The hands of time....

[westy]

Ok so I've played a few rounds now this year, most things are ok but a very noticeable drop in distance has occurred in my long irons.

 

I've got stiff shafts in my irons and I fear my swing speed has dropped to the point where distance is being hurt.

 

Not such an issue with mid and short irons, but with the 4 and 5.....ouch.

 

So do I admit I'm getting old and drop some reg shafts into 4 and 5 iron, will I grab back a few yards that way? Or is it time for 4 hybrids and a seat on my trolley?

[wbealsd]

Well, getting old DOES beat the alternative

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

As Tiger said, Father Time is undefeated....

[westy]

Wise words so far!

 

Anyone mix their shafts between reg and stiff?

[Undershooter]

Wise words so far!

Anyone mix their shafts between reg and stiff?

You could probably get some flighted shafts to help get your distance back with the long irons. They flighted will launch a little higher in the 4 and 5 irons for you.

[hckymeyer]

Unless you practiced a bunch over the winter I wouldn't make too many changes yet. Get your groove back first and play in some warmer weather to make sure it's not just the cold affecting your swing.

 

That said I went to 4 hybrids last year and it was one of the best changes I've made to my setup. And no they didn't come with an AARP card 😄

[Mr_Theoo]

Unless you practiced a bunch over the winter I wouldn't make too many changes yet. Get your groove back first and play in some warmer weather to make sure it's not just the cold affecting your swing.

 

That said I went to 4 hybrids last year and it was one of the best changes I've made to my setup. And no they didn't come with an AARP card 😄

Sure it didn't old man lol

[revkev]

I would wait as well.  Let the season progress and see where you are at.  I did in fact mix shafts as I started to make the transition.  As I recall it was lofted fairway woods to hybrids to a mixture of stiff (driver - wedges) and regular - the rest of the set - to all regular.

 

But I proceeded with caution in all cases.

[Kenny B]

Agree with waiting for more rounds in warmer weather.  

 

That said, you didn't state whether your loss of distance is also accompanied with a lower ball flight.  I lost distance in my longer irons years ago, so my first change was to hybrids.  Higher ball flight, but you may not want/need that on your courses.  Next, I changed to Ping i20s with graphite.  That produced a higher ball flight and more carry for all irons.  At some point you realize that steel just doesn't produce the desired results anymore and they are hard on my old joints.  Fortunately, today's graphite shafts are much better than the were 10 years ago.

[westy]

Nope still got hang time, but I'm cutting the ball a fair bit. I like to hit a fade - but not too much! High fades are fine - but With a 4 iron a few more yards and some penetration would be good.

[BIG STU]

Like others said wait a little while and let your body get adjusted to the weather. Now I made a change about a year ago but I went to lighter shafts in my irons but they are still stiff but not as stiff as they used to be. Now I have been hitting a 7 wood for quite some time now and got a 9 wood to match it so I do not carry a 3 and 4 iron any more. But the odd thing about me I built just last week a KZG 17* 2 iron for certain tee shots. I did deviate from my norm I was always a S-300 user so I had quite a few of them laying around so I double soft stepped one for this head and added about 2 grams of lead tape to the toe side to get a little kick with the double soft tipped shaft. It works for me I hit a little quail high cut with it that rolls like it stole something. Sometimes with age you have to revamp and adjust however that may work for you. The two options you stated are good you will just have to find what will work for you. Good Luck keep us posted

[GolfSpy Dave]

Been mulling this over myself as well. At length. So as not to thread jack, I'll just post the link to my thoughts on this

http://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/13547-becoming-more-regular/

[fozcycle]

Last year I gamed the lightweight stiff shafts on the Cobra Bio Cell irons while everything else was a regular shaft. Th e stiffs were light weight so my SS was about the same.

[westy]

Bloody hell Dave that was a hell of thread!

 

See I lost loads of distance when I had my back done 6 years ago, but I became a better player because I kept the ball on the course more.

 

The Stock stiff shaft that is in my SLDR (or the x hot pro I have) aren't that stiff anyway, so it's not the driver where I'm struggling. I've got a 93-95mph drivers swing speed (now please note I'm 38 years old and only weigh 177 pounds but my swing is at best 3/4 long) and I get around 220-230 out of my driver. I don't think I can ask for more than that really.

 

But, seeing my 4 iron drop sub 165 yards is a worry. I'm pretty good with hybrids but I find the more loft on them the more hooks come into play - so I carry a RBZ stage 2 tour (set at 18) and RBZ tour (22 degrees). I'd got around a 20 yard gap opening up between the 4 iron and the 4 hybrid.

 

I was thinking about popping G30 4 and 5 irons in the bag with the ping CFS reg shafts, super forgiving and might give me a few extra yards? Then if things come back together I can pop the I20 4 and 5 iron back in the bag.....

[westy]

Time to come back to this thread, so after starting this thread I did indeed put G30 4 and 5 irons in the bag.

 

Guess what?

 

They are flipping great!

 

I had the shaft cut down 0.5 inches but they have given me back some distance, they fly nicely (high but not like balloons) and I can work them a little bit.

 

So, yesterday me and my best mate (pro and ping fitter) got the order sorted for 6 - PW in the I25's with regular shafts.

 

Embrace the regulars and move on.

 

If Ping made a 3 iron in the G30's it would go in the bag and I'd drop a hybrid!

[Mr_Theoo]

Time to come back to this thread, so after starting this thread I did indeed put G30 4 and 5 irons in the bag.

