Great video, today’s golfer is criminally underrated and one of my go-to resources when researching equipment. Keep up the data-driven content. I appreciate your hard work and quality content! Thanks guys.
Couple questions: 1. any reason why aerotech steelfiber graphite shafts were left out of test? Leads the LPGA in usage rate, one of the main graphite shafts I’ve read great things about and thought about switching to. 2. KBS TGI 80 is an 80 gram shaft, wouldn’t this be classified into lightweight shaft instead of mid weight? (Apologize if I missed these addressed in the video). Thanks again! Great information.
@@anthonyleblanc4645 No problems at all. Unfortunately even though the Steelfiber shafts were on Callaway's Custom Program list they didn't have the shafts in the Performance Centre on the day we visited. Hence we could not include them. We were gutted too as they were one of the models we really wanted to see. You absolutely could put the the KBS TGI in the lightweight category, but as a Tour Graphite Iron shaft it was never designed for the golfers who traditionally would be looking for lighter weight shafts in that category. There is absolutely no standards in golf and brands go at shafts in very different ways, but it would be unwise for gofers who really need the benefits of a lightweight iron shaft to be considering the TGI. The KBS Max steel or graphite would be a much better option. Hope that helps.
Age 74, and have been chasing lighter and lighter shafts. Then I watched "Elite Fit Golf" article on shaft weights and that if anything, probably having a shaft on the heavy side was better than to light. Thank you for this article on shafts and your article on Best mid handicap irons. I noticed in that one, the Ping G430 had low dispersion and thought I remembered from this article the Dynamic Gold X100 had low dispersion. I was in a PGA golf store about 4 days ago and noticed a barley used set of Ping G430 with Dynamic Gold X100 shafts for $550. I thought well at that price if the shafts are too heavy, I can always switch them out or just trade on something else. I played 9 holes yesterday, very first shot on par 3 landed in the middle of the green. The distance with these irons was actually a little longer than my other clubs with 85 gram graphite and 90 gram steel. (I traded in some 65 gram graphite that I had recently) Today went out for another 9, 3 shots appeared to be within 1-4 feet of dead straight at the flag pole. One hole I was to long with the 8 iron which I normally use, so got out this new 9 iron and landed right in the middle of the green and stopped. It does not make sense to me that I am hitting a DG x100 shaft longer than my usual 80 or 90 gram shafts, (loft angles are within 1 degree of my other irons) but the results are wonderful, both accuracy and distance. Thanks again for your in depth articles.
So many good points in the video. The only thing I would add is for flex, it is not just one players regular is another player's stiff shaft but also because there is no standard for flex a regular flex in one shaft might be closer to stiff in another shaft (or vice versa). So I play i80 Steelfiber regular in my irons, but a stiff shaft in woods or hybrids - Steelfiber shafts are typical half a flex stiffer than most. The best advice from the video - get professionally fit preferable with someone who carries more than just manufacturer stock shafts As for steel v graphite - I would never go back to steel, but then again I am getting older
Today’s Golfer’s content on all aspects of golf equipment including balls is the very best. I don’t look any where else. Their test methods, particularly shot area accuracy is, without doubt, what separates Todays Golfer from other reviews on the internet
Everything you talked about with graphite iron shafts rang true for me, I was under the misconception that they were only for ladies or senior golfers...but Moving into a Mitsubishi MMT 125S gave me equal or better performance to my steel shafts but almost eliminated the soreness and fatigue I was getting that actually would keep me off the range and the course. Anything you can get to reduce injury/fatigue for this game is well worth the $$ spent. I think most people are discounting the benefits of graphite due to pride/tradition or a little of both, and are probably cheating themselves out of injury prevention and I'm sure in some cases improved performance.
Great comparison. I changed recently from Project X LZ 6.0, fitted 2 years ago, to MMT 95 S fitted as well. My reason for going with Graphit was the comfort of off-center strikes, especially thin-ones. No numb fingers anymore, but I still I receive all the feedback of strike- location. I played Titleist T 100s and now Callaway Apex CB 2024. I was so happy with the performance of the MMT 95 that I re-shafted my T 100s.
Love this video. +0.4 handicap - I switched to UST Mayima Recoil 110 F4 shafts over 18 months ago, due to tendonitis in my left wrist. My experience is that the performance is superior to the Project X and DGS300, DG AMT shafts I'd used before - they are super stable and easier on the joints and back. Dispersion is not an issue, quite the opposite. Like Neil, I never thought I'd play graphite shafts in my irons.
