rifle shaft flex

[SCGolfer]

can someone tell me if my thinking is correct.

I currently play TM 200 irons, I am gonna upgrade for the new year. They are R80 shafts, I have hit my dad's R300 shafts would the equivalent of these be a Rifle 5.0?? I have seen clubs listed with the 5.0 shafts as Stiff, is this correct or do they play more to a regular shaft?? The clubs I am looking at are flighted if that make a difference.


Jason

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by SCGolfer

can someone tell me if my thinking is correct.

I currently play TM 200 irons, I am gonna upgrade for the new year. They are R80 shafts, I have hit my dad's R300 shafts would the equivalent of these be a Rifle 5.0?? I have seen clubs listed with the 5.0 shafts as Stiff, is this correct or do they play more to a regular shaft?? The clubs I am looking at are flighted if that make a difference.


Jason

The Royal Precision website (!!) lists the flighted 5.0 as R+, and says they are intended for players who carry a 6-iron 160 yards. The 4.5's are for 150 carry, the 5.5's are for 170 carry, etc.

[bames]

I've been looking into these same things for some time now, and someone correct me if I'm misinformed, but I also understand that once the shafts are installed other factors may make a 5.0 play more like a 5.3 +/-. It matters which head they are going into and at what length they will be played. I guess my point is that I've heard others mention that you may be better off going a little softer with the rifles because after installation they may firm up a bit.

[Rockford35]

I play 5.5's in my clubs. I would equate them to a S-. Not quite stiff, not quite Regular+.

If you're looking to match a set of R300's, the 5.0 would be a good choice.

Bames, your logic would be the same for any shaft then, no? Think about it.

R35

[SCGolfer]

thanks guys

I think the assumption of 5.0 equating to a regular is also the lack of 4.5's in the market. I don't think I have ever seen a set of clubs with anything less than 5.0's. I will give these a try and see how it works out.

By the way my new set for 08 will be a set of MP-30's with Rifle Flighted Shafts. I finally got to a point I may be able to stay in single digits, time to upgrade the clubs.

Jason

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by SCGolfer

thanks guys

I think the assumption of 5.0 equating to a regular is also the lack of 4.5's in the market. I don't think I have ever seen a set of clubs with anything less than 5.0's. I will give these a try and see how it works out.

By the way my new set for 08 will be a set of MP-30's with Rifle Flighted Shafts. I finally got to a point I may be able to stay in single digits, time to upgrade the clubs.

Jason

Just in case you have any interest - I have a set of MP-30's that are in pretty good shape (some minor chatter, and some browning of the faces) that I can sell you cheap. If you hit them and like them you could even get them re-chromed. Here's a link to some pictures I posted.

Can I use these shafts?

PM me if interested.

[Rockford35]

SC,

PM sent.

R35

[bames]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

I play 5.5's in my clubs. I would equate them to a S-. Not quite stiff, not quite Regular+.

If you're looking to match a set of R300's, the 5.0 would be a good choice.

Bames, your logic would be the same for any shaft then, no? Think about it.

R35

Probably. I was told by Ken that the rifles are stiffer in the butt and if they play say 1/2" long then they will be a little stiffer than advertised. Which seems to defy normal shaft logic to me. I've searched everywhere for a good answer to this question and have asked numerous club builders all over and the answer is split 50/50. I really have no idea. I would like to mess around with a frequency machine and a hacksaw to test the theory though. He also said that the depth of the hozel will have more/less effect depending on the club.

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by bames

Probably. I was told by Ken that the rifles are stiffer in the butt and if they play say 1/2" long then they will be a little stiffer than advertised. Which seems to defy normal shaft logic to me. I've searched everywhere for a good answer to this question and have asked numerous club builders all over and the answer is split 50/50. I really have no idea. I would like to mess around with a frequency machine and a hacksaw to test the theory though. He also said that the depth of the hozel will have more/less effect depending on the club.

Agreed.

But as it sits, you have a run of the mill R300, right? You put it into club A and it's frequency is X. You put that same shaft into clubhead B that has a shorter insertion, your frequency is different, even using the same shaft.

You're obviously splitting hairs when you do this, so I'm not sure how much merit there is to it in terms of guys like us sensing a difference. I think the charts that are made up for trimming are pretty generic, and cover the whole spectrum.

I mean, do you think you or I could tell a frequency difference between a set of Cobras and a set of Hogans if they were shafted with the same shaft, same length, same raw frequency? I can't even keep my golf shoes tied up for 18 holes.

R35

[SilverUberXeno]

I tried a MacGregor M685 6 iron with a 4.5 rifle and a 5.5 rifle at a GG demo station. I hit them both 178 yards. Go figure.

[bames]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

Agreed.

But as it sits, you have a run of the mill R300, right? You put it into club A and it's frequency is X. You put that same shaft into clubhead B that has a shorter insertion, your frequency is different, even using the same shaft.

You're obviously splitting hairs when you do this, so I'm not sure how much merit there is to it in terms of guys like us sensing a difference. I think the charts that are made up for trimming are pretty generic, and cover the whole spectrum.

I mean, do you think you or I could tell a frequency difference between a set of Cobras and a set of Hogans if they were shafted with the same shaft, same length, same raw frequency? I can't even keep my golf shoes tied up for 18 holes.

R35

Not a chance. I better understand now what you were saying. Basically any shaft will perform in a slightly different manner depending on with which head it is coupled. And I couldn't agree more. Here is my question:

Have you heard that a 5.0 Rifle Flighted shaft will play to a 5.2 or 5.3 if it is 1/2" long and inserted in an MP-60? This is the question that I get varying aswers for no matter who I ask.

[Rockford35]

No. My take is that a Rifle (assuming it's tapered) is inserted into an average depth hosel to make it a 5.0. If your hosel is longer or shorter, it might make a difference. But it's not like you're adding or subtracting 1/2". It might be 1/32" or along those lines. You cut it to "standard" length and you have a 5.0 flex.

Now, with a parallel iron, this could easily make a difference. Try putting a 6 iron shaft into a 7 iron. Plays way softer. Soft stepping and hard stepping. But, if you cut the length wrong, you're gonna change the flex/feel forsure.

I think alot more of a guess work is gone with tapers, but flex is a mystery from day 1. With tapers, you pretty much take what you get and hope they line up reasonably well in terms of frequency. But that's another ball of wax altogether.

R35

[dave.]

Originally Posted by SilverUberXeno

I tried a MacGregor M685 6 iron with a 4.5 rifle and a 5.5 rifle at a GG demo station. I hit them both 178 yards. Go figure.

its because the weight of the shaft plays a huge part, often over looked

[wirehair]

I had a set of Titleist 981's with 5.0's at +1/2". I could hit them & I can time my SS with an hour glass, that was also before I screwed up my elbow.

[tristy]

I have looked into this rifle flex mystery and I am still lost as well. The only thing that I know is that project x shafts play stiffer than a regular rifle shaft with the same flex.