Lack of heavier graphite shaft options from iron manufacturers

[ericm007]

I did a search but didn’t see anything on this, so I thought I would throw this rant out there, sorry if it is a little long.

 

A little about me, 62 years old, 6’2”, 195 lbs., and I currently play Ping i210’s with Aerotech SteelFiber 110 Regular flex shafts at .5” over standard. I like graphite shafts in the 100 gram range, and my 7 iron plays around 150 yards. I play stiff flex shafts in my driver, fairway and hybrids. I do pretty much all my own club work, but this time I was hoping to get a set of irons setup just the way I desire them to be.

 

I’ve recently started looking at a new set of irons and particularly like the Ping G440 and Callaway Elyte irons. I’ve been seriously disappointed with the available graphite shafts options. I get the target audience may be slow swingers for these irons, and they may want or need a lighter shaft, but can’t manufacturers offer a wider range of options, specifically in the 85-100 gram range. I would like to try these irons, but if I can't get what I feel is the proper shafts how can I do an honest test. Manufacturers all claim fitting is what you need, but how do you fit a golfer with such a limited range of graphite shaft options?

 

Ping offers two graphite shafts; Alta Blue, 65g soft reg, 75g regular, 85g stiff, and Alta Quick 35 and 45 grams.

 

Correction - I was mistaken, Callaway has quite a few heavier shaft options.

Callaway offers a few more options, but a 75g stiff shaft is the heaviest graphite option.

I would like a 95g regular flex shaft at a minimum, much like the Steelfiber shafts I currently play.

 

I understand the drawbacks for manufacturers, they’ll need to stock and make available possibly double the number of shafts in their fitting carts, possible swing weight issues, etc… and I’m sure there are more I haven’t considered, but it can’t be that difficult to provide more graphite shaft options.

 

Before it is asked, I have tried lighter shafts and I do not like the way they play or feel, and I’m not concerned with the 3-5 yards a lighter shaft may provide. Can you tell I'm frustrated?

 

It is very frustrating, so it looks like I will again be waiting on a good used set of irons so that I can reshaft them myself, and then have to deal with the swing weight issue caused by the heavier shaft. Lead tape anyone?

 

Does anyone else feel this way?

 

 

Eric

Edited May 31 by ericm007

[Nixhex524]

Pretty sure there are other options, but they come at a cost.  Most often if you are willing to pay the upcharge you will find there is more available.  I love Ping, but I would agree, their standard shaft list is pretty poor for the most part.  If you do all your own work you can basically make anything happen.

[RainShadow]

Callaway offers the KBS TGI 90 and 100, as well as the PGI 60, 70 and 80 I think. $16.49 upcharge each.

[Ger21]

I would think that Club Champion or similar can fit you into heavier shafts with those irons. You'll pay through the nose, though.

Like you said, the target audience for those clubs does not want or need heavy graphite shafts, which also happen to be quite pricey.

2 hours ago, ericm007 said:

It is very frustrating, so it looks like I will again be waiting on a good used set of irons so that I can reshaft them myself, and then have to deal with the swing weight issue caused by the heavier shaft. Lead tape anyone?

 

I've never had any swingweight issues with heavier graphite shafts. Most are designed to swingweight normally. The biggest exception are, I think, Steelfiber 110's, and LA Golf's shafts. My Dart V's swingweight just like steel, and so did the Fujikura Pro Iron I've played in the past.

[ericm007]

Maybe you need to call them directly, the information above for those irons were straight from each manufacturers site for the optional shafts for those specific irons, it seems they would show all options if they were available. Also how would you get fitted if those shafts aren't in the carts?

Edited May 30 by ericm007

[hammergolf]

2 hours ago, ericm007 said:

I did a search but didn’t see anything on this, so I thought I would throw this rant out there, sorry if it is a little long.

 

A little about me, 62 years old, 6’2”, 195 lbs., and I currently play Ping i210’s with Aerotech SteelFiber 110 Regular flex shafts at .5” over standard. I like graphite shafts in the 100 gram range, and my 7 iron plays around 150 yards. I play stiff flex shafts in my driver, fairway and hybrids. I do pretty much all my own club work, but this time I was hoping to get a set of irons setup just the way I desire them to be.

 

I’ve recently started looking at a new set of irons and particularly like the Ping G440 and Callaway Elyte irons. I’ve been seriously disappointed with the available graphite shafts options. I get the target audience may be slow swingers for these irons, and they may want or need a lighter shaft, but can’t manufacturers offer a wider range of options, specifically in the 85-100 gram range. I would like to try these irons, but if I can't get what I feel is the proper shafts how can I do an honest test. Manufacturers all claim fitting is what you need, but how do you fit a golfer with such a limited range of graphite shaft options?

