Nippon N.S. Pro 850 GH Neo - 2022 Forum Review

[GolfSpy_APH]

 

The Nippon N.S. PRO 850GH neo.  It's a long product name with a simple story. If you're a golfer that uses a 40-50 gram driver shaft, Nippon designed the N.S. PRO 850GH neo for you. In other words, golfers who benefit from lightweight driver and fairway wood shafts should find a similar upside with sub-100 gram iron shafts.

The design architecture is similar to the N.S. PRO 950 neo, with the 850GH neo coming in a weight class lower (84.5 gm in R flex and 88 gr in S flex). Moreover, the N.S. PRO 850GH neo acknowledges two key industry realities. First, many golfers are better off with irons that launch higher and spin more. Also, the typical modern GI (game improvement) iron design features less static loft (hello 40° pitching wedges) with a lower center of gravity to try and offset the jacked lofts.

Hitting your 7-iron 10 yards further might be nice and feel good inside the friendly confines of an indoor simulator. But, what benefit is increased distance if it doesn't get you any closer to the hole?

Nippon is quick to acknowledge the early success and widespread adoption of the N.S. PRO 850GH neo on the Japan Ladies Professional Tour. But, that shouldn't be misconstrued as any indication that this series is female-specific. The reality is, most golfers that look to professionals for product credibility would be far better to emulate the specs and bag setup of professional female golfers as opposed to male golfers. But that's where the similarities end. Put differently, the only thing an amateur golfer has in common with an LPGA pro is that they both will often fit into the same equipment specs.

It's fair to suggest that Nippon is the industry leader in lightweight steel iron shafts. It's also reasonable to opine that Nippon might be the industry's most underrated steel shaft manufacturer. You don't need to tell that to Tony Finau or plenty of other pros and elite amateurs. IFYKYK, right?

Follow our Testers Reviews and progress below!

 

[azstu324]

PLACEHOLDER

[DukeStKing]

First of all, I want to send a huge thank you to GolfSpy for the opportunity to test these shafts, but especially to @GolfSpy_APH for advocating for the testers as we were trying to get these built. Speaking of which, the build was a challenge for because although I'm relatively handy, I had no idea that some hosels are .350ish and others are .370. Turns out my Callaway Apex 19 Combo set is the latter and the shafts are .350ish.... so I installed them twice- once without brass shims, once the right way with them- thanks to @azstu324 for the help on that one. So now that they are on right and I'm writing this on July 4th, I guess better late than never with this review: 

A little about me:

I am a tinkerer and obsessed with golf, so this is the place for me. I would describe my iron play as my greatest strength in golf- when it goes south, I know I'm having a really bad day. Driving and putting have always been my weakness. I chalk that up to learning to hit golf balls by trying to hit irons over trees and houses (I was not a good neighbor- although I never broke a window, I did dent some siding) in my parents yard as a kid. So getting elevation on my shots has never been an issue; I would describe myself as a high ball hitter, which hasn't changed much with age. This brings me to the comparison. 

Basis for Comparison: 

I played the TT Elevation shafts that came standard in my Callaway Apex 19 Combo set. I hit a pretty high ball with the Elevation shafts, so I was a bit apprehensive switching to the Nippon N.S. PRO 850GH neo's. As I will talk about later, I think the Elevation shafts have a more penetrating trajectory compared to the Nippons. But let me get to the first impressions. 

First Impressions:

Did I mention that I am shallow and vapid when it comes to the looks of my golf equipment? Well, I am a complete sucker for looks. As shafts go, these are handsome- the green graphics look so nice I was thinking of installing them on the top and not facing the ground. I thought better of that because I realize my superficiality would cause me to get distracted... lets hear it for self-awareness. See, I told you I was vapid. Lets get to the important stuff- performance. 

