Heavy Graphite Iron Shafts Make It Easier to Switch From Steel
As trends go, the move to heavy graphite iron shafts is intensifying. I am talking about iron shafts that are in the 90 to 125 gram range. This weight range is directly targeting golfers that have traditionally played standard weight steel and are looking for options in lighter weights and less vibration on off-center hits.
Book a personal fitting now to see if a heavy graphite shaft may fit your swing.
Less Vibration but the Feel of Steel
A lot of players are looking for less vibration to alleviate pain from arthritic hands, golfer elbow or shoulder soreness. Simply switching to a graphite shaft can reduce vibration over 30%. Adding a softer grip like a Winn grip can help as well. But, to keep the feel at impact of steel you need some material advantage. Aerotech SteelFiber i95 and i110 shafts are the industry leaders in that regard. Their shafts include steel fibers to improve the consistency and feel of those shafts. New models include the FC 90 and FC 115. The Veylix Arcane 100 includes some copper threads to achieve this feel as well. The Mitsubishi Chemical Golf OTi shafts use a different technique of braiding the prepreg materials to give stronger feel yet less vibration. UST Mamiya uses special prepreg materials as well in their Recoil and Recoil Prototype shafts to give the weight and feel of graphite. A brand new entrant into to graphite iron shafts this year is KBS or KB Steel. Their new line of TGI shafts in the heavier weights definitely feels like steel! Other manufacturers like ACCRA, Graphite Design, Fujikura, Mitsubishi Chemical Golf, and OBAN make heavy graphite iron shafts but may or may not feel like their steel counterparts. Expect to see new heavier offerings from Project X later in 2018.
Similar Launch and Spin to Steel
If you are looking for similar launch and spin to your current steel shafts you have to be pretty careful. The heavier the graphite shaft, i.e. 110 grams and heavier, the lower the launch, lower the spin, and harsher the feel. That is because some of the heavy graphite shafts are actually designed to give similar ball flight as a Dynamic Gold S300 or X100 for example. This is especially evident in the Aerotech SteelFiber 110 CWT and Recoil Prototype shafts.
Consistency versus Steel
A common knock on graphite shafts has been the inconsistency of performance. I would say this is still true in lighter weight (40 to 70 gram) graphite shafts, especially if all you are doing is following manufacturers tipping instructions for installing them. In these new heavier graphite shafts, the consistency from shaft to shaft is much higher. That being said, we still frequency match, spine align, and swing weight each club in a set of irons to make sure they a built consistently. Read more about our process here.
Our Most Popular Heavy Graphite Shafts
With the new shafts from ACCRA, Aerotech and KBS, I am sure the new models will change this list, however, our most popular shafts in these heavier weights are:
Aerotech SteelFiber i95 and i110 (both parallel and CWT)
Mitsubishi Chemical Golf OTi 95
OBAN i93 and i103
UST Mamiya Recoil 95 and 110
Book a personal fitting now to see if a heavy graphite shaft may fit your swing.
Or ,get a free online fitting now to see if a heavy graphite shaft may fit your swing.
Our static test results:
Based upon our testing, here is a chart of weight, launch and spin of the shafts we feel give the best performance:
Manufacturer | Model | Weight-grams | Tip | Flexes | Launch | Spin | Torque |
Weight Class 90-99 | |||||||
ACCRA | Tour 90i TiMesh | 90 | Par | S/X | Mid | Mid | 3 |
ACCRA | iCWT 95 with TiMesh | 95 | Taper | S/X | Mid | Mid | 2.5 |
Aerotech | SteelFiber i95 CW | 93 | Taper | R/S/X | Mid | Mid | 3.2 |
Aerotech | SteelFiber FC 90 CW | 91 | Taper | R/S | Variable | Variable | 3.2 |
Aldila | |||||||
Fujikura | Pro 95 | 99 | Taper | R/S | Mid-High | Mid-High | 3.6 |
Graphite Design | Tour AD 95 | 98 | Taper | S/X | Low | Low | 2.3 |
KB Steel | TGI 90 | 90 | Taper | S | Low-Mid | Low-Mid | 2.4 |
KB Steel | TGI 95 | 96 | Taper | S | Low-Mid | Low-Mid | 2.1 |
Mitsubishi Chemical Golf | Oti 85 | 90 | Par | R/S | Mid | Mid | 3.3 |
Mitsubishi Chemical Golf | Oti 95 | 95 | Par | R/S | Mid | Mid | 3.3 |
OBAN | Oi 93 | 96 | Par | R/S | Mid/High | Mid/High | 2.8 |
UST Mamiya | Recoil 95 | 96 | Taper | R/S | Mid | Mid | 3.7 |
UST Mamiya | Recoil 95 Prototype | 96 | Taper | R/S | Low-Mid | Low-Mid | 3.7 |
Weight Class 100-109 | |||||||
ACCRA | Tour 100i TiMesh | 100 | Par | S/X | Low-Mid | Low-Mid | 3 |
ACCRA | iCWT 105 with TiMesh | 105 | Taper | X | Low-Mid | Low-Mid | 2.2 |
Aldila | VS Proto 100 | 103 | Taper | R/S/X | Low-Mid | Low-Mid | 2.8 |
Graphite Design | Tour AD 105 | 107 | Taper | S/X | Mid | Mid | 2.2 |
KB Steel | TGI 100 | 98.5 | Taper | X | Low | Low | 1.8 |
Mitsubishi Chemical Golf | Oti 100 | 100 | Taper | S/X | Low-Mid | Low-Mid | 2.6 |
OBAN | Oi 103 | 102 | Par | S | Mid/High | Mid/High | 2.8 |
UST Mamiya | Recoil 110 | 109 | Taper | S | Mid | Mid | 3.5 |
Weight Class 110-119 | |||||||
ACCRA | Tour 110i TiMesh | 110 | Par | S/X | Low-Mid | Low-Mid | 3 |
Aerotech | i110 CW | 108 | Taper | R/S/X | Mid | Mid | 2.7 |
Graphite Design | Tour AD 115 | 114 | Taper | S/X | Mid | Mid | 2.2 |
KB Steel | TGI 110 | 111 | Taper | X | Low | Low | 1.9 |
Mitsubishi Chemical Golf | Oti 110 | 112 | Taper | S/X | Low-Mid | Low-Mid | 2.4 |
UST Mamiya | Recoil 110 Prototype | 110 | Taper | S/X | Mid | Mid | 2.4 |
Weight Class Over 120 | |||||||
Aerotech | i125 CW | 126 | Taper | X | Low | Low | 2.5 |
Mitsubishi Chemical Golf | Oti 120 | 121 | Taper | X | Low-Mid | Low-Mid | 2.2 |
UST Mamiya | Recoil Prototype 125 | 124 | Taper | S/X | Low-Mid | Low-Mid | 2.6 |
Dan Sueltz