Iron shafts for spin

[nututhugame]

Could you guys compile a short list of a couple of steel iron shafts that are designed for spin. I am not that knowledgeable on this subject. I am considering having some component irons built come spring time. I am not a very high spin player and would at least like to know going in what shafts could aid me in that aspect. Thanx in advance for your input fellas.

 

[SilverUberXeno]

Rifle Spinner, or FST Hi-Rev. You will lose distance on full shots with these shafts. I recommend that you just play the ball and let it release, or get a higher-spin ball. If you want cheap, try the Bridgestone E5.

 

[nututhugame]

Do these shafts also contribute to a higher trajectory due to the added spin?

I wouldn't mind losing a little distance so long as I can dial in the distances. If more spin will make it harder to keep yardages consistant then that might be a problem.

I play Maxfli Tour Fires which are not rocks, but are not pro-v's either. I play them cause they have great feel, sufficient check, are durable, and are cheap.

Are these shafts typically played in irons or more in wedges? (sorry if that's a dumb question).

Ultimately what i'm trying to get is a little more stopping power from 6,7,8 irons.

 

[limpalong]

I guess I have a difficult time believing steel shafts can have much effect on spin. Spin, in irons and wedges, is the result of technique... not the shaft. If you can get an iron shot to "drop and stop", that's one thing. However, few players can back up a 5-iron from 170 yards. Wedges can be made to spin be the less skilled through a combination of groove design and keeping the hands ahead of the clubhead. Most wedge spin, with the less skilled, is unpredictable. One ball may run off the back of the green and the next hop twice and stop. Again, few weekend players can spin the ball back.

If a player can elevate his/her trajectory on iron shots, you have a better chance of keeping the ball on the green. Flighted Rifles, for instance, have a lower kickpoint in the long iron shafts and transition to higher kickpoints in the short irons. A shaft like that will allow us to get the long irons coming in on a higher trajectory and we can see more "drop and stop". If you want help from the shaft in stopping the ball, the only means of doing so is to go to a shaft with the lowest possible kickpoint. The tradeoff is if you play in windy conditions, a high trajectory may be more difficult to control distance.

We have postage stamp greess at our home course. I play ProV's and can keep a ball on the green. My golf partner plays Top Rocks and, if he lands a ball on the green, the ball will run across the green and off. He has learned to play a pitch and run. He always lands the ball in front of the green and allows it to release toward the pin. If I do that with a ProV, I'll leave myself short every time. What little I've played the Maxfli Fire, it's characteristics are similar to a Top Flite. It may feel softer, but there's zero checking up. So, as the other poster suggested, you may need to go to a ball more sutied to spin. The ball will make considerably more difference than the shafts you have in your irons.

 

[Rockford35]

Go to a softer shaft offering. Or, as been suggested, try a different ball. However, don't expect miracles from an equipment change in this respect from your mid irons, alot of what you're looking for is in technique. However, there are some peices of the puzzle (softer shafts, ball) that will help, but not fully cure your issues.

Callaway Tour I ball + Rifle Flighted shafts in 5.5 will be a good start.

R35

 

[SilverUberXeno]

Stopping a ball with a 6 iron requires a very good ball and some pretty serious clubhead speed. Don't feel bad if you can't stop a ball even with an 8 iron. You've got to hit it hard and high to do that. Stop worrying about it. Shoot for the front of the green.

 

[MGP]

I guess I have a difficult time believing steel shafts can have much effect on spin. Spin, in irons and wedges, is the result of technique... not the shaft. If you can get an iron shot to "drop and stop", that's one thing. However, few players can back up a 5-iron from 170 yards. Wedges can be made to spin be the less skilled through a combination of groove design and keeping the hands ahead of the clubhead. Most wedge spin, with the less skilled, is unpredictable. One ball may run off the back of the green and the next hop twice and stop. Again, few weekend players can spin the ball back.

If a player can elevate his/her trajectory on iron shots, you have a better chance of keeping the ball on the green. Flighted Rifles, for instance, have a lower kickpoint in the long iron shafts and transition to higher kickpoints in the short irons. A shaft like that will allow us to get the long irons coming in on a higher trajectory and we can see more "drop and stop". If you want help from the shaft in stopping the ball, the only means of doing so is to go to a shaft with the lowest possible kickpoint. The tradeoff is if you play in windy conditions, a high trajectory may be more difficult to control distance.

