New Irons, or Re Grip..?

[Hammer 4]

So, some of you may recall my thread about wanting to get new irons, the Ping I or G 25's.

Lately, I've been hitting my CB 695's fairly well, the problem is, with my sorta newish grip being way more in my fingers, my grips are to big..sigh. Now, my irons are in fair shape, and the shafts are TT S300's, which promotes a lower than I'd like ball flight, and I'm thinking I'd like a reg flex, instead of a stiff shaft.

Now for my question....I'd most likely need to get custom shafts in any brand of irons I select, which is more moola, which I don't have at the moment, so figure 700.00 for the irons, and I'm guessing at least 250.00 for the shafts, I can hold off on grips for a bit. So, over 1000.00 with Ca. sales tax. Or, should I get my current iron re shafted and gripped..?

I can better afford to re do my clubs quicker, than have to save up for new ones. What say ye.

[mvmac]

Do you have an air compressor? I would recommend getting PURE grips, then, if you decide to get new irons some time in the future, you can take them off your old irons and use the same grips for the new clubs.

Also, I think PING charges $8 more per club for KBS Tour shafts and Titleist charges $10. Not sure if you were thinking of KBS shafts but wanted to put it out there and let you know it might be less expensive than your think.

[Nemicu]

Check with most pro shops or Ebay - plenty of shaft pulls out there WITH grips attached, saving you money. Therefore a set of used pulls with grips will set you back $100 I guess for DG R300. Add on a bit of labor cost (if you're not doing the work yourself) and potentially you can have a set of irons with the shafts and grips you want for less than $200.

[boogielicious]

@Hammer 4

Have you ever been fitted for a shaft?  I was fitted for NS Pro 950 stiff shafts and the fitter just put them with my current iron heads, Mizuno MP-57.  It was cheaper than buying new irons.

[jmanbooyaa]

eBay could work for shaft pulls. I bought a set of TT XP 95 shafts in regular with shipping for less than $60. Those shafts go for $25 a pop so obviously well under market value. I had my 5-ow done and new grips at $4.45 a piece. Labor was free since I have the Pga Superstore member card they offer. For about $85 I was able to redo my irons with the flex I needed.

[PirateJim]

So, some of you may recall my thread about wanting to get new irons, the Ping I or G 25's.

Lately, I've been hitting my CB 695's fairly well, the problem is, with my sorta newish grip being way more in my fingers, my grips are to big..sigh. Now, my irons are in fair shape, and the shafts are TT S300's, which promotes a lower than I'd like ball flight, and I'm thinking I'd like a reg flex, instead of a stiff shaft.

Now for my question....I'd most likely need to get custom shafts in any brand of irons I select, which is more moola, which I don't have at the moment, so figure 700.00 for the irons, and I'm guessing at least 250.00 for the shafts, I can hold off on grips for a bit. So, over 1000.00 with Ca. sales tax. Or, should I get my current iron re shafted and gripped..?

I can better afford to re do my clubs quicker, than have to save up for new ones. What say ye.

A quick peek at Amazon assures me that an assortment of name brand grips are available in the ~$5.00 ea. range.  Once you have the technique down, grips are stupidly easy to change yourself, so the grips and supplies to install new ones should be easily under $100.

Changing out your shafts is another issue...  Most important, in my opinion, is the fact that all shafts are not created equal.  Some are specifically designed to give higher or lower flights to serve players with specific swing characteristics.  Now, the low flight you are complaining about could be from having a stiff shaft when you really need R flex.  But if you were to pick up the XP95 shafts mentioned above (designed to launch high) you might find that they balloon because you really needed a stiff shaft after all, but a shaft that tended to higher launch.

Rather than getting involved in a shaft change, why not go ahead and put some new grips on what you've got and put some of the money you'd spend on shafts into a big-box store fitting for some G25s.  Try the various shaft options and settle on what you want, write down the specs, then tell 'em you'll have to think about it and start watching for some to turn up on Ebay?  (At a 17 handicap, I'm thinking you would be much better served by G25s than the I25s since you don't have money to burn.)

[Hammer 4]

Do you have an air compressor? I would recommend getting PURE grips, then, if you decide to get new irons some time in the future, you can take them off your old irons and use the same grips for the new clubs.

Also, I think PING charges $8 more per club for KBS Tour shafts and Titleist charges $10. Not sure if you were thinking of KBS shafts but wanted to put it out there and let you know it might be less expensive than your think.

Nope, sold it 2 yrs ago, when I stopped working...argh.  I could have sworn that on the Ping site, it was 250.00 more for custom shafts, I'll look again. Thanks

Do you have an air compressor? I would recommend getting PURE grips, then, if you decide to get new irons some time in the future, you can take them off your old irons and use the same grips for the new clubs.

Also, I think PING charges $8 more per club for KBS Tour shafts and Titleist charges $10. Not sure if you were thinking of KBS shafts but wanted to put it out there and let you know it might be less expensive than your think.

@Hammer 4

Have you ever been fitted for a shaft?  I was fitted for NS Pro 950 stiff shafts and the fitter just put them with my current iron heads, Mizuno MP-57.  It was cheaper than buying new irons.