Grade: A+

Performance- Feel:

Not that the Elevation shafts felt terrible, but in comparison, they feel terrible. The Nippons have a buttery feel- not an adjective you might use to describe a shaft, but I would. They just fell soooo smooth. It's probably the lighter weight, but I loved swinging these. Whether I was going after the ball, or taking something off my swing, these shafts produced the same great feel at contact and through the swing. I think the lighter weight also allows me to feel where the club head is through-out the swing, which I will mention in the On-Course section. These took me very little time to get used to- from the first swing, they felt like they naturally fit me. 

Grade A+

Performance- Distance/Flight:

This is the one area that I needed to adjust to- distance. The Nippons fly higher than the Elevation shafts did for sure. This translated to some loss in distance. By no means was I getting balloon balls with them- for reference my swing speed with the Driver is around 98-105; with a 7 iron 86MPH. I've collected data using my Gamin 80 to measure distances for 3 years with the Apex irons and Elevation shafts: 

I would have to say, I lost distance with the extra height- 1/2 a club less if I go after it with the Nippons, a full club less with an average swing. The full club loss in distance was on a windy day, where I hit a 170 yard 9 iron with the wind; 140 yard 8 iron against the wind. The next round was on a calmer day and I hit closer to my previous averages with the Elevation shafts- that was when I went after the ball and was maybe 5 yards shorter. I was able to flight some of my approaches down by moving the ball back in my stance and hitting more of a punch shot. Additionally, I spun the ball back a lot more with the Nippons than with the TT Elevation shafts- I was playing Pro V1s and Chrome Softs in all four rounds I played with the Nippons. I'm sure the higher flight was due to the increase in back spin (again, I would not say there was any ballooning). I prefer swinging aggressively with my irons, so I would expect others coming from a stiff shaft like the Elevation to the Nippons to experience the same on their typical swing. The increase height is how they advertise these and with my "jacked" Apex lofts, they do just what Nippon says they do. 

Grade: A

On-Course Testing/Dispersion:

While I didn’t get the chance to get on Trackman, I can unequivocally say after 4 rounds, these shafts put more backspin on the ball. I have never backed the ball back more on the greens than with these shafts. Now, while that may have resulted in some distance loss,  I did see improvements with my dispersion. That’s why I could not wait to write this part. Although these shafts make me have to hit more club into the greens, which vapid and shallow me would say get rid of them, (I want to hit a 7 iron 175 yards dag nab it) I'm keeping them. With the Elevation shafts I might hit a 184 yard 9 iron more often than I would like, the Nippons were soooo consistent distance wise. I hit so many irons pin high as the distances were consistently within 3-4 yards in length from one iron to the next. Once I adjusted to the reduced distance, I was hitting pin seekers the rest of the day. Last round out, my playing partner even commented, saying "You are deadly with the distances on your irons."   My last three rounds with the new shafts, I've averaged 13/18 GIR. Again using the Garmen data, I averaged 51% GIR in 3 years, with 42% of my misses being long and short. If the trend continues, and I can limit my short and long misses, that is the very compelling argument for keeping the Nippons in play. 
Grade: A+

Conclusion:

My conclusion is pretty simple: these shafts do what Nippon says they do- higher flight in a lighter shaft. It did not falter for me when I went after the ball with an aggressive swing and the dispersion was excellent. I not only had exceptional distance control, but there were no crazy misses left or right. Despite a loss in distance, I'm keeping them in the bag and look forward to playing with a lighter weight on those crazy hot and humid summer days in NJ. Anyone looking for a lighter weight shaft, but not graphite, and who wants to hit the ball higher will be happy with the switch; just expect more back spin and a slight loss of distance. 

Final Grade: A (I didn't give it an A+, because some may not like the extra back spin.)

Happy 4th of July! 

Edited July 4, 2023 by DukeStKing
Review

[benrd5420]

MyGolfSpy Community!

First and foremost a big Thank You to MyGolfSpy for letting me participate in this review.  As an avid consumer of all things golf gear related, I have read so many of these reviews in the past, and hope that as positively to this awesome group as many before me have.

As was previously noted, there were a few hiccups in getting things up and going.  Without going into detail, it has delayed the review for many of my colleagues, but I wanted to get something out for those who are watching for info on these shafts.

