Bunch of Iron Shaft Questions

[halliedog]

I'm thinking of making a shaft change in my irons over the winter, for no better reason than I want to try something new, and can't easily find a replacement for my broken 6 iron shaft. Currently playing TM P770 with TT Tour Concept Stiff. I have no time to get fit for anything, but know that I've like'd KBS Tour V in the past and really like these 10 year old Tour Concepts.

Without hitting any of them, I'm for some reason drawn to TT AMT Tour White, and Project X Catalyst 100. How similarly would these play to each other, and how would they compare to TC or Tour V?

I can still find full sets of TCs Satin on Amazon, but in R flex. Can I HS them 2x and get pretty close to the launch of my current TC in S?

If I just went blind into the Catalysts, would I notice a huge difference between the 80s or 100s? I don't think I'm really sensitive to overall shaft weight, but who knows? The reason they are even on the radar is lower flight and less tendinitis than steel without going through the trouble of doweling/prosofts.

I know the correct answer is to get fit, and try different weights, graphite vs steel, etc., just don't really have time. I guess I have more money than brains. I can pick up a set of AMTs for less than half the price of the Catalysts, but if the Catalysts are really something special I might lean that way.

 

 

[Jeff58]

During my iron search last year, I hit both the Catalysts and AMT’s (white and black).

I hit the Catalysts for about a minute. They were so different than any of the steel shafts that were being used that my thoughts were that they would bias my swing to the point that any additional demoing would be corrupted.

The AMT White’s had the distinction that the swing and feel characteristics of the 7 iron shaft were totally unidentifiable as being in the same set as the 4 iron. While the idea behind shaft weighing variation is to optimize trajectory and distance across the set, to my mind compromising swing dynamics and consistency of feel in order to accomplish that isn’t close to acceptable. Somewhat oddly, the AMT Black set didn’t seem to have succumbed to the same design fate.

As sets that one might switch to without serious evaluation, I can’t really think of two worse options. While your desire for “something different” will very likely be fulfilled, your long term satisfaction isn’t nearly so.

[ShallowbutDeadly]

You don't have a few hours?

The only answer is get fit; if you aren't willing to do that then just be happy with inferior results and guessing.

[Stuart_G]

@halliedog said: I guess I have more money than brains

You don't have to buy full sets to figure it out. Just buy one single shaft of each model you're considering. There is rarely any cost benifit to buying a full set of shafts vs buying them one at a time. If you have extra heads or an older set still hanging around, use those to build some test clubs. If you don't then install say one in your 8 iron, another in your 7 irons, etc... Not ideal but it still should give you a very good idea of how well they will work compared to each other and the set only has to be mismatched for a couple days while you do your testing.

[Adam C]

Totally agree with Stuart, go ahead and buy one of each shaft and install them into your middle irons. You don't need to be "fit" but you definitely want to try them over an extended period of time. I know you said, weight doesn't really influence you, but you are looking at shafts that are up to 50g apart. That is an absolutely huge difference, and in the end weight is by far the most important spec of any golf shaft so you want to get it right.

[halliedog]

Thanks for the feedback, and I'll try to answer a few:

@ Shallowbutdeadly: I could probably make a few hours on a weekend, but the only place in my area likely to have both shafts to demo would likely want to charge a fitting fee, which I'm not wanting to do at the moment. I'd go with tried and true KBS Tour V before that.

@ Stuart and Adam: I'd be buying the shafts from eBay, and seem to find find better deals on full sets rather than purchasing a single 7 iron shaft of each, then deciding which I like better, then going back and buying 4-6, 8-W.

@ Jeff: Interesting findings. I'll add the AMT Blacks to my research list, although on paper they don't seem like a good fit.

I will add that I suffer from elbow/wrist pain whenever I play a few days in a row, so the idea of graphite was intriguing, but I could just go on with doweling/ProSofts in steel if need be.

I guess I just need to bite the bullet and find some time on a weekend and schedule a fitting with the only shop that will have all the different shafts to demo. That way I can try graphite other than the Catalysts, along with both AMTs and maybe a few other steels (have never hit a Nippon, and from everything I read they get great reviews if they fit your profile.

[ChipNRun]

See if you can buy a P770 demo 7i or 6i. Use that head to test different shafts.

That's what I did with my old set of Callaway X20 Tours. I tried three different shafts in the demo iron, and could do side-by-sides with the stock PX 5.0 shafted 6i. I eventually went with a much lighter NS Pro 8950GH.

[Stuart_G]

@halliedog said: I'd be buying the shafts from eBay, and seem to find find better deals on full sets rather than purchasing a single 7 iron shaft of each, then deciding which I like better, then going back and buying 4-6, 8-W.

Except It's only really a better deal if you pick the right shaft the first time. Don't get me wrong. I completely understand. I really have been there, done that. But looking at the shafts on paper will never be enough to ensure you get that pick right the first time. So if you do go that approach, I guess it just comes down to how lucky you feel ;-)
It wasn't the case when I had the same problem but at least now, the recoils and steelfibers are getting more popular and can usually be found to demo. Some of the others may be harder to find though, but you never know until you look around.

[halliedog]

I live in NE OH and we don't have a lot of fitters with extensive inventory of graphite shafts that are easily accessible to me.

I'm going to be spending the next 2 weeks in Indianapolis for work. I'll be working from 5:00pm to 1:00am, then go back to the hotel to sleep. I'll have all morning/ early afternoon to do whatever I want, so are there any good fitters in IND that would have a bunch of graphite shafts, and won't charge an arm and a leg for a decent "fitting" on a SIM?