Are S300 Really that Stiff?

[snaphook96]

Yesterday I was looking in a local golf shops used section. I came across some good deals on Titleist 690 mbs and 695 mb. I know they are a bit hard to hit for my handicap(14), but i am going to practice and play about 4-5 times a week. As I am very keen on getting down my handicap. Anyway both have Dynamic Gold S300s. I was wondering are they that stiff? And Would the 690 MBs lose a bit of distance as they are 4 years old but groove conditions are good. I can get the 690mbs for €183($274) and the 695 for €325($485)
Also i am a student in high school and am doing physical training(Stegth) and yardages have been coming along nicely. Would I be able for the stiff flex?
My yardages PW 110 yards
7i 135 yards
5i 145-150 yards

[sean_miller]

  snaphook96 said:

Yesterday I was looking in a local golf shops used section. I came across some good deals on Titleist 690 mbs and 695 mb. I know they are a bit hard to hit for my handicap(14), but i am going to practice and play about 4-5 times a week. As I am very keen on getting down my handicap. Anyway both have Dynamic Gold S300s. I was wondering are they that stiff? And Would the 690 MBs lose a bit of distance as they are 4 years old but groove conditions are good. I can get the 690mbs for €183($274) and the 695 for €325($485)

I know that Imperial gallons are bigger than US gallons, but I think yards are the same - unless you're hitting irons from the 1940s, your yardages make me think the S300s are bit much for you. When you can consistently hit your 7 iron > 165 yards (without having to swing outta your shoes) or if everything is a snap hook, then look at stiff shafts.

[CJL]

Can you explain the snap hook part of your response? I've found that over time, my ball flight has gone from a slight draw, to a really exaggerated draw/hook when i hit a poor shot. How does the shaft stiffness come into play?

I used to play 5 days a week and did so with my current irons since I purchased them back in the winter of 2007-2008. Could the shafts in my irons (AP2 Project X 5.5) really be worn to the point that they're negatively effecting my game? I also used to hit off mats all winter when I lived in NY. I suppose I'll look for any excuse That said, I recognize most times it's the Indian, not the arrow. I apologize in advance for the minor threadjack.

[snaphook96]

  CJL said:

Can you explain the snap hook part of your response? I've found that over time, my ball flight has gone from a slight draw, to a really exaggerated draw/hook when i hit a poor shot. How does the shaft stiffness come into play?

No prob, ya I heard that as well off golf digest i think, and that was the reason of me checking the S300s before I pull the trigger

[James_Black]

Are you talking in metres or yards?
If your talking about yards leave the stiff.
If your talking about metres it's still close.

I hit my 7 iron 145-150m (159-165 yards)
I play with regular shafts but that's just me.

[snaphook96]

  James_Black said:

Are you talking in metres or yards?

It is yards and as my distance is rising quickly i do really not know what to do as i can get there real cheap and dont mind a 5-10yard decrease now for a 5-10 yard increase in 1 or 2s year

[RocketSauce]

  snaphook96 said:

Would the 690 MBs lose a bit of distance as they are 4 years old but groove conditions are good.

why would they lose distance just because they are 4 years old? im not sure if i understand what you mean by that

[wedge player]

  snaphook96 said:

I was wondering are they that stiff? And Would the 690 MBs lose a bit of distance as they are 4 years old but groove conditions are good.

if you would always think what if then i would say get them,and mine are just fine after being 4 years old

[kleraudio]

i hit my 7 iron 155 yards, and I use s300's....

I actually think my swing speed has slowed down since working on my tempo, and my ball flight has only improved by doing this. I really dont think s300's play that stiff...

Honestly, if you gave me an unlabeled shaft and had me hit the 7 irons both in reg and stiff, I honestly probably wouldn't feel the difference. as Im sure most people wouldnt.

Jim

[WUTiger]

  snaphook96 said:

Anyway both have Dynamic Gold S300s. I was wondering are they that stiff?

You need to realize that the DG S300 shaft...

