Iron shaft weight and controlling tempo

Hoss7504 · 2016-10-11T14:00:58+00:00

I know the correct answer to this is "go get fit", but where's the fun in that? I currently use 100g steel shafts in my irons, while at the same time have 13...

Hoss7504

Thanks guys! This is very cool stuff.

kelco9

There doesn't seem to be any suggestion from anyone that my original method won't work, so this message makes the assumption that it will work.

While Release's suggestion for "monkeying around" is valid, I think that this is a method of fine tuning your tempo/release after you have established and solved your total weight needs. Hoss's original message suggests that he is considering a significant change in weight (100 to 130 g). If this change is, in fact, needed to solve tempo/path issues, you're obviously never going to solve that by simply adding weight to the head.

So, I would suggest getting the shaft weight up to where you feel that you are swinging the club with better path/tempo, and then use Release's method of fine-tuning the balance/SW of the club so that you are hitting the centre of the face as consistently as your swing/skill level will allow.

Just my thinking. Again, someone more experienced may step in and debunk my whole methodology. In that case, you will be back to trying to find a heavier shaft and installing it (a much more time-consuming and expensive method).

Release

kelco9

Of course your method of adding weight directly to the shaft is valid. trial and error is the primitive way of finding the better fit; not scientific and often waste of time and resources but it's will be fun and not a big investment like jump right in to get new shafts based on believe alone.
If hose had been hitting the wedge well with good control on direction and distance then, he needs to find out if the wedge is a different flex besides being shorter in length.
The correct way to do it in as few trial as possible is to see a good fitter and or a swing coach.

ode

Anything below 120g raw at 41" is asking for trouble for me....tried to love the fst 115 pro and non pro and they were just too light.....the gold standard for me is the Apollo standard stepless.....they just work and for the most part I know what I'm getting. I wish there were more constant weight and dedicated length, parallel options....as it makes it a bit easier to moi match....I'd like to try ascending weight shafts at some point too.

IMO not worth it to chase distance with ill fit shafts.

DC300

kelco9

In theory this can work, but there are a few things to consider here and a couple of points to be made. 1 if you do this do NOT wrap the tape, go in strips paralleling the shaft. You wrap, you cause more stress (graphite related here) you can break the shaft a lot easier, also this will allow the tape to flex with the shaft more naturally. 2, the shafts will feel "dead" which may encourage more crazy swings to try to "feel" them flex. 3, you are damn near destined to screw up the balance point of the club, so keep that in mind ehen it doesn't feel just right.

Now to the OP, I like heavier shafts foe for a bit of help with tempo, but you may actually find the lighter shaft us fine if you go to a heavier head. Tempo for most guys is more about feeling where the club head is, not really dealing with the overall weight. I would play with lead tape on the head first, then tinker with the shaft. That's not to say you eont want a heavier shaft too, but the best starting point is the right feel in head weight.

If you decide to go with the heavier shaft, go demo some clubs with the shafts you want to try. With all the fitting carts around these days, it's senseless to build 10 clubs to find one, let the adapters do the work. I have been playing 125g shafts a long time, I went to demo days and a rep to build me a few demo clubs without telling me what shaft was in each so I wasnt biased, I liked the feel of the 115 g shaft the best, so next set will be getting lighter shafts.

Hoss7504

DC300

I actually have noticed that the 300g+ wedge head is more what I feel rather than the weight of the shaft. Thanks for all the tips and help. It's gonna be an interesting winter!

kelco9

DC300
Thanks for the response.

To be clear, I am only suggesting this as a test to see what the effect would be of changing the weight of the shaft. I'm not suggesting actually leaving the tape on and playing with it. I was thinking that similar to the process of adding small lengths of lead tape to a head to find the head weight that creates better centre strikes, you would add weight slowly to the balance point of the shaft until you hit a weight that seemed to foster better tempo and swing path. You would then buy and install the appropriately weighted shafts based on that test.

Par4QC

Hoss7504

If you'd like to feel the head weight more, like in the wedges, do a dirt cheap experiment and get a couple grips that are 5+ gr. lighter than what you now have. Put them on a couple of the long irons and give them a try. Screw the swingweights, you are looking for 'feel', like your wedges, if I'm reading correctly.

This is cheaper than buying a set of new shafts, which may not work either.

Typhoon

I have been reading a lit about wedge shafts and wedge shaft weight in relation to your irons. Pretty sure the Nippon website has a good read on it.

I always had Ping eye 2 irons and the shafts were just the same weight as what was in the wedges. I had good luck with it.

