Steel, Graphite, Confusion.

[jmoss84]

Hi All,

I'm totally new to this forum and have recently taken up golf as an alternative to collision sports where my body is beginning to refuse to stand up!

Long story short, I had practised initially with my brother's graphite shaft clubs and thought nothing of it as I tried to hone things down at the range with the help of my brother. However on purchasing a pretty basic Wilson X31 set of +1 inch clubs (6'4") I have discovered that the alternative (usually cheaper) steel clubs in my new set are much heavier than the clubs I've been practising with.

I managed to get used to this very quickly and really prefer the heavier weight feeling of the steel clubs, however they seem to be the cheaper and less desired sibling of their graphite counterparts anywhere I look online. Is there anybody here that could provide a basic pros and cons against keeping the steel set and possibly buying more steel sets in future as I look to build my golf bag? Apart from the weight difference the only differences I can imagine would be shaft stiffness? Why are steel clubs so undesirable?

Thanks for any advice,

Jamie

 

[RGDave]

Don't worry about it Jamie.

You've got the wrong end of the stick on this, I'm afraid to tell you.

Steel irons are almost what everybody plays. Graphite is more expensive but in this case, more expensive doesn't mean better.

Most young and/or fit players will actually prefer the weight and swinging characteristics of steel.

 

[Jensen]

Graphite irons tend to be aimed at senior players because they are lighter and help produce more clubhead speed as seniors tend to get slower with age.

 

[DaveM]

Graphite irons tend to be aimed at senior players because they are lighter and help produce more club head speed as seniors tend to get slower with age.

Sorry I think I will have to disagree with this. You can get steel shafts that are more or less as light as graphite and graphite that is quite heavy. I think the main difference is that graphite tend to hit longer than steel. But steel have a better dispersion rate. This is only my opinion. As I have irons with both steel and graphite shafts in. There is only about 10g weight difference between the two sets. In-fact I have found the graphite ones feel heavier to swing. As most of the weight is in the head of the clubs.

 

[wnn670]

being a similar size to myself I highly doubt you'd be after graphite shafted irons.

get your swing speed measured and go from there, I've found so far that regular flex steel shafts are fine for my irons but I need stiff flex shafts in my woods

 

[jmoss84]

Thanks for all the info here guys! I didn't realise the steel shafts were just differently suited, I assumed the cost was related to performance!

As I say, I've just taken it up on a learning basis, so I'll get myself along for measurements and try out different settings before making a big splash in equipment, but the heavier feel of the steel clubs gives a much nicer feeling of momentum throughout the swing, which I'm loving right now!

Thanks,
Jamie