Switch to graphite Shafted Irons?

[RussUK]

Morning All,

I have returned to hitting golf balls after 3 months off after being diagnosed with Beurgers disease and recovering from the tests and biopsies that they love to put you through .

I'm good to return to golf however have been left struggling with my irons. Currently use steel shaft, reg flex and my distance has gone and my body screams after a dozen shots. Hitting with my woods and hybrids (graphite) i'm fine, long(ish) and i feel i could hit them all day.

I'm considering going to graphite irons and having a chat with a local golf retailer but wondered if anyone here has switched at a fairly young age (i'm 39) and what your experiences were. I love the game but i'm not so proud that i'd rule out a switch if it helped my carry on playing for as long as possible.

Thanks as always.

[CharlieB]

I have been playing graphite for about 10 years. I am now 75 years old, so I’m not sure if my loss of yardage is due to my age, or the graphite shafts?

Maybe you could take your 7 iron to the retailer and hit it side-by-side with graphite? Good luck.

[MarvChamp]

@RussUK, so sorry to learn of your diagnosis. I played my best golf when younger using lightweight graphite stiff shafts (Cleveland ActionLite TA5's). Now at 73 I have the same shafts but in senior flex TA6's. I have another set of irons (Mizuno JPX 800HD) in regular flex that feel heavy to me. So my point: Check BOTH flex and weight of clubs as you go on your journey. Best, -Marv

[Adam C]

Equipment has come so far today that you can get graphite as heavy and stiff as any steel, and likewise steel as light and flexible as many graphites. I would suggest you go somewhere you can try a few different shafts, both material and weight. Try a 95g steel shaft, an 80 gram graphite, a 60 gram graphite and see how they feel and what kind of distance you get. Don't just assume that the lightest shaft will give you the best distance however, as different swings can react differently to weight. Also remember there are steel shaft options with dampeners in them to cut vibration. Might want to at least check those out. True Temper makes one called the Elevate that is light and dampens and I've seen good reviews of.

For graphite the popular ones right now are UST Recoil, PX Catalyst, and Aerotech Steelfiber. All these are high quality.

[RussUK]

1 hour ago, MarvChamp said:

@RussUK, so sorry to learn of your diagnosis. I played my best golf when younger using lightweight graphite stiff shafts (Cleveland ActionLite TA5's). Now at 73 I have the same shafts but in senior flex TA6's. I have another set of irons (Mizuno JPX 800HD) in regular flex that feel heavy to me. So my point: Check BOTH flex and weight of clubs as you go on your journey. Best, -Marv

Thanks Marv, the hospital caught it early so the damage and scarring to the kidneys isn't too bad so good news is it's "controllable" with pills. Hopefully a good few years before i need anything drastic doing

I've been window shopping and looking at some used Yonex VMS, reg flex. Wont pull the trigger just yet as i think a few hits with similar at the golf shop will be a good choice.

[MarvChamp]

@RussUK, an off-topic PS: Do you ever watch the GolfVlogsUK - The People's Golfer on YouTube? Looks like lots of fun to be a #Golfmate! Best, -Marv

[Chisag]

14 hours ago, RussUK said:

I'm good to return to golf however have been left struggling with my irons. Currently use steel shaft, reg flex and my distance has gone and my body screams after a dozen shots. Hitting with my woods and hybrids (graphite) i'm fine, long(ish) and i feel i could hit them all day.

I'm considering going to graphite irons and having a chat with a local golf retailer but wondered if anyone here has switched at a fairly young age (i'm 39) and what your experiences were. I love the game but i'm not so proud that i'd rule out a switch if it helped my carry on playing for as long as possible.

 

... In my mid 40's I developed some tendonitis in my right elbow. I switched to graphite in my irons and planned to switch back to steel after I was fully healed. I love the graphite so much I never went back to steel. Long story short I started with 130gm NV Tour shafts, then 105 NV Pro's, then VS Proto 100's and stopped at VS Proto 85's that were too light. Currently playing Recoil Prototype 95's and could not be happier with their performance. 

[RussUK]

10 hours ago, MarvChamp said:

@RussUK, an off-topic PS: Do you ever watch the GolfVlogsUK - The People's Golfer on YouTube? Looks like lots of fun to be a #Golfmate! Best, -Marv

I do, the guy's mental. Always a good laugh, more so that he's not a pro, just a normal Joe Public like the rest of us.

[Sandy Divot]

I'm not young, 65, but I switched from stiff steel to stiff graphite due to a bit of arthritis in my hands. I got Mizuno Hot Metals with Recoil 95 shafts. It took a bit of time to get used to them, but it has really helped my hands. The Recoils were a stock shaft, and Mizuno charges the same for graphite or steel in the Hot Metals. I also wanted to get shafts fairly close in weight to the steel shafts I had in my Ping G 30s that I replaced.