Also, I would be remiss from posting this today if I didn't point out that these are the iron shafts that Rose Zhang plays and just won her LPGA debut with!!!

A little about me:

Like many of you I am a golf obsessed junkie who is firmly believes that my perfect golf game is just one gear purchase away, I just have not made that purchase… yet.  Just over a year ago I made a move from Arizona to Ohio, and it has definitely taken its toll on my handicap.  When leaving Arizona I was hovering just above an 8, and now sit firmly at a 13.  I can give plenty of excuses for that, but the truth is I am just not able to practice as much as I did in Arizona. This is as much due to being the father of a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old.

On average now I am playing 1 to 2 times per week, with a guaranteed 9 hole round each Wednesday in a work league, with hopes to make it out on the weekend for 18.  I am not a particularly long player, which you will see in my tables below.  My driver swing speed hovers just below 100mph.  Since this review focuses on iron shafts, I will call myself an average iron player, probably better than my handicap shows, but not an elite ball striker by any means.

Basis for Comparison:

As someone with a doctorate, I have done my fair share of information gathering and research.  I love getting as much data as I can, and wanted to be able to give you all the best basis for comparison I could.  In order to do this, I purchased a set of Bridgestone JGR CB irons with Nippon 950gh (original, not NEO).  For those who are aware of this iron, it is a true sleeper.  Great feeling, nice look at address, save the Gap Wedge, and easy to hit.

I was wanting to use the 950gh as a control of sorts, as I feel many people have had a chance to swing this shaft in the past.  It’s easy to find either in a demo matrix, or on the Used Club shelf, so felt it would be a good place for people to reference from.  Additionally, at the time I was using a set of Callaway X Forged CB’s with the MMT 85 taper tip shafts.  Since they were in the same weight category, I though they would also offer an opportunity for good comparison.  Also, for most people looking in the 80-90gram category, I think it is safe to assume that graphite options are in play.

Data Collection:

Living in NE Ohio we have a few options for year-round play, but one of the best is a place called 1899. They offer Trackman Bays for either virtual play, or range sessions, use Titleist ProV1x RCT balls, and are convenient in location to me.  

For the comparison table and images below, I was able to pull directly from the Trackman Reports for this information.  As an amateur data analyst, I will admit that the data collection points likely could have been more numerous (multiple sessions with each shaft), but for now this information is what I have.  In future additional posts I may include further sessions.

For both sessions I wanted to have 5 good shots per club to represent the data.  No club took more than 8 shots to get that.  I wanted it to be representative of a mid-handicap consistency, so really only took out shots that were fat, or just plain bad swings.

Finally, I have taken the clubs outdoors for a few rounds to see how they feel in nature.  This is, of course, much more in the arms/hands/swings of the beholder. 

First Impressions:

When the shafts first arrived at my home, I naturally opened them right away.  While I always appreciated the off-white minimal branding of the original line of NS Pro irons, the green logo on these shafts look great too.  They don’t pop so much that they are distracting if you prefer logo up, but also look distinct when you seem someone playing them.

So here is something I feel is worth noting, but also will probably follow with some ‘duh’ style comments. These shafts felt very light in hand.  I know that is the point, and so on, but I think that the visual of a set of 3-P shafts in my hand did not add up to the feeling I had holding them.  

Overall though, shafts look great.

When it was apparent that do to this test I was going to have to build them up myself, I was excited to do so.  I add this in only as a caveat: I am a hobbyist club builder, and while I have some of the tools of the trade, there were limitations to my ability to creat the ‘perfect build’.  My first thought was I was going to be interested to see how the weight affected how I would need to swing weight them.  I play my irons 1/2” long, and in order to swing weight them to D2, it proved not that difficult, and I was able to get them situated quickly through some dry fitting.

I will post some photos of the finished product to this post.

Performance- Feel:

I am going to start with the feel of the irons, so I can add a lot of technical data to the end of this post.

