Help with Shaft decision?

[Hacker-G]

Hi guys, I'm a newcomer to golf and originally purchased the Callaway Diablo Edge iron set used through Callaway PreOwned. Took them to the range a couple of times and hit the ball pretty well, but just couldn't get over the ridiculously fat shovel-like soles and the fat topline, which put me off since I felt like i was swinging a shovel. I sent them back to CPO and am looking to pick up another set.

After trying them out at the local store, I've set my mind on the X-20s, which are still game-improvement irons, but have thinner topline and slimmer sole. At CPO, they have the X-20s with 3 different shafts on special at the moment:

TT DG S300

Royal Precision Rifle 6.0

TT DG R300 SL

They all retail for roughly the same price at CPO (~$220), but not quite sure which shafts to get. I have not gotten fitted, since the local fitter said it would be a waste of my time and money trying to get fitted without having a consistent swing. SO I'm stuck guess based on my yardages.

With the Edge irons I was hitting:

150 yards: 8 iron

185 yards: 5 iron

220 yards: 3 hybrid (TM Superfast 2.0 Stiff)

Trajectory on all the irons was high, not sure if that was the club or my swing type. I could stand to lower it a little.

On most the websites, these numbers seem to put me at the border between regular and stiff flex, so I would be somewhere between the S300 and the R300 SL. I believe from my research that the Rifle 6.0 would be way too much.

What would folks recommend?

[Hacker-G]

Any comments/recommendations/suggestions?!! CPO is having a sale through tomorrow, so would like to decide today preferably.

[Hacker-G]

29 views and not a comment? Is this too basic a question to be asking, or is this forum just not beginner-friendly?

[LankyLefty]

It ever occur to you that no one knows? These are 3 lowish end stock steel shafts on a club that most people get with graphite shafts. Go do some research or swing them or something.

In general steel will play stiffer then graphite so Id go with regulars but again these are not the type of thing most people know gobs about because they are not the type of thing you go out and search for.. they are the type of thing that comes on a discount set of clubs and you replace if you don't like em.

Of more then 40 sets of Used X-20s on http://www.callawaygolfpreowned.com only 4 or 5 have any of these shafts. So obviously they are not super common. This is a rather obscure question you should not expect tons of answers.

[iacas]

  Hacker-G said:

Originally Posted by Hacker-G

29 views and not a comment? Is this too basic a question to be asking, or is this forum just not beginner-friendly?

I think the real answer is parts of two things:

1. Lots of people come on here and ask very similar questions. It gets old.
2. None of us are as qualified to fit you, "on the Internet," as a qualified fitter is in person.

I recommend searching this site to get help with #1, and finding a local qualified fitter to take care of the second.

[Hacker-G]

  LankyLefty said:

Originally Posted by LankyLefty

It ever occur to you that no one knows? These are 3 lowish end stock steel shafts on a club that most people get with graphite shafts. Go do some research or swing them or something.

3 lowish end stock steel shafts? Since when are TT Dynamic Golds and Rifles considered low end? And where in my message did I bring up any comparison to graphite shafts?

  iacas said:

Originally Posted by iacas

I think the real answer is parts of two things:

Lots of people come on here and ask very similar questions. It gets old.

None of us are as qualified to fit you, "on the Internet," as a qualified fitter is in person.

I recommend searching this site to get help with #1, and finding a local qualified fitter to take care of the second.

1. I tried a search for folks using X-20s with those 3 shafts with my distance numbers and surprisingly came up with nothing.... perhaps my question is personal and not old to me? Also, perhaps not everything can be found by search, which I have spent hours online doing and only yielded half-useful information.

2. I mentioned in my post that I did go to a local fitter and he said it would be impossible to fit me since I dont have a consistent swing yet. Hence my reason for asking experience peoples opinions, since I have no experience of my own to draw from. Isn't that the whole point of forums, to get peoples opinions?

[LankyLefty]

Ok ill give you my opinion... it doesn't really matter didly squat what shaft you get. Everything about your swing will change as you begin to play and improve. My advice would be to buy the cheapest set of decent clubs you can possibly find in regular flex and regular length regardless of what kind of shaft they have and then go get 2 Lessons. One on the full swing and one on the short game from a reputabe instructor.

As the fitter said you can not be fit, every swing you take is going to be different so at this point it matters little to none what exactly your swinging so long as it is a golf club.

[TourSpoon]

IMO, you are hitting a set of jacked up irons (ie strong lofts) decent distances, but your 8 is really a 7. My rule of thumb has been that a 40* club going 150 (in your case 36* club) puts you into the stiff range as far as a swing speed needed to hit it that far. Since you only hit the 36* club that far you are more in the regular range, but close. I would suggest the R300 for those numbers, but would consider the s300 if you want to get a shaft to grow into.  Since you have posted a higher handicap, it would come down to your goals. If you are trying to get to a mid teen cap versus just having some fun on the weekends.

[Hacker-G]

  TourSpoon said:

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

IMO, you are hitting a set of jacked up irons (ie strong lofts) decent distances, but your 8 is really a 7. My rule of thumb has been that a 40* club going 150 (in your case 36* club) puts you into the stiff range as far as a swing speed needed to hit it that far. Since you only hit the 36* club that far you are more in the regular range, but close. I would suggest the R300 for those numbers, but would consider the s300 if you want to get a shaft to grow into.  Since you have posted a higher handicap, it would come down to your goals. If you are trying to get to a mid teen cap versus just having some fun on the weekends.

