Question about shaft stiffness

[halcon]

My irons and my 3W have TT S300 shafts, and I feel like the shaft bends when I'm hitting the ball. It doesn't happen when I'm trying to crush the ball and my swing gets out of synch; more likely I feel it when my swing feels right (easy swing with good tempo, lag, etc). My question is, is this normal? Or should I look for a stiffer shaft?
I have never fitted myself, and I bought my clubs in eBay. I know I should go with a fitter to be sure, but I like to hear your opinions and experiences.

[is2linda]

My irons and my 3W have TT S300 shafts, and I feel like the shaft bends when I'm hitting the ball. It doesn't happen when I'm trying to crush the ball and my swing gets out of synch; more likely I feel it when my swing feels right (easy swing with good tempo, lag, etc). My question is, is this normal? Or should I look for a stiffer shaft?

On average how far can you carry with a 7iron. Describe the ball trajectory.

[halcon]

I use my 7I for 155~165 yards, depending how am I hitting the ball on a particular day. I hit the ball very high (maybe too much, since it is difficult to control it in the wind), and I naturally hit a draw (with the exception of my driver, with which I naturally fade it, this is my only club with a graphite shaft, Titleist Speeder Stiff).
I pull my shots very often too, I believe that this is a swing mechanics problem, but not sure.

[anthonykim3]

deffinatly don't need stiffer than s300 if you only hit a 7 165

[kleraudio]

shaftfit.com shows an s300 for a 7 iron that carries 165...... check out that website if you want, pretty cool....

Hey A.K. what do you think is the lower range for s300 in 7 iron distance?? I hit mine about 155 and Im pretty sure Im stiff flex too....

Jim

[GopherGolf]

shaftfit.com shows an s300 for a 7 iron that carries 165...... check out that website if you want, pretty cool....

New user -- great site. Thanks for posting that shaftfit.com site, it is really helpful. How big of a difference is there between S200 and S300 steel iron shafts? I am a R/S tweener and currently have S300 shafts in my irons.

[halcon]

shaftfit.com shows an s300 for a 7 iron that carries 165...... check out that website if you want, pretty cool....

Great site! Thank you. Apparently, my swing is in the limit for the stiff shaft (if I select 166 yards of carry the recommended shaft is X100). Do you believe that I should try the Project X shafts? What is the main difference with TT?

[is2linda]

Great site! Thank you. Apparently, my swing is in the limit for the stiff shaft (if I select 166 yards of carry the recommended shaft is X100). Do you believe that I should try the Project X shafts? What is the main difference with TT?

You might have to get X100 or project x 6.0. If you hit 155-165 and its going super high or ballooning, apparently your putting too much spin on it (Unless you do something funky with your swing or something). A stiffer shaft will keep it a good trajectory. Best bet is to get fitted at a demo day or at your local golf shop. I like project x because of the way it feels, looks, and performs for me. It a bit stiff on the butt, so it feels a bit stiffer at impact. Some people despise the feeling.

Overall you have to try both shafts to see which one you prefer. As for stiffness you might want to double check your swing speed at your local golf shop to make sure you get the right shaft. If its feels too bendy, it means its too light or not the flex for you.

[WUTiger]

Halcon,

If you have trouble getting the ball too high on short irons, you might look at the shaft's kick point (AKA flex point).

Your S300 shafts have a medium kick point, which means they are designed to generate a moderate height shot. You might benefit from either flighted or high kick point shafts.

If the high ball is primarily in the short irons, you might try Project X. 6.0 Flighted. With flighted shafts you get...
* A little extra help getting the ball up on the long irons, and...
* A little help keeping the ball lower on the short irons, which would lessen the ball ballooning in the wind.

If you have trouble with too high trajectory on all your iron shots, you might opt for a high kickpoint shaft. TT Dynamic Gold X100 shafts have a high kickpoint, which lowers your trajectory overall. One consideration: Can you go to an XStiff without ruining your swing tempo?

A couple of companies make stiff (6.0) metal shafts with high kickpoint, but someone ran off with my golf components catalog so I can't look it up.

[deronsizemore]

Your S300 shafts have a medium kick point, which means they are designed to generate a moderate height shot. You might benefit from either flighted or high kick point shafts.

Actually, I believe all Dynamic Gold shafts have a high kick point and should promote a lower trajectory. There's no difference between S300 and X100 as far as kick point goes.

[heiss30]

That sounds like a personal question to me :)

[WUTiger]

deronsizemore,

I stand corrected.

I got the Dynamic Gold information from the Callaway POCKET REFERENCE GUIDE. The 2008 and 2009 editions both have the same information.

The deep source, the True Temper website agrees with you. Also, TT gives specs for both taper and parallel versions of the shafts, which the Callaway guide does not.

And, here's the True Temper site if anyone's interested:
http://http://www.truetemper.com/Golf/

Thanks for the heads up.

[deronsizemore]

deronsizemore, I stand corrected. I got the Dynamic Gold information from the Callaway POCKET REFERENCE GUIDE. The 2008 and 2009 editions both have the same information. The deep source, the True Temper website agrees with you. Also, TT gives specs for both taper and parallel versions of the shafts, which the Callaway guide does not. And, here's the True Temper site if anyone's interested: http://http://www.truetemper.com/Golf/ Thanks for the heads up.

No problem. I wasn't 100% sure myself until I looked it up, but I thought that was the case.

[halcon]

Thanks for your help. So, does this means that I will keep ballooning my short irons with the X100?
About the Flighted PX, I thought that the flighted helped lift the ball with all of the irons, but I was wrong. How much of a difference does a flighted shaft has with a regular one? is it really noticeable?

[herrb]

Regarding the shaft specifications, I understand R = regular, S = stiff, X = ?

But what do the numbers 100, 200, 300, ... mean?

I got myself a set of irons with regular flex True Temper Dynalite Gold Superlite (R300) shafts. They seem to work just fine for me -- not that I would know too much about it all.

Cheers,
J.

[LBlack14]

Regarding the shaft specifications, I understand R = regular, S = stiff, X = ?

Those are weight designations. 100 is the lightest and 300 the heaviest.

[herrb]

Those are weight designations. 100 is the lightest and 300 the heaviest.

Thanks. That's interesting. My impression had been there is this race for the lightest possible shafts...

Cheers, J.