steelfiber shafts ideal for 1/4" decrement iron set?

[Klap]

I play a 3 iron at standard length, going down 1/4" steps the 9 iron is +1.5" (37.5"), wedges +2". (6 gram lighter short iron heads)

 

The lengthened short irons cause some weight/balance and flex problems.

 

Reading the forums the aerotech steelfiber i110 or i95 seem better alternatives than the dg x110.

 

How should those shafts be trimmed to length for the more even flex pattern in the set?

 

Can someone tell from experience how much swing weight points I would gain with the i110 or i95 compared to the DG x100, or PXi 6.5. I've read numbers from 0 to 4 sw points.

[Klap]

Shortened the post above and made it a bit less chaotic, hope that's better;)

[Greg Lunday]

I played the Steelfiber shafts for a grand total of 2 rounds. The distance I lost playing the i110 Stiff shafts was staggering. My normal distances with KBS Tour Stiff shafts were - 9 iron - 145, 8 iron - 155-158, 7 iron, 168-170, etc... With the Steelfiber shafts, I could no longer hit an 8 iron 150 yards. My 7 iron was used to get the ball to barely go 150. I lost about 15 yards per club. I quickly sold those. Just my experience. In fairness, they did feel very soft and had good feel. Just not for me.

[IowaGolfPro]

The biggest thing to remember with any iron shaft is that the last step down needs to be uniformly lower as the iron gets shorter. The is difficult to do with the steel fiber for obvious reasons because it is a graphite shaft. You can use a washer that fits over the tip of the shaft, but does not slide past the bottom third of the shaft to find it. I would recommend 1/2* intervals in the last step down regardless of total length. This is to get the lower kick point shafts in the shortest irons. A general comment about steel fiber shafts is that they are generally intended for low natural ball flight players to help raise the ball flight.

[EaglesGolf99]

I'm a natural high ball hitter and I've had great success over the past year with SteelFiber i110 in the irons.

 

Still working out the kinks in wedge shafts but have a good feeling about my next trial.

 

And in regards to distance, I lost none. I picked up a consistent 3-4 yards, having come from Project X Satin 6.5.

[BrianL99]

The biggest thing to remember with any iron shaft is that the last step down needs to be uniformly lower as the iron gets shorter. The is difficult to do with the steel fiber for obvious reasons because it is a graphite shaft. You can use a washer that fits over the tip of the shaft, but does not slide past the bottom third of the shaft to find it. I would recommend 1/2* intervals in the last step down regardless of total length. This is to get the lower kick point shafts in the shortest irons. A general comment about steel fiber shafts is that they are generally intended for low natural ball flight players to help raise the ball flight.

 

 

Nonsense. Start to finish.

[KARL M]

According to titelist, the Steelfiber i95 and i110 shafts are the 11th and 14th lowest launching iron shaft, of the 36 that they offer.

 

In general, the steelfiber shafts wouldn't help a low ball hitter hit higher, unless the person was coming from even lower flighted shafts, such as dynamic gold.

[matchavez]

I play a 3 iron at standard length, going down 1/4" steps the 9 iron is +1.5" (37.5"), wedges +2". (6 gram lighter short iron heads)

 

The lengthened short irons cause some weight/balance and flex problems.

 

Reading the forums the aerotech steelfiber i110 or i95 seem better alternatives than the dg x110.

 

How should those shafts be trimmed to length for the more even flex pattern in the set?

 

Can someone tell from experience how much swing weight points I would gain with the i110 or i95 compared to the DG x100, or PXi 6.5. I've read numbers from 0 to 4 sw points.

 

I can't speak to the exact swingweights, but I have experience with 1/4" length changes with Recoils... Have you considered playing something like a 5-iron in your 3/4, a 6 in your 5/6, a 7 in your 7/8, and an 8 in your 9/P? You would only have to trim a 1/4 off the 4,6,8,P. It would provide you with the lengths you're looking for assuming their 5 iron shaft is long enough from the start. In theory, coming from the dg 110s you won't have any difference, but that's just unrealistic. That said, you're probably better off calling them to ask for actual grams and trimmable lengths.