In short, the felt wonderful.  I have always found Nippon shafts to be comfortable to swing.  In comparison to the 950gh, they were more lively but still stable.  I could easily feel the head in my backswing, which I like.  Despite their lighter weight, they did not feel whippy or loose in any way.

Comparing them to the 950gh and the MMT 85, they were distinct.  I know the NEO series are supposed to have improved feel over the original 950gh, and that held true for me.  Compared to the 950 they felt smooth, but familiar.  They feel like they are part of the same line, just less heft.  In comparison to the MMT, the biggest difference for me is that the MMT has a more defined ‘kick’.  I can really feel the club release in my hands, and didn’t get that same feeling from the 850’s.  I like that feeling, but I know some people prefer not to feel that, so take that for what it’s worth.

Performance- Data:

For the purposes of doing a 1 to 1 comparison, I only have hard data points for the 950 vs 850.  The different club head/loft seemed to introduce more variables that made sense, and probably makes it less of a usable comparison.

I thought I would see an increase in club head speed with the 850, which did not hold true.  Some of that, to be sure, is on me and how I am swinging that day, but in the end there was not a discernable or marked difference in club head speeds between the 950 and 850neo.  As one would expect, this translated to very similar ball speeds as well.  With the exception of the 4iron (which was not working for me with the 850), there is only one occasion where the delta between Club Speed and Ball Speed were larger than .5 mph.  

But, there was a very marked difference in the two, and that was in spin.  As you will see in the table, with the exception of the 6iron (and again the 4i), the spin jumped up noticeably on all clubs.  This ended up giving me lower distances pretty much throughout.  This increase in speed could be a performance enhancer, or detractor, depending on the player.  Were I using a more modern game improvement or distance iron, I could really see these shafts adding a helpful amount of spin to hold greens with longer clubs, and be more consistent in distances.  For someone who is maybe using them with more traditional lofts, I could see them being too spinny, and probably bring distance down too far.

To bring together the Feel and Data: I did notice that with the longer irons I had to allow for a more deliberate swing.  If I tried to go after one, it likely ended up getting away from and not finding the target line.  I usually consider myself to be moderate in transition, but I could really feel and see the difference in outcomes when I over swung. 

Outdoor Testing:

I know this is getting long, so I will be brief here.  Since moving from Arizona to Ohio, among the big things I have learned to have to contend with differently is wind.  The wind where I live is not only stronger, but more consistent.  I have noticed more wind effect on my shots here than I ever did in Arizona.

That said, what I saw on Trackman played out on the course.  Similar launch windows as I was used to seeing with the 950 or MMT, but spinning much higher.  After about 10 holes of adjusting my distances, this was very playable.  Hit a little more club but don’t fear it will hit and run off the back.  

I know that ‘spin’ is often a four-letter word on these forums, but I found that the added spin made them very playable.  The big question will be if I can get them out on a windier day.  My fear is that the added spin may be harder to adjust to, but we will see.

 

More to come I am sure, as I am not done playing around with these.  Feel free to ask questions, or butcher me for my Trackman numbers@

Data:

Nippon 950gh Dispersion:

850neo Dispersion:

 

Edited June 5, 2023 by benrd5420

[kyleagrant]

PLACEHOLDER

[Buzzkill]

Installed 850 Neo shafts and played them today - sweet soft feeling shafts with high flight BUT I could alter trajectory if needed!

[GolfSpy_APH]

I know this one had been a little slow to start, but looking forward to how this goes for these testers!

[GolfSpy_APH]

Once again I know that momentum on this one has died off pretty good due to various reasons, but the testers now have the shafts in had and we hope that we will see some updates, posts and pictures in the near future. 

Thank you to @kyleagrant @DukeStKing @benrd5420 @azstu324 for your patients with this and we can't wait to see some updates and how these get working for you!

[azstu324]

Here's a little sneak peek at what we're working with here

[DukeStKing]

On 12/2/2022 at 6:03 AM, DukeStKing said:

PLACEHOLDER

Here's a before picture- I'm putting the Nippon N.S. PRO 850GH's into my Callaway Apex 19 Combo set, which presently has TT Elevate Tour VSS Pro's. Looking forward to see what they can do. 

