Can you please explain shaft tip trimming?

[DGA3]

I mean, I know that it means cutting a portion of the shaft off of the tip end, and the result is stiffer shaft (the more you cut off).

 

Because of tennis elbow in my left arm, I am considering switching the steel shafts on my Ping G425 irons to graphite. After lots of research, the UST Recoil 760 Smacwrap seems to be a good choice for my ever-slowing (with age) swing speed and tender elbow.

 

According to the UST website, the tip trimming for my irons would range from 1.5" on the 5-iron, to 4" on my pitching wedge. 

 

4"??? That seems like a lot. Wouldn't it make the shaft in my PW much, much stiffer than the one in my 5-iron?

 

Any information you could pass my way would be greatly appreciated! 

[Kenny B]

8 minutes ago, DGA3 said:

I mean, I know that it means cutting a portion of the shaft off of the tip end, and the result is stiffer shaft (the more you cut off).

 

Because of tennis elbow in my left arm, I am considering switching the steel shafts on my Ping G425 irons to graphite. After lots of research, the UST Recoil 760 Smacwrap seems to be a good choice for my ever-slowing (with age) swing speed and tender elbow.

 

According to the UST website, the tip trimming for my irons would range from 1.5" on the 5-iron, to 4" on my pitching wedge. 

 

4"??? That seems like a lot. Wouldn't it make the shaft in my PW much, much stiffer than the one in my 5-iron?

 

Any information you could pass my way would be greatly appreciated! 

You can't tip-trim Ping or any other shafts with 0.355 taper shafts.

[cnosil]

6 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

You can't trim Ping or any other shafts with 0.355 taper shafts.

because they are designed to be specific to each head and are in effect, already tip trimmed.

 

 

[fixyurdivot]

13 minutes ago, DGA3 said:

Because of tennis elbow in my left arm, I am considering switching the steel shafts on my Ping G425 irons to graphite. After lots of research, the UST Recoil 760 Smacwrap seems to be a good choice for my ever-slowing (with age) swing speed and tender elbow.

The Recoil ES780 F3 were head to head with the MMT80 R's I chose for the ZX5's.  I'm thinking you will find them a good fit and, more importantly, offer pain relief.

[cnosil]

17 minutes ago, DGA3 said:

 

Any information you could pass my way would be greatly appreciated! 

TIP trimming is designed to get the shaft to play correctly in each head;  heads are different weights and therefore need different stiffness profiles.  Remember,  shafts come in stock lengths and they have to be cut to playing length.   If you need softer flex then play a softer flex;  it translates to the entire set.

You are mentioning the elbow issues and that isn't about flex, that is about vibration and what some people find is that there is less vibration in graphite and will ease the pain.

[Golfweasel]

As mentioned above the Ping G425 iron heads are .355 diameter which accepts taper tip shafts (no tip trimming, just butt trim to playing length). Taper tip shafts are manufactured to the specific iron you are inserting to (hence butt trim only). 
The UST Recoil 760 Smacwrap is a .370 diameter shaft (parallel tip) where the tip is trimmed according to the iron it is being inserted to and the butt trimmed for playing length. Raw uncut parallel shafts are all the same length prior to any installation. 

You should look at a .355 taper tip graphite shaft that meets your weight desire for the Ping G425’s

[GolfSpy_BNG]

3 minutes ago, Golfweasel said:

As mentioned above the Ping G425 iron heads are .355 diameter which accepts taper tip shafts (no tip trimming, just butt trim to playing length). Taper tip shafts are manufactured to the specific iron you are inserting to (hence butt trim only). 
The UST Recoil 760 Smacwrap is a .370 diameter shaft (parallel tip) where the tip is trimmed according to the iron it is being inserted to and the butt trimmed for playing length. Raw uncut parallel shafts are all the same length prior to any installation. 

You should look at a .355 taper tip graphite shaft that meets your weight desire for the Ping G425’s

@DGA3 this is what you need to be looking for.  The Ping g425’s require a .355t tip shaft. As mentioned above the tipping recommendation is for .370 parallel tip shafts. 

[DGA3]

This is great information - some of it above my head!

 

Are you saying that due to size differences in the hosel diameter of my Ping irons, I cannot have the Recoil 760 ES Smacwrap shafts installed?

 

Or are you saying that they can be installed, but in a way that is different than the tip trimming that is recommended by UST?

 

I also understand that shafts are tapered, but if some are parallel, does that mean they are the same diameter for a certain length down on the tip end (as opposed to getting smaller/tapering)?

 

Layman's terms please, and have patience with me. I am a fast learner.  

 

 

[DGA3]

33 minutes ago, Golfweasel said:

As mentioned above the Ping G425 iron heads are .355 diameter which accepts taper tip shafts (no tip trimming, just butt trim to playing length). Taper tip shafts are manufactured to the specific iron you are inserting to (hence butt trim only). 
The UST Recoil 760 Smacwrap is a .370 diameter shaft (parallel tip) where the tip is trimmed according to the iron it is being inserted to and the butt trimmed for playing length. Raw uncut parallel shafts are all the same length prior to any installation. 

You should look at a .355 taper tip graphite shaft that meets your weight desire for the Ping G425’s

How do I go about that? 

 

I know that Ping offers the Alta CB Slate as the stock graphite shaft with the 425's.

 

Are there other choices? If so, what are they?

[GolfSpy_BNG]

19 minutes ago, DGA3 said:

, I cannot have the Recoil 760 ES Smacwrap shafts installed?

If you are gonna order through ust, I would give them a call. The website says taper tip available upon request. 

[GolfSpy_BNG]

21 minutes ago, DGA3 said:

This is great information - some of it above my head!

