Videos
Ask the Experts: What’s the difference between graphite and steel iron shafts?
Fujikura Tour fitter Marshall Thompson explains the difference between graphite and steel iron shafts, and why one may be better than the other for your game. Check out the full video below.
More “Ask the Experts” videos:
- What matters more, the shaft or the club head?
- What does shaft frequency mean?
- How do you fit for shaft flex aside from just swing speed
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Equipment
Club Junkie WITB, league night week 4: Some old, some new
We enter week 4 of Thursday night men’s league feeling a little more confident in the game. BK is hoping to go a little lower and reduce the mistakes out there with these clubs in the bag. Watch the video for the full breakdown of why these clubs are getting the starting nod this week!
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, neutral setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 63 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Lin-Q M40X TSPX Blue 7F5
7-wood: Ping G430 Max (-1 degree, flat Ssetting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 S
Iron: Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi 4
Shaft: Aerotech Steelfiber hls880 S
Irons: PXG 0317 Tour (5-PW)
Shaft: LA Golf A-Series 105 Low (4)
Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM10 (50-08F)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Dart V 105 F4 Wedge
Wedge: Ping S159 (56-10H)
Shaft: Ping Z-Z115
Wedge: Ping S159 (60-08B)
Shaft: Ping Z-Z115
Putter: PXG Battle Ready II Brandon
Shaft: BGT Stability Tour Spec One
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X
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Equipment
Mitsubishi Diamana WB: What you need to know + club build, on-course testing
GolfWRX’s Resident Club Junkie, Brian Knudson, was naturally excited to get his hands on Mitsubishi’s new Diamana WB shaft.
In this video, BK gives you a brief overview of the new WB, builds up a driver, and takes it to the course for some testing.
With the rebirth of the iconic Whiteboard profile, Mitsubishi didn’t just re-issue a classic, but rather infused all the company’s latest tech into a new shaft, paying homage to the original with its quintessentially Hawaiian-inspired stylings. A summary of that impressive roster of technology, below.
- 80-ton Dialead pitch fiber: Positioned in the handle, Dialead is designed to deliver greater ball speed via better energy transfer.
- Aerospace-grade MR70 carbon fiber adds additional strength, and 46-ton fiber in angle plies in the tip section reduce torque for tighter shot dispersion.
- Consistent Feel Design: Engineers target minimal variance across shafts (butt OD, weight, and balance point) to make the fitting process easier.
- Xlink Tech Resin System: Engineers continue to reduce resin content and increase carbon fiber volume for greater feel without sacrificing strength and durability.
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Videos
Club Junkie WITB, league night week 3: Enter the 11-iron
Back by popular demand, it’s BK’s WITB for his third week of league play. Check out the video for the details and WITB logic (such as it is from golf’s most impetuous equipment adjuster!).
Driver: Cobra Darkspeed X (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: L.A. Golf A-Series Mid X
3-wood: PXG 0311 Black Ops
Hybrid: Mizuno ST Max
Irons: Cobra King Tec Utility (4), Callaway Apex Pro (5, 6), Callaway Apex CB (7-9), Callaway Apex MB (10, 11)
Wedges: Adams Idea SW, LW
Putter: Ping PLD Anser 2D
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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Frank
Aug 3, 2018 at 12:26 pm
This was interesting but, as Adam noted above, not particularly helpful in terms of a comparison. In any case, as with all shafts, it’s really a matter of what suits each person’s own swing and set makeup. I am 64, 6’5″ tall, 11 handicap, and have always had accuracy issues with irons, which is the fault of my swing, not the clubs I use. That said, earlier this year I went back to steel shafts for all my irons (I play 5-SW) after testing a new, more flexible steel shaft I got through the Maltby clubmakers’ site. I haven’t had the flex tested by a fitter, but the 95 gram shafts, which they claim are “A/R flex”, do feel more flexible than any other steel shaft I’ve used in the past, and I’ve been getting much tighter shot dispersion using these shafts with Maltby STi heads than I was getting with Callaway XR’s with A-flex graphite. I gave up maybe 4-5 yards in the switch but that’s not hard to adjust to. So all of this is to say, at least in my case, the old saw about steel being generally more accurate than graphite has proven to be true.
Gerald Teigrob
Aug 3, 2018 at 11:55 am
Having benefited from playing both graphite and steel irons, I now realize that by playing stiff graphite right now, my game will make the most improvement right now. In time, I can determine when I play steel. I might still put steel in my pitching and gap wedges, but otherwise, I see no reason to rush the process! And breaking 90 for 18 holes feels pretty good, regardless of the shaft in it! I am happy that I know graphite shafts will benefit me right now…and when I move over to steel shafts in my Bio Cell irons, I can take confidence in that I know how responsive my steel irons should be!
Brian Terry
Aug 3, 2018 at 9:52 am
I’ve been playing graphite in my irons for the last 5 years after playing steel for 40 yrs. 6i SS is 90mph, so I take a healthy swipe at the ball. I’ve used Steelfiber i110CW, Matrix Program 130, Aldila RIP Tour 115 and recently UST Recoil Protos. I have found them all to perform as well or better than any steel shaft on the market. My favorite are the RIPs (sadly, no longer available) with their more penetrating ball flight and firm solid feel.
So, IMHO, anyone who claims steel is superior to graphite is just ignorant of the facts.
BT
Adam
Aug 2, 2018 at 6:42 pm
I didn’t fully understand his response to the difference between graphite and steel iron shafts. The response was too generalized and not about iron shafts. Perhaps he can add a bit more to his response.
steve
Aug 2, 2018 at 4:31 pm
Graphite shafts do not respond the same as steel shafts in final release when the shaft tip is drooping and torquing. Steel shafts have a faster dynamic response and therefore more predictable than soggy floppy graphites shafts composed of graphite fibers and plastic epoxy.
Graphite shaft makers have been struggling to create a graphite shaft tip that performs the same as steel and they have failed; still trying to embed exotic fibers into the tips.
steve
Aug 2, 2018 at 4:36 pm
Furthermore, graphite shafts from Asia are cheap to produce and there is a lot of profit margin to share with tour pros to promote them. Most golfers are gullible and think that fancy painted graphite shafts are the cat’s meow since the pros use them in drivers. The graphite shafts pros use are not off-the-shelf shafts; they are custom made and then painted for the models they are promoting.
Rascal
Aug 2, 2018 at 5:39 pm
Did ogo get banned? Welcome back!
lee
Aug 6, 2018 at 11:25 pm
I’m baaaaack … and excessive plastic epoxy is the enemy of shaft tip control in atmospheric pressure oven-cured sloppy graphite shafts.
Read about autoclave cured shafts with the excess epoxy squeezed out at high pressures in the autoclave process:
http://www.golfwrx.com/489200/a-qa-with-seven-dreamers-about-its-1200-shafts/