Shaft stiffness decision

[PapaRutz]

Hi folks, 

I am 58 years old and looking to get a new set of irons. I will go get fitted but in doing my research online the one question that keeps popping into my mind is, "what shaft stiffness".

So at what age or swing speed should a golfer switch to a "senior" shaft ?  The last I knew my swing speed with a 7 iron was around 77mph. 

I would appreciate some thoughts. 

Thanks folks, Tony R.

[cnosil]

Has nothing to do with swing speed. It is about how you load and unload the shaft. Find a place with a mizuno shaft optimizer and see what it recommends. Then try the shaft

[RickyBobby_PR]

There’s not standard on shaft stiffness from one brand to then next and even within a brand. No guarantee a shaft that works in one head will work in another.

as @cnosil mentions swing speed is only one aspect of getting the right shaft. 

[greenwalker]

Just went through this same quandary. Thought of ordering with specs irons online direct from PXG or Hogan. Best move ever was to go to club champion and get an iron fitting. They had so many shafts and heads it was truly awesome. I am 6’4 so it was great to have the right club length and for them to bend up each head to get me optimum specs on numerous shafts. My club head speed had dropped from my last Ping fitting approx 3 years ago, but the balance of that fitting was spot on except for shaft. I determined through the process that 1. I am mortal., 2. A regular shaft isn’t always regular and the same for stiff. 3. Fitting honed in the best dispersion, spin, carry and roll out for me. 4. I was left with the data and the opportunity to open my wallet and choose what I wanted, could afford and what I could live with.
Goto a true pro shop for this, not Dicks or the galaxy. There are a lot of tricks to the fitting and interpretation of the data.


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[BMart519]

Go demo a bunch of clubs on a monitor or go for a fitting, preferably with the ability to hit different stiffness of shafts in the same heads so you can learn the difference for your swing. Irons are precision clubs to fill the gaps between woods/hybrids and wedges. Pick the ones which give you the best dispersion. The only other numbers which need much attention are peak height/descent angle and backspin to determine if they should hold greens. 

For most people, shaft weight is more important than the flex. 

[fixyurdivot]

The fitter along with your LM data should get you to the best option.  PING has a the "soft regular" (SR) which sounds less emasculating than "senior"... marketing folks think of everything .

[chisag]

...  Just as a small example at age 66 I was fit into Modus 120 stiff flex. I also play Recoil 95 in stiff flex after being fit by UST. But in Recoil 95 Prototype it was recommended I play regular flex. And Aerotech advised me to play regular flex with the Steelfiber 95's I just installed in my P790's. I hit my 7 iron 170 and I am using a regular flex iron shaft. Yet I have hit Nippon 950GH in x flex, soft stepped once and they felt perfect. Unless you are very familiar with shafts and know what kind of shaft works best for you and then know how any given OEMs shaft plays for those flexes, it is just about impossible to navigate a choice without help. 

[GaDawg]

You will find out very soon which shaft you need. You can't go by Stiff, Regular or Senior. Let the person fitting you help you by trying all the shafts available, brand and flex.

Take your time!