 

Are you saying that due to size differences in the hosel diameter of my Ping irons, I cannot have the Recoil 760 ES Smacwrap shafts installed?

 

Or are you saying that they can be installed, but in a way that is different than the tip trimming that is recommended by UST?

 

I also understand that shafts are tapered, but if some are parallel, does that mean they are the same diameter for a certain length down on the tip end (as opposed to getting smaller/tapering)?

 

Layman's terms please, and have patience with me. I am a fast learner.  

 

 

In order to use the parallel.370 smac wraps you would either need to ream the hosel of the pings to .370 or sand down the tip of the shafts to fit the .355t hosel. If going this route I recommend reaming the hosel vs sanding the graphite shaft but you may get answers both ways. 
 

Parallel shafts are .370 for a specific potion of the tip of the shaft before getting bigger. This allows manufacturers to use the same shaft in the same length multiple times by trimming it to get the desired length and flex for each iron head. 

[Golfweasel]

2 minutes ago, DGA3 said:

How do I go about that? 

 

I know that Ping offers the Alta CB Slate as the stock graphite shaft with the 425's.

 

Are there other choices? If so, what are they?

Comparable alternatives for the Recoil in a .355t tip are: 

Recoil 65 Iron F3-R

KBS Max Graphite 65g R

Best recommendation is to find a reputable fitter in your neck of the woods. 

[DGA3]

7 minutes ago, Golfweasel said:

Comparable alternatives for the Recoil in a .355t tip are: 

Recoil 65 Iron F3-R

KBS Max Graphite 65g R

Best recommendation is to find a reputable fitter in your neck of the woods. 

My current choices would be Golf Galaxy or the PGA Superstore. I'm guessing that they have some experienced fitters and some hacks.

How does one go about finding a reputable fitter? I am in central Ohio.

[DGA3]

16 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

If you are gonna order through ust, I would give them a call. The website says taper tip available upon request. 

So - with a request from UST - I could get the 760's with a taper tip that would fir my G425's.

Thanks.

[cnosil]

29 minutes ago, DGA3 said:

This is great information - some of it above my head!

Are you saying that due to size differences in the hosel diameter of my Ping irons, I cannot have the Recoil 760 ES Smacwrap shafts installed?

Or are you saying that they can be installed, but in a way that is different than the tip trimming that is recommended by UST?

I also understand that shafts are tapered, but if some are parallel, does that mean they are the same diameter for a certain length down on the tip end (as opposed to getting smaller/tapering)?

Layman's terms please, and have patience with me. I am a fast learner.  

 

Iron hosels generally have two profiles/sizes.   The first is .370 and .355.   The .370 is typically parallel from the top to the bottom of the hosel.  The .355 typically tapers to a narrower diameter about 1/2" from the bottom.      Shafts receive a combination of butt and tip trimming based on the iron they are going to installed.    Typically if you buy .355 taper shafts from someone, they are already top trimmed and ready for a specific iron (the site you buy them from typically asks which iron number you want to purchase.  Yes,  the .370 parallel for about 5 inches up the shaft to accommodate the necessary tipping.

Typically you buy the shafts that are configured for your hosel.  If the OEM doesn't make that shaft you can make a .370 a .355 taper by sanding the tip section to fit.  I have read that .355 taper start out as .370 parallel and the OEM does the work. I have also read that some OEM's don't recommend that you sand down the shaft due to how thin the tip section are so you can also ream out the hose to be .370.       IF you buy the .355 but need .370 you would have to use a shim to fill in the extra space. 

Someone experienced in clubmaking would be able to do this all of this for you. 

[DGA3]

11 minutes ago, Golfweasel said:

Comparable alternatives for the Recoil in a .355t tip are: 

Recoil 65 Iron F3-R

KBS Max Graphite 65g R

Best recommendation is to find a reputable fitter in your neck of the woods. 

I see.

The Recoil 65's have taper tips. 

They would work with my G425's.

Got it.

 

Nice suggestion!

[cnosil]

7 minutes ago, DGA3 said:

How does one go about finding a reputable fitter? I am in central Ohio.

My suggestion would be @McGolf.  He is in Ohio;  if you know what you want,  he can do the build for you.    Or he is about an 1.5 hours from Columbus so you could set up an inperson fitting.  

[Golfweasel]

Yes, go see Jim at McGolf. He is in Waverly, OH (south of Columbus)

[DGA3]

4 minutes ago, cnosil said:

My suggestion would be @McGolf.  He is in Ohio;  if you know what you want,  he can do the build for you.  

I looked him up.

 

Very qualified and an award-winner!

 

He's about an hour away, which wouldn't be too bad, especially since golf season does not start around here until the Spring. I'd have plenty of time to meet with him and get the proper graphite shafts for my Pings.

[cnosil]

2 minutes ago, DGA3 said:

I looked him up.

 

Very qualified and an award-winner!

 

He's about an hour away, which wouldn't be too bad, especially since golf season does not start around here until the Spring. I'd have plenty of time to meet with him and get the proper graphite shafts for my Pings.

He is a great guy.  I have met and played golf with him.  Also had him reshaft some wedges for me based on recommendations from watching my play.  

[GolfSpy_BNG]

11 minutes ago, DGA3 said:

I looked him up.

 

Very qualified and an award-winner!

 

He's about an hour away, which wouldn't be too bad, especially since golf season does not start around here until the Spring. I'd have plenty of time to meet with him and get the proper graphite shafts for my Pings.

This is a great idea from @cnosil  Plus you would get to meet a fellow spy!

[McGolf]

Thanks guys,

yup give us a call and we can schedule you in. We are at the pga show right now looking at the new gear and talking to the vendors. 

We will be doing a livestream  tuesday Wednesday Thursday along with some videos in between. We are in Waverly about 60 min from the south end of Columbus