[JJames]

Any news on this ? I wanted to buy these shafts but haven't been able to find a good review yet.

[Landy]

Still waiting...also wish to know if anyone compared these to the Zelos 8.

[GolfSpy_APH]

7 hours ago, JJames said:

Any news on this ? I wanted to buy these shafts but haven't been able to find a good review yet.

 

4 minutes ago, Landy said:

Still waiting...also wish to know if anyone compared these to the Zelos 8.

Due to several issues (several is putting it light) this test has had a near impossible time getting off the ground. 

We hope some sort of review will happen soon, but just appreciate all the testers have gone through.

Some have built them and others are in the process of it all..

More to come, but did to all the delays we have not put a set time on this for them.

[benrd5420]

On 5/23/2023 at 6:00 AM, JJames said:

Any news on this ? I wanted to buy these shafts but haven't been able to find a good review yet.

@ JJames, I just posted my first go through with the review.  Hopefully it is helpful.

[Landy]

@benrd5420 Great write-up, thank you!

[GolfSpy BOS]

On 6/5/2023 at 3:58 PM, benrd5420 said:

@ JJames, I just posted my first go through with the review.  Hopefully it is helpful.

This was a great look into the testing you've been able to do!

Thank you for taking the time to update this and add some life to the test even though you didn't need to.

 

So will you be playing them more over the summer?  Sounds like you really enjoyed the feel of them!

[Garry Delaplane]

After originally reading about these shafts on this forum, I replaced the XP 90 shafts in my T200 irons. At 71 years of age, changing to these shafts added both distance and accuracy. Best change I've made in years.

[DukeStKing]

On 5/23/2023 at 4:00 AM, JJames said:

Any news on this ? I wanted to buy these shafts but haven't been able to find a good review yet.

I don’t know if whatI I did would count as  a “good review,” but I finally installed the shafts and posted a review of the Nippon N.S. Pro 850 GH Neos. 

Edited July 8, 2023 by DukeStKing

[DukeStKing]

On 12/2/2022 at 6:03 AM, DukeStKing said:

First of all, I want to send a huge thank you to GolfSpy for the opportunity to test these shafts, but especially to @GolfSpy_APH for advocating for the testers as we were trying to get these built. Speaking of which, the build was a challenge for because although I'm relatively handy, I had no idea that some hosels are .350ish and others are .370. Turns out my Callaway Apex 19 Combo set is the latter and the shafts are .350ish.... so I installed them twice- once without brass shims, once the right way with them- thanks to @azstu324 for the help on that one. So now that they are on right and I'm writing this on July 4th, I guess better late than never with this review: 

A little about me:

I am a tinkerer and obsessed with golf, so this is the place for me. I would describe my iron play as my greatest strength in golf- when it goes south, I know I'm having a really bad day. Driving and putting have always been my weakness. I chalk that up to learning to hit golf balls by trying to hit irons over trees and houses (I was not a good neighbor- although I never broke a window, I did dent some siding) in my parents yard as a kid. So getting elevation on my shots has never been an issue; I would describe myself as a high ball hitter, which hasn't changed much with age. This brings me to the comparison. 

Basis for Comparison: 

I played the TT Elevation shafts that came standard in my Callaway Apex 19 Combo set. I hit a pretty high ball with the Elevation shafts, so I was a bit apprehensive switching to the Nippon N.S. PRO 850GH neo's. As I will talk about later, I think the Elevation shafts have a more penetrating trajectory compared to the Nippons. But let me get to the first impressions. 

First Impressions:

Did I mention that I am shallow and vapid when it comes to the looks of my golf equipment? Well, I am a complete sucker for looks. As shafts go, these are handsome- the green graphics look so nice I was thinking of installing them on the top and not facing the ground. I thought better of that because I realize my superficiality would cause me to get distracted... lets hear it for self-awareness. See, I told you I was vapid. Lets get to the important stuff- performance. 

