Soft-Stepping Project X 6.0 Shafts in My Irons

[Foot-Wedge]

• I've been gaming TEE XCG3s w/ ProjectX 6.0 (stiff+) for about 6 months with the thought that these shafts are too stiff for my swing.  the P6 have the following flexes; 5.0-Regular, 5.5-Stiff, 6.0-Stiff+, 6.5-XStiff and 7.0-Tour XStiff.
• My swing speed is about 106mph (play Stiff in Driver, 3 wood and 4 rescue) but isn't up to speed for these Stiff+ shafts IMO.  My dispersion is pushed right, straight, and pulled left....with a push right being the dominate approach shot.
• I had a friend explain soft-stepping iron shafts to me (putting 3iron shaft in 4iron, 4iron in 5iron and so on) which softens the flex to what we guessed would be about a 5.6-5.7 flex in Project X shafts.  Of course I would need to get a shaft for my 3 iron and have read that this will help (on the true temper youtube channel) and can only do this process 2x.

Any thoughts or recommendations on this process!?  Being the irons are 5-6 yo, I don't want to put a lot of $$$ into all new shafts.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! 

[Foot-Wedge]

10 minutes ago, Foot-Wedge said:

• I've been gaming TEE XCG3s w/ ProjectX 6.0 (stiff+) for about 6 months with the thought that these shafts are too stiff for my swing.  the P6 have the following flexes; 5.0-Regular, 5.5-Stiff, 6.0-Stiff+, 6.5-XStiff and 7.0-Tour XStiff.
• My swing speed is about 106mph (play Stiff in Driver, 3 wood and 4 rescue) but isn't up to speed for these Stiff+ shafts IMO.  My dispersion is pushed right, straight, and pulled left....with a push right being the dominate approach shot.
• I had a friend explain soft-stepping iron shafts to me (putting 3iron shaft in 4iron, 4iron in 5iron and so on) which softens the flex to what we guessed would be about a 5.6-5.7 flex in Project X shafts.  Of course I would need to get a shaft for my 3 iron and have read that this will help (on the true temper youtube channel) and can only do this process 2x.

Any thoughts or recommendations on this process!?  Being the irons are 5-6 yo, I don't want to put a lot of $$$ into all new shafts.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! 

Correction:  From TrueTemper's Catalog, here are the shaft options for ProjectX;

• X+ (7.0)
• X (6.5)
• S+ (6.0)
• S (5.5)
• R+ (5.0)

[Club Rat]

6 minutes ago, Foot-Wedge said:

soft-stepping iron shafts to me (putting 3iron shaft in 4iron, 4iron in 5iron and so on)

Working on irons is easy an inexpensive DIY manner. Experimenting in "stepping shafts" can be rewarding.

I suggest to choose on club, you pick it, 7-5 for starters. buy a few used/pulled ProjectX 6.0 shafts (Ebay is a good source)

Uncut would be best. Also, if available a few club heads (TEE XCG3s) club that you choose.

Now you have the potential to build 3 or 4 combinations to compare.

Build suggestions: step each club in 1/4" increments, or max 3/8"

Best to lay all four shafts on a bench and mark the cut placement of tip and butt. Number each shaft for reference.

Take notes of your work. Once you determine the best suited, then apply to a full set.

Have fun with your experiment.

[Foot-Wedge]

9 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

Working on irons is easy an inexpensive DIY manner. Experimenting in "stepping shafts" can be rewarding.

I suggest to choose on club, you pick it, 7-5 for starters. buy a few used/pulled ProjectX 6.0 shafts (Ebay is a good source)

Uncut would be best. Also, if available a few club heads (TEE XCG3s) club that you choose.

Now you have the potential to build 3 or 4 combinations to compare.

Build suggestions: step each club in 1/4" increments, or max 3/8"

Best to lay all four shafts on a bench and mark the cut placement of tip and butt. Number each shaft for reference.

Take notes of your work. Once you determine the best suited, then apply to a full set.

Have fun with your experiment.

Good info!  Thanks for the tips!!!

