Help (Please)

[jamielaing]

Back to the question-

If I were you I would get whatever the best option is, regardless of the price. Don't compromise with your clubs. The best way to think about it is that new irons should last at least 5 years. My irons cost me £600. Spreading this over 1 year is £50 a month which I consider a good investment anyway. By the time it is 5 years those irons have cost you £10 a month.

If you compromise the clubs due to price you will always wish you had got what you really wanted. Golf is a confidence game and when you look down you will always see the 'wrong club'. This will just lead to buying new ones again so you will just waste more money.

Also- shafts make a HUGE difference!

 

[Markw]

We are all different, custom fitting with a good pro will fit you into the correct shaft for you, there's more to it than just flex.
For the average golfer with average amateur swing speed, most could pick up any iron with a variety of regular shafts and hit a half decent ball.
For the faster swing speed or aggressive tempo then it becomes more critical with shaft selection and if you are correctly fitted it leaves no doubt in your mind that you can improve on the shaft.

 

[hovis]

im suprised you expect instant results from a lesson. It takes time to embed changes that are made by a pro, thats why so many people have one or two lessons, say 'its not working' and then stop going - they then continue to struggle to break 90 etc.

Lessons are 100% one step back, 2 steps forward.

I dont agree witg with this. I was speaking to Peter cowen at the belfry and he said after he puts a change into a pro's swing if he doesn't hit a good shot within 10 trys then its not for him and try something else.

I really hate the view that you have to get worse before it gets better.


On the subject of shafts i think weight is the most important factor

 

[MendieGK]

I dont agree witg with this. I was speaking to Peter cowen at the belfry and he said after he puts a change into a pro's swing if he doesn't hit a good shot within 10 trys then its not for him and try something else.

I really hate the view that you have to get worse before it gets better.


On the subject of shafts i think weight is the most important factor

Pro's are very different, they can make adjustments on the fly.

People that have one lesson and think thats it there sorted are crazy in my view.

 

[Alex1975]

Shaft weight, swing weight, total weight will make huge differences to how you feel when swinging the club. Flex and length will help. Loft and lie will help.

Mizuno and Orka will sell you the clubs with no upcharge on shaft... Callaway will not.... what more do you need to know.. someone(s) are offering a better overall product than someone else!

 

[Jimaroid]

I was shaft skeptic before I went for a fitting but I got curious. It turned out to be a bit of a revelation FOR ME. I found that a lighter shaft weight made a big difference in the way I could feel the club through the swing. The flexibility didn't make a huge difference FOR ME but the weight certainly did.

We're all individuals with different techniques and the only way to find what works for you is to try it.

 

[mab]

If you're planning to materially change your swing in the near future, then arguably custom fitting is not worth the cost as you're fitting to a swing that will soon change.

However, stating that shafts make hardly any difference is not true.

Take the same head and pair it with a Nippon N.S.Pro 950 stiff, KBS Tour 90 Stiff, KBS C-Taper Stiff and DG S300 and they will feel completely different for certain and your results will most likely differ significantly in terms of ballflight, length, dispersion, etc.

Have a read of this article which most will find rather interesting (read the whole article, not just up to the initial conclusion):

http://www.golfwrx.com/231525/iron-...and-graphite-iron-shafts-get-put-to-the-test/

 

[Qwerty]

Shafts make hardly any difference.

I never knew that.

My 75 yr old dad has always fancied a set of x100, I'll tell him the good news :thup:

 

[Alex1975]

I never knew that.

My 75 yr old dad has always fancied a set of x100, I'll tell him the good news :thup:

:clap:

 

[garyinderry]

They might not make much difference to your score as after playing with irons for a length of time you learn how a club reacts. You know how high they go, how far they go and if you tend to fade or draw them.

I agree cf will help tighten up dispersion, improve the flight height and increase feel.

What it won't do it stop you hitting it fat or thin or stop that big ott motion in your swing.

It also won't improve your course management. That is the only way for someone to drop strokes whilst doing pretty much nothing to their technique.

 

[Alex1975]

They might not make much difference to your score as after playing with irons for a length of time you learn how a club reacts. You know how high they go, how far they go and if you tend to fade or draw them.

I agree cf will help tighten up dispersion, improve the flight height and increase feel.

What it won't do it stop you hitting it fat or thin or stop that big ott motion in your swing.

It also won't improve your course management. That is the only way for someone to drop strokes whilst doing pretty much nothing to their technique.

It potentially might help some of the above. Someone coming over the top with one of todays super light shafts might be aided by a heavier shaft... Maybe...

 

[Hacker Khan]

Up to a point this is true.
The shaft's purpose is to return the club head to the correct position at impact.
Being slightly out one way or another will produce high, low, left and right ball flights
In a fitting you are presented with the best shaft for your average swing.
Just say you swing 9 times.
If 4 swings get you a good flight, 3 too low a flight and 2 too high a flight, the shaft you get fitted for will be incorrect for more swings than it is correct.....simplistic, I know but you get the picture.
Unless you have a very repeatable swing, the finer points of shaft fitting, beyond basic flex, matter less as the ability to return the club head to the optimal position decreases.
That's not to say people shouldn't get fitted but I'm increasingly of the opinion that the plethora of shaft options confuses more than it helps.