Grade: A+

Performance- Feel:

Not that the Elevation shafts felt terrible, but in comparison, they feel terrible. The Nippons have a buttery feel- not an adjective you might use to describe a shaft, but I would. They just fell soooo smooth. It's probably the lighter weight, but I loved swinging these. Whether I was going after the ball, or taking something off my swing, these shafts produced the same great feel at contact and through the swing. I think the lighter weight also allows me to feel where the club head is through-out the swing, which I will mention in the On-Course section. These took me very little time to get used to- from the first swing, they felt like they naturally fit me. 

Grade A+

Performance- Distance/Flight:

This is the one area that I needed to adjust to- distance. The Nippons fly higher than the Elevation shafts did for sure. This translated to some loss in distance. By no means was I getting balloon balls with them- for reference my swing speed with the Driver is around 98-105; with a 7 iron 86MPH. I've collected data using my Gamin 80 to measure distances for 3 years with the Apex irons and Elevation shafts: 

I would have to say, I lost distance with the extra height- 1/2 a club less if I go after it with the Nippons, a full club less with an average swing. The full club loss in distance was on a windy day, where I hit a 170 yard 9 iron with the wind; 140 yard 8 iron against the wind. The next round was on a calmer day and I hit closer to my previous averages with the Elevation shafts- that was when I went after the ball and was maybe 5 yards shorter. I was able to flight some of my approaches down by moving the ball back in my stance and hitting more of a punch shot. Additionally, I spun the ball back a lot more with the Nippons than with the TT Elevation shafts- I was playing Pro V1s and Chrome Softs in all four rounds I played with the Nippons. I'm sure the higher flight was due to the increase in back spin (again, I would not say there was any ballooning). I prefer swinging aggressively with my irons, so I would expect others coming from a stiff shaft like the Elevation to the Nippons to experience the same on their typical swing. The increase height is how they advertise these and with my "jacked" Apex lofts, they do just what Nippon says they do. 

Grade: A

On-Course Testing/Dispersion:

While I didn’t get the chance to get on Trackman, I can unequivocally say after 4 rounds, these shafts put more backspin on the ball. I have never backed the ball back more on the greens than with these shafts. Now, while that may have resulted in some distance loss,  I did see improvements with my dispersion. That’s why I could not wait to write this part. Although these shafts make me have to hit more club into the greens, which vapid and shallow me would say get rid of them, (I want to hit a 7 iron 175 yards dag nab it) I'm keeping them. With the Elevation shafts I might hit a 184 yard 9 iron more often than I would like, the Nippons were soooo consistent distance wise. I hit so many irons pin high as the distances were consistently within 3-4 yards in length from one iron to the next. Once I adjusted to the reduced distance, I was hitting pin seekers the rest of the day. Last round out, my playing partner even commented, saying "You are deadly with the distances on your irons."   My last three rounds with the new shafts, I've averaged 13/18 GIR. Again using the Garmen data, I averaged 51% GIR in 3 years, with 42% of my misses being long and short. If the trend continues, and I can limit my short and long misses, that is the very compelling argument for keeping the Nippons in play. 
Grade: A+

Conclusion:

My conclusion is pretty simple: these shafts do what Nippon says they do- higher flight in a lighter shaft. It did not falter for me when I went after the ball with an aggressive swing and the dispersion was excellent. I not only had exceptional distance control, but there were no crazy misses left or right. Despite a loss in distance, I'm keeping them in the bag and look forward to playing with a lighter weight on those crazy hot and humid summer days in NJ. Anyone looking for a lighter weight shaft, but not graphite, and who wants to hit the ball higher will be happy with the switch; just expect more back spin and a slight loss of distance. 

Final Grade: A (I didn't give it an A+, because some may not like the extra back spin.)

Happy 4th of July! 

