Lost distance with new irons

[davedawg20]

Just trying to get some feedback here. I just bought some AP1's with stiff shafts. I was hitting some Nike irons with Uniflex shafts in them. I have lost 15-30 yards per iron with the AP1's. Is this because of the shaft? Should I switch to a softer shaft or a regular flex shaft? Thanks for any input.

[Pblock45]

I really like to comment on this question alot because this happend to me  so ill tell you my situation and we can go from ther. I went from more of a game improver to a set of cg16 tour irons. from regular flex to stiff i saw the same resaults you did. I went back to my fitter and took a lesson. The way i got those yards back while still useing new clubs was by getting my hips and legs into my swing more, they are easy power when you find yourself loosing it. ultimitly i got really sick of haveing to put so much "ass" Into a shot. I found my self at the end of the round just hacking it because i was wipped. OH lets step back a second the reason i switch to a stiff flex was because i have a fast tempo and a swing speed right between a regular and a stiff so we went with the stiff. OK so ultimitly if you see my signiture i went with a fatter mizuno iron and a softer lower kick shaft.MY shaft is still a stiff flex but its a higher launching softer tip shaft that helps get the ball in the air with less effort.NOw i havent played a round yet with them i really like what i have sofar and i cant wait until the weather breaks here in south dakota.oh just to add a little with the old irons i had problems with i really had to focus on impact alot. really had to make sure i was takeing a nice divot after the ball which has really helped. Let me know what you think

[jonmc]

I went to Mizuno MP53s (what I'd consider a better players club) from game improvement irons. I lost 10-15 yards but my local pro pointed out that the comparison was slightly flawed as the game improvement irons had stronger lofts which was part of the problem. It seems game improvement clubs use that trick a lot.

[Pblock45]

This is something that happens alot also some game improver clubs have stronger lofts i know cleveland did that with there regular cg16 line . Its such a trick

[davedawg20]

I see what you are saying. Is there a shaft I can change do though that is softer and not as stiff? Or do I need to change my entire swing for these irons?

[Pblock45]

I dont really agree with people when they say change your swing for your equipment i am a very stron beliver in your equipment fitting your swing. I like the true temper gs95 shaft in s300(stiff) its a softer steel shaft they claim its the feeling of graphite with the consistancy of steel.

check this out

http://www.shaftfit.com/front/

[meenman]

Compare the lengths and lofts of your new clubs with your old - you may not be losing distance.

I play AP1s and have a friend that is always horassing me because he is hitting a 7 iron where I hit a 6 - his 7 iron has a longer shaft than my 6 without me even comparing the lofts on the 2 clubs

[grubby98]

First, I would check the lofts of your old clubs and then compare them to your new ones.  My newse is about a club difference from my old set.  My old set was bought back in 2000 so things have changes since this last year.  I used to play titleist dci 981 and now play taylormade r11s.  If that does seem to make the yardage look right,then yes I would look at the shafts.

[WUTiger]

Did you get fitted for the AP1 set, or did you find a good price and just buy them online? And, what kind of stiff shaft do you have? If you got the heavy S300 shaft, you also get a low ball launch. Too low a launch angle can cost you distance. This is what Pblock45 was talking about.

I would suggest this sequence:

1. Take a lesson, see if the pro can help you get more out of the irons with set-up changes, better termpo, etc. Use launch monitor data as a guide.
2. If this doesn't take you all the way there, get the shafts softstepped. This will make the shaft about 1/3 flex softer than it is right now. A fitter can explain the softstepping process.

[Pblock45]

Soft stepping great call Wutiger that's a great way to save money and essentially get the same effect as switching to say a shaft that's softer. I can't believe I didn't mention that what a rookie . First step though take a lesson the man above knows his golf