shaft flex question

[steady on]

Hi,

I've been thinking of new irons.

Having tried several the ones that feel best are Titleist AP2.

I'm playing off 14, struggling at the moment though, don't you just hate it when your swing goes.

I had a test the other day at American Golf and I need standard loft and lie, as I expected 5 ft 8 inch average kind of build I suppose.

I swung the six iron at an average of 77mph over 4 swings, the pro said this was on the borderline between regular and stiff. I got the same swing speed with both but the stiff felt better and was more consistent flight (at least according to the launch monitor). 157 yard carry didn't change much either.

I'm hoping my swing will get better, going to have a course of lessons through the summer.

I'm thinking I should go stiff but don't want to make an expensive mistake.


Regards


Graham

[etlreams]

I am by no means an expert in this area....but I'll just tell you my experience.

I am about the same swing speed as you with irons. I played Titleist 962s for about 7 years. They had a Tri-Spec stiff flex shaft. Which...from what I was told...was probably too stiff for me. My ball flight always had a very slight fade to it and my distance seemed to be a little short.

Last summer I picked up the Titleist AP1s with regular flex DG HL shaft. I no longer have the slight fade and my distance did increase about 10 yards per club.

Now....the difference in yardage and flight may have been attributed to a different head, different shaft flex, or just a difference shaft type....so take it for what it's worth.

I've read that if you are between flex, go with Regular. But...in my experience the differences wasn't that big of deal.

[ET-Taylor]

Try both on a range or a course like buy two one reg and one stiff of ebay and try them on course

[WUTiger]

Along with shaft flex, consider what kickpoint/flexpoint you need. A shaft with a low kickpoint (KP) tends to produce a higher trajectory, while a shaft with a high KP tends to produce a lower trajectory.

Also, ProjectX has a 5.5 flex shaft between R and S flex, and a variety of shafts called "flighted." Flighted shafts give long irons a little extra lift, and keep short irons from ballooning.

Also, how old are you? If you are 20 and work out and get those golf lessons, Stiff could work fine. If you are 50, you may be at the point at which Stiffs could become increasingly difficult to bend.

I'm in my late 50s, and part of my recent club change was going from Stiff to Regular shafts. I picked up about 10 yds. distance per iron after the change to R.

[Bump-n-MI]

Last summer I picked up the Titleist AP1s with regular flex DG HL shaft. I no longer have the slight fade and my distance did increase about 10 yards per club.

Stronger lofts = greater distances:

962 lofts PW - 48* 8I - 40* 6I - 32* AP1 lofts PW - 45* 8I - 37* 6I - 29* However, I'm sure the properly fitted shaft helped your ball striking.

[Jay-Bird]

You're perfect for Project X 5.0.

fwiw:
Project X Shaft__________6 iron swing Speed____6 iron carry distance

PX 5.0 are Reg + _________ 75mph ___________ 160 yds
PX 5.5 are Stiff ___________80mph___________170 yds
PX 6.0 are Stiff + _________85mph____________180 yds
PX 6.5 are X _____________90-95mph_________190 yds
PX 7.0 are X+ ____________100+mph_________200+ yds

[Bart]

Although the facts aren't exactly the same, I think my experience with shaft selection might help you out.

I got fitted for irons about 6 months ago. My 6-iron swing speed was around 100, and my instructor/fitter recommended x-stiff shafts. For a number of reasons I still don't completely understand (apparently, x-stiff was not available with the TM Burners I purchased), I had the KBS shafts hard-stepped once to give the same feel as an x-stiff shaft.

Bottom line: When I'm warmed up and swinging the way I should, my irons feel great. Otherwise, or if I want to take a little off, swing easy, etc., I feel like I'm hitting with boards.

I don't know if this is right, but I feel like the consensus is that people tend to swing harder than normal during a fitting. So if you're on the border between two flexes, less stiff seems to be the best option. I'm still trying to figure out all sorts of stuff about my swing and my game, so my experience might not be typical--but that's my opinion for what it's worth.

[leezer99]

You could go with an R shaft and have them tip it to bring it up in stiffness closer to a standard S shaft.