steel verses graphite iron shafts???

I had a recent club fitting on a launch monitor with speed test. I am an 18 handicap (been playing off and on for 20 years) with a driver speed at 108MPH and a 6 iron speed at 91--when I am warmed up and in the groove. The club fitter recommended I try stiff graphite shafts in my irons. I had always assumed that graphite irons were for slow swing speeds, yet I am confused why they would make a stiff shaft graphite iron.
I ended up buying the graphite irons, because they felt light, fast, smooth feel in my swing. My playing partners say that I have made a mistake, in that as my game improves I will need steel shafts and that the graphite shafts will not last as long as the steel---they also mentioned the fact that no one on tour plays graphite irons. At what handicap would a player start to be a "feel player"? More importantly, I have read your responses about shafts in the past and it was mentioned the very short contact time period between club head and ball, wouldn't the feeling be an after the fact type of thing (feed back is too late to shape a shot...). To me buttery smooth shots with steel or graphite are what I strive for, have I made a mistake in buying graphite irons??? Please try to ignore the strong possibility that I may remain an 18 handicap
Cheers,

__________________
SumoSid
"Moments of Greatness followed by Moments of horror."

Well... where to begin...

Did you make a mistake? I doubt it. If the clubs feel good, then why not play them?

The main differences between graphite and steel is weight and torque (the ability to resist twisting along the axis of the shaft). Steel is high weight and low torque (like 0°). Graphite is low weight and some torque (between 2 and 5°).

If the fitter recommended graphite, my assumption (as a rookie fitter) would be that your swing is pretty smooth, and that you could control a lighter weight club. If you can control a lighter weight club, the theory is that you could swing it faster and gain even more yardage.

For aggressive swingers, a heavier club often helps smooth them out, and helps their tempo.

Graphite also absorbs shock better than steel - so your mishits won't hurt as much (or if you play on a course with hard ground, your divots won't hurt as much).

As for your playing partners (here we go...) Which of them has educated themselves in the area of club building or club fitting - even remotely (reading golf magazines isn't an education, btw). Ask them to explain why you'll need steel as your game improves. Now, graphite is by it's very nature more fragile than steel, but properly assembled, they'll last you a good long while. Yes, they're more susceptible to bag wear than steel. Yes, graphite breaks more often than steel. But most guys I know go through clubs pretty frequently - so I wouldn't sweat your decision. As for the 'guys on tour' and what they play... tell your buddies that not only do the tour guys play steel, they all tend to play the heaviest steel shafts they can find (why do you think the term 'tour weighted' means heavier than normal?), and all have them trimmed to X flex or better. So, you can let your buddies know they're not playing tour shafts, either.

IMO, you're either a feel player or you're not. It doesn't magically happen at a certain handicap. I am NOT a feel player. I play mechanically and to yardages. (well, ok - I' a feel putter. But I think we all are. )

The bottom line, Sid, is that if the clubs feel good to you, then hit them. Let your buddies say whatever they want while you take their money. You did get these new sticks fitted for length and lie, right?

__________________
True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com
PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

Just as an FYI, Colin Montgomery uses graphite shafts and no one could accuse him of being an ordinary tour player.

LowPost42 has pretty much covered all the bases regarding the current state of graphite shafts. I think the the prejudice you see with graphite shafts stems from when they originally came out a few decades ago (early 70's I think) when the manufacturing technology produced graphite shafts that behaved inconsistantly. Since then, as you would have expected, graphite shafts are as consistant as steel shafts but offer a different weight/torque profile that is suitable for either slower swings or faster, smoother swings.

I'm with LowPost42 on your mates bagging you out for using what they see as old man's shafts. They obviously believe the hype that they are playing with the same equipment as the pros when the reality is that they aren't even close.

While shafts are very important in producing the sort of feel you want, having forged irons also make a large difference.

__________________
Cleveland Launcher 460 - Aldila NV 65 x-stiff
Callaway Big Bertha 3W - Aldila NV 75 x-stiff
TaylorMade Rescue Dual TP (16°, 19°) stiff
Mizuno MP-32 2-PW Rifle Flighted 6.0
Titleist Vokey Wedges 52°, 56°, 60°
Scotty Cameron Circa 62 #3 35/330

In feel, yes. Apparently, feel has a lot to do with the way the ball sounds at impact, and a forged club sounds different than a cast club. However, a test was done where they took two clubs, and built them the same, except one head was forged and the other was cast. They took tour pros, ear plugged them, then had them hit 10 or so balls with each club, then tell the testers which club was cast, and which was forged.

Does anyone want to guess the percentage of correct guesses?























50%. Which is brutal, really - if there was a 'tellable' sign between the two. When you're either right or wrong, 50% success is really a failure, IMO. Long story short, cast or forged isn't better - it's only different. Now, that said, I've found that the best feeling clubs I've hit are forged clubs - but we all know that what I'm really saying is that I really like the sound

__________________
True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com
PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

there is a bunch of champions tour players using graphite shafts, and i dont think many if any of us here can play as good as them

I have just bought a new set of Wilson clubs with graphite shafts and the first thing I noticed with them is a dramatic change in distance. Played with them yesterday on the course and on hole No 12 I used to take a five iron off the tee and used my new six with the graphite shaft and overshot the green by three yards. Perhaps I was just having a good day but the new clubs are noticabely lighter and feel easier to swing

LowPost42

Thanks for your feed back.

I did get them fitted for length and lie. So far I like the new clubs a lot.

Thanks again.

Here is my two cents, don't have any proof, but my gut feeling is, tour players punish clubs, I don't think the majority of tour players want to change out their clubs often, and I personally don't think graphite shafts well stand up to the daily grind of tour playing. They play every single day, steel just holds up better under those conditions. For an amenturer, they are fine, we don't play near that extensively, but I still don't like them for irons, because of cost, no other reason, they are far more expensive. For a Driver, absolutely, more expensive, but more options also, in flex, torque, kickpoint, etc... Most people change out driver more often then thier irons, and they are not used near as often as irons, so wearability is not a factor. For an amenturer needing the best and a little help, go for the extra cost and get graphite, a good club fitter can fix alot in your swing using graphite.