Iron shafts - lighter vs. heavier

[danieldsuh]

What would be the reason for using a heavier versus lighter shaft?
Why do players irons generally come with heavier shafts than game improvement irons?

Is it all just personal preference/feel or does it effect anything else such as ball flight?

The reason for the question is because my current irons are players irons that have a regular 90g shaft on them. I am considering purchasing some new irons such as the Taylormade R7TP or the Taylormade Tour Preferred.
Both of these come stock with a Dynamic Steel 127g shaft.

Would it be better to stick with these shafts or go with something closer to what I am used to such as a Dynamic Steel Ultralite or NSPro 950? I have hit these clubs with the stock shaft and I hit them fine, but naturally they just leave me a little more fatigued (lol) after a few swings.

Any benefit to me keeping the heavier shaft?

[DriverTees]

It's about centrifugal force (did I spell that right?). The heavier the clubface compared to the shaft, the easier it is to keep a nice wide arc. I believe lighter shafts are simply better than heavier ones. However, if they're steel shafts they give way more feedback.

[hawkeye]

It's about centrifugal force (did I spell that right?). The heavier the clubface compared to the shaft, the easier it is to keep a nice wide arc. I believe lighter shafts are simply better than heavier ones. However, if they're steel shafts they give way more feedback.

why are they better?!

You can't just say they're better - yes they'll be better for some people. But they'll be terrible for others. My shafts weigh 133g - I find it keeps my swing speed down a tad (tend to go at it hard a bit) and keeps me from picking the club up so quickly (tend to be quite steep a the ball). Also gives a more penetrating ballflight (though I still hit it quite high, it's a more solid ballflight)

[goblue107501]

I think it is more about personal preference. Most everyone swings the club differently so there might be different shafts that fit each person. Every shaft is designed to help the golfer in some way. Whether that is trajectory, distance, or control. I think as a general rule of thumb, the lighter shafts tend to help a player get the ball in the air easier and might help with swing speed to add a little more distance. Someone with a lower handicap probably doesn't have a problem getting the ball in the air or with distance so a heavier shaft will help more with control. I don't know if that is fact or not, just what I seem to recall reading somewhere.

If you can, try and hit the same club with a different shafts. Just because a club comes 'stock' with a certain shaft doesn't mean that others can't be put in them. With some, there may not even be an upcharge.

[Laxplayer201092]

Most better playerbirons are heaveier as most feel it boosts control.. I played x100s for a long time because they were so heavy.. Where as most game improvement irons have light shafts to ncrease distance. As obviously the faster you swing the farther the ball will go which is what most gi Irons are about. There is no better, I know I am currently pursuing a set of s400 or x1 because I want to slow my transition a bit

[danieldsuh]

Yes there is no upcharge to switch to a lighter shaft in these clubs. The thing is that I have hit the R7TP with both the stock shaft and a lighter shaft. I hit both perfectly fine and I don't really see any difference in ball flight. In terms of controlling club it also feels pretty much the same. The only difference is that I feel more fatigued after hitting with a heavier shaft a few times.

[bIGwIRE]

Yes there is no upcharge to switch to a lighter shaft in these clubs. The thing is that I have hit the R7TP with both the stock shaft and a lighter shaft. I hit both perfectly fine and I don't really see any difference in ball flight. In terms of controlling club it also feels pretty much the same. The only difference is that I feel more fatigued after hitting with a heavier shaft a few times.

As you get better those subtle differences will really start to make a larger impact on your game. For now, assuming your 27 hc is current, it likely won't matter that much.

It sounds like you will have more fun and an easier time swinging the lighter shafts.... if they fly the same for you right now go with what you will enjoy more... My advice= get fit for shaft length and lie (this should be free, or close to it with a purchase) and worry about the "fine tuning" in a few seasons when your swing is more mature. Good luck and have fun.

[danieldsuh]

As you get better those subtle differences will really start to make a larger impact on your game. For now, assuming your 27 hc is current, it likely won't matter that much.

Thanks for the advice! I've already been fitted to standard everything with a stiff shaft. I have regulr flex on my current irons though.

So I just went and hit a bunch of shots with the heavier shafts. I was still able to hit pretty well, but my swing/feel was way less consistent with the heavier shafts. I'm going to custom order with the lighter shafts. Now I just need to somehow figure out if the Dynamic Steel Ultralite or the NSPro 950 would be a better fit.

