Project X 5.0 flighted shaft VS Nippon 1150 GH stiff

[woltaire]

I played lots of Golf last summer and switched my irons in spring 2013.

I played with Project X 6.0 irons with Callaway X Forged heads and now play Nippon 1150 GH regular shafts with Mizuno MP 52 heads.

Now I wanted to talk about a strange change in my misshits since I changed my irons and ask for advice.

I know: "It's not the arrow it's the indian."

But anyway I played that much this year that I really felt the difference between the two sets and the results:

My swingspeed is at 80mph with a 6 iron.

With my Project X 6.0 shafts I often hook the ball when I miss the shot.

With the regular nippon shafts and the slightly heavier club heads I very often get a push but absolutely never a hook.

My idea now is to get something inbetween.

Either the Project X 5.0 flighted shafts or the stiff version of the Nippon 1150 GH.

Both weights are almost the same with about 115 gramm.

On the driving Range I tried a 6 iron of a friend who plays Project X 5.0 and just hit slight draws.

On the flight scope I tried the stiff Nippon 1150 GH with very light Mizuno 825 Pro heads and doubled my spin rates and the fitters told me that this is great for me.

Now I am a bit unsure on which direction to take.

Is there any experience about this from your side?

[WUTiger]

Make sure you understand the different factors that go into finding the best shaft for you. Since you're worked with Mizuno, see what their Shaft Optimizer suggests. The ShaftO takes into account clubhead speed, shaft toe down and shaft kick angle, plus tempo ("how quickly you transition from backswing to downswing") and release factor ("h ow and when the club head and shaft are released during the downswing.")

The ShaftO then generates a short list of three shafts for you to try.

Also, let's compare 6i for the XForged and the JPX.825 Pro.

6 Irons	Loft	Shaft	Lie	Bounce	SWt
XForged	30*	37.5”	61.5*	6*	D2
825 Pro	29*	37.25”	61.0*	2*	?
Table assumes stock specs from each model.

The XForged is a 1/4" longer and has slightly flatter lie. This might contribute to slightly to the hooks for the X.Forged. But, it could be other factors too.

I have the PX 5.0 flighted in my X20 Tours. My 6i swingspeed is 74.1 mph. I'm lucky enough to have an X20T demo 6i which I reshafted with R300 SL; swingspeed with SL is 75.2 mph (10 gr. lighter and .7 a flex softer than 5.0).

The PX 5.0 shafts have an frequency coefficient matching (FCM) flex rating of 5.5, between regular and stiff. The NS 1150GH Stiff is in the softer side of shafts marked Stiff, so the two probably have similar characteristics. (Sorry, I can't find FCM for NS shafts).

NS 1150GH in stiff has mid-bendpoint, and medium-firm tip. PX 5.0 has a flighted bend point and a medium-firm tip. (Flighted: slightly more lift on long irons, less lift on short irons). I have hit some Stiff NS 1150GH in irons before, but never hit the same model iron in 5.0 and 1150. A friend let me hit his softstepped Stiff 1150GH irons last summer, and I seemed to get through them OK.

My suggestion would be find a golf shop, or a demo day, at which you could make a 2 x 2 comparison. You could hit Iron A and Iron B in both 5.0 and 1150GH shafts, compare the test data, and then make your final decision.

-----------------------------

Note: You're a much better golfer than I am, so I would say make sure you explore the new data points - tempo and release factor - in making your choice. If the two shafts end up on your Flight scope or ShaftO short list, go with whichever one feels best.