+3" Iron Shafts

[hooperpsu]

Hey WRX Crew - as a fairly tall lad (6'6") and decent player (~1hdcp) I'm hoping to get some ideas on going even longer on my sticks. I've always played ~1" over until last summer when I went another .5" over. I recently saw some posts about a company fitting a similarly tall player into a +3" shaft and his posture went from horribly collapsed and rounded over (much like mine) to athletic and more "normal" for what you would see in not ridiculously tall players. My 4i is the best feel through my bag at setup, and it's roughly 3" over a standard 7i length (currently playing right at 40"). 

 

Currently playing a 115g Nippon prototype (X) in Apex TCBs but am open to going either graphite or something lighter weight steel to get to that length. Not really thinking about going one-length but open to trying an all-40" set to play around with. 

 

Any thoughts on shaft options to test? Swing weight is going to be an issue I know but Cally has lighter weight sets for the TCBs and/or I could counter balance the shafts. What would going that long do to launch? I already hit the ball a mile in the air, would prefer something to help bring it down if possible.

 

Just looking for some ideas as a starting point and thanks in advance for the help!!

[Drivingrangehero]

Steelfiber i110’s swingweight about 3-4 points lower than most, so it’s a start. 

 

I know Mizuno has lighter heads (B-Model)  I talked to a club builder that said manufacturers weight sort heads, so some have B-model heads are on the lighter side of B-model. 
 

I went from Modus 105s hs/x1 to SFi110R and it’s been great. 
 

You may want to demo a SFi110 stiff. 
 

 

.

Edited February 27, 2023 by Drivingrangehero
Typo

[hooperpsu]

8 minutes ago, Drivingrangehero said:

Steelfiber i110’s swingweight about 3-4 points lower than most, so it’s a start. 

 

I know Mizuno has lighter heads (B-Model)  I talked to a club builder that said manufacturers weight sort heads, so some have B-model heads are on the lighter side of B-model. 
 

I went from Modus 105s hs/x1 to SFi110R and it’s been great. 
 

You may want to demo a SFi110 stiff. 
 

 

.

 

Hmm...shafts are all 40" and you're to tip trim everything to get to playing length, I don't think that gets me to the lengths I'll need. 7i for instance is supposed to be tip trimmed 2.5" per their chart and I want it to play at the full 40". Not sure if that'll work?

[gdb99]

I don’t know how you can go +3” on a build with steel shafts without soft stepping or shaft extensions. The shafts aren’t long enough. Even the Steelfibers are only 40” for the longest in the set. 
 

To go single length, you would have to bend the lie angle for each head. That’s a lot of bending. And the heads would be super heavy as you get more loft. It’s why single length heads are a separate set, making a standard set into a single length set is almost impossible. 

[gdb99]

1 minute ago, hooperpsu said:

 

Hmm...shafts are all 40" and you're to tip trim everything to get to playing length, I don't think that gets me to the lengths I'll need. 7i for instance is supposed to be tip trimmed 2.5" per their chart and I want it to play at the full 40". Not sure if that'll work?

I figured you needed taper tip. No trimming. But yes, shafts are not long enough.

[st1800e]

37 minutes ago, gdb99 said:

making a standard set into a single length set is almost impossible. 

Agreed.  You can go with 3/8” increments vs 1/2”.   Don’t get hung up on Swingweight , you’ll benefit more from a comfortable length. 

I’m 6’3” and I recently experimented with a 38” PW and a 40” 6 iron.  I could swing and hit them fine. Still haven’t decided on my final length.  
 

Have a look at these, 43.5” shafts.  
https://golfworks.ca/kbs-tour-370-steel-iron-shafts/p/fs0019/

 

42”, I understand these play stiffer than the flex.  

 

https://golfworks.ca/mitsubishi-mmt-graphite-iron-shafts/p/mr0090/

 

43”

https://golfworks.ca/kbs-tour-c-taper-370-steel-iron-shafts/p/fs0027/

 

looks like KBS has is longer in some shafts, You could search further on their website.  

Using steel extensions in steel shafts would add some counterbalance effect as well.  

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by st1800e

[DFS PFD]

Unless you have really short arms you don't need +3", this is going to a be a exercise in futility. Best of luck, but I doubt it will yield any sort of longevity as a solution. 

[Drivingrangehero]

1 hour ago, hooperpsu said:

 

Hmm...shafts are all 40" and you're to tip trim everything to get to playing length, I don't think that gets me to the lengths I'll need. 7i for instance is supposed to be tip trimmed 2.5" per their chart and I want it to play at the full 40". Not sure if that'll work?

