Changes to Expect?

[ERLoft]

So, I posted up in the marketplace about my bag getting stolen.  I've already received notification from insurance about the settlement that's on the way, so I went out this past weekend and did a new club fitting (last fitting was probably 15 years ago).  I was wondering if I had gotten down to regular flex on my shafts, being nearly 50 now.  Kind of nice to be told, "Nope, you're still stiff!", lol.  Swing speed on my irons is still mid to upper 80's consistently.

In any case, I've been hovering between a 10 and 12 index for a couple of years now and decided to go with some more forgiving clubs to maybe help out.  I'm just wondering what my expectations should be all around and with club distances in particular.

My stolen set was TaylorMade Tour Preferred irons.  I had 3i-6i in the CB model, 7i in the MC model and 8i-PW in the MB model.  All with Project X 6.0 shafts.  Average distances were around 185 5i, 150-155 8i, 125 PW.  These were 1* upright and set at near traditional lofts - 47* PW, 39* 8i, 27* 5i.

New clubs are TaylorMade M1 irons.  KBS Tour 105 shafts in stiff.  2* upright per my fitting.  1* weak from their strong stock lofts.  I'm wondering if I should be expecting these to be 1/2 to 1 club longer than the Tour Preferred irons were?

Given that even with 1* weak from stock lofts my PW will be 46*, I decided to switch from a 52* Vokey gap wedge to a 50*.  I hit that 52* 100 yards pretty consistently.  I'm thinking that the 50* will be closer to 105-110 if that sounds right.  I also had the wedges fit separately and will be going from stock lie on my old wedges to 1* up.  Not sure if that's going to make a huge difference or not...

Once the clubs come in, I'm definitely headed to the range first thing, but any feedback on what I might expect would be appreciated.

[David in FL]

You're an experienced golfer who knows his game.  I wouldn't expect any extraordinary change one way or another, but whatever it is, you should have your new yardages pretty well dialed in by the time you hit the back nine on your first round with the new sticks.  

[RandallT]

Definitely let us know over time how it worked out, but I'm with David and wouldn't expect this to be a major change in scores. I'd be interested to hear how your adjustment period goes (my guess is just a couple rounds) and where you think your scores settled (my guess is within well your current margin of variance).

Good luck!

[ERLoft]

Thanks much - I was doing the fitting on a simulator and was thought it pretty crazy that I was getting 170-175 out of a 7i.  Likely the biggest change here is the shafts - going from a Project X 6.0 to the KBS 105 in stiff sounds like it's going from X to S.  Hoping that the irons make it in be early next week...

[WUTiger]

9 hours ago, ERLoft said:

My stolen set was TaylorMade Tour Preferred irons. ...   All with Project X 6.0 shafts. ... 

New clubs are TaylorMade M1 irons.  KBS Tour 105 shafts in stiff.  2* upright per my fitting.  1* weak from their strong stock lofts.  I'm wondering if I should be expecting these to be 1/2 to 1 club longer than the Tour Preferred irons were?

• PX 6.0 shafts weigh in at 120 grams, and have an FCM of 6.5 - one of the stiffest "stiff" ratings around.
• KBS Tour 105 shafts / Stiff / weigh 110 grams, and have an FCM of probably 6.0, pretty much average for stiff shafts. (6.0 = FCM for Stiff in original KBS Tour /120 grams.)

With less shaft weight and a less firm flex, the M1 irons should deliver greater clubhead speed, hence more yardage.Simulator fitting data (from post #4) also supports this.

(Useless trivia: a famous clubfitter - can't remember his name - suggests that male golfers should check at age 53 to see if Stiff shafts are still what they need.)

 

[boogielicious]

6 hours ago, WUTiger said:

• PX 6.0 shafts weigh in at 120 grams, and have an FCM of 6.5 - one of the stiffest "stiff" ratings around.
• KBS Tour 105 shafts / Stiff / weigh 110 grams, and have an FCM of probably 6.0, pretty much average for stiff shafts. (6.0 = FCM for Stiff in original KBS Tour /120 grams.)

With less shaft weight and a less firm flex, the M1 irons should deliver greater clubhead speed, hence more yardage.Simulator fitting data (from post #4) also supports this.

(Useless trivia: a famous clubfitter - can't remember his name - suggests that male golfers should check at age 53 to see if Stiff shafts are still what they need.)

 

Not so useless IMO. My driver swing speed has gone down from the 93-96 to the 89-92 in the last two years. I just was at a launch monitor yesterday and I was surprised. I'm a bit injured at the moment, but the swings felt good.

I've been trying out regular shafts lately with some success.