KBS Tour Shaft Question

AZGolfNut2 · April 29, 2009

I am going to be re-shafting my Wishon 560MC irons with KBS Tour shafts - coming from DG SL300 - and I need help deciding whether to get the 120g "Regular" version or the 130g "Stiff" version. I will need .370" parallel tip shafts, and I want to make them a 5.5 flex. My 2 options are to either get the 120g and tip them 4" (starting with the 3-iron), or get the 130g and tip them 2", and either of those will produce a 5.5 flex. Coming from a DG SL shaft I'm leaning towards the lighter weight 120g shafts, but I'm wondering if the finished weight will be pretty close either way since with the 120g shaft I will be cutting most of the length off the tip (which is lighter) and with the 130g shaft I will be cutting most of the length off the butt end (which is heavier)? I hope that makes sense, and I hope someone can help answer that question. I even called KBS directly and they weren't able to tell me. My other question is, will tipping the shafts 4" change the trajectory compared to tipping them just 2"?

northlake · April 30, 2009

You will get a slightly lower trajectory with the 120 gram shaft tipped 4" vs. the 130 gram shaft tipped 2". And there will be a weight difference with the finished clubs. The weight of KBS shafts are more evenly distributed along the length of the shaft than most other steel shafts.

AZGolfNut2 · April 30, 2009

You will get a slightly lower trajectory with the 120 gram shaft tipped 4" vs. the 130 gram shaft tipped 2". And there will be a weight difference with the finished clubs. The weight of KBS shafts are more evenly distributed along the length of the shaft than most other steel shafts.

That's actually good to hear, because I actually have a very high natural ball flight and I would prefer to keep the trajectory down a little bit. And I would prefer the 120g shafts anyways since I will be coming from the lighter weight DG SL shafts, so I guess that's what I'll be going with - 120g "regular" tipped 4" to make them a 5.5.

Thanks for the help!!

phanker · April 30, 2009

Perfect thread as it's the exact info I'm looking into too.

jleonard711, how did you determined what tipping (Regular) & soft tipping (Stiff) is required to achieve a 5.5?

"120g regular tipped 4" to make them a 5.5"

Wow, I didn't think 4" tipping is required to achieve 5.5.

Other than flight angle, would it hurt it's smoothness? I've read that KB Tours feel is really due to it's tip being the same steel thickness as the rest of the shaft compared to other brands.

I'm curious about the weight difference.

I'm much more curious if the feel is any different between the 2 options.

phanker · April 30, 2009

The lightweight KB Tours 90 is another option too.

Even though they only come in .355" tapered tip, I hear they can be fitted into a .370" head.

Other threads have indicated that the 90 version feels smoother then the regular version too.

I'm just looking into demoing both versions somewhere. No luck yet so far.

lizardoh · April 30, 2009

I thought that the 120gr is the 5.5 and the 130gr is the 6.5

phelps22 · April 30, 2009

I thought that the 120gr is the 5.5 and the 130gr is the 6.5

Not in the KBS Parallel. 120=reg, 130=stiff, and 133=xstiff.

Go with the 120 gram tipped 4" if you want a lower trajectory. I have a Wishon 560mc 3 iron and I did the same thing except I used the 130 gram tipped for 6.0 and it worked out nice. IMO the parallel KBS are the way to go cause there are so many build options compared to the tapers.

phanker · May 5, 2009

Found this chart. Very useful for how these should be trimmed.

Don't know if this is official KBS reference or not as it's not on KBS website.

Ball Flight Tip Trim Chart does confirm what's discussed here.

http://www.myostrichgolf.com/clubmakers/pr...roducts_id=1587

AZGolfNut2 · May 6, 2009

Here is the official tip-trimming chart from the KBS website: http://www.kbsshafts.com/pdf/kbs_tour.pdf

With the 120g shafts you can tip them to achieve anywhere from a 4.0-5.5 flex, and with the 130g shafts you can tip them to achieve a 5.0-6.5. These appear to be VERY flexible shafts for custom club making; I just hope the trajectory doesn't change too much by tipping the 120g 4" to achieve a 5.5 flex. Although lowering it a little bit might not be a bad thing for me since I am playing with DG SL's right now, which are low trajectory shafts

I went with 120g shafts, will tip 4" to get a 5.5 flex, and I'm going tip the wedge shafts to a 5.0 flex soft-stepped twice. I'm going to probably install the new shafts tomorrow, and I'll report back and let you know how they turn out.

phanker · May 7, 2009

Thanks for the link. Missed it somehow.

According to the link I provided, your trim will result in a lower ball flight. Not necessarily a bad thing for me either.

Definitely interested in your feedback. Thanks.

Here is the official tip-trimming chart from the KBS website: http://www.kbsshafts.com/pdf/kbs_tour.pdf

With the 120g shafts you can tip them to achieve anywhere from a 4.0-5.5 flex, and with the 130g shafts you can tip them to achieve a 5.0-6.5. These appear to be VERY flexible shafts for custom club making; I just hope the trajectory doesn't change too much by tipping the 120g 4" to achieve a 5.5 flex. Although lowering it a little bit might not be a bad thing for me since I am playing with DG SL's right now, which are low trajectory shafts

I went with 120g shafts, will tip 4" to get a 5.5 flex, and I'm going tip the wedge shafts to a 5.0 flex soft-stepped twice. I'm going to probably install the new shafts tomorrow, and I'll report back and let you know how they turn out.

AZGolfNut2 · May 8, 2009

Thanks for the link. Missed it somehow.
According to the link I provided, your trim will result in a lower ball flight. Not necessarily a bad thing for me either.
Definitely interested in your feedback. Thanks.

Yeah, the link is kind of buried in the site (you need to click on SPEC & TRIM DATA at the bottom, and then download the appropriate chart for each of the different shafts).

I am just waiting on some ProSoft inserts, which I should have tomorrow, and then I can grip these babies and take them out to the range. I'll let you know my thoughts after I have a chance to hit them.