Amazing work, gentlemen. I do give consideration for professional gear, mostly LPGA because I don't drive the ball 300 yds, and this has confirmed some of that. The X100 destroyed the competition. TGI and NS Pro are popular on the LPGA along with Steelfiber i80. I think for the increase in speed and help with joints, graphite is the future and the present for us regular golfers. Just mind the swing weight and don't be afraid to go longer shafts to get that optimized. I went to +2" from stock to get my preferred E0 swing weight and I'm playing some of the most enjoyable golf of my life.
I’m 67 and suffer from arthritis, I’ve just moved from PXG with 70gm recoil dart shafts, to ping i530’s with their 35gm Alta quick shaft wow what a difference for me. I’m hitting the ball 20 yards further, and the heads are only 1* stronger. Absolutely chuffed.
We REALLY like you liking this channel Leslie, thanks so much for saying so. It's a ton of work, but we love the feedback and helping golfers understand their equipment more.
Always enjoy your testing and articles when looking at equipment #'s. Pro modus 120 should definitely be in the mid category with the stiff flex coming in a 114g raw, R flex at 111g. A shaft like the Pro modus 115 would fit in the tour weight "118g R flex, 119g S flex" category nicely. Would have been neat to see the results if that shaft was included. It's a good shaft to fill out the modus line up.
Very, very interesting data, especially comparing the 3 averages. Essentially the same averages for all 3 weight classes for all the measured criteria. The only real difference was in shot area...and if we consider the area as a circle, the difference from best to worst of the radius is 20.7ft vs 22 ft. Hardly "different". So, since you said that "...the right weight is critical", why wasn't it critical for Neil. He had the same average results for each of the 3 weight categories.
Great discussion and fascinating to see the evolution of the discussion between steel and graphite shafts. After golfing for many years and playing steel shafts I’m now at an age where my next set will definitely have to consider graphite shafts. One question however that comes to mind is where in the overall fitting process does shaft selection come in. For example is after selecting a club head? I’m looking at new clubs next year and I’m wondering what are the sequences in a fitting process. Where does a golfer start? As we all know how a club looks and feels many times might conflict with actual data? Geoff
Thanks for your input and feedback Geoff, it really depends where golfers are on their journey. There will be players, possibly like yourself, who are happy with their iron heads and just want to explore graphite. It would make a lot of sense to have a good idea of the iron head you want before exploring shafts, if you're flitting between heads you're introducing so many variables into the equation. Hope that helps.
Of course a lot depends in what cones as stick offerings and what are afternarket shafts. Weight is one of the most important factors I have found and then feel - of course testing them especially out on the course helps to ensure you are able to strike them properly and get accurate distances and landing angles. As someone who has always used graphite shafts - throughout my bag including wedges for consistency purposes, i have found that finding the right shaft for the head you have identified (for any club- wood, hybrid, irons, wedges and even putter) makes a huge difference. For example in honing in on the p770 2023 iron heads I tried six different shaft offerings and one stood out by far - in my case it was the ust nanocore helium cb black in regular (I also adjusted the length - shortening by 0” each, and lie to fit me) and now my distances and accuracy are probably as good as they are even going to get and certainly the best they have been. Went through the same process with hybrids and driver and in fact replaced the offerings with a shaft again of the right weight but also characteristics that have made a significant difference with the same heads. Had I not done so in each case I certainly would have been forever tinkering or feeling maybe there is a better club out there. And not to belabour the point but having the consistency of weight and feel across my set had equally made a huge difference to my trust, feel and confidence. Similarly with significant grip changes to all my clubs keeping swingweight in mind.
Excellent video, I recently hit the UST Mamiya Dart V 120 F5 and it produced better numbers and felt better than the Fujikura Axion 125 X, like Neil I was very surprised by how stable the tour weight graphite shafts are nowadays especially the Dart V, I have played Project X 6.5 for a few years although I have also played the KBS Tour VT 125 for a time.
that's partially true, a better player will always hit a heavier shaft higher than a lighter shaft - i think most oem's match up the shafts for each head that will fit 75% of all golfers in their intended rang :)
Axiom look fantastic they are of course expensive, the original Callaway demo sleeve (not the fancy new one) used a standard Driver tool and discrete screw. If spending £1000.00 plus on shafts I'd like to be able to carry them over to my next set of irons. I'd love manufacturers to use a removable "demo style" head that you could buy. I actually have a ex demo Callaway ST Pro 7i and 2 demo shafts a Steelfiber (that I use myself in my full set) and a Recoil which I'm experimenting with for length (club length not distance) I've only ever used graphite, first second hand came with graphite shafts (Ping Zing with a red Novus shaft)
How can there be such a huge dispersion difference for instance with the UST recoil dart 75 (274.8) dispersion and UST Recoil Dart 65 (53.8) dispersion??? The lighter one is much better???