We have postage stamp greess at our home course. I play ProV's and can keep a ball on the green. My golf partner plays Top Rocks and, if he lands a ball on the green, the ball will run across the green and off. He has learned to play a pitch and run. He always lands the ball in front of the green and allows it to release toward the pin. If I do that with a ProV, I'll leave myself short every time. What little I've played the Maxfli Fire, it's characteristics are similar to a Top Flite. It may feel softer, but there's zero checking up. So, as the other poster suggested, you may need to go to a ball more sutied to spin. The ball will make considerably more difference than the shafts you have in your irons.

Agree wholeheartedly with limp... spin on iron shots is almost entirely technique. Of course playing a ball with a very hard cover (typical 2-piece "distance" balls) will reduce spin significantly.

Limp... the Maxfli Fire is a rock, but the Tour Fire is not. It's got a soft cover, medium high compression and spins really well. John Daly played them on tour for a year or so. I spin them about as much as a Pro V1x, not quite as much as a Pro V1. So I don't think the OP's spin problems is with the Tour Fire, I'm guessing swing technique.

I play Maxfli Tour Fires which are not rocks, but are not pro-v's either. I play them cause they have great feel, sufficient check, are durable, and are cheap.

...snip...

Ultimately what i'm trying to get is a little more stopping power from 6,7,8 irons.

You should be able to get great spin from your short irons with the Tour Fire. I routinely get "one hop and stop" with my short irons and the Tour Fire.

My guess is you're not getting clean contact with a descending blow on the shorter irons. Good contact like that will spin the ball with anything from a noodle shaft to a piece of re-bar.

Edit: Also agree with SUX. I play almost every shot to land soft and run out just a bit. More often than not I can't get optimum spin on the ball and if I do it's only a little bit short. It's all about knowing what your tendencies are and playing to them.

 

[nututhugame]

I don't really have a problem per say with stopping the ball on the green. IF I hit the green it generally stays on. Not to toot my own horn, but I actually usually make good contact and 9I-wedges do pretty much stop on a dime. I was just looking at a component site and they have choices of shafts to have clubs built. Should I go that route I just wanted to know which couple of shafts are supposed to help with spin. I don't want to back balls up or anything. Like I said before, if I could just get mid to long irons to come in a little softer... is all i'm really going for.

Limp, I don't know if you caught the Tour in Tour Fires. Huge diff. to the Fires.

 

[SilverUberXeno]

You're going back and forth a lot, Nu. You don't have any problem stopping the ball, but then you do...

OF COURSE it's easier to stop the ball with 9-W. More loft = more spin. You're really not supposed to be able to put much spin on 6-8 iron, and you REALLY aren't supposed to be able to put spin on long irons. If you want to hit the ball higher, go with softer flex shafts or "flighted" shafts (see RIFLE or Project X) in the long irons to up your trajectory, or get some good hybrids. They'll do the same thing; get the ball up a lot faster.

It's just a law of physics, man. You can't produce a lot of spin with a lower-lofted club. That's why you see pros sometimes HAMMER an 8-iron 190 yards; because a smooth 6 iron is NOT going to stop on the green. You need to make good, descending contact, and you need to hit the ball exponentially harder (faster clubhead) to get spin with longer irons. It's really not worth trying; you'll hurt yourself and hit the ball all over the place. Get closer to the green on your previous shot, or aim for the front.

 

[FATC1TY]

I don't know man.. I'm a pretty terrible ball striker, and swing slow as hell compared to alot of folks, but I can get my 7 iron and down to hit and pull back around 3 feet from around 160 yards.

Then again.. I have a steep angle of attack, I really catch those perfect, and I play a very soft ball.

I can't help on component stuff. I know only a handful of brands.

 

[SilverUberXeno]

Hitting your 7i 160 yards consistently is hitting the ball a lot harder than most. That's my point. I'm still surprised you're backing it up, but so much of it is the ball. The Tour Fires are good, but they're not gonna back up. They're moderate spinners; a very good ball IMO. But you're not stopping many 6i's on the dot with them.

