Changing shafts in AP2 irons

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By Robert D

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  • 5 Replies
  1. Robert D

    Robert D
    Livermore, ME

    I purchased a set of AP2 irons 2 years ago from a golf retailer. They were fit to me, the shafts are project x 5.5, they were lengthened and lie angle was changed to match my height. I immediately lost 10 yards off every club from my previous clubs which were over 15 years old with dynamic gold S300 shafts. I went to a Titleist club fitter and he recommended changing to the Nippon 105T (stiff shaft) and keeping the length and lie angle from the previous club fitting the same. Is this a good change? I already hit the ball high with all the clubs, the 105T has a lower kick point and I think will only make me hit the ball even higher. From what I have read the project x 5.5 weighs 115 grams, the 105T is 113 grams. Is there a real advantage to losing 2 grams and having a lower kick point. Not sure I see the advantages to making this change in shafts. Any advice?
  2. Like the Gun

    Like the Gun
    Saint George, UT

    I am not a professional by any means, but since no one has replied yet I figure I may have some insight. Possibly sounds like the yardage lost was simply due to the shafts being shortened. If you can hit the ball straight and with the flight pattern you desire consistently with your old longer shafts, that should be all that matters. 

    It is my understanding that shaft flex is simply for swing speed. So it seems if it was your first time being professionally fit for clubs, and your ball flight is now less than desirable, it sounds  like you have possibly tailored your swing to your old clubs.   

    So if yardage is all your losing, and your not hitting undesirable ball flights like slicing, then stick to your longer shafts! But, if your mishitting often, and have a slower club head speed, then probably do not want stiff shafts and will definitely want to re-build your swing with fitted clubs.

    Hope my rambling may have helped.

  3. Robert D

    Robert D
    Livermore, ME

    My old clubs had shafts that were shorter than the clubs I have now. My new AP2 irons have longer shafts. The old shafts were stiff and my current project x 5.5 are also stiff shafts. I do not have an undesireable ball flight. I guess the real concern is, can a change in shaft add the yardage lost. Is it possible the 10 lost yards is a common problem that other people have seen while using the AP2 irons.
  4. Like the Gun

    Like the Gun
    Saint George, UT

    Realized I didn't even answer your main question when I re-read your post. I'm not quite certain which shafts you lost the 10 yards with. Your s200's or your project x? Anyway, the 2 gram difference I believe would be unnoticeable (for me anyway, but i'm an amateur). However, if you lost the yards from switching from your s200 shafts, then that is a good 10 gram difference or more. So depending on how fast your speed is, you may want to shy away from the lighter 110-115 gram weights if those are the ones you are having the bad ball flight with.

  5. Like the Gun

    Like the Gun
    Saint George, UT

    Your s300 steel shafts weighed a good 15 grams more than what you have now.

    Your entire post now when I re-read it seems to contradict all the mechanics of golf club design/swing speed vs. distance haha. Generally, it has always been my understanding that longer shafts = more distance, and lighter shafts = faster swing speed = more distance. If your main question is whether or not you should switch to a 2 gram lighter shaft, I wouldn't spend the money.

    Not a huge difference in my humble amateur opinion, but you may want to think about going back to the 130 gr of your old s300's if that is what you are used to swinging.

    Another thing to consider regarding the yardage lost from your old clubs are the loft degrees. May not be the same as your AP2s.

  6. Craig A

    Craig A
    St. Simons Island, GA

    Robert, Assuming the length and lie was correctly fit (which I am sure it was) and your tendency to hit the ball high, I would say the head has more to do with distance loss than the shaft. By this I mean that the PX 5.5 shafts are fairly low spin shafts and would perform not to differently from the DG S300's you had in your old clubs other than being slightly lighter. AP2's from 2 years ago had a tendency to go a little high which for a high ball flight player could potentially cause a loss in distance. Your best bet at this point would be to strengthen the loft on all your irons 1 degree as it would be far more cost effective than reshafting and have a greater impact on flight/distance.

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