Hi William, we've said many times before that as much as people want to know about dispersion any metric for it is much more a reflection of how the player has hit that product on a particular day, rather than how forgiving a product is. With a reliable and consistent tester other shot metrics will stay pretty consistent between sessions so long as you use the same golf ball but shot area/dispersion will change depending on how the player is performing that day. We've always said not to base buying decisions on dispersion alone for this reason, instead we use it to monitor how often for instance Ping products (that are perceived to be forgiving) are gathered around the top of our charts. Hope that helps explain.
![เปิดใจ “ต้นหอม ศกุนตลา” หลังโดนพาดพิงธุรกิจที่เคยทำ และผลกระทบทำถูกปลดฟ้าผ่า! | แฉ 24 ต.ค.67 [2/3]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vCi5OIqlxaE/mqdefault.jpg)
Great video, today’s golfer is criminally underrated and one of my go-to resources when researching equipment. Keep up the data-driven content. I appreciate your hard work and quality content! Thanks guys.
Couple questions: 1. any reason why aerotech steelfiber graphite shafts were left out of test? Leads the LPGA in usage rate, one of the main graphite shafts I’ve read great things about and thought about switching to. 2. KBS TGI 80 is an 80 gram shaft, wouldn’t this be classified into lightweight shaft instead of mid weight? (Apologize if I missed these addressed in the video). Thanks again! Great information.
agreed, even how they do their dispersion area should be industry standard.
Thanks for the feedback Anthony, really appreciate your kind words and feedback.
@@anthonyleblanc4645 No problems at all. Unfortunately even though the Steelfiber shafts were on Callaway's Custom Program list they didn't have the shafts in the Performance Centre on the day we visited. Hence we could not include them.
We were gutted too as they were one of the models we really wanted to see.
You absolutely could put the the KBS TGI in the lightweight category, but as a Tour Graphite Iron shaft it was never designed for the golfers who traditionally would be looking for lighter weight shafts in that category.
There is absolutely no standards in golf and brands go at shafts in very different ways, but it would be unwise for gofers who really need the benefits of a lightweight iron shaft to be considering the TGI. The KBS Max steel or graphite would be a much better option.
Hope that helps.
Awesome, appreciate the reply. Thanks again for the awesome helpful content!! Cheers.
Age 74, and have been chasing lighter and lighter shafts. Then I watched "Elite Fit Golf" article on shaft weights and that if anything, probably having a shaft on the heavy side was better than to light. Thank you for this article on shafts and your article on Best mid handicap irons. I noticed in that one, the Ping G430 had low dispersion and thought I remembered from this article the Dynamic Gold X100 had low dispersion. I was in a PGA golf store about 4 days ago and noticed a barley used set of Ping G430 with Dynamic Gold X100 shafts for $550. I thought well at that price if the shafts are too heavy, I can always switch them out or just trade on something else. I played 9 holes yesterday, very first shot on par 3 landed in the middle of the green. The distance with these irons was actually a little longer than my other clubs with 85 gram graphite and 90 gram steel. (I traded in some 65 gram graphite that I had recently) Today went out for another 9, 3 shots appeared to be within 1-4 feet of dead straight at the flag pole. One hole I was to long with the 8 iron which I normally use, so got out this new 9 iron and landed right in the middle of the green and stopped. It does not make sense to me that I am hitting a DG x100 shaft longer than my usual 80 or 90 gram shafts, (loft angles are within 1 degree of my other irons) but the results are wonderful, both accuracy and distance. Thanks again for your in depth articles.
Thanks for your feedback, really appreciate you taking the time and good to hear your story William.
So many good points in the video.
The only thing I would add is for flex, it is not just one players regular is another player's stiff shaft but also because there is no standard for flex a regular flex in one shaft might be closer to stiff in another shaft (or vice versa). So I play i80 Steelfiber regular in my irons, but a stiff shaft in woods or hybrids - Steelfiber shafts are typical half a flex stiffer than most.
