Lifespan of steel shafts

[Monty_Brown]

Hi all,

A query on how oldish shafts perform.

I'm still playing with my Ping Eye 2s, which were my first "proper" set of irons, bought in 1991.

When I asked my pro about them and if there would be any decline in performance, he thought that while the heads were still bullet proof, there would be a decline in the performance of the shafts due to age, but wasn't too clear on how much.

I'm coming at this from two angles:

1. How much performance will the shafts have lost in 20 years?
2. How big are advances in shaft technology in the last 20 years... enough to make it worth a change of clubs?

Any insight on this would be much appreciated. Failing that, I may write to the boffins at Ping....

 

[CliveW]

My previous clubs were over 20 years old. Although I couldn't be sure, I felt there was a difference in the performance of my mid irons which over the years had been used more than my long/short irons. These seemed to have lost some of their "springiness" but it could have been in my mind. A lot will depend on how often you have played with your clubs. A player who plays two or three times a week will wear out clubs faster than someone who plays a couple of times a year.
Your swing has more than certainly changed in the time you have owned your clubs so a different shaft may suit your game better than the old ones.

 

[Monty_Brown]

My previous clubs were over 20 years old. Although I couldn't be sure, I felt there was a difference in the performance of my mid irons which over the years had been used more than my long/short irons. These seemed to have lost some of their "springiness" but it could have been in my mind. A lot will depend on how often you have played with your clubs. A player who plays two or three times a week will wear out clubs faster than someone who plays a couple of times a year.
Your swing has more than certainly changed in the time you have owned your clubs so a different shaft may suit your game better than the old ones.

Cheers Clive, some good points to think about. In terms of how often I played with them, I absolutely played them into the ground for the first few years as a teenager, then went through a few periods of not using much due to other commitments. Now been using them about 3 times a week for past year as the golf bug returned.

So when you swapped your old ones for newies, did you notice a big difference in terms of performance?

If you tell me you gained 10 yards a club, I'll be buying new ones tomorrow

 

[beggsy]

unless you get a set the exact same spec you wont know if there is any difference at all and in all honesty do you think a new set of clubs will help you

 

[CliveW]

My original clubs were Titleist DTRs and now I have AP2s. The AP2s are a good few generations on from the DTRs so there should be a difference but the lofts are higher than the DTRs (And AP1s for that matter) The new clubs also have stiffer shafts so there can't be a direct comparison between clubs. What I can say, however, is the consistancy between the AP2s is better than the DTRs. I know that there is about 10 yards differece between clubs whereas with my DTRs there wasn't the same amount of difference between clubs, especially the 6 and 7 irons which didn't have the same "feel" through the shafts which made me think the shafts were at the end of their life.
Take your clubs to the range and check the distances between each one to see if the difference in distance/flight is consistant and if youy can get hold of a new demo club and compare it with your current ones.
(Alternatively just buy a new set as that's what you really want to do I think. )

 

[granters]

I'm still using my clubs form 1994. From my experience, the so called "degradation" of shafts is nonsense. Tonight for instance i tried out my brothers new Mizunos, and we both agreed that my clubs felt better. I still hit the ball with a lovely penetrating flight and if anything am longer these days. It's got to the point that i don't want to upgrade now.

It all depends on what you think yourself. If you feel you're not hitting it all that well then try out some new shafts and see what happens

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think there has been some degree of progrss in the performance of steel shafts although Ethan will be the guru to ask. Will you notice a difference between then and now. Hard to say as the heads themselves will definitely have improved in terms of forgiveness and weighting so the part that hits the ball will feel different

 

[RGDave]

My 1990s Tommy Armour 845 Silver Scotts have had 2 re-shafts in 20+ years.

Not because they never worked, but because they got rusty and looked bad.

Shafts ARE better these days, but old ones will still work.

General Q? (as I don't know the answer) but will old irons have heavier shafts than these days?

 

[bobmac]

I think it's the age of the golfer that's the problem here not the shafts

 

[Monty_Brown]

Hi all,

Thanks for the various thoughts on this and sorry for not replying sooner. Only tend to log on when back at work

On balance there doesn't seem to be a definite view that shafts decline much, and as mentioned, the feel in the clubs is the best guide. I'm pretty happy that they still perform well. As Bob hinted, my swing has probably declined more than the shafts.

I'm sure I can think of another reason to buy some new shinies!