September 23, 2023 Hide Nakagawa

Irons: Graphite or Steel?

About me:

Golfer reaching almost 50 years old
Happy when I shoot in the 70s but mostly shoot in the 80s
Still play muscle back irons (Maybe this needs to change first)....

In my 20s, I use to hit Dynamic Gold S300 shafts. About 130 grams in shaft weight, hit about 165 yards with my 7 iron. Never felt the shaft was heavy. Just kept on swinging as hard as I can. Fast was my tempo.

In my 30s, I wanted to play smart. Tone down my tempo to a more controlled (80% swing). Did not lose much distance but was consistent. Started to feel the shaft weight made the club fall behind. Started to switch to a lighter shaft (115g).

In my 40s, my distance started to drop. I could have switched to a (strong lofted distance (cavity back) irons but I liked the muscle back so much. My conclusion was, to go lighter and slightly softer. Thus 105gram stiff soft stepped. Easy to swing, shaft flex was noticeable and tried to maintain good tempo to release at impact. Tempo was key. If I get quick, big hooks. Worked well but later in the 40s, my distance was dropping (now 150 yards with my 7 iron).

So, as I approach 50, my quest is to find a better shaft for my iron game. I need lighter. But my soft step setup may have been good for 105g but feel that at a lighter setup, I want to avoid more flex and go back to standard stiff. My theory now: lighter but slightly stiffer. Then at least I can vary my swing tempo for different shots and worry less about flex hooking or slicing more than I expect.

For 2024, I am going with a 95 gram stiff (or X soft stepped depending on the shaft since there is not standard on shaft flex). Gain club head speed by going lighter. Time to change head style to a modern easy design.

Formula for 2024:

Lighter shaft (more club headspeed)

Stiffer (Less dispersion)

Cavity Back (slightly stronger loft and less spin = longer carry)

Young distance again. 165 yard #7 iron again.