The CW version is constant weight which is .355 tapered tip at 40 inches, not 40 inches playing length, so there is no tip trimming involved. 
 

 

The parallel tip version .370 and are 41 inches, those require tip trimming, not the CW

 

 if you were the soft step 1X and use a 3 iron shaft in your 4i,  40 inches would get you roughly 41.25 to 41.5 inch playing length in your 4i which is +2.75-+3 from standard. 

 

https://www.truetempersports.com/en-us/aerotech-steelfiber-graphite-iron-shafts.html

Edited February 27, 2023 by Drivingrangehero
Added info

[st1800e]

Have a (long) read on this.

 

I should add…parts of that thread get into some agree and disagree posts. Not helpful at all. I’d just skim through those parts. 

Edited February 27, 2023 by st1800e

[DB Golf]

Agreed^^^^^

[Jc0]

Why do you think you are hunched over? Also basing this on your 4 iron feeling good is not the way to go. Head weights are adjusted for each club so you can't compare feel. I'm 6'4 and played everything from +.5 to +2. Unless you feel like you don't want to bend over at all from the hips at all +2 is probably to long. 

 

If you can find one ping fitting carts get fairly over length. I would try the longest there first before committing to +3. 

[mshills]

 I know a little about playing very long clubs. I play with one arm and also have some L hip orthopedic injuries that keep me from being able to put much pressure thru that joint, so I can’t swing with a big leg drive any more. I have to stand very upright and use sort of a crack the whip action. 
 

My driver is 47 3/4”…..

My 8i is a full 41” playing length…..

 

Here are some points:

 

You may need a hybrid shaft down to 7i, then switch to an iron shaft soft stepped once or even twice. 
 

Because of the above, you won’t be able to trust the printed “flex” — you’ll need to have your builder frequency match. 
 

Both the total weight of the club and the swingweight will be off the chart. Total weight you can partially mitigate with your shaft choice, but the laws of physics are going to be a challenge on swingweight. 
 

My advice:  

 

First, I would not experiment with this unless you are **confident** you’ve been properly fitted into such specs. I was fitted by a Ping Top 100 fitter who specializes in adaptive fitting.

 

Next, if you do proceed, Ping WRX (you will need to work thru a Ping rep), Sub70, and PXG (call them, do not try to order off the web) are the companies I know for sure will do such a build, and first-hand I can tell you they will do the build perfectly. 

 

Good luck and please report back!

[Cwebb]

1 hour ago, st1800e said:

Have a (long) read on this.

 

I should add…parts of that thread get into some agree and disagree posts. Not helpful at all. I’d just skim through those parts. 

 

You can always use the ignore function, which will filter out most of that garbage

[LCP]

I'm 6'5" and play +2.25" (37.25") in my lob wedge for similar reasons, but there's no way I need a club that much longer at longer lengths. So I'm down to +1.75" in my 5 iron (39.75") and play a 40.5" 2 iron.  I find swing weight is not a factor at all with wedges -- make them as heavy as you like; the weight seems to help with partial distance control, but with irons it does start to creep in. I suggest trying a similar approach.  Ping is the only one I found that can even partially compensate for these kind of lengths -- in their irons with inserts (I have G410 irons).  My lob wedge (Glide 4.0) is E6 with X100 & midsize.  My 5 iron is D7 with X100 and midsize).  The 2 iron, a Srixon U85 being overlength to start with was only D5 with a Modus 105X shaft/midsize.  Both of those I've added lead tape to bring them up closer to the rest of the bag with an MOI-like progression.  D6 2 iron, D8 5 iron, D8 6 iron, D8.5 7 iron, D9 8 iron, D9.5 9 iron, E0 wedge, E1 gap wedge, E5 sand wedge, E6 lob wedge.  I've backed down my driver length over the years from 47" to 45". The control is just better.  I might add another 0.5" but that's about it.

Edited February 28, 2023 by LCP

[gioreeko]

I made a set of clubs for a co worker that were 3" over standard. I'm 6'6, and he's about 6'4, and my clubs are an inch over standard. He tried mine, and was super hunched over, like terribly.  I had him stand next to me, and compare wrist to floor measurements. His hands were a good 5 or 6 inches above mine. Eureka! I made a set for him, and he forever earned the nickname T Rex from all of us. I'm still kind of stunned he can reach into his own pockets, and feed himself.