 

[nututhugame]

I'm not going back and forth. You're not listening. I was never crying about balls going off the green. I understand that higher loft gets more spin. I don't expect miracles. I don't want to back up any club. What I do want is if I land a 5or6i 10ft in front of the flag to have it only roll a few feet past the flag instead of 15-20 past. That's all. This is all a big what if too..... I may not get irons this year. This is all just informational for me because of my lack of knowledge on iron shafts. I came into this thread to get opinions on whether or not shafts make that big of a diff. and if so which ones just so I could have this info in the memory bank when it does come time to make some decisions. I don't have experience with any shafts except the ones I have.

About the ball.... I know it's not the spinniest ball. I understand that it's about middle of the road. Spins a lot more than a rock and a lot less than a 3or4or5 piece urethane. I asked about shafts because getting irons is a consideration and getting knowledgeable on flight characteristics of shafts will be of great benefit to me when making that purchase. Especially considering that the shafts in my irons will be one of the constants in this dadgumin game. I realize that there are other factors in spin and ball flight such as my swing and ball. I have 4doz Tour Fires so i'll cross the ball bridge when I get to it.

And let me rephrase an earlier statement..... I don't have a problem KEEPING balls on the green. The word " stopping" may have been a poor choice of words.

 

[FATC1TY]

If thats all your wanting is more "stopping" power in the mid irons, I'd suggest looking at some high launch shafts. You don't need shafts that spin more.

High launch is a bit more spin, but they can balance it out where you aren't spinning a ball and making it lose distance.

Holding mid and long irons to less roll out is more dependents on your swing and technique. Shafts of course will help. You want high launch though, so it comes it softer and rolls out less. As for those in component, I wouldn't know, but I know most shafts will be marketed towards higher launch, flatter launch.. butt stiff, tip stiff, yadda yadda.

Just look for higher launching shafts, and work on getting steep on your mid irons to keep the ball from releasing more than you'd like.

 

[SilverUberXeno]

My main answer to stopping 5 and 6 irons within 15 or 20 feet of where they land is that it isn't going to happen for you. I can do it frequently because my ball flight tends to be HIGH, even with a 5-iron. I use a hybrid 23 and a hybrid 18.5, and the 23 lands pretty softly as well. If you hit a strong, driving iron shot with your 5 and 6, you're going to have a VERY hard time getting that ball to sit down.

I really like the tour fire, btw. I have several dozen of them

What kinds of holes are you facing this problem on? It'd be worth looking at your course management and experimenting with some different ways to get closer to the green for these approach shots. If you're 165-170 yards out, you're not really SUPPOSED to have the precision to stop it fast.

To answer your question about shafts specifically; your best bet is something high launching. A ball that comes down at a steeper angle will not run as much. You're just not going to get any significant spin on those mid-long irons based on the shafts (unless you do something drastic that you'd definitely regret; ladies' flex graphite). Are the greens you're playing on unusually fast or anything?

I'm thinking of my game, and I can't remember many times I was hitting a 5i into the green. Occasionally on a par 3 it's necessary, but mostly that's a club I use as a 2nd shot to get within wedge distance on a par 5. You've got lots of options to look at, but shafts are one of the least effective.

I didn't mean to jump on you either, man. I appreciate your curiousity about the game and equipment. There's so much buzz about shafts. If you find a pro-v or anything, hit it into the green next time as well as your tour fire. If you make good contact with both, see what the results are like. If it's substantially different, you may want to experiment with balls to meet your needs. Not necessarily Pro Vs, but B330-S is an AWESOME ball you can get reasonably priced on ebay (25-30 per doz) or the E5. There might be other options; I haven't kept up on it lately.

Best of luck!

 

[nututhugame]

This is kind of what I thought (shafts not being the total answer). On the couple of sites I visited the choices ranged from house brands up to a few of the bigger brands in all different flexes. Having all those choices made me wonder if there could really be big differences. Especially considering the price variances. It's becoming clear to me that there are other things to look at here. Thanx for the info though.

And you're right. the only times I usually have to hit anything more than a 7 in is if I do something real wrong with the driver or on a long par 4. Which isn't very often. My thoughts on getting irons in the first place are probably pretty far off base from areas that I should be giving more attn. It's winter man.... I find myself looking on ebay and all sorts of places I shouldn't be because I can't get my ass out there and golf. I think i'm going to cure my itch by getting my irons regripped and pretending they're new. Unless..........