 

I wanted to add that with my 1/4" set, I was happy to let the lengths extend the swing weights to be slightly over MOI matching. I'm sure you know that the lengths you're playing are dictated by your short irons. You might find more flexibility in meeting a "set" if you are ok with progressive swingweighting (which you hadn't mentioned). If the theory interests you, of course.

[BrianL99]

 

According to titelist, the Steelfiber i95 and i110 shafts are the 11th and 14th lowest launching iron shaft, of the 36 that they offer.

 

In general, the steelfiber shafts wouldn't help a low ball hitter hit higher, unless the person was coming from even lower flighted shafts, such as dynamic gold.

 

 

 

A general comment about steel fiber shafts is that they are generally intended for low natural ball flight players to help raise the ball flight.

 

 

In case you haven't noticed, since the man from Iowa joined the forum a couple of months ago, he's become the next resident expert (in his mind).

 

Nice work if you can get it, but he speaks nonsense. Earlier in the week, it was "spining & FLO" on the PGA Tour, now it's misinformation about SteelFiber Shafts. Like most anything else on the Internet (including my opinions), take what you read with a grain of salt.

[neilc]

The biggest thing to remember with any iron shaft is that the last step down needs to be uniformly lower as the iron gets shorter. The is difficult to do with the steel fiber for obvious reasons because it is a graphite shaft. You can use a washer that fits over the tip of the shaft, but does not slide past the bottom third of the shaft to find it. I would recommend 1/2* intervals in the last step down regardless of total length. This is to get the lower kick point shafts in the shortest irons. A general comment about steel fiber shafts is that they are generally intended for low natural ball flight players to help raise the ball flight.

 

 

Nonsense. Start to finish.

[neilc]

You can measure the tipping of graphite by the length between the shaft tip and a fixed point on the shaft such as the "e" in steelfibre.

 

Measure the raw shafts and write it down.

 

You can continue to tip the w and sw if you like.it will be lead to a stiffer shaft and a slightly lower flight.

[kbrussell]

I played the Steelfiber shafts for a grand total of 2 rounds. The distance I lost playing the i110 Stiff shafts was staggering. My normal distances with KBS Tour Stiff shafts were - 9 iron - 145, 8 iron - 155-158, 7 iron, 168-170, etc... With the Steelfiber shafts, I could no longer hit an 8 iron 150 yards. My 7 iron was used to get the ball to barely go 150. I lost about 15 yards per club. I quickly sold those. Just my experience. In fairness, they did feel very soft and had good feel. Just not for me.

 

Wrong Fit!

[Klap]

I can't speak to the exact swingweights, but I have experience with 1/4" length changes with Recoils... Have you considered playing something like a 5-iron in your 3/4, a 6 in your 5/6, a 7 in your 7/8, and an 8 in your 9/P? You would only have to trim a 1/4 off the 4,6,8,P. It would provide you with the lengths you're looking for assuming their 5 iron shaft is long enough from the start. In theory, coming from the dg 110s you won't have any difference, but that's just unrealistic. That said, you're probably better off calling them to ask for actual grams and trimmable lengths.

 

I wanted to add that with my 1/4" set, I was happy to let the lengths extend the swing weights to be slightly over MOI matching. I'm sure you know that the lengths you're playing are dictated by your short irons. You might find more flexibility in meeting a "set" if you are ok with progressive swingweighting (which you hadn't mentioned). If the theory interests you, of course.

 

The taper tip steelfiber PW shaft is 36.5" raw, asking for 37.5" length will mean the 8 shaft is the shortest possible.

This means a 1" soft step when you put the 8 shaft in the PW.

With the standard length for the 8 being 36.5" it means +1" length.

 

In total it's 1" soft step PLUS 1" extra length PLUS the extra headweight of the wedge head over the 8.

 

I am not experienced in club building but does this mean the S flex will turn into a 'senior flex'?

 

Or will an OEM be able to solve this with a parallel tip? (Not sure if they would even if possible..)

[Stuart_G]

The taper tip steelfiber PW shaft is 36.5" raw, asking for 37.5" length will mean the 8 shaft is the shortest possible.

....

Or will an OEM be able to solve this with a parallel tip? (Not sure if they would even if possible..)