[dokex]

Here is the list of great golfers who used +3" clubs:

[Drivingrangehero]

https://www.golfwrx.com/668154/69-211-mph-ball-speed-inside-james-hart-du-preezs-setup/

 

6’9” pro golfer…….we don’t know his wrist to ground measurements, but he plays his clubs at +2”

 

like I said, if your bottom bore to ground is 1.5 inch. A 40 inch 3 iron shaft in your 4i would play 41.5” which is +3 over ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

You could always choke up till it feels right, then cut it down if +3 doesn’t work out as expected.

 

 

[Glock917]

What’s your WTF? I’m 6’4” and my wrist to floor is about 37” and I believe a generic chart says I need +1” but I play mostly +.5” and a little longer in the shorter clubs and +1” plays and feels way too long for me

[gioreeko]

anxious to see his WTF also

[Stuart_G]

20 hours ago, hooperpsu said:

 I recently saw some posts about a company fitting a similarly tall player into a +3" shaft and his posture went from horribly collapsed and rounded over (much like mine) to athletic and more "normal" for what you would see in not ridiculously tall players.

Unless he has some serious orthopedic problems (which is certainly a legitimate concern when fitting playing length), the shorter length didn't force him into bad posture.  More than likely he was just never taught what the proper posture should be.   Players of all height ranges can have bad posture for the shorter clubs.

 

FYI  I have nothing against you trying longer - just don't expect counterbalance weights to help much with the heavier swing weights.   That's not how to really make a club lighter.

 

However, I think you'll find that very few shafts will have uncut lengths to support that for a full set w/o at least some soft stepping - so may want to start with a stiffer shaft than might fit normally.

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by Stuart_G

[hooperpsu]

1 hour ago, Glock917 said:

What’s your WTF? I’m 6’4” and my wrist to floor is about 37” and I believe a generic chart says I need +1” but I play mostly +.5” and a little longer in the shorter clubs and +1” plays and feels way too long for me

 

WTF is ~40"

[Cwebb]

51 minutes ago, hooperpsu said:

 

WTF is ~40"

 

Have you done a "low length limit test" for a wedge?  Where you figure out what would be the shortest length club you could use and still get into the address posture you want

[hooperpsu]

1 minute ago, Cwebb said:

 

Have you done a "low length limit test" for a wedge?  Where you figure out what would be the shortest length club you could use and still get into the address posture you want

I haven't, but having just read through that thread linked up above I'm definitely going to give that a shot! 

[Cwebb]

4 hours ago, dokex said:

Here is the list of great golfers who used +3" clubs:

 

 The list of tour players who were 6'6 with a 40" wrist to floor measurement is about the same.  Maybe some of these taller people could become great if they had the right equipment to work with

[Cwebb]

Just now, hooperpsu said:

I haven't, but having just read through that thread linked up above I'm definitely going to give that a shot! 

 

That is your starting point and will quickly get you on track towards your goal.  If you need suggestions for getting head weights as low as possible to keep swing-weight down, let us know

[hooperpsu]

Just now, Cwebb said:

 

 The list of tour players who were 6'6 with a 40" wrist to floor measurement is about the same.  Maybe some of these taller people could become great if they had the right equipment to work with

 

Ha! It's obvious to say the "prototypical" body type of the next gen is certainly becoming taller/more athletic and I think we'll start to see more interesting takes on how to fit beyond +1" and 2* up which is what I did for 20+ years because...that's just what you did. 

[Cwebb]

Just now, hooperpsu said:

 

Ha! It's obvious to say the "prototypical" body type of the next gen is certainly becoming taller/more athletic and I think we'll start to see more interesting takes on how to fit beyond +1" and 2* up which is what I did for 20+ years because...that's just what you did. 

 

Yeah, +1" is now obviously nowhere near long enough for you

[Langaandy]

I'm 6'8 and I play with 2.5" longer in my irons and wedges, and have a 3 wood shaft in my 5 wood.

 

But the biggest things my fitter was worried about for me was flex and launch. Playing a flex shaft is like hitting a ball with a pool noodle, and a lot of my hits tend to fly high anyway. Settled on the dynamic gold x7s

 

Also, and I know this is probably entirely mental, but I just don't trust graphite for irons. I'm built more for the front row of a rugby team than a basketball team and spend most of my spare time chucking air cylinders around my local dive shop. I always feel like I'm just going to snap the graphite if I put a proper swing on it.