[danieldsuh]

Sorry I meant Dynamic Gold Superlite (106G) vs. NS Pro 950 (95-98G)

[DaveLeeNC]

Most golfers will find that lighter shafts (at roughly the same swingweight for the total club) will work slightly better for them (of course golf has virtually no universal truths).

Big/strong players with aggressive swings sometimes do better with heavier shafts as they tend to lose control otherwise.

You'll probably do better with lighter shafts but I was be much more cautious with less swingweight (might require a bit of weight to be added to the clubhead).

dave

[danieldsuh]

Most golfers will find that lighter shafts (at roughly the same swingweight for the total club) will work slightly better for them (of course golf has virtually no universal truths).

I have no idea what swingweight is. Could you please explain?

[Technospaz]

I'm using the standard uniflex steel shafts on my X-20s now. I thought that steel shafts were better for me (no, I didn't get myself customized clubs/shafts etc). Upon reflection, I realize that they are pretty heavy and while it gives me greater control for the shorter clubs (love 'em on my 7i-9is), they can be a little tough on my 3i-5is.

I'm considering a change in shafts but will wait and see how my game pans out.

[DaveLeeNC]

I have no idea what swingweight is. Could you please explain?

More than you probably want to know

http://www.tutelman.com/golf/design/swingwt1.php In brief swingweight is a common way to measure the "feel" of a golf club. In principle a number of golf clubs of differing length and weight would all "feel the same when swung" if they all had the same swingweight. The concept is simple. Imagine trying to balance a golf club at a point that is 14" from the grip end of the club (grip end sticking out 14" to the right and clubhead end sticking out however many inches to the left of the balance point). Obviously the clubhead end is the heaviest and the club will not balance. Swingweight is simply a measure of how hard you have to push on the grip end to make it balance. D2 is a common swingweight. Next higher is D3, D4, .... Down the scale is D1, D0, C9, C8 ... One unit of swingweight (say D2 to D3) is not much. Tape a dime to the clubhead end of your 5i and its swingweight will go up around 1 point. Very few golfers can detect a change of less than 2-3 swingweight points. Back to your question if you put a lighter shaft into your irons, their swingweight would go down - maybe 2 to 4 SW points, depending on how light the new shaft and how heavy the old one was. To get back to the same swingweight you would typically add enough weight to the clubhead to get back to where you were. dave

[Laxplayer201092]

Most golfers will find that lighter shafts (at roughly the same swingweight for the total club) will work slightly better for them (of course

That might be the smartest thing i have ever heard...

[danieldsuh]

More than you probably want to know

If I added more weight to the clubhead bringing it back to where it was with the old shafts, wouldn't that make it feel the same as it did with the heavier shafts? Wouldn't this make the feel of the swing heavy again making it pointless to use lighter shafts? Forgive my ignorance if this is a stupid question, I'm just new to all of this stuff. I used to just think a club is another club but recently just started learning about all of this different stuff.

[Leftygolfer]

Ive been considering putting in a lighter shaft in my current irons. I am not sure how much it would effect them. I have a smooth tempo so I don't need the extra weight to help smooth things out. I would like more distance.

How much would it change how far I hit them going from the TTDG to a lighter shaft that wieghts about 95 grams. 5 yards?

[iacas]

General rule of thumb: swing the lightest shaft you can control.

I can't control anything that's considered "light" at all. My contact starts to be all over the place.

I believe with irons, you're better off erring on the side of "too heavy" than "too light." Irons are your scoring clubs, after all - and any added distance already comes with bigger misses before you get into "the shaft is lighter too."

[Leftygolfer]

General rule of thumb: swing the lightest shaft you can control.

My last irons were a GI iron with the DGS300 SL. I liked how they felt lighter (they are sold and gone). I do not think my irons are too heavy but I am not sure if it would be worth it to change. They are less than a year old and I do like the 8,9,PW alot but I seem to be very inconsistant in the 5,6,7.

I think my best bet would to wait and see how my game is after this year. If my index keeps rising as it has (2.2 points this season), I will consider changing. But it has nothing to do with my clubs. They are nice irons and wedges. My good shots are great, but my bad ones are really bad. And those really bad swings are not because of the extra 20 grams.