Rifle 6.5 too stiff?

[loopy]

I've got Rifle 6.5's in my irons and yes they are probably a shade or two too stiff for me, however I really like the look and feel of my irons (see sig). Question is: If I reshaft my irons to a softer stiff flex would I gain more distance? Would accuracy suffer? I don't hit them too bad as they are; 8 iron about 125-130. Driver swing speed is around the 100-104 mark, driver has a Grahite Design YS6+ shaft. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

[miller72]

i would say maybe go to a 5.5 or 6.0 on that. If you dont want to spend that much money, i'd say that you could probly go to a dg s300 or something. Your accuracy shouldnt suffer too much if they are a little less stiff...
~Chris

[denver_nuggs_15]

  loopy said:

I've got Rifle 6.5's in my irons and yes they are probably a shade or two too stiff for me, however I really like the look and feel of my irons (see sig). Question is: If I reshaft my irons to a softer stiff flex would I gain more distance? Would accuracy suffer? I don't hit them too bad as they are; 8 iron about 125-130. Driver swing speed is around the 100-104 mark, driver has a Grahite Design YS6+ shaft. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

It seems a little weird that you have a 100+ mph swing speed with a driver but only get 125-130 yards with you 8 iron. However, with that ss, you could be playing 6.5s. It seems like you may be in the 6.0 range.

Stiffer shafts will make you lose distance, but give you better control and accuracy. Also, many stiffer shafts are also heavier. Therefore, the swingweight and overall weight of the club increases. This makes it harder to generate a lot of speed on the clubhead. So, you would gain more distance with a softer shaft. You would probably not lose much accuracy, or any at all. It's tough to say what will happen with distance and accuracy. If you should be playing 6.0s or 5.5s and not 6.5s, then it would only be beneficial to play with the proper shaft.

[loopy]

Thanks for the quick repsonse, both of you. You've confirmed what I've been thinking. A brief history on the irons: swapped my cobra 3100's for them even up because I wanted a smaller profile. If I had the shafts pulled what might they be worth? Only place I've seen around here that could do it would be Dick's.

[Dub]

6.5 sounds pretty stout.

I would expect more distance from your example given...8 iron....with your driver swing speed.

I've found the Rifle shafts, even if too weak, don't upshoot too often and accuracy will be maintained.

I think you'll definitely pick up some distance with less flex. New shafts can be costly, though, when you factor in the cost of the shaft, new grips and labor.

Get someone knowledgeable....hopefully the business that would do the actual work to fit you. Maybe just do one club and game it for a round or two...couple of range sessions and see what you like. It's an investment in your satisfaction with the game.

[RocketSauce]

i really like your irons! heh, ive played the CB's for years and just found a brand new set on ebay so i bought them. great irons! one of my all-time favorites, thats for sure. since they havent been made since 2003(?), i just had to buy another set since you dont see many brand new sets pop-up for sale. how long have you played yours? how do you like em?

[RocketSauce]

by the way, my opinion would be that the 6.5's are indeed too stiff for your SS. my driver SS is also right at 100mph. i use a stiff shaft for my driver, 3 wood and 5 wood, and i WAS using an S300 for my irons, but i recently switched to R400's and it has made a HUGE difference for me feelwise and lengthwise. ive gained about a half clubs worth of distance since i switched to R400's. i think the R400's would be in the 5.0 range, but Im not sure.

[kafka01]

6.5 is for sure way too stiff. I dont produce that much more clubhead speed, but i get my 8i to 140-145y and i use 5.5 and have no intention of going stiffer.

I had my irons actually reshafted to Rifle X with the current shafts, and it didnt came that cheap. A guy from the club did it for me, and with new grips and shafts it cost me around 300 €. Next time i just would buy a new set of irons...

[loopy]

Rocketsauce, haven't had 'em very long, but so far so good. I figured the shafts were too stiff for me, but I really liked the smaller profile and topline vs my clunky cobras. I'm going to explore the re shafting thing I think someone suggested TTR400; however the wallet may have a lot to do with how soon its gets done. I also checked the lofts vs. the cobra's and the Precepts are a little weaker across the board, but man when you catch one flush...wow! If I can't get them reshafted for a while will using a too stiff of shaft create any lasting problems with my swing?

[flanagan]

Depends on a lot of things, but if you are feeling the need to swing harder and/or steeper, releasing too early, whatever, you might develop some unwanted compensations to the shafts to get the flight or result you want and not notice. Whatever shafts you switch to, and I'm thinking those 6.5s are way too stiff for you (but, are they Project X or regular Rifles? Some would argue the regular Rifles are not as stiff in the same numbered flex as the Project X), get some good, professional advice.

[Petden]

I read somewhere that the 6.5 are meant for people who hit either a weak 8 or a strong 9 for 150 yards. The 6.0 are meant for people who use a weak 7 or a strong 8 for 150 yards, and the 5.5 is for a strong 7 for 150 yards.

Remember those are rough. If I wanted to I might be able to push a PW an extra 5 yards and get 150, however, I'm not even fitted for the 6.5.

[ryohazuki222]

  Petden said:

I read somewhere that the 6.5 are meant for people who hit either a weak 8 or a strong 9 for 150 yards. The 6.0 are meant for people who use a weak 7 or a strong 8 for 150 yards, and the 5.5 is for a strong 7 for 150 yards.