Thanks TourSpoon, that is useful information! I understand what you are saying with the lofts, and occasionally I can get the 9 iron (40*) out to 150, but that would be only if I caught it very clean (say 1/3 of the time), so I suspect I can get there with practice and lessons and a more consistent swing.

The R300 sounds good to me, as in I dont have to play my socks off every single swing to hit the S300s, but I wonder what effect the R300 SL shafts will have on the trajectory. The clubs, as you pointed out, are quite strongly lofted and I tend to get a high trajectory. From my reading, the SL shafts are lighter in weight allowing faster swing speeds which could translate into higher ball flight (although the DG are supposed to be low ball flight).

My goal in golf is to get to single digit HC. I play many different ball-sports competitively and I don't see golf being any different.

[TourSpoon]

No problem...if you are thinking seriously about getting your game on down to single anytime soon, I would go s300.  It is a solid shaft and a Tour staple for @ 20 years.  But for now, you have more of an R300 swing.  Either way, with your cap I don't think it will be that big of a deal. Good luck.

[Hacker-G]

  TourSpoon said:

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

No problem...if you are thinking seriously about getting your game on down to single anytime soon, I would go s300.  It is a solid shaft and a Tour staple for @ 20 years.  But for now, you have more of an R300 swing.  Either way, with your cap I don't think it will be that big of a deal. Good luck.

Thanks again. If I do have more of a R300 swing, would playing with the S300s actually not hurt my progress? I understand that playing too stiff can lessen distance (I read this a lot, but never quite read about HOW MUCH distance is lost), but I dont care about losing a few yards if my shots are more accurate.

[jeffrey r]

Don't forget that there are Dynamic Gold S300 and R300 in the 130g range, and Dynamic Gold SL S300 and R300 in the 110g range.  Same trajectory and type of shaft, just the DG SL is a much lighter shaft, which would be preferable for a lot of people.  The Dynamic Golds are really designed to hit a lower ball, so if that is what you are looking for (and should be using), they would be a good fit.  So that set I see on callaway preowned with DG SL R300 shafts would be pretty appealing.  The Rifle 6.0 is apparently a very very stiff shaft that would likely not be a good fit for you.

And by the way, I have a set of the Diablo Edge irons as well, and they're very nice irons.  I can't tell you not to be bothered by the thicker SGI-type look of them, but I personally never quite understand why people get so hung up on thicker irons.  Some PGA pros are able to play the Ping G15 irons and it's ok with them.  But anyway, you should be just fine with the X20's.  They should be slightly less forgiving than the Diablo Edge irons, but probably nothing hugely noticeable.

[WUTiger]

To OP:

First of all, you don't say what type of shaft you had in the Edge irons. Stock shafts are Edge Graphite or True Temper M10 Flighted (M10 likely special made by TT for Callaway).

Second, I apologize for changing the subject, but have you had any lessons?

Since you are new to the game, you might find a golf shop that will let you try out different clubs.

If you go CPO route, probably the DG R300 SL might work. If you could find a DG S300 SL, that might work also. ( Jeffrey r is correct about the weight differences between DG and DG.SL shafts) Since you're new to the game, it might best if you would try out some in person clubs to see which ones work best.

Going through pre-owned would work best after you have played a year or two, and have a better idea of what you need.

[johnclayton1982]

I have the X-20s and play them 5-GW (3 and 4 are SQ hybrids).  I recently upgraded from some super-game improvement irons, as detailed in another of these threads.  I love the X-20s.  They are super workable, and still relatively easy to hit.  I also think they have a really nice look at address and in the bag.  A few thoughts:

1.  It doesn't matter what shaft you get at this point, except I would not get the Rifle shafts.  I tried these out before I bought the clubs.  They are the only shaft type where I could notice the difference, and they felt strange.  They felt extremely stiff and I felt like I had to swing really hard to get through the ball, which made me significantly pull them left.  I tried three other shafts, two of which were dynamic gold and one which was callaway, and noticed no difference at all between the three.  I got graphite, regular flex, regular length, and they work really well.  I can only afford lessons once every six weeks or so, but my instructor said after about 4 months I may want to have the clubs bent a bit to customize them, but not now.

2.  You are going to want to buy the GW and drop the 4 iron.  The PW is only 45*, which is kinda standard these days, but will probably carry you 110-120.  As a beginner, hitting a bladed wedge (they have alot less forgiveness) straight and with flight (i.e. not a line drive) 100 yards is not easy, and you need to be accurate w/n 100 yards to avoid 100+ scores.  You will probably, on alot of holes, hit a drive into the rough, then come back with a 5,6 or hybrid to near the green, but not on it.  After a few lessons / practice to make sure you get good contact, your skill 110 and in will decide if you are around 90-94 or 105-110.  The 4 iron is really hard to hit, and, I would be willing to be a significant amount of $$, as a beginner, you will actually hit the 5 iron farther than the 4 iron for a while (decreasing loft only allows beginners to hit it far until a point - then it starts to hurt distance as the ball doesn't get off the ground).

3.  The nike sq sumo hybrids are cheap used ($30-40 with shipping on ebay) and the lofts of the sq hybrids fit exactly with the lofts of the X-20s.  I am a big fan of my setup for a beginner: SQ hybrids (or any 20,24 and 21, 24 3, 4 hybrids), X-20s 5-GW, and a wedge you like 54 or 56 and 58 or 60.  Its a nice setup that will give you a chance on most holes.

4.  Don't get discouraged.  I needed about 2 weeks of range time with the X-20s before I could hit them as well as the SGI cobras I had (shovel-like).  They look better, go further, and give you more control, but they are harder to hit than the "shovel clubs".

-John