should i switch to graphite shafts??

[tiger hood]

hi guys!!...greetings from subic bay in the philippines!!!....just discovered this site and was amazed how closely the format resembles one of my favorite site...ARCHERYTALK...
...golf and archery are my 2 favorite sports....i am in my 50th year of playing golf(i am 62) and although my interest in archery is even longer than that i have been into serious olympic archery only since 2004......but like many of us i pursue both sports passionately.....
...after 50 years of playing the game,however, i suffered what was diagnosed as "golfer's elbow" 3 weeks ago....it is now under control but it got me thinking if i should now switch to graphite shafts as i have been using steel shafts exclusively on my irons since i started....
...i currently have callaway x-14 pro series irons with nspro 850 shafts but my woods have all graphite shafts...
...i have always resisted graphite shafts in my irons as the ones i tried before always gave me inconsistent distance control even when i was playing my best which was a 3 hdcp.....although i am now a 9 i still feel i like the controllabilty of the newer ultralite wt steel shafts better vs graphite but my golfer's elbow is now forcing me to rethink this.....
...another factor is that today's graphite shafts are supposed to be much better than the ones before......
...i would appreciate any comments from you guys on my situation....thank you for reading this.......

[mddubya]

1st off, welcome to Shot Talk. Now as far as your question, I'm of no help at all, but in a few hours several members will be checking in that can answer any and all equipment questions you may have.

[Irish]

the graphite shafts are definitely a lot better in quality now than they were, you're playing one of the lightest steel shafts arounf at 87 grams...realistically you're not going to get much lighter steel shafts tham that..

at 87 grams though its probably not the weight of the shaft that is causing the problem..you could certainly get something in graphite thats a bit softer and would require less effort to swing...

[indacup]

There are SO many good graphite iron shafts out there now...to delay moving forward would be crazy.

Make sure you find a good local club fitter to assure you get a set that works with your swing/game.

[wirehair]

I switched to graphite for similar reasons, although I haven't got your game, I felt an immediate difference on ball strikes. If you do switch, remember that steel is more consistent from lower end to top-of-line. In Graphite there's a dramatic quality difference between something like Graffaloy, and Fred & Barney's $2 shafts.

[Clugnut]

Ugh, I've dealt with golfer's elbow before. It stinks. I personally took a couple of weeks off, and only hit short game shots, no full swings, until it got better. Graphite might be in order here for you if it is an ongoing problem. Many excellent graphite offerings now, no shame in using them.

Another alternative, albeit an expensive one, is the new Element 21 scandium shafts from Eagle One. Dampening like graphite in a steel shaft. Wicked expensive, though.

[Release]

Hoody,
You could definitely consider graphite shaft, your injury and your age group warrant the change.
You could also consider some type of insert to dampen the shock which travels up the shaft to your arms, many outfits carry similar product and it's light weight so you won't add noticeable weight to your club . GS and myostrichgolf ( can't post URL since I did not have 15 post in my pocket ) have pictures of the products and you could install it yourself if you could change your own grip; otherwise just ask whomever install golf grip for your club to insert these next you you have the grip changed.

[MGP]

Originally Posted by tiger hood

hi guys!!...greetings from subic bay in the philippines!!!....just discovered this site and was amazed how closely the format resembles one of my favorite site...ARCHERYTALK...
...golf and archery are my 2 favorite sports....i am in my 50th year of playing golf(i am 62) and although my interest in archery is even longer than that i have been into serious olympic archery only since 2004......but like many of us i pursue both sports passionately.....
...after 50 years of playing the game,however, i suffered what was diagnosed as "golfer's elbow" 3 weeks ago....it is now under control but it got me thinking if i should now switch to graphite shafts as i have been using steel shafts exclusively on my irons since i started....
...i currently have callaway x-14 pro series irons with nspro 850 shafts but my woods have all graphite shafts...
...i have always resisted graphite shafts in my irons as the ones i tried before always gave me inconsistent distance control even when i was playing my best which was a 3 hdcp.....although i am now a 9 i still feel i like the controllabilty of the newer ultralite wt steel shafts better vs graphite but my golfer's elbow is now forcing me to rethink this.....
...another factor is that today's graphite shafts are supposed to be much better than the ones before......
...i would appreciate any comments from you guys on my situation....thank you for reading this.......

I'm 47, played golf since I was about 11 years old. I started last season with the same problem -- a severe case of golfer's elbow in my left arm. I wanted to play so badly but my Wilson X-31 musclebacks just killed me every shot I hit. I decided to build a set of game improvement irons with graphite shafts to tide me over until my elbow got better.

After a bunch of research for an affordable, good quality graphite iron shaft I decide to give Golfsmith's Carbon Stick shafts a try. I couldn't have been more happy with them. They're made for Golfsmith by UST, are reasonably heavy and very consistent shaft-to-shaft.

Golfsmith Golf Shafts: Carbon Stick Iron Shaft

[tiger hood]

wow!...thanks for the great replies guys!!..am a diehard callaway guy( i also have a set of s2h2 irons 3-pw,aw,sw,lw) and have been looking at the latest graphite-shafted x-20 irons or perhaps reshaft my x-14s or the s2h2s......am definitely gonna switch though...thanks again guys!!!