickly noticed that many OEM's now offer very light shafts (105g, 95g, 90g, and even 85g) on their game improvement irons, but even some "players" iron sets are coming stock with lighter steel shafts. I assume that the reason for this is to help the average golfer achieve a higher launch angle, but I have also read that even some tour players are reducing the weight of their shafts. This has me bit confused. Based on a full static/dynamic fitting I had done years ago by a very reputable golf club fitter, I have been playing DG S300 shafts (130g). From the results of recent rounds I have played I still believe these shafts work for me. I am still getting a nice penetrating ball flight with the longer irons, and the short irons come in nice and high. Nevertheless, I think based on my age and the fact that my new irons will probably be with me for several years to come, I would like to explore new possibilities. Before you rush to your keyboard to respond, "go get fitted again", I will say two things. First, there is a school of thought that posits the fact that dynamic fittings are a waste of time for amateurs because they rarely deliver the club to the ball with consistency. Second, I would love to avoid that time and expense based on what I already know. What I would like to discuss is the benefits, if any, to selecting a lighter steel shaft for my new iron set. Everything I know tells me I should not, and I have even read that heavier shafts promote more distance and better shot disbursement. The only experience I have with lighter shafts is that the other day I hit my buddy's Ping G's that come with an AWT 2.0 regular shaft (98g) and the 8 iron ballooned on me with no noticeable gain in distance. I would never think of going that light, but the thought has crossed my mind to reduce the weight to somewhere between 105 and 120. Any thoughts?

I found an interesting article that you may want to read. While new metal components and other improvements certainly go into the making of new irons, improved distance claims may indeed be attributed mainly to bumped lofts. I looked up the lie angles on the very popular game improvement Titleist AP1 irons. The 9 iron on the set uses 39 degrees of loft. According to the chart in the article below, 39 degrees of loft was used on 8 irons in the 1990's-2000's, and is one degree shy of the standard loft for 7 irons of the 1980's. Moreover, today's AP1 9 iron uses only three degrees more loft than 6 irons of the 1960's-1970's. Sure sounds like OEM smoke and mirrors to me. https://www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/news-and-events/general-news/2015/november/if-you-ask-someone-what-club-they-hit-youre-either-vain-an-idiot-or-both/

Please explain in detail. I would like some hard evidence so I can convince myself, and more importantly my wife, that I really do need new irons!

I couldn't agree more about the comment you made regarding knowing your distances. No matter what lofts your irons have, at the end of the day knowing how far they will make your ball travel more than anything else helps you score. As for technology being the factor in distance, I have often wondered about this notion with a set of irons (drivers are a different story). I'm sure there is some of that technology stuff going on with new irons (particularly in the forgiveness department), but when a company bumps the lofts one or two degrees and then claims their new iron technology provides five to ten extra yards my hand immediately goes to my chin, and a "HMMM" sound comes out of my mouth. A good example is my trusty Ping Eye 2's vs my Macgregor 1025 CM's. When I hit my Eye 2 six iron I am using 32 degrees of loft, when I hit my Mac six iron I am using 30 degrees of loft. No duh the newer set goes further. It gets even more noticeable as you go to the scoring clubs where the Eye 2 PW has 50.5 degrees of loft and the Mac PW has 45 degrees, which is the loft on the Eye 2 nine iron. In spite of the above, I still think I might benefit from new irons. I played nine holes yesterday and shot a 40. Despite the fact I left three strokes out there from missed puts, the little voice in my head is telling me that new irons would also help. Maybe I should spend the money on a few putting lessons instead!

There is certainly quite a bit of truth in the old saying that it isn't the arrow it's the fellow doing the shooting! If you follow the logic offered by the OEM's... These irons will shave three strokes off your game, that driver will shave two, this putter will guarantee another three... my 8 would turn into scratch and all I would need to do is swing my credit card!