The best advice from the video - get professionally fit preferable with someone who carries more than just manufacturer stock shafts
As for steel v graphite - I would never go back to steel, but then again I am getting older
Today’s Golfer’s content on all aspects of golf equipment including balls is the very best.
I don’t look any where else. Their test methods, particularly shot area accuracy is, without doubt, what separates Todays Golfer from other reviews on the internet
Thanks so much for taking the time to say so Peter, really appreciate your feedback.
Everything you talked about with graphite iron shafts rang true for me, I was under the misconception that they were only for ladies or senior golfers...but Moving into a Mitsubishi MMT 125S gave me equal or better performance to my steel shafts but almost eliminated the soreness and fatigue I was getting that actually would keep me off the range and the course. Anything you can get to reduce injury/fatigue for this game is well worth the $$ spent. I think most people are discounting the benefits of graphite due to pride/tradition or a little of both, and are probably cheating themselves out of injury prevention and I'm sure in some cases improved performance.
Great comparison. I changed recently from Project X LZ 6.0, fitted 2 years ago, to MMT 95 S fitted as well. My reason for going with Graphit was the comfort of off-center strikes, especially thin-ones. No numb fingers anymore, but I still I receive all the feedback of strike- location. I played Titleist T 100s and now Callaway Apex CB 2024. I was so happy with the performance of the MMT 95 that I re-shafted my T 100s.
Lovely to hear, really appreciate your feedback.
Love my MMT 85’s! Dispersion is fantastic.
Thanks for your input.
Love this video. +0.4 handicap - I switched to UST Mayima Recoil 110 F4 shafts over 18 months ago, due to tendonitis in my left wrist. My experience is that the performance is superior to the Project X and DGS300, DG AMT shafts I'd used before - they are super stable and easier on the joints and back. Dispersion is not an issue, quite the opposite. Like Neil, I never thought I'd play graphite shafts in my irons.
Love your input Matthew, thanks for taking the time.
Amazing work, gentlemen. I do give consideration for professional gear, mostly LPGA because I don't drive the ball 300 yds, and this has confirmed some of that. The X100 destroyed the competition. TGI and NS Pro are popular on the LPGA along with Steelfiber i80. I think for the increase in speed and help with joints, graphite is the future and the present for us regular golfers. Just mind the swing weight and don't be afraid to go longer shafts to get that optimized. I went to +2" from stock to get my preferred E0 swing weight and I'm playing some of the most enjoyable golf of my life.
Thanks for your feedback and input, appreciate you taking the time.
I’m 67 and suffer from arthritis, I’ve just moved from PXG with 70gm recoil dart shafts, to ping i530’s with their 35gm Alta quick shaft wow what a difference for me. I’m hitting the ball 20 yards further, and the heads are only 1* stronger. Absolutely chuffed.
Glad you found your happy place, great to hear.
Great, I am getting them in the G430’s
I REALLY like this channel .
We REALLY like you liking this channel Leslie, thanks so much for saying so. It's a ton of work, but we love the feedback and helping golfers understand their equipment more.
Always enjoy your testing and articles when looking at equipment #'s. Pro modus 120 should definitely be in the mid category with the stiff flex coming in a 114g raw, R flex at 111g. A shaft like the Pro modus 115 would fit in the tour weight "118g R flex, 119g S flex" category nicely. Would have been neat to see the results if that shaft was included. It's a good shaft to fill out the modus line up.
Thanks for your feedback and input, much appreciated.
Very, very interesting data, especially comparing the 3 averages. Essentially the same averages for all 3 weight classes for all the measured criteria. The only real difference was in shot area...and if we consider the area as a circle, the difference from best to worst of the radius is 20.7ft vs 22 ft. Hardly "different". So, since you said that "...the right weight is critical", why wasn't it critical for Neil. He had the same average results for each of the 3 weight categories.
Great discussion and fascinating to see the evolution of the discussion between steel and graphite shafts. After golfing for many years and playing steel shafts I’m now at an age where my next set will definitely have to consider graphite shafts. One question however that comes to mind is where in the overall fitting process does shaft selection come in. For example is after selecting a club head? I’m looking at new clubs next year and I’m wondering what are the sequences in a fitting process. Where does a golfer start? As we all know how a club looks and feels many times might conflict with actual data?
