Should I Use Graphite Shafts for Hybrids and Steel Shafts for Irons?
Industry statistics say that over 90% of all hybrids are sold with a graphite shaft, while only 30% of all irons are sold with graphite shafts. These trends most definitely say graphite is the shaft of choice in hybrids while steel is the predominant shaft material for iron shafts.
But is that right? Since few hybrids are offered by companies with steel shafts, if they were, would that make hybrids a better match to a set of steel shaft irons and thus offer a golfer a higher level of shotmaking consistency from hybrid to iron?
As always with matters concerning the WEIGHT of golf clubs, the answer to that question is, it might and it might not – it depends on the golfer, his sense of weight feel and how his swing tempo reacts to heavier or lighter total weight clubs. When we talk about the overall weight feel of a golf club, we are talking about both the total weight and the swingweight. Total weight is the weight of the parts – the weight of the shaft, head, and grip added together. Swingweight is an expression of how much the golfer feels the presence of weight out there on the end of the shaft while the club is being swung.
There is no question that a BIG part of each golfer’s shot consistency has to do with whether the total weight, swingweight or both together match well to the golfer’s strength, transition force, downswing aggressiveness and overall swing tempo, rhythm and timing. Put a strong golfer with a fast, aggressive swing into a club with a light total weight and/or a low swingweight and the results can be a disaster of miss hits and terrible shot consistency.
Likewise put a weaker golfer with a smooth, passive swing into a club with a heavy total weight and high swingweight and the golfer will lose distance and shot consistency. So if the hybrids have light graphite shafts and the irons have heavier steel shafts, won’t that mess up most golfers’ tempo and timing? No, it won’t as long as the headweight feel in both parts of the set is made so that it matches the golfer’s strength, transition force, downswing aggressiveness and overall swing timing. IN other words, it is eminently possible to mask or hide a light total weight by making the club with a slightly to substantially heavier headweight feel.Â
Depending on the actual weight of the graphite shaft in the hybrids, it may mean that the lighter the graphite shaft, the higher the swingweight may need to be in relation to the swingweight of the steel shaft irons in order to give them both a similar headweight feel. Typically, most graphite hybrid shafts are heavier (80g average) than graphite shafts used in drivers and fairway woods (65g avg). Thus when a heavier graphite shaft is used in a hybrid, its swingweight likely will not have to be more than 2 points higher than the golfer’s preferred swingweight in the steel shafted irons to produce a similar headweight feel.
At the same time, it is also a viable solution to make the steel shaft irons and graphite shaft hybrids to have the same or very similar MOI to allow both types of clubs to have a more similar swing feel despite the difference in their total weight.Â
Tom
Hi Tom, Still wish you had made even a hotter head driver than the 0.9 I am 81 now and can’t really hit the 10 degree so I am using the high launch. Thanks. Jon
JON
In all honesty, even if it were possible to make a head with a higher COR than the 0.9OL, which is very doubtful, even an increase from say, 0.900 to 0.910 which would be a LOT, would only get you 4-5 more yards off the tee. You’re better off science wise doing the higher loft, without question, than a loft that is too low with a higher COR.
TOM
Hello Tom,
just wondering about something. Years ago I was taught that a better steel shaft (or those used by professionals) have more notches or steps than those in standard clubs. Was it ever true and is it true now? I can even remember a pro when I played high school circa 1970 golf telling us to count the steps before purchasing a golf club.
Obviously some steel shafts and graphite shafts have none, but I am just wondering if it is true in those that do.
HOWARD That statement about more step downs on the shaft denoting a “better” shaft is NOT TRUE whatsoever !! Sometimes the things I hear as myths in this game are amazing to hear ! The only thing that could be said about a steel shaft with more step downs is that it takes a little more time to manufacture than a shaft with fewer stepdowns. Although most all of the smooth taper stepless steel shafts are even more difficult to make !! Steps are simply one way to make a shaft transition from its larger diameter to its smaller diameter.… Read more »
What is the standard length of a 3 & 4 hybrid with steel shafts? I keep seeing different from 39.5″-41″ for the 3 hybrid and 39″-40″ for the 4 hybrid.
Thank you,
Jon
JON There are no standards for the length of hybrids, and what’s more, there are no standards for any specifications of golf clubs. Attempts were made years ago to create standards for various specs on clubs, but the companies basically said they don’t want standards or any type for anything in golf clubs. Too bad because it is the consumers who pay the price for this when they just go out and blindly buy clubs without a real clear picture oft times of what they are. That being said, there really are no companies that make steel shaft hybrids as… Read more »
Ive recently re-shafted my old Wishon heads with new 85 gram True Temper shafts, all irons are +1.5 inches longer with the 4 iron at 39.5 inches. All the irons I have MOI matched and are working fine. I achieve a swing speed of 104 MPH on the 4 iron with good progression down through the range of clubs. Im struggling to make a test wood club and would like an opinion on what shaft to try. I have old 7,5,and 3 wood snake eye heads ,that I love, and have recentley brought your new 739ccg Driver head. Ive tried… Read more »
GRAHAM
You did not say what length the 739 driver is built to. Without seeing you swing, it’s tough to know as much as necessary to advise you properly, but off the top of my head, since you already are used to a little more pronounced headweight feel with the +1.5″ D5 irons, you should try to add more weight to the 739 head to see what happens. Also, the other thing to look at are the specs of the 3 wood that you indicate you like, and to possibly extrapolate them into specs for the driver.
TOM
Hi, Tom here is Hector again. Sorry to bother so much. But still have a some questions. When you do MOI-Matching do you do it with or without a grip? if you do it without a grip how do you match the swing weight? normally when you put the grip on, it would be around 9 SW less. So do you match it to E1 or do you match it to D2? What to do when you find the favorite club of the player you are trying to fit? Do you take the SW with or with out a grip?… Read more »
HECTOR MOI matching is always done with the grip on the club. During the assembly phase when the MOI is being established for each club, a grip of the same type and weight is slid temporarily on the butt end of the shaft. This is done by taking one of the grips and cutting it length wise with scissors so it can be easily slid on and off. When you MOI match clubs to each other, you do NOT use a swingweight scale and you do NOT ever measure the swingweights of the clubs. You strictly use the MOI Speed… Read more »
Thanks for your answer Tom, it really helped. One question though… what is the ratio of 1/2 swingweight to the length reduction/increase? half an inch per 1/2 SW?
thanks
Hector
it can be done with normal half inch increments between irons and full inch increments between the woods, but in actuality it comes closer to real MOI matching if the iron increment goes to 3/8″ and the wood to wood increment to 3/4″.
TOM
Hi Tom, can you match the MOI of a hybrid using a swingweight scale?
Hector You can come reasonably close with a swingweight scale. If you take an MOI matched set of irons for example and you measure all the irons on a swingweight scale, the swingweights will move progressively up by 1/2 swingweight point per club as the lengths decrease down through the set. So let’s say you determine that the 4 iron has a swingweight of say, D2 – to be closely MOI matched the 3 iron would be D 1.5, while the 5 iron would be D2.5, 6 iron D3 and so on. So if you dump the 3 iron and… Read more »
Tom,
Is it the same for MOI?
Thank you
If you are asking whether one can MOI match a graphite shafted hybrid(s) with a steel shaft set of irons, yes that most certainly can be done. And many of the clubmakers who have embraced MOI Matching as a replacement for swingweight matching most definitely do this for golfers.
TOM