Rifle 6.5 shafts vs. S300

I'm looking at a set of clubs on eBay that are in a Rifle 6.5 shaft. I know absolutely zilch about this shaft. What is there to know about it? I hit Dynamic Gold S300s right now in my MP-32's. I've heard the Rifle shafts are awesome, but awesome how? Do they give you a different ball flight?

Thanks for anyone who can give me any information.

The things that make Rifles 'da coolist!' is that they come frequency sorted when you buy them as a set - meaning that each shaft will play the same as the shaft that preceeded it - a real boon for clubmakers.


The Dynamic Golds have around the lowest ball launch of all iron shafts.

Rifles get the ball up higher, but not as much as say, mercury savages.

Now, this said, the 6.5 is similar to the DG X100's.

For the S300, you'd probably want a rifle 6.0 or 5.5. You'll be able to hit the 6.5's, but your ball flight will either be the same or lower than your S300's, shaft for shaft. The other thing to keep in mind is the heads. The clubs that come with the Rifles may be a higher launch head than your 32's. I don't know much about Mizuno sticks, so I don't know what type of head or how much offset the heads have.

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

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.

The offset of the clubs I'm looking at is actually the same as the 32's (the set I'm looking at are the MP-37's), and the launch for both is said to be "mid-launch." Actually, I think the 32's are supposed to be high launch for the mid and long irons, and mid launch for the scoring irons.

Another thing is, I hit the 32's high - really high. I've worked on getting my ball flight down a bit and have. But that being said, I think if the 6.5's would bring my ball flight down more, that may actually be a good thing for me.

Do you think I'd be losing distance with the stiffer shaft? My clubhead speed is in the 105-108 range.

I appreciate your help.

__________________
Mike Ryan
Rhinebeck, NY

TaylorMade R5 N, 8.5*
TaylorMade V-Steel, Aldila NV 65 Stiff, 13*
TaylorMade Rescue Mid, 25*
Mizuno MP-32, 4-PW
Cleveland Tour Action 588 Wedge, 52*, 56* & 60*
Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2
Nike Tour Accuracy TW

"You can talk to a fade, but a hook won't listen."
- Lee Trevino

You've got about the same driver SS as me, and I'm going to Rifle 5.5's over the winter. I've got a low ball flight, myself.

You may lose 5-7 yards in distance with the stiffer shafts, but as we both know, golf is a game of accuracy first.

Would you suggest regular or stiff shafts for me at my swing speed? To be honest, when I ordered my first set of clubs, I ordered stiff by mistake. I had intended to order regular. But I got them and played fine with them so I've stuck with stiff.

What's your opinion?

I think the general rule of thumb is that if the ball goes right the shafts are too stiff and if the ball tends to go left shafts are too soft. I used to play with stiff steel shaft irons, but I was developing forearm pain so I went to regular which helped this.

My miss is generally right, though I am starting to draw more balls nowadays. Now mind you, I say my driver swing speed is in the 105-108 when I'm swinging for the fences. I'm sure I swing slower than that on iron shots. Maybe I should go with the R's...?

The more I play, the more I wonder if 'too stiff' shafts can be blamed for directional problems. I don't think I'm convinced that too stiff affects direction (although I DO plan on making a few test clubs over the winter).

Too weak a shaft, I can see how you could get it kicking at all the wrong places, making it tough to hit shots straight. Conversely, if you don't load the shaft (too stiff), I don't quite understand how your directional control would suffer too much. Distance? Yes. Control? No. In fact, if ashaft is too stiff, I figure all your shots would be straight. Maybe pulled, maybe pushed, but I don't think they'd bend too much.


**Please note, the above is purely conjecture**

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

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.

So what is your opinion, LowPost. Leaving the direction question aside for the moment, do you think I would be better off going with the regurlar shafts as opposed to stiff?

I think with that swing speed you are probably closer to a stiff than a regular. If you hit an 8 iron to a 150 yd par 3 you would probably benefit from a stiff shat. The thing is, you want to make all your clubs about the same feel in degree of stiffness so that there is consistency from shot to shot. You can go to the manufacturer website and they can give you an internet fitting, but you may be better off going to the range and see what feels better.

Depend's on what shaft your goin to as well. They all are different. I know my SS ( swing speed ) was at 95 for a driver and had one made up with a YS6 regular shaft and I had ball's going everywhere. I wound up in a Graffoly Pro Launch stiff and all is well now!

Tried this yet? http://www.truetemper.com/shaftfit/
Might help you get started

Interesting, thanks. It fluctuated between S300 and X100, depending on whether I said I hit my 7 iron 145 or 150. I think X would be a bit too stiff for me, though I don't know for sure. What is the stiffer shaft going to do?

If your hitting the S300's well, then I'd probally go with what Lowpost said and look at going with the 6.0's. The 6.0 and S300 are for the same SS at 80 - 90 for a 5 Iron.

Like I said my normal SS with a driver was at 95 and my 5 iron was at 82. My shaft for the driver is a stiff and the iron shaft's are a reg+ ( just slightly above reg )

If you want to be sure for you then go get your SS checked with a 5 iron at a normal swing not swinging out of your shoe's and test them because all shaft's are not equal.

Rifle shafts are over rated. True Temper are still the best. Rifles suit some players better but the majority of players I know who have tried them go back to Dynamic Gold. I have to admit my own experience with Rifles was pretty bad. I bought a set of irons with Rifle 6.0 on them, the only problem was that each shaft had been tipped an inch and a half which made the flex nearer 8.0!!! they were great when I was swatting them but even half a centimeter off centre and you felt like you had just hit a 3 pound ball bearing.

As for the regular Vs stiff debate, its all a matter of preference. As a general rule you should play the lightest and most flexible shaft you can control. That promotes a better consistency through the set distance wise. A lot of players find that a regular flex (R300) suits the long irons for height and distance, then switch to a slightly heavier shaft for the mid irons (R400) for a bit more trajectory control and finally go for a stiff shaft for the scoring clubs (S300) for greatest accuracy.

D.

__________________
Longniddry Golf Club Champ 2005.

In the Taylor Made Bag:

Titleist 905T 8.5 Degree

Callaway Steelhead 3 Wood

Callaway Steelhead 5 Wood

Callaway X-16 3-PW

MacGregor Tourney 52 Degree

Cobra Phil Rodgers 59 Degree Rusty

Odyssey DFX 2-Ball

Callaway Tour iX

Hello guys/girls,
I see you guys got it all figured out, and i know a bit about shafts, but now you guys made me unsure. I also got the mp 32 and im looking into getting a set of mp 32 again, or the mp 67. So which one would u suggest and y? In addition i want a rifle shaft. Happy with the S 300 but my pro advised me to the rifle 6.0 or 6.5. So some infos for you, i got a high ball flight, which isint to bad, cuz i can get the ball to drop dead out of 180yrds. i usually wud use a good 8 iron or a soft 7 iron. My ss with the 6 iron is about 103mph. Driver 116mph. i know its to fast, but believe me i slowed it down. In addition, last question, which rifle can u suggest? project x (heard a lot of good stuff about em) or the flight with the change in kickpoint (hear good and not so good). So to sum things up.
Mp 32's or Mp 67's,
Rifle 6.0 or Rifle 6.5,
Project X or a different shaft.
Thanks guys and girls is there are any.
best regards M.