I’m have an update after playing the Nippons for more than a month now. I have enough data in my Garmin to make a more accurate comparison in terms of distance between the stock TT Elevation shafts with the Nippons. For a quick reference these were my distances with the Elevation shafts:

 

These are the distances with the Nippons:

So a reevaluation with more data shows that the distances are similar, and the gapping (minus the 9 iron as an outlier) is better with the Nippons. On the course I continue to feel a lot more confident in my distances, which was true of my initial impression when I first played the Nippons in July. The reason for the 9 iron anomaly is that I just haven’t hit that many- I also just recently got it bent 1 degree stronger so that I will hit it closer to 150 yards consistently. The 6 iron average is also off because of a downhill 220 yarder, but on the course it’s a reliable 190 yard club. Otherwise, I am very happy with the gapping and the fact that I am much less likely to hit that really “hot” shot (a 184 yard 9 iron). 

Edited August 7, 2023 by DukeStKing

[GolfSpy BOS]

On 12/2/2022 at 6:03 AM, DukeStKing said:

First of all, I want to send a huge thank you to GolfSpy for the opportunity to test these shafts, but especially to @GolfSpy_APH for advocating for the testers as we were trying to get these built. Speaking of which, the build was a challenge for because although I'm relatively handy, I had no idea that some hosels are .350ish and others are .370. Turns out my Callaway Apex 19 Combo set is the latter and the shafts are .350ish.... so I installed them twice- once without brass shims, once the right way with them- thanks to @azstu324 for the help on that one. So now that they are on right and I'm writing this on July 4th, I guess better late than never with this review: 

A little about me:

I am a tinkerer and obsessed with golf, so this is the place for me. I would describe my iron play as my greatest strength in golf- when it goes south, I know I'm having a really bad day. Driving and putting have always been my weakness. I chalk that up to learning to hit golf balls by trying to hit irons over trees and houses (I was not a good neighbor- although I never broke a window, I did dent some siding) in my parents yard as a kid. So getting elevation on my shots has never been an issue; I would describe myself as a high ball hitter, which hasn't changed much with age. This brings me to the comparison. 

Basis for Comparison: 

I played the TT Elevation shafts that came standard in my Callaway Apex 19 Combo set. I hit a pretty high ball with the Elevation shafts, so I was a bit apprehensive switching to the Nippon N.S. PRO 850GH neo's. As I will talk about later, I think the Elevation shafts have a more penetrating trajectory compared to the Nippons. But let me get to the first impressions. 

First Impressions:

Did I mention that I am shallow and vapid when it comes to the looks of my golf equipment? Well, I am a complete sucker for looks. As shafts go, these are handsome- the green graphics look so nice I was thinking of installing them on the top and not facing the ground. I thought better of that because I realize my superficiality would cause me to get distracted... lets hear it for self-awareness. See, I told you I was vapid. Lets get to the important stuff- performance. 

Grade: A+

Performance- Feel:

Not that the Elevation shafts felt terrible, but in comparison, they feel terrible. The Nippons have a buttery feel- not an adjective you might use to describe a shaft, but I would. They just fell soooo smooth. It's probably the lighter weight, but I loved swinging these. Whether I was going after the ball, or taking something off my swing, these shafts produced the same great feel at contact and through the swing. I think the lighter weight also allows me to feel where the club head is through-out the swing, which I will mention in the On-Course section. These took me very little time to get used to- from the first swing, they felt like they naturally fit me. 

Grade A+

Performance- Distance/Flight:

This is the one area that I needed to adjust to- distance. The Nippons fly higher than the Elevation shafts did for sure. This translated to some loss in distance. By no means was I getting balloon balls with them- for reference my swing speed with the Driver is around 98-105; with a 7 iron 86MPH. I've collected data using my Gamin 80 to measure distances for 3 years with the Apex irons and Elevation shafts: 

I would have to say, I lost distance with the extra height- 1/2 a club less if I go after it with the Nippons, a full club less with an average swing. The full club loss in distance was on a windy day, where I hit a 170 yard 9 iron with the wind; 140 yard 8 iron against the wind. The next round was on a calmer day and I hit closer to my previous averages with the Elevation shafts- that was when I went after the ball and was maybe 5 yards shorter. I was able to flight some of my approaches down by moving the ball back in my stance and hitting more of a punch shot. Additionally, I spun the ball back a lot more with the Nippons than with the TT Elevation shafts- I was playing Pro V1s and Chrome Softs in all four rounds I played with the Nippons. I'm sure the higher flight was due to the increase in back spin (again, I would not say there was any ballooning). I prefer swinging aggressively with my irons, so I would expect others coming from a stiff shaft like the Elevation to the Nippons to experience the same on their typical swing. The increase height is how they advertise these and with my "jacked" Apex lofts, they do just what Nippon says they do. 