Nope. The pro shop near me charges $85.00 USD for a fitting w/o a purchase, free with a purchase of any club. Maybe worth the $85.00 to see what works best for me..?

Do you have an air compressor? I would recommend getting PURE grips, then, if you decide to get new irons some time in the future, you can take them off your old irons and use the same grips for the new clubs.

Also, I think PING charges $8 more per club for KBS Tour shafts and Titleist charges $10. Not sure if you were thinking of KBS shafts but wanted to put it out there and let you know it might be less expensive than your think.

Check with most pro shops or Ebay - plenty of shaft pulls out there WITH grips attached, saving you money. Therefore a set of used pulls with grips will set you back $100 I guess for DG R300. Add on a bit of labor cost (if you're not doing the work yourself) and potentially you can have a set of irons with the shafts and grips you want for less than $200.

Thanks, I'll look into that.

Do you have an air compressor? I would recommend getting PURE grips, then, if you decide to get new irons some time in the future, you can take them off your old irons and use the same grips for the new clubs.

Also, I think PING charges $8 more per club for KBS Tour shafts and Titleist charges $10. Not sure if you were thinking of KBS shafts but wanted to put it out there and let you know it might be less expensive than your think.

A quick peek at Amazon assures me that an assortment of name brand grips are available in the ~$5.00 ea. range.  Once you have the technique down, grips are stupidly easy to change yourself, so the grips and supplies to install new ones should be easily under $100.

Changing out your shafts is another issue...  Most important, in my opinion, is the fact that all shafts are not created equal.  Some are specifically designed to give higher or lower flights to serve players with specific swing characteristics.  Now, the low flight you are complaining about could be from having a stiff shaft when you really need R flex.  But if you were to pick up the XP95 shafts mentioned above (designed to launch high) you might find that they balloon because you really needed a stiff shaft after all, but a shaft that tended to higher launch.

Rather than getting involved in a shaft change, why not go ahead and put some new grips on what you've got and put some of the money you'd spend on shafts into a big-box store fitting for some G25s.  Try the various shaft options and settle on what you want, write down the specs, then tell 'em you'll have to think about it and start watching for some to turn up on Ebay?  (At a 17 handicap, I'm thinking you would be much better served by G25s than the I25s since you don't have money to burn.)

Good point re: specific shafts, I hadn't thought of that. That's why I love this place..thanks  Regarding my HC, it's just a guess, never had an Ofishal HC. In the 90's and early 2000's I would have put my HC at 10 to 13 at most. Now, I'm inconsistent with my longer irons and woods..sigh. Again, I have to weight the benefits of saving up for new irons vs keeping mine and getting new shafts, or...? Thanks, now I have a few more things to consider, thanks to you guys...

[WillyE]

I ended up testing the PING i-20 irons with KBS shafts and the stock CFS. I actually landed on the CFS. Didn't cost me any more moola. And it's a really good shaft.

[mvmac]

I ended up testing the PING i-20 irons with KBS shafts and the stock CFS. I actually landed on the CFS. Didn't cost me any more moola. And it's a really good shaft.

Agree, it's what I've been using the last couple years.

[Hammer 4]

Agree, it's what I've been using the last couple years.

Well, I'm going to the local pro shop on  Wed. I'm going to inquire about new irons, and shafts. I know a complete fitting is free with a purchase, but I might pay for a fitting just to see what I need, then pick up new irons down the road. If my stoopid truck hadn't broken..I'd already have new clubs....

[PirateJim]

Well, I'm going to the local pro shop on  Wed. I'm going to inquire about new irons, and shafts. I know a complete fitting is free with a purchase, but I might pay for a fitting just to see what I need, then pick up new irons down the road. If my stoopid truck hadn't broken..I'd already have new clubs....

Just a quick thought.  If you are planning, or seriously considering, buying some new clubs, why not explain that you're getting the fitting to help in evaluating whether you should buy new clubs or not and whether new clubs would make much difference for you.  (Which is true, so nothing deceitful going on.)  And explain that you'll need to save up a bit, but want to know exactly how much you'll need (also true.)  The pro's a working person too, so should understand.  Then see if the fitting cost can be applied toward new clubs purchased a bit later and how long the offer is good for.  I would think a local pro shop would give you a few weeks anyway, though I wouldn't count on it from one of the big retail store chains where keeping track of such things might be too much a burden.

[Hammer 4]

Just a quick thought.  If you are planning, or seriously considering, buying some new clubs, why not explain that you're getting the fitting to help in evaluating whether you should buy new clubs or not and whether new clubs would make much difference for you.  (Which is true, so nothing deceitful going on.)  And explain that you'll need to save up a bit, but want to know exactly how much you'll need (also true.)  The pro's a working person too, so should understand.  Then see if the fitting cost can be applied toward new clubs purchased a bit later and how long the offer is good for.  I would think a local pro shop would give you a few weeks anyway, though I wouldn't count on it from one of the big retail store chains where keeping track of such things might be too much a burden.

That's exactly what I intend to do. The pro shop I go to is a well known, long established shop with good people working there. The fitter is a very respected guy, so I shouldn't have any problems doing what you suggested. Thanks again..