I've read using the same shaft weight in the set gives you a more consistent feel.

So now this year I got new Ping I e-1 irons with the modus 105 shaft. The wedges I'm using are old Callaway x forged with the stock cally wedge shaft which is I think 130 grams. They are ok, distance wise they are probably 10 yards shorter than I wanted.

I bought, but haven't used yet....wait until next year, Cally pm grind wedges with the stock 125 gram wedge shaft. It feels fine but I'm really thinking of either going with the same modus 105 iron shaft in them or maybe the wedge specific modus 105.

From what I've read and past experience with my eye2 wedges, I think I want the constant weight and feel throughout the set.

Release

Typhoon I bought, but haven't used yet....wait until next year, Cally pm grind wedges with the stock 125 gram wedge shaft

What were you saving them for ? You had it for awhile now don't you ?

HaHa, I have several putters still have the plastic wrapping on the heads and the grips.... and a new 1976 set of irons also the same year a new persimmon driver....

Typhoon

Release

Ok quick review of this year.

My job completely sucked as the people with no clue made a lot if changes...none if them good...and they actually admit it now but... Plus they moved us 45 minutes further away from our business....another mistake.

So I was a bit depressed and basically between the. changes not working, the long ride and the stupid amount of traffic now I quit playing...stopped doing anything really...just too depressed.

Middle if July comes and I still haven't played etc...basically just given up on anything that made me happy.

Talked to a friend on the phone about it and snapped out of it. Started saying F.U. to the BS at work and started making time for myself again. Got me out of my perpetual bad mood.

Wedge game was what I needed to figure out. The x forged wedges were 56, 60 and 64. Gap wedge from my set was 50. I've been fine with it but a set up after the 50 of 54, 58 and 64 will be better.

You're right, the 58 and 64 degree pm wedges I picked up last Christmas when I traded in the Glide wedges. I just figured ok, I'll use the x forged now because I want to pick up a pm grind 56 to bend to 54 for next year. I'll try to sell all the x forged.

The 54, 58 and 64 set up will work best I think. I'm good with the 60 and from what I hear, 58 does what a 60 will do and it'll be my go to sand wedge.

Release

Par4QC

Yes, screw the swing weight............. the less weighted grip is one of the variables to change the swing weight. But it's only part of the complete formula, and least important.
After hoss got done playing with it, I'd bet more than 50% of the chance he is looking for the right flex of the shaft instead of weight.

Par4QC

Release

The lighter grip will leave the head weight as is and also the shaft weight. It will lighten the static weight and he will find if that is too light if he is even more inconsistant with the swing. Without affecting the flex of the present shaft, the lighter grip will make the head feel heavier.
If he adds weight to the head, the current flex will be compromised somewhat, so I wouldn't do that. Lead tape to the shaft is a good idea, but has to be precise. He's playing the heaviest wedges he could possibly find using 130 gr. shafts, unless head weight is added, (assuming a 'normal' wedge head weight as it is now built).
So finding the right feel in his other irons is surely gonna be the 'fun' he's looking for.

He could(should) also just buy 1 shaft for the other side of experiment....not a whole set of either grips or shafts.

Release

Par4QC

Yes, totally agree with all the trial method.

Feel is such a personal thing. Part of the job for a fitter is to convince the golfer the better fit sometimes will not feel right at the beginning, takes a little time to get "used" to it. People don't like changes.

Release

So glade you got out of the depression mode. One has to keep the passion in life to keep going. Especially when goings get tough.

Wedge play is a different animal than the game in the air. Bomb away from the tee or the fairway is more a free form pf athletic move. Putting and wedge play has more "feel" to it.
How does feel come by ? By practice with the same equipment, over time.

Many had said there are two games in golf , one played in the air and one played on the ground. I think the wedge game is a hybrid of the two.

I am used to a SW and a PW in the bag, sometimes will add a 50°/10. I can manufacture most of the golf shots within 11 yards with these sticks. A couple of practice swing will feel like sliding into a pair of old working gloves, ready to go.
However, if a golfer is trained to be more mechanical than feel, then a set of wedge made for each yardage gap will probably suit them better. Keep in mind, no one condition will be the same as the next so the golfer will need to adjust to all the variables including his own mental and physical condition at the very moment for the wedge shot. It's easier for me to use the same equipment, let the mind do the adjustment.

Typhoon

I've found alot of times where I could use a 54. The 60...I could use a 58 instead and be fine, it's creativity with that. The 54 range is more because I'd be hitting a full shot.