Exactly, very eloquently put there sir.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Exactly, very eloquently put there sir.

But been factually shown to make a difference

 

[Alex1975]

WHY OH WHY would you not use a manufacture that provides a selection of shafts as part of its product within the price... and the price being the same as those not offering a selection?!!!!!!

 

[Big-Dog]

Well thanks a lot guys really appreciate it. I have had some lessons and the practise is paying off for my short game less and less duffed chips and putting has always been a very strong part of my game. but when I went to KOD last year and hit the Apex irons and again at the fitting at my local club when the Callaway rep was their. The ball went 20 yds further with the dispersion range tighter (I understand that the 6 iron I was hitting was possibly a 5). When I went for the Mizuno fitting the JPX825 pro at the time with the shaft in out of the three chosen was straighter and about 10 yds further than my current irons.
I do like the Apex but wonder what I could get out of them if they had the Mizuno shaft in but the cost will no doubt go up??

So that is it off we go for the fitting and see what the price tag is then decide .......... may have to go for a couple he he Mizuno, Okra and Callaway plus anymore the pro wants to through at me.

To be continued ..............

Thanks again.

Hit em straight ...... ish

PS I do get to practise with being away with work in Malaysia so hopefully when I get a round in at the club the numbers should be good .........I know I am kidding myself.

 

[Jake O'Reilly]

Or, to rephrase the question (and I promise I'm not being facetious here!):

Say I have money sat aside, say £2500, affording me the opportunity to be custom fit with any shaft option, for all clubs, using my same swing, how many shots can I expect to drop?

Being the guy employed by Golf Monthly that looks after the majority of our reader fitting days, I can tell you in my personal experience the shafts make the biggest difference, and the forum guys I've worked with have often gone on to have good hcap chops over the following year.

Looking at your above example, the shots you drop is down to all areas of your game, but if a fitting gives you one less club into every green you're likely to find a fair few more greens over the course of the year. Similarly, your miss hits should occur less often with a shaft that works for your swing, which will again put you closer to the green and give you a few less penalty shots over the year.

Yes anyone can use any shaft, I was on a trip last week and used hire clubs that had regular graphite shafts in the standard loft and lie irons, rather than my 1/2" on 2 degrees upright stiff shafted steel irons, and after a few holes I could swing slower, grip up and get the ball around the course, but I was hitting it a lot shorter and less consistently, and that's why a fitting will help, as you no longer have to fight your natural motion and can get the best out of your personal swing.

 

[Qwerty]

​

The shaft's purpose is to return the club head to the correct position at impact.
Being slightly out one way or another will produce high, low, left and right ball flights
.

Ive never seen a shaft that swings itself..

 

[Jake O'Reilly]

When I went to KOD last year and hit the Apex irons and again at the fitting at my local club when the Callaway rep was their. The ball went 20 yds further with the dispersion range tighter (I understand that the 6 iron I was hitting was possibly a 5). When I went for the Mizuno fitting the JPX825 pro at the time with the shaft in out of the three chosen was straighter and about 10 yds further than my current irons.
I do like the Apex but wonder what I could get out of them if they had the Mizuno shaft in but the cost will no doubt go up??

So that is it off we go for the fitting and see what the price tag is then decide .......... may have to go for a couple he he Mizuno, Okra and Callaway plus anymore the pro wants to through at me.

Callaway will be able to add any aftermarket shaft to the Apex at a cost to you, then again with the whole range on offer to try, you might find a Mizuno head that works better than the Apex does. The best thing to do is go to an independent fitter and try lots of options, not just the stock shafts!

 

[Qwerty]

The best thing to do is go to an independent fitter and try lots of options, not just the stock shafts!

Theres no point. Apparently we're all Choppers with unpredictable swings so any shaft will do :thup:

 

[Big-Dog]

Thanks Jake and everyone I am going to go with my Pro who has trackman and fitting carts and swing DNA for all of the brands that interest me. It is interesting that you mention independent fitter as there is club makers (here I go clouding the water) who make clubs that will be the correct fit although the money will be in the club not the marketing of the bigger companies (or there pocket of course).

I just feel if I am spending a reasonable amount of money I would like the satisfaction of knowing I have the correct club in my hand. Although we got the stock shafts from winning the KOD last year (thanks boys I only watched) my driving is more consistent. I really do appreciate the fact the correct kit will improve my game for the reasons above. I have little to no technology in my clubs and feel the difference when I hit at fitting days the new clubs which I hit further and straighter.

I am in the UK as of Saturday for two weeks off shopping I will go!

Thanks again guys and yes I will let you know how we fair.

Hit em straight ....ish