Callaway Ladies Gems '99 shaft trimming help needed

Hi,
This is my first post so please bear with me if I inadvertently do something to violate the site etiquette?

Simply put, I've got a set of 8 new Callaway Ladies Gems '99 shafts that I'm going to use to create a set of irons for my secretary for Christmas and I need to know if, in a blind bore head, I'm simply installing the shafts and butt trimming to length or is there some tip trimming needed to get consistent performance from these shafts? Thanks in advance for any tech info anyone has to share. I realize these are 'old' shafts, but they're new, look good, etc. so what the heck...

Hi Bob,

I'm not well versed in the world of OEM shafts, except to say that the majority of them use taper-tip shafts. If this is the case, then you simply put the right shaft in the right clubhead (so that you get them going longest to shortest), add the bore plug, and be done with it.

Your best bet is to call Callaway, and ask them about their shaft. They should tell you everything you need to know. That said...

If all the shafts are the same length, the possible solutions are:

They are parallel tip, and require tip trimming.
They are taper tip, and simply butt cut to length.
If it's the latter, we need to know the flex on each shaft, as the stiffest shaft will go in the shortest club, the next stiffest shaft in the next shortest club, and so on. If all the clubs are the same flex, and all taper tip, then your clubs will play progressively stiffer as you move towards your shorter irons.

However, it has just occured to me that you probably cannot put a taper tip shaft in a bore through head - it just won't work. Ergo, the shafts are probably parallel, and will need tipping.

The way to differentiate taper tip vs parallel is to grab your caliper. If, in the first 3 or 4 inches, the diameter of the shaft tip gets progressively bigger, it's taper. If it stays the same, it's parallel.

Now, as for the tipping instructions? (I can't believe I'm saying this) I'd start with 1/2" tip trim in the 3 iron, and then tip another 1/2" for every club thereafter - 1" for the 4 iron, 1.5" for the 5 iron, and so on.

However, it's tough to tell what or how to tip when I haven't seen your secretary's swing. Maybe she needs less tipping, maybe she needs more. At any rate, I stand by my first statement - call Callaway, and ask them about the shaft.

__________________
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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.