[vangator]

I just went through this process with some FST 115 stiff/xstiff shafts.  I did 1/2 soft step increment from 0 to 2 inches from stiff.  I finally decided the 0 soft step was best.  All the others had a bias for going right on my normal swing.  I hit a lot of ball to determine this.  Also hit them on the course as well.  It helped me for wondering "what if".

[SavvySwede]

With 106mph driver SS the 6.0's should be fine. Not why you'd think otherwise.

1 hour ago, Foot-Wedge said:

• I've been gaming TEE XCG3s w/ ProjectX 6.0 (stiff+) for about 6 months with the thought that these shafts are too stiff for my swing.  the P6 have the following flexes; 5.0-Regular, 5.5-Stiff, 6.0-Stiff+, 6.5-XStiff and 7.0-Tour XStiff.
• My swing speed is about 106mph (play Stiff in Driver, 3 wood and 4 rescue) but isn't up to speed for these Stiff+ shafts IMO.  My dispersion is pushed right, straight, and pulled left....with a push right being the dominate approach shot.

 

[Foot-Wedge]

43 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

With 106mph driver SS the 6.0's should be fine. Not why you'd think otherwise.

 

In all honesty, a little softer shaft IMO would help tighten my dispersion pattern and build my confidence, which is huge for me!  I've had a number of good players, that I trust, look at some numbers and swing and have received the same reaction, "It's going to help more than hurt your consistency and confidence."

[SavvySwede]

24 minutes ago, Foot-Wedge said:

In all honesty, a little softer shaft IMO would help tighten my dispersion pattern and build my confidence, which is huge for me!  I've had a number of good players, that I trust, look at some numbers and swing and have received the same reaction, "It's going to help more than hurt your consistency and confidence."

A stronger shaft is recommended for tighter dispersion. Weaker shaft for a bit more kick and distance. What reasoning would contradict this general practice being applied to your case?

[Foot-Wedge]

Not to be rude but I started this thread to get info on soft-stepping...I know what I want to do just seeking info on how-to's and experiences with soft-stepping.

[SavvySwede]

13 minutes ago, Foot-Wedge said:

Not to be rude but I started this thread to get info on soft-stepping...I know what I want to do just seeking info on how-to's and experiences with soft-stepping.

Sure, but explaining your reasoning for needing/wanting to soft-soft could help others who might want to do the same.

[vangator]

6 hours ago, SavvySwede said:

A stronger shaft is recommended for tighter dispersion. Weaker shaft for a bit more kick and distance. What reasoning would contradict this general practice being applied to your case?

I agree with this.  I tried soft stepping for the above reasons and to get a little more height.  I realized I might be sacrificing accuracy.  that is why I tried different stepping and eventually settled on no soft stepping the original shaft. 

I have TT DG S300s in all my irons.  I tried the FST 115 to see if it was a softer shaft.  My test case was a couple of 4 irons and the FST 115 shaft feels much better then the DG S300 so far.  I won't know for the entire set until I put them in play this weekend (unless it's raining as forecast). 

Edited January 7, 2016 by vangator

[WUTiger]

Foot-Wedge,

One's best shaft flex is not influenced just by clubhead speed. Another recent factor is your swing tempo. At the top, do you have a quick or a smooth transition? All things equal, a golfer with a quick transition may need a stiffer flex than someone with a smooth transition.

(You can measure this with the Mizuno shaft optimizer.) 

[Dave2512]

Cheap enough to try. Buy a $20 heat gun, ferrules and epoxy. Takes a couple hours at most. As for trying to get in between flexes (soft/hard) I've messed with it not looking for answers but because I often buy pulls and I am too cheap to match up exactly, if I get a 5-PW set of pulls I will make it work in my 4-9 or whatever. I've gone both ways and couldn't feel a difference.

I notice more in different types of shafts from different manufactures. I have similar SS and my swing isn't what I consider smooth, quick and aggressive and the 6.0's feel rigid to me. Anything but real good contact is met with harsh feedback and I often can't feel the shaft load and the head kind of hangs out there. Not sure there is much to gain soft stepping those. I use the KBS Tour stiff with similar fcm and it feels a lot softer/smoother.