Geoff
Thanks for your input and feedback Geoff, it really depends where golfers are on their journey. There will be players, possibly like yourself, who are happy with their iron heads and just want to explore graphite.
It would make a lot of sense to have a good idea of the iron head you want before exploring shafts, if you're flitting between heads you're introducing so many variables into the equation.
Hope that helps.
@@todaysgolfer thanks for the feedback much appreciated
Of course a lot depends in what cones as stick offerings and what are afternarket shafts. Weight is one of the most important factors I have found and then feel - of course testing them especially out on the course helps to ensure you are able to strike them properly and get accurate distances and landing angles. As someone who has always used graphite shafts - throughout my bag including wedges for consistency purposes, i have found that finding the right shaft for the head you have identified (for any club- wood, hybrid, irons, wedges and even putter) makes a huge difference. For example in honing in on the p770 2023 iron heads I tried six different shaft offerings and one stood out by far - in my case it was the ust nanocore helium cb black in regular (I also adjusted the length - shortening by 0” each, and lie to fit me) and now my distances and accuracy are probably as good as they are even going to get and certainly the best they have been. Went through the same process with hybrids and driver and in fact replaced the offerings with a shaft again of the right weight but also characteristics that have made a significant difference with the same heads. Had I not done so in each case I certainly would have been forever tinkering or feeling maybe there is a better club out there. And not to belabour the point but having the consistency of weight and feel across my set had equally made a huge difference to my trust, feel and confidence. Similarly with significant grip changes to all my clubs keeping swingweight in mind.
Excellent video, I recently hit the UST Mamiya Dart V 120 F5 and it produced better numbers and felt better than the Fujikura Axion 125 X, like Neil I was very surprised by how stable the tour weight graphite shafts are nowadays especially the Dart V, I have played Project X 6.5 for a few years although I have also played the KBS Tour VT 125 for a time.
You can do as much of this as you want. It’s all down to personal feel whether the computer says no
that's partially true, a better player will always hit a heavier shaft higher than a lighter shaft - i think most oem's match up the shafts for each head that will fit 75% of all golfers in their intended rang :)
No dynamic gold X7 ☹️ absolutely love that shaft
Apologies we could only use the models Callaway had in their Performance Centre, maybe some other time if we can find somewhere that has them. 👍
Axiom look fantastic they are of course expensive, the original Callaway demo sleeve (not the fancy new one) used a standard Driver tool and discrete screw. If spending £1000.00 plus on shafts I'd like to be able to carry them over to my next set of irons. I'd love manufacturers to use a removable "demo style" head that you could buy. I actually have a ex demo Callaway ST Pro 7i and 2 demo shafts a Steelfiber (that I use myself in my full set) and a Recoil which I'm experimenting with for length (club length not distance) I've only ever used graphite, first second hand came with graphite shafts (Ping Zing with a red Novus shaft)
Thanks for your input Adam, agreed the Axiom are really strong contenders.
Why didn’t you include the dynamic gold 120 ? A lighter, tour level shaft.
I may have missed as I skipped the heavy weights. What iron and swing speed were used, I'm guessing by the distance, it was a 7 iron at 85 MPH or so?
It was the Callaway Apex 24 CB, the iron Neil would typically use. His head speed is around 92 - 94 MPH.
Nice idea but what you call lightweight is still heavy for my needs
Curious if any LA Golf shafts were part of your test?
They weren't Chuck, only because they are not an option through the Callaway Performance Centre.
Hope that helps.
@@todaysgolfer Thanks for the reply.
How can there be such a huge dispersion difference for instance with the UST recoil dart 75 (274.8) dispersion and UST Recoil Dart 65 (53.8) dispersion??? The lighter one is much better???
Hi William, we've said many times before that as much as people want to know about dispersion any metric for it is much more a reflection of how the player has hit that product on a particular day, rather than how forgiving a product is.
With a reliable and consistent tester other shot metrics will stay pretty consistent between sessions so long as you use the same golf ball but shot area/dispersion will change depending on how the player is performing that day.
We've always said not to base buying decisions on dispersion alone for this reason, instead we use it to monitor how often for instance Ping products (that are perceived to be forgiving) are gathered around the top of our charts.
Hope that helps explain.
Neil needs to work on expressing his excitement level a bit more. :)
Spend money on lessons, not equipment, and you’ll play better