[RussUK]

Going to try a few graphite irons at the weekend but have seen some decent Yonex irons on Golfbidder for £120-£155. They are VMS and VMX, regular flex HS700 high stability shafts.

Cant seem to find specs on these shafts bu tgoing by my driver swing speed of not more than 95mph and my 6 iron carry of around 150yds (yep, i'm a short hitter for my age) i'm pretty tempted.

Has anyone any experience with Yonex (and these models in particular)?. Obviously i'll get checked at the golf shop to see but would reg graphite suit a 90-95mph driver swing speed?

[DennisMiller]

I guess the simple answer is, it can't hurt to try. I'm wondering if you could borrow or rent a set with graphite irons instead of having to make the investment in a change. I had to look up Beurgers disease to understand what it is, so if you are in the midst of a flare up and try to play, you might get a fair indication about whether graphite is less painful pretty quickly.

Best of luck controlling the disease. I'd hate to think you have to give up golf for something like that...

[RussUK]

Bit of an update. I went for my first ever custom fitting on Saturday.

I've always thought at my level a custom fitting wouldn't be that impoprtant but I have to say I was so wrong.

We started off with my current irons (an old set of hippo beasts, heavy steel shafts) and my 7 iron was going just 120-125yds. The pro said my swing was good and the impact was decent. All my stats we around average on Mizuno's fitting range but my speed with the 7 iron was down. Cant swing as hard as i used to now.

After some baseline swings with a Mizuno swing gadget he set up one the current JPX (i think) heads with a reg graphite shaft and got me hitting, result was an extra 15-20yds bit a slight push.

After hitting the lie board i was hitting toe down so needed 3 degree's upright. After a browse at the clubs on offer he showed me some end of line stock they had which included Srixon Z155's with reg myasaki shafts. After a chat with the wife i was back in that afternoon and walked out with the srixons for £279 inc the fitting.

Just need to get used to the different lie and shaft which the pro said will take a little time but already i'm seeing the benefits when my swing clicks.

Very happy and cant recommend a fitting highly enough. Even if you aren't going to buy at the time it's worth having a fitting done.

[Slazman]

On 8/5/2019 at 1:25 AM, RussUK said:

Morning All,

I have returned to hitting golf balls after 3 months off after being diagnosed with Beurgers disease and recovering from the tests and biopsies that they love to put you through .

I'm good to return to golf however have been left struggling with my irons. Currently use steel shaft, reg flex and my distance has gone and my body screams after a dozen shots. Hitting with my woods and hybrids (graphite) i'm fine, long(ish) and i feel i could hit them all day.

I'm considering going to graphite irons and having a chat with a local golf retailer but wondered if anyone here has switched at a fairly young age (i'm 39) and what your experiences were. I love the game but i'm not so proud that i'd rule out a switch if it helped my carry on playing for as long as possible.

Thanks as always.

I have been playing graphite for years, I like steel but it started causing pain in elbows and wrists. The beauty is now you can get graphite at weights that are comparable to steel. Recoil 95 is a great shaft. I have 75 gram Accras in my 8 year old Callaway irons and don’t even bother demoing new irons anymore. Make the switch, I doubt you will regret it . Good luck.

[DennisMiller]

8 hours ago, RussUK said:

Very happy and cant recommend a fitting highly enough. Even if you aren't going to buy at the time it's worth having a fitting done.

Glad to hear you learned that. My own situation didn't need much convincing. I'm 6'7" tall and weigh 240 lbs so when I began to hear about fitting, I was pretty immediately interested.

I played regular length irons into my 50s before a Ping fitting suggested specs with longer clubs and upright lies. About 10 years later, a Mizuno fitting took my specs further,  into jumbo grip size and variances in how upright my long irons were versus my short irons. that fitting also included a great amount of detail about what kind of flex design would work best for me. I had heard shaft flex really has no industry standard, so at first, I almost discounted all the trouble the guys were going to so they could put together a test club for me that the computerized booth said performed the best.

When I had my bone spur surgery on my shoulder, a new fitting suggested changes to help my game. Now that I've recovered, a more recent fitting helped me again and that leads to a point...

In general, once you know your specs, you can sometimes find good used equipment to your specs, (or close enough to be adjusted), and you can find it a lot cheaper than constantly buying new. Deep specifics about the shaft performance will still be a lottery, but knowing your own specs can get you really close.

 

[Christo08]

Haven't read through all the replies but turf interaction could be the reason. As your wood produce a more shallow swing the resistance from the turf would be less than steeper swings with irons.  Also may look at irons with a wider sole to limit the digging effect of the iron swing. Or shallow it out a bit. Just a thought. Good luck

[cooke119]

I use to play steel shafts years ago but after a few back surgeries I switched to graphite and never looked back.