 

Parallel SF's are available aftermarket and can allow for longer playing lengths. Uncut length is 41" with a recommended tipping of 3.5" for PW - that leaves 37.5" max cut length which can get a playing length of 38.5-39" depending on the head.

 

But can't say for sure but yes, I doubt an OEM would do that. Most who who seem to offer SF's as upgrades seem to only inventory the taper tip CW versions. For longer length requests, if they support it at all, they would more than likely just add an extension, not go to a shaft for a different iron. But then, not sure any would do 1/4" length gaps regardless. That's quite a bit outside what a factory would be expected to handle.

[Klap]

The taper tip steelfiber PW shaft is 36.5" raw, asking for 37.5" length will mean the 8 shaft is the shortest possible.

....

Or will an OEM be able to solve this with a parallel tip? (Not sure if they would even if possible..)

 

Parallel SF's are available aftermarket and can allow for longer playing lengths. Uncut length is 41" with a recommended tipping of 3.5" for PW - that leaves 37.5" max cut length which can get a playing length of 38.5-39" depending on the head.

 

But can't say for sure but yes, I doubt an OEM would do that. Most who who seem to offer SF's as upgrades seem to only inventory the taper tip CW versions. For longer length requests, if they support it at all, they would more than likely just add an extension, not go to a shaft for a different iron. But then, not sure any would do 1/4" length gaps regardless. That's quite a bit outside what a factory would be expected to handle.

 

I currently have a 1/4" decrement ap2 set from Titleist. They have been very helpfull with the fitting but some little things went wrong at assembly. I've learned a lot from guys like you on these forums so with that knowledge in mind I hope to get it right this time;)

 

If tapered is their only option would i95X at +2" be closer to i110S standard length than the i95S at +2" ? Mixing the i110S with the i95S or X might be smart.

 

Is it right that even at 2" less butt trim a parellel would more or less keep the same flex?

 

Many thanks guys, learning a lot.

[Stuart_G]

Is it right that even at 2" less butt trim a parellel would more or less keep the same flex?

 

At 2" over-length, I might expect a little softening IF the head weight doesn't change, how much would depend a lot on the swing (and sensitivity). But then you would be getting up in the E4 range for SW and that softening would be the least of your worries. What you do with the head weight will still be, by far, the much more dominant factor in determining how the shaft behaves.

 

 

If tapered is their only option would i95X at +2" be closer to i110S standard length than the i95S at +2" ? Mixing the i110S with the i95S or X might be smart.

 

Shaft weight is much more important as a contributor to the total static weight of the club - 1) don't change it to try and manipulate flex 2) The stiffness between the 110's and 95's in the same flex really isn't very different. The i95's are a touch stiffer in the butt section than the i110's and the i110's are a touch stiffer in the lower/mid section of the shaft.

[Klap]

 

At 2" over-length, I might expect a little softening IF the head weight doesn't change, how much would depend a lot on the swing (and sensitivity). But then you would be getting up in the E4 range for SW and that softening would be the least of your worries. What you do with the head weight will still be, by far, the much more dominant factor in determining how the shaft behaves.

 

(...)

 

Shaft weight is much more important as a contributor to the total static weight of the club - 1) don't change it to try and manipulate flex 2) The stiffness between the 110's and 95's in the same flex really isn't very different. The i95's are a touch stiffer in the butt section than the i110's and the i110's are a touch stiffer in the lower/mid section of the shaft.

 

A real life example: If you follow the Ping fitting chart, are a bit tall, and order according to those specs they will sent you a set with with some F2 swing weights. They call it static fitting for a reason;)

 

 

For the 1/4" decrement set I will stick with the i110s in the long irons, and go i95s from the 8 or 9 down, maybe i95x in the heavier wedges. It might be a wierd transition between the 7 and the 8 but the active weight from the extra length will indeed be too big an issue otherwise.

 

Once the set is build I will review it with some LM data.

[Stuart_G]

For the 1/4" decrement set I will stick with the i110s in the long irons, and go i95s from the 8 or 9 down, maybe i95x in the heavier wedges. It might be a wierd transition between the 7 and the 8 but the active weight from the extra length will indeed be too big an issue otherwise.

 

Once the set is build I will review it with some LM data.

 

Yes, it might be a bit of a jump in static weight but looks like we'll just have to wait and see how it comes out for you.