 

Guess what?

 

They are flipping great!

 

I had the shaft cut down 0.5 inches but they have given me back some distance, they fly nicely (high but not like balloons) and I can work them a little bit.

 

So, yesterday me and my best mate (pro and ping fitter) got the order sorted for 6 - PW in the I25's with regular shafts.

 

Embrace the regulars and move on.

 

If Ping made a 3 iron in the G30's it would go in the bag and I'd drop a hybrid!

I think they do

[revkev]

It's the way it goes Westy. My first R shaft was a three wood, then it was the long irons, then the rest of the irons and last it was driver. The equipment has helped mitigate some of the lost yardage and all of the trajectory.

 

I wouldn't recommend the 3 iron though. You normally don't hit that club often and having one hybrid in the bag creates certain shortgame options that a long iron doesn't. You could play those shots with a fairway wood but the shorter shaft on the hybrid makes it easier to work with.

[fozcycle]

Bite the bullet Westy and try the 3 - 4 Hybrids.

[mizuno_lover]

I think in the case of the G30 they bend a 4 iron to a three iron loft.  I agree with the Rev though a 20 - 22 degree hybrid is far more reliable than a 3 iron.  I too have mixed flex clubs in my bag the hybrids are R flex as are my irons, my 3 wood and driver are still S flex but I think the Ping S flex is a bit softer than other S flex's.  The Mizuno 3 wood is the Fujikara Orichi stiff shaft but again I have no problem loading it in my swing and it performs great.

[westy]

Well my feeling is that I'm still ok with stiff graphite shafts (as long as they are quite light) so the woods and hybrids should be ok for a bit.....

 

Having seen the blog though I might just need to see if the I25's are going down in price or what price the new I series irons might be!

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

 I've got a 93-95mph drivers swing speed (now please note I'm 38 years old and only weigh 177 pounds but my swing is at best 3/4 long) and I get around 220-230 out of my driver. I don't think I can ask for more than that really.

 

 

Westy--did I read that right and you're 38 and thinking father time is responsible!  At 38 you should be still in your muscular prime!  I'm 62 and not willing to concede anything to father time yet (except the increasing aches and pains!).

[revkev]

Jax - don't you remember when approaching 40 seemed old?  Oh wait, you've probably forgotten that.

[westy]

To be fair Jax, your right I should be in better condition.

 

But I've not looked after myself very well (20 years of sport astro turf and overweight for a lot of that time) and the collective injuries and ops I've had mean I swing it pretty slow and most days I'm in some pain.

 

It's only 7 years since I played an r7 with aldila x stiff shaft, and I was pretty long in those days.

 

I'm hoping to maintain this swing speed for many years to come!

[Kenny B]

To be fair Jax, your right I should be in better condition.

 

But I've not looked after myself very well (20 years of sport astro turf and overweight for a lot of that time) and the collective injuries and ops I've had mean I swing it pretty slow and most days I'm in some pain.

 

It's only 7 years since I played an r7 with aldila x stiff shaft, and I was pretty long in those days.

 

I'm hoping to maintain this swing speed for many years to come!

 

Taking care of yourself is overrated.

 

[wbealsd]

[rickkimbrell]

Let me start out by saying, I am about to turn 69 years old.  

I filled out an online "club fitting" thing recently for irons just to see what was recommended.  I noticed one of the questions was how far do you hit your 7 iron.  Well, up until a year ago I used to hit it 160 yards (stiff steel shafts). Now I hit it around 150 with those same clubs.  I entered 150 into the value and the recommendation came back for regular shafts.  So I decided to go change that number and see what it did.  160 was stiff.  155 was stiff.  150 was regular.  

[Kenny B]

Let me start out by saying, I am about to turn 69 years old.  

I filled out an online "club fitting" thing recently for irons just to see what was recommended.  I noticed one of the questions was how far do you hit your 7 iron.  Well, up until a year ago I used to hit it 160 yards (stiff steel shafts). Now I hit it around 150 with those same clubs.  I entered 150 into the value and the recommendation came back for regular shafts.  So I decided to go change that number and see what it did.  160 was stiff.  155 was stiff.  150 was regular.

 

Well look! Finally, someone as old as I am! I was beginning to think I was the only really old golfer on this forum.

 

I went to graphite many years ago and never looked back. However, I still prefer heavier graphite over the light stuff. More consistency and easier on those joints!

[fozcycle]

Well look! Finally, someone as old as I am! I was beginning to think I was the only really old golfer on this forum.

 

I went to graphite many years ago and never looked back. However, I still prefer heavier graphite over the light stuff. More consistency and easier on those joints!

 

I am up there as well, will be 65 this Christmas Day.  As for graphite, I was "forced" to use them at 50 after my wrist injury.  With a steel plate , 13 screws and an inch of my hip bone in my left wrist, I need all  the vibration dampeneing I can get.  I tried the Nicklaus steel shafts with the dampening thingy in them.  Then switched to graphite. Last year I gamed the Dynalite 85s steel shafts in the Bio Cells.  I hit them just fine, but decided to return to graphite, so I changed out the Bio Cells to graphite shafts and am much happier with them now.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Been 55 for about a week now -- and for some reason, EVERYTHING hurts!!!

[fozcycle]

My wife and I switched from a waterbed to a regular mattress about six months ago.  Now, I get up every morning with lower back pains. I know it's from the change.  I loved my waterbed.