Really interesting info... Kinda accurate to my situation too at least. I normally hit my 7 from 150 out... though if I try I can get an 8 at very nearly 150 as well. According to your info that would leave me at ALMOST a 6.0 flex.... and from personally experience I'd say that's exactly what I want right now (in numbers... maybe a 5.8 would be perfect...)

I'm just wondering why so many are against playing "too stiff a shaft" but also preach that distance isn't what's important?

[RocketSauce]

  loopy said:

Rocketsauce, haven't had 'em very long, but so far so good. I figured the shafts were too stiff for me, but I really liked the smaller profile and topline vs my clunky cobras. I'm going to explore the re shafting thing I think someone suggested TTR400; however the wallet may have a lot to do with how soon its gets done. I also checked the lofts vs. the cobra's and the Precepts are a little weaker across the board, but man when you catch one flush...wow! If I can't get them reshafted for a while will using a too stiff of shaft create any lasting problems with my swing?

loopy, it seems as if our Swing Speeds are very similar, and like i said, once i went from S300's to R400's, the difference was night and day. I dont have to swing as hard, plus i am hitting each club AT LEAST half a club longer than I was hitting the S300's. Also, you can get a brand new set of R400's on ebay for around $60 usually when available. i just looked and there werent any listed, but there are several R300's listed. theres not a whole lot of difference between the R300's and R400's really. Even if you didnt get em on ebay, Im sure your local golf club fitter could order you a set of R400's for under $100. and you're right, when you catch one flush with these forged Tour Premiums they are MONEY. i really wish they still made these. im glad i found a brand new set of them recently cuz my other set was getting pretty beat. i might even buy a 3rd set if i ever see another BRAND NEW set for sale somewhere. i think they are one of the best designs ever. but yeah, if you want to save money, go for the True Temper R400's. im amazed at how much of a difference those made for me. and like i and several others said, those 6.5's are waaay to stiff for you and you are losing distance because of it. once you get the right shaft installed, you'll be amazed at how good those irons are going to feel. heres another pic i recently took (6 iron):

[loopy]

Flanagan, The shafts are just the Rifle 6.5 not the Project X. Just paid a visit to the True Temper site and did their web fit...they suggested "Black Gold" stiff, man from what I've seen isn't that a reallllly expensive shaft? From hitting these irons against my old Cobra's I lost about 1 club length, but now I can acutally start to work the ball (definetly a work in progess) and the courses I usually play don't require great length; however I find myself trying to keep up with the jones' as far as what club goes how far. Typically I wasn't the longest in my league play, but did a decent job at keepin it in play. Maybe I just need to focus on solid contact and not worry that my buddies are hittin 8 or 9 iron 150 when I need a 6 or 7 iron.

[basesloaded190]

I actually just put a set of Black Gold stiff in my set. I haven't hit them yet as there is still a lot of snow on the ground, but my swing speed is about 105 or so and i hit my 8 iron about 165-170. I don't know if that gives you any indication, but those shafts are great and cheaper than project X. I was able to get them for $15 a piece. If thats what you go with let me know and i can tell you where i got them!

[Petden]

That's one thing that never made sense to me. Driver distance has little correlation to iron distances. I know a few people that hit roughly the same distnace off their driver, sometimes more, but wehn it goes to the irons I am 1 up on them. from 150 fost will take a 7 or and 8. I will either take a PW or a 9I. I guess I must have a better swing technique with my irons, I dont know.

[flanagan]

  loopy said:

Flanagan, The shafts are just the Rifle 6.5 not the Project X. Just paid a visit to the True Temper site and did their web fit...they suggested "Black Gold" stiff, man from what I've seen isn't that a reallllly expensive shaft? From hitting these irons against my old Cobra's I lost about 1 club length, but now I can acutally start to work the ball (definetly a work in progess) and the courses I usually play don't require great length; however I find myself trying to keep up with the jones' as far as what club goes how far. Typically I wasn't the longest in my league play, but did a decent job at keepin it in play. Maybe I just need to focus on solid contact and not worry that my buddies are hittin 8 or 9 iron 150 when I need a 6 or 7 iron.

If you've lost a club's distance against your old irons, assuming your lofts aren't the culprit, I suspect your shafts are too stiff. I also believe it is harder to work the ball with a shaft that is too stiff for you. If there is some way to try out some shaft alternatives, either in practice or a fitting or both, I'd sure check it out. If you are testing out on the True Temper website at a Black Gold stiff, but needing a 6 or 7 iron to get 150, something's amiss. Very curious problem.

Brief anecdote. I still play to a stiff in graphite shafts, and the ones I have suit me very well. But, was on the range one evening and a friend who is retired came over and thought I should try his 5 hybrid out of his Ping G2s (I'm pretty sure that's the model). Noticed the graphite shaft and the seemingly way too whippy R flex, figured I'd hook it somewhere. Hit the thing straight and a mile. Hit another one the same and quit because I was invalidating all my biases, while he was teaching me a good lesson. I'm convinced many of us play shafts that are stiffer than necessary. I'm not automatically ordering R shafts in the new hybrids I was planning to get this spring, but I will definitely include the R shafted versions in my demo'ing, where before I would have never picked them up. Admitedly, I'm not as young as I once was, but I swing pretty darn hard and my game has been improving, not regressing.