* Is a fairly heavy shaft (127 gram average) - this slows down the swing speed * Has a high kickpoint - this gives a lower than average trajectory With your current distance, I would say the stiffs - especially ones designed for low trajectory - might be a bit much for you. I am 58 years old, and I went the other way this spring - from stiff shaft to regular. My last couple of years with stiff, I had noticeable loss of distance, and messed up my swing timing also. Keep up the strength training - work on flexibility also - and make your switch to stiff when you get above 150 yards on 7-iron distance. Also, when you eventually play in the British Open, put snaphook96 on your bag so the Sand Trap crew knows its you.

[nuttersandy]

There is a huge difference when you switch from regs to s300. Your whole game CAN go down tHe dump. The weight changes, trajectory changes, shaping shots. If I were you stick to tge regs until your 7 iron can go 150 without hitting it hard. And also your weight training I think it should be 70% flexibility and stretching and 30% weight training. To get more distance it's all about the coil, not how buff you are.


Keep working on the game man!

[Blades4me]

  snaphook96 said:

Yesterday I was looking in a local golf shops used section. I came across some good deals on Titleist 690 mbs and 695 mb. I know they are a bit hard to hit for my handicap(14), but i am going to practice and play about 4-5 times a week. As I am very keen on getting down my handicap. Anyway both have Dynamic Gold S300s. I was wondering are they that stiff? And Would the 690 MBs lose a bit of distance as they are 4 years old but groove conditions are good. I can get the 690mbs for €183($274) and the 695 for €325($485)

I believe that the s300's frequency out at 5.5 to 5.8.

Basically I agree with other posters who have said that your 7i yardage doesn't translate into a s300 well. OTOH, you are young, doing strength training and learning the golf swing. This in my mind suggests that your swing speed will increase. This will bring the s300's back into the mix. So I guess the question is do you want to keep play'n the s300 or go down to r300's? If money is an object and you know how to pull shafts, I'd say soft step the s300's once or twice. Also if you do that it has been my experience that DG's spines are all over the place, subtle to very pronouned, so I'd suggest spining them before putting them back into the heads--just my .02 cents.

[sean_miller]

  Blades4me said:

I believe that the s300's frequency out at 5.5 to 5.8.

0.02 cents?

Anyway, you can usually pick up a set of vintage blades (e.g. MacGregors or even old Titleists) with R shafts - cheap like borscht!

[snaphook96]

  Blades4me said:

I believe that the s300's frequency out at 5.5 to 5.8.

Thanks see I have never much experiance with dg shafts barr a couple of shots with my friends tw blades with r300s.. I play N.S Nippon Pros in mine. Would I lose much distance with the stiff?

Thanks everyine who contributed

[James_Black]

  snaphook96 said:

Thanks see I have never much experiance with dg shafts barr a couple of shots with my friends tw blades with r300s.. I play N.S Nippon Pros in mine. Would I lose much distance with the stiff?

You wouldn't feel much of a difference with the distance.

It's the dispersion I'd be worried about.

[jamo]

i would stick with the regulars and switch when you can hit a 7 iron 150-160.

[Scots Golf]

DG's spines are all over the place, subtle to very pronouned, so I'd suggest spining them before putting them back into the heads--just my .02 cents.
Are you serious? Could you tell the differnce between a spined and non spined club? I doubt there are more than a handful of people in the world that could.
My advice? Stick with the clubs you've got the now, spend £20 getting a fitting for irons, then you'll know exactly what to get. I used to use X100's on a set of 990s when I was your age (I should have had regular) and I managed to get down to 2 with them so don't listen too much to all the advice being put your way. It doesn't matter how far you hit it, its how well!

[wmiller]

I found an interesting item when I was trying out various configurations of the new Mizunos.

It's called a Shaft Optimizer. Looks like a regular iron except it has this plastic box on the shaft (I am guessing it has a Thomson strain gauge or something similar) and it measures several different parameters of your swing and makes recommendations. For example, my parameters were:

Tempo: 4
headspeed: 88
Toe Down: 3
Kick Angle: 5
Release Factor: 5

Tempo and headspeed were then graphed and I landed between a s and xs as far as stiffness goes. Shaft recommendations were DG S300, PX 5.5, and KBS stiff. Went with the 5.5s as I had intended because my previous irons had 6.0s in them and they were a tad too stiff for me.

If you have a shop local that has the Mizuno fitting cart, give it a try!

Bill