steel vs. graphite in FWs

[Black_Black]

I currently play a 904f 15* with a DGS s400. I have a v2 85g in my 983k and I am really pleased with its performance. So I've been looking to install a proforce v2 in my 904 also. But, I've never hit graphite fw's before. I'd like to get any insight as to what the benefits are, distance? higher ball flight? etc? or personal opinions if anyone out there uses this set up or anything comparable?

thanks.

[iacas]

I currently play a 904f 15* with a DGS s400. I have a v2 85g in my 983k and I am really pleased with its performance. So I've been looking to install a proforce v2 in my 904 also. But, I've never hit graphite fw's before. I'd like to get any insight as to what the benefits are, distance? higher ball flight? etc? or personal opinions if anyone out there uses this set up or anything comparable?

I was one of the last to switch to graphite in my fairway woods because I always liked the control of steel (mainly in helping me keep the ball down), but you can always accomplish a steel-like feel by going to a stiffer (or a tip-stiffer) graphite shaft, while losing weight and increasing swing speed and whatnot.

You can hit the ball higher with graphite, sure, and you'll want to make sure you test a bunch of shafts first, or at least try your gut (the ProForce) in a variety of situations. You may just want to get a 906 in the ProForce so your 904 is a good backup or fall-back.

[gas_can]

I currently play a 904f 15* with a DGS s400. I have a v2 85g in my 983k and I am really pleased with its performance. So I've been looking to install a proforce v2 in my 904 also. But, I've never hit graphite fw's before. I'd like to get any insight as to what the benefits are, distance? higher ball flight? etc? or personal opinions if anyone out there uses this set up or anything comparable?

Black_Black,

With the superb performance of modern graphite these days, the only reason why steel should be considered is cost. Benefits are higher swing speed while maintaing the same accuracy as you've astutely mentioned. Ballflight can be anything you want it to be, higher or lower than steel, there is a graphite shaft to help fit your needs. What are you looking to change about your current fairway wood game? If you're comfortable with an 80g shaft in the driver, I'd imagine you'll want at least a 90 or 100g shaft for the fairways. It really comes down to how much you want to spend. The fujikura Pro-95 is a great fairway wood shaft for a hard swinger with a fairly stiff overall bend profile. If you're very happy with the proforce, I'd spend the extra money and buy the 95g V2 from UST's tour shop. It's a little bit stiffer overall and is an incredibly good fairway shaft. One more thing to consider is that Titliest weights their steel shafted fairway heads lighter so they play at a consistent swing weight. If you decide to reshaft your 904, you may run into some major swingweight issues due to the light headweight. Drilling and hotmelting would be required to get the swingweight correct.