fitted for too stiff of shaft ! any advise

[Pblock45]

i recently got fitted for a new set of irons and when i was getting fitted the pro told me my speed is in a regular flex but wants me to have a stiff shaft because of my tempo i use to have regular shafts on my old irons but for some crazy reason i let him make the call my results with my new irons have been aweful i use to hit my 7 iron about 160 now i cant hit it more than 100 yards with a weird little slice i got no distance or am able to get the ball in the air does any one know if these are the simptoms of too stiff a shaft ?any ideas on shafts considering tempo and swing speed i think im swinging 90-95 with my irons not sure but when im on the course i think i play a little slower in order to slow it down and make better contact.

[Mr. Desmond]

If quick tempo is an issue, I would have suggested looking at regular flex hard stepped once as a starting point. The hard stepping stiffens the tip slightly.

What were you using?

What are you using now?

And what clubs?

[colin007]

if youre hitting it low and to the right it might be too stiff a shaft.

[Pblock45]

im pretty new to instruction side of anything is hard stepping just what is sounds stepping harder on your down swing with a regular shaft or is it a process to make the actual shaft stiffer at the tip with the regular shaft, i have cg 16 tours by cleveland which i found are more forgiving than there non tour model i was useing regular true temper shafts on a set of low end slazengers which i could crush the ball i wanted someting with more control but i didnt think by going to stiff it would kill all distance its amost like smacking a rock down the fairway no feel !

[Pblock45]

  Pblock45 said:

Originally Posted by Pblock45

im pretty new to instruction side of anything is hard stepping just what is sounds stepping harder on your down swing with a regular shaft or is it a process to make the actual shaft stiffer at the tip with the regular shaft, i have cg 16 tours by cleveland which i found are more forgiving than there non tour model i was useing regular true temper shafts on a set of low end slazengers which i could crush the ball i wanted someting with more control but i didnt think by going to stiff it would kill all distance its amost like smacking a rock down the fairway no feel !

oh and i gotta say switching clubs after getting these as a gift wouldnt be possible im looking for a option to take the heads i love and giving them more distance like my old ones

[Pblock45]

ok read up on hard stepping that is a really great idea it scares me a bit because i never tried it before

[Mr. Desmond]

  Pblock45 said:

Originally Posted by Pblock45

ok read up on hard stepping that is a really great idea it scares me a bit because i never tried it before

Do it on one club - take a regular flex 9i shaft and put it in the 8i.

See what happens.

I've read so many threads over 10 years on this -- the conclusion is it does not make the entire shaft stiffer - it makes the tip slightly stiffer to keep the ball down slightly. That's what your pro possibly intended.

[Pblock45]

that is a good idea so just to clarify say i wanna do my 7i will i put a 8i or a 6i shaft in it wouldnt i go with a smaller stiffer 8i shaft ?

[Pblock45]

i might have them backwards though

[Audaxi]

For a 7 iron, hard stepping it would mean taking an 8 iron staft and putting it into your 7 iron, as an example. Take the club you want to hardstep, add 1, then buy that numbered shaft for it to get the desired results.

[Pblock45]

mkay simple enough my fitter didnt seem very thrilled when i told him my new plan and how i was haveing trouble with my shafts as far as distance and lack of feel instead he thinks its me but ill entertain him hes giving me a free lesson to make sure but enough for the rant idk if the above comments are read should i hard step all my irons or is it smarter to do pw-6 4 and 4 etc

[LBlack14]

1st off, run, do not walk. Your "fitter" is an idiot. Hard stepping will stiffen the shaft approx 1/3 of a flex. It's a very common procedure. I just built a set for a friend, X-flex soft stepped twice. Hard stepping and soft stepping are very common.

[mlf16507]

Since they are too stiff for you have the pro put the 3 iron in the 5 iron , the 4 in the 6 and so on down the line and cut the butt to proper length.  If you are going to use the 3 and 4 instead of hybrids, get new shafts for them. Doing it this way to stiff shafts will make them play more like a regular.and you will only need 2 shafts instead of 8.

[Audaxi]

  mlf16507 said:

Originally Posted by mlf16507

Since they are too stiff for you have the pro put the 3 iron in the 5 iron , the 4 in the 6 and so on down the line and cut the butt to proper length.  If you are going to use the 3 and 4 instead of hybrids, get new shafts for them. Doing it this way to stiff shafts will make them play more like a regular.and you will only need 2 shafts instead of 8.

This is good advice. It's essentially double softstepping your clubs, which gives about the same result as hardstepping a softer flex. Just keep in mind that this may make your irons a tad bit long.

[Pblock45]

That is a great idea and nice on my wallet I just got angry when he blamed it on me I'm ok with the lesson but the feel has got to be there to get motivated To work on a swing is that a fair statement

[Lihu]

  Pblock45 said:

i recently got fitted for a new set of irons and when i was getting fitted the pro told me my speed is in a regular flex but wants me to have a stiff shaft because of my tempo i use to have regular shafts on my old irons but for some crazy reason i let him make the call my results with my new irons have been aweful i use to hit my 7 iron about 160 now i cant hit it more than 100 yards with a weird little slice i got no distance or am able to get the ball in the air does any one know if these are the simptoms of too stiff a shaft ?any ideas on shafts considering tempo and swing speed i think im swinging 90-95 with my irons not sure but when im on the course i think i play a little slower in order to slow it down and make better contact.

You have lots of really good and expert advice here, but I wanted to add something of a similar experience you are having. I started with a Zevo set, which is close to your old slazenger set. Then I went to the burner 1.0 with the uniflex stiff (regular/stiff). The Zevo set was actually stiffer, but the club head was 25% bigger in area. I was getting really good with these clubs and hit my 7 iron 160 yards as well. Now, here's the bad news. I hit the burners so terribly with a light fade or slice I could not control, and lost a lot of distance. When I went back to the old clubs, I hit them well. Tried everything to hit those burners. After 3 frustrating months, I finally went to my pro at the time, and he told me to improve my tempo. And work on half to 3/4 swings for a while. I finally was hitting my 7 iron 150 yards, should have seen my pro earlier to fix the problem right after I discovered it. What I found was that my swing was really rough, and the extra stiff shaft they put on the beginners clubs masked it. The longer distance on your old clubs is because the head size is probably bigger, and it acts like a bigger club. Don't feel discouraged by the loss of distance with the new 7 irons. You are using a high end club compared to my burners, so it might take some more time to get your ball striking more accurate with these new clubs. I would give yourself a few months to improve with them, before taking any action. It's like starting over, but worth it. Good luck with your ball striking.

[k-troop]

I tried to read your posts but I cant textspeak and no punctuation reads like babble I have no patience to figure out what youre trying to say You should take a few months off from golf and dedicate that time to taking a few courses in grammar and English composition

[TA845s]

Forget club and ball fitters. Lesson learned. Sell your stiff set. Get regulars, and don't doubt your common sense again.