Grade: A

On-Course Testing/Dispersion:

While I didn’t get the chance to get on Trackman, I can unequivocally say after 4 rounds, these shafts put more backspin on the ball. I have never backed the ball back more on the greens than with these shafts. Now, while that may have resulted in some distance loss,  I did see improvements with my dispersion. That’s why I could not wait to write this part. Although these shafts make me have to hit more club into the greens, which vapid and shallow me would say get rid of them, (I want to hit a 7 iron 175 yards dag nab it) I'm keeping them. With the Elevation shafts I might hit a 184 yard 9 iron more often than I would like, the Nippons were soooo consistent distance wise. I hit so many irons pin high as the distances were consistently within 3-4 yards in length from one iron to the next. Once I adjusted to the reduced distance, I was hitting pin seekers the rest of the day. Last round out, my playing partner even commented, saying "You are deadly with the distances on your irons."   My last three rounds with the new shafts, I've averaged 13/18 GIR. Again using the Garmen data, I averaged 51% GIR in 3 years, with 42% of my misses being long and short. If the trend continues, and I can limit my short and long misses, that is the very compelling argument for keeping the Nippons in play. 
Grade: A+

Conclusion:

My conclusion is pretty simple: these shafts do what Nippon says they do- higher flight in a lighter shaft. It did not falter for me when I went after the ball with an aggressive swing and the dispersion was excellent. I not only had exceptional distance control, but there were no crazy misses left or right. Despite a loss in distance, I'm keeping them in the bag and look forward to playing with a lighter weight on those crazy hot and humid summer days in NJ. Anyone looking for a lighter weight shaft, but not graphite, and who wants to hit the ball higher will be happy with the switch; just expect more back spin and a slight loss of distance. 

Final Grade: A (I didn't give it an A+, because some may not like the extra back spin.)

Happy 4th of July! 

That's great.  It takes a lot to accept that the shorter club is the better one for your game because it's more accurate and consistent.  I still battle a little bit of that with the SMS Pros as my yardages are different and I'm not pulling the 7 iron as my 175 club anymore.  BUT as you said, I seem to be getting more consistent distances and as it is trending better yardage gaps throughout my full setup (plus no need for 2 "gap" wedges anymore).  Thanks for taking the time to follow up on this one.  I know the testers went through a lot of unknowns on this one.

[JJames]

I did order these with the new Mizuno Pro 243. They will come next month.

[JJames]

My first tries were excellent, these shafts are really good guys. Easy to swing.

[DukeStKing]

1 hour ago, JJames said:

My first tries were excellent, these shafts are really good guys. Easy to swing.

Great- did you notice a higher ball flight/more backspin? 

[JJames]

1 hour ago, DukeStKing said:

Great- did you notice a higher ball flight/more backspin? 

Can’t say exactly.

[NoCoGolfer]

I love my NS 850 Pro shafts

I have been playing the NS 850 Pro shafts (Not the Neo) in a stiff flex all of last season in the 2021 Taylormade P790's, switching from the project x I/O 5.5 shafts in the same head. I can say since making the switch I have seen a more consistent ball flight with incredible stopping power on the greens. One of my issues with the project x shaft was that my rollout on the greens was unpredictable. I have an unlocked Bushnell launch Pro to get me through the Colorado winters which produces slightly different numbers when hitting off of the indoor mat. (slightly less spin and a little more roll out). I am planning on making the switch to the Pro 243 this season once I can get some swings outdoors insuring I have the right Nippon shaft with the new irons.