Putting a .355 taper iron shaft in a .350 driver

[Steelisforreal]

Hi all I'm new to this forum and this is my first post.  I know it's not recommended to sand down a shaft to put it in a smaller hosel but my perfect shaft is the DG X100 .355 taper that I have in my irons.  I carry my 2 iron 240 and it's on the perfect trajectory off the tee.  I'm looking to recreate this trajectory with my driver.  Would it be better to sand down a .355 taper iron shaft to fit in the .350 hosel or would it be better to sand down the .370 parallel shaft.  I know DG makes steel wood shafts but they play absolutely nothing like the iron shafts.  I've installed one and tipped it 2 inches and the flight is awful.  I've also looked on the hireko index and it suggests the shafts play entirely different.  I also like to play my driver at 44in finished, I know the iron shafts come in max of 41in. but i'm okay with playing the driver a bit shorter.  Would adding a plug to the butt end of the shaft affect performance?  I know a lot is going on in this post and I appreciate any input.

[tristanhilton85]

I'm no expert when it comes to club building or anything like that, but it just doesn't sound like a good idea. I'm not even sure you'd get the same type of performance out of that shaft if it is installed in a wood. Also, I would think that having a driver that is 3 inches shorter (41 compared to 44) would effect the distance quite a bit and is more than just a "bit shorter" as you said. I could be wrong though and maybe it would play just fine.

However, I'd think given all the options and technology found in modern day graphite shafts, that you'd be able to find one that has the weight and flight characteristics that you are looking for.

If there is one person on this forum that would have a good idea about all of this, it'd be @WUTiger .

[flopster]

Unless the hosel on the driver is a taper I think you would be better off sanding .020 - .025 off the parallel shaft, that's a fair amount of material to remove though, I don't work on golf clubs if it's not already obvious though I wouldn't mind tinkering some in the future.

[Lihu]

Hi all I'm new to this forum and this is my first post.  I know it's not recommended to sand down a shaft to put it in a smaller hosel but my perfect shaft is the DG X100 .355 taper that I have in my irons.  I carry my 2 iron 240 and it's on the perfect trajectory off the tee.  I'm looking to recreate this trajectory with my driver.  Would it be better to sand down a .355 taper iron shaft to fit in the .350 hosel or would it be better to sand down the .370 parallel shaft.  I know DG makes steel wood shafts but they play absolutely nothing like the iron shafts.  I've installed one and tipped it 2 inches and the flight is awful.  I've also looked on the hireko index and it suggests the shafts play entirely different.  I also like to play my driver at 44in finished, I know the iron shafts come in max of 41in. but i'm okay with playing the driver a bit shorter.  Would adding a plug to the butt end of the shaft affect performance?  I know a lot is going on in this post and I appreciate any input.

Cool. I bought a DG X100 (Steel Wood Shaft), but it is a 0.335. I brought them to Dick's and Golfsmith to install them onto my woods. They some 46", and I guess you could cut them down to 44" from the butt.

http://www.golfsmith.com/product/30025160/true-temper-dynamic-gold-.335-steel-wood-shaft

My flight is nice and straight, where with the graphite shafts would be really off line. It is a really heavy club with an E1 swing weight, but I just don't swing that fast from the top. My maximum speed is just about at impact, still working on the whipping action.

The X300 is really stiff, and might be more to your liking. I tried the X200, but found it to be too stiff.

[LuciusWooding]

Iron shafts are meant to have a length and head weight appropriate to an iron. If you took any shaft that played nicely with a certain head and removed 30g from the head it was installed in, it would become unbelievably stiff. If you took the same good setup and lengthened it 5 inches, it would become whippy garbage that feels unbelievably heavy. I would suggest you don't play steel in your woods at all, but if you must then play a dedicated wood shaft. I'd also suggest you avoid modern heads and playing lengths unless you compensate for the weight issue. Finally, .350" heads and shafts are both the devil's work. They are not used by any major club manufacturers and their existence ruins the standard .335" diameter. If I were you I'd rather get a shim and a 335 shaft, at least then you could possibly use it on something else.

Tipping any wood shaft 2 inches is a bad idea in general unless it's for a 18 degree loft or something. Your iron shafts that you hit so well are not tipped at all, being tapers and all. Why would you choose to play X in the irons and approximately XXX stiff 130g in the woods?

Seriously though, graphite is better. Maybe not in irons, but in a driver it performs better. Of all the professionals out there who carry their 2 irons just as far or farther than you and play the exact same iron shaft, none of them play steel in their driver. Very few even play it in hybrids or fairways either. Plus, drivers aren't for everybody. Many people think if they could just find a setup that's like their irons they could hit it 300 yards, inevitably they just suck with a driver. Hitting an iron off a tee is the easiest shot there is, it hides any number of swing faults where a driver with 8 or 10 degrees of loft and 45 inches of length will put the ball in the woods. Until I learned the proper impact alignments with the driver, I really struggled with it even though I could hit my irons passably well. On days where my swing is off, I still hit my 17 degree hybrid well, since it's shorter and has a lot more loft; it will still generally make about the same distance no matter how funky my swing is that day. That could be a better club to aim for, since woods and hybrids are longer than irons but not nearly as troublesome with a driver.

As for sanding shafts down, don't be doing that. It's a matter of 15 dollars to buy a new shaft, it's not worth it. Plus if you sold it to me sanded down like that (IE ruined) without telling me I'd probably seek revenge.

[Club Rat]

@LuciusWooding has hit the nail on the head with his post, irons versus drivers with the variables in swing weight characteristics.

I liked steel shafts and played them for years in my woods and drivers.

They have a great feel and were easier to work the ball flight.

Older equipment, 1-1/2 woods, 2 woods, or the strong 3 woods, could be a choice to achieve a similar flight which you are seeking to find.

Going back to when the "very old" metal drivers were built, Taylor Made, Mizuno,

or the Callaway 2 wood, these would give you a low trajectory flight and you could play them with a steel shaft.

Another thought, maybe try a 6 degree driver with a 2XX stiff shaft.

Tee it high and swing hard, it will come off the club like it was shot out a cannon.

Club Rat

[Steelisforreal]

Ok, thank you guys for the input I see that putting a steel shaft in my driver is a bad idea.  Does anyone have suggestions on a shaft that is at least 95g and produces a penetrating flight?  I know the old UST V2 fits the bill but I really don't like that bumble bee shaft haha.

[Lihu]

Ok, thank you guys for the input I see that putting a steel shaft in my driver is a bad idea.  Does anyone have suggestions on a shaft that is at least 95g and produces a penetrating flight?  I know the old UST V2 fits the bill but I really don't like that bumble bee shaft haha.

A 135gm DG X200 is very penetrating. Shorter by 20 yards for me, but tons of roll on a flat hard fairway.

None of the UST give me a nice flight.

I have not tried Grafalloy, yet.

[LuciusWooding]

One of the cheapest suggestions would be an Aldila NV or the Rip alpha, you can get them in 85 and 95 grams for under 50$ on Ebay. Either the Diamana blueboard or whiteboard are available in higher weights, but at a higher price. Personally I use and love the Miyazaki kusala black which is available up to 83g, but I got it for a lot less than the 250$ retail mark. It feels great and launches better than anything I've used, but it's fairly high end. Project X make some sort of heavy wood shaft in their tour offerings, and there's a shaft out there called the nunchuk that's around 100 grams that's supposed to be really straight, but it's also quite expensive. There are a lot more good options but not too many that get offered above 80g, even for fairway woods.