 

Ping offers two graphite shafts; Alta Blue, 65g soft reg, 75g regular, 85g stiff, and Alta Quick 35 and 45 grams.

Callaway offers a few more options, but a 75g stiff shaft is the heaviest graphite option.

I would like a 95g regular flex shaft at a minimum, much like the Steelfiber shafts I currently play.

 

I understand the drawbacks for manufacturers, they’ll need to stock and make available possibly double the number of shafts in their fitting carts, possible swing weight issues, etc… and I’m sure there are more I haven’t considered, but it can’t be that difficult to provide more graphite shaft options.

 

Before it is asked, I have tried lighter shafts and I do not like the way they play or feel, and I’m not concerned with the 3-5 yards a lighter shaft may provide. Can you tell I'm frustrated?

 

It is very frustrating, so it looks like I will again be waiting on a good used set of irons so that I can reshaft them myself, and then have to deal with the swing weight issue caused by the heavier shaft. Lead tape anyone?

 

Does anyone else feel this way?

 

 

Eric

They all offer custom options from many manufacturers in heavier weights. The amount of golfers wanting heavy graphite shafts is very small so not a big enough need to justify the cost of carrying a stock option.

[Ger21]

26 minutes ago, ericm007 said:

Also how would you get fitted if those shafts aren't in the carts?

 Club Champion  has their own adapters, so they can fit any shafts in any heads. And they build the clubs themselves, so they can get any shafts you want.

[gdb99]

I just looked again on Callaway’s site. I was on there this morning, and could have sworn they offered heavier shafts for the Elyte irons. And they do. Drop down menu under custom graphite.. 

Aerotech, UST, Mitsubishi, KBS.

 

Granted, anything over 100 grams or so is stiff or x-stiff. 

[ChaosTheory]

2 hours ago, ericm007 said:

I did a search but didn’t see anything on this, so I thought I would throw this rant out there, sorry if it is a little long.

 

A little about me, 62 years old, 6’2”, 195 lbs., and I currently play Ping i210’s with Aerotech SteelFiber 110 Regular flex shafts at .5” over standard. I like graphite shafts in the 100 gram range, and my 7 iron plays around 150 yards. I play stiff flex shafts in my driver, fairway and hybrids. I do pretty much all my own club work, but this time I was hoping to get a set of irons setup just the way I desire them to be.

 

I’ve recently started looking at a new set of irons and particularly like the Ping G440 and Callaway Elyte irons. I’ve been seriously disappointed with the available graphite shafts options. I get the target audience may be slow swingers for these irons, and they may want or need a lighter shaft, but can’t manufacturers offer a wider range of options, specifically in the 85-100 gram range. I would like to try these irons, but if I can't get what I feel is the proper shafts how can I do an honest test. Manufacturers all claim fitting is what you need, but how do you fit a golfer with such a limited range of graphite shaft options?

 

Ping offers two graphite shafts; Alta Blue, 65g soft reg, 75g regular, 85g stiff, and Alta Quick 35 and 45 grams.

Callaway offers a few more options, but a 75g stiff shaft is the heaviest graphite option.

I would like a 95g regular flex shaft at a minimum, much like the Steelfiber shafts I currently play.

 

I understand the drawbacks for manufacturers, they’ll need to stock and make available possibly double the number of shafts in their fitting carts, possible swing weight issues, etc… and I’m sure there are more I haven’t considered, but it can’t be that difficult to provide more graphite shaft options.

 

Before it is asked, I have tried lighter shafts and I do not like the way they play or feel, and I’m not concerned with the 3-5 yards a lighter shaft may provide. Can you tell I'm frustrated?

 

It is very frustrating, so it looks like I will again be waiting on a good used set of irons so that I can reshaft them myself, and then have to deal with the swing weight issue caused by the heavier shaft. Lead tape anyone?

 

Does anyone else feel this way?

 

 

Eric

 

 

I agree with you.  I think it is partly lack of demand.  And in the case of softer flexes, it's hard to make a regular flex graphite with good characteristics and heavier weight.

 

If you have a lighter weight graphite shaft that you like, except for the weight, you can put lead tape and/or heat shrink tubing on it to add weight.

 

I've been playing with lead tape on the bottom side of my iron shafts for several months.  I used the lightweight lead tape that is 1/2g per inch. I am not thrilled with the durability because it wants to creep around the shaft. 

 

I just made a club with the heat shrink tape. It's a little heavier than 1/2g per inch.   Too soon to tell how it will hold up.

 

Here is a thread on it.

https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/2034112-shrink-sleeve-to-add-weight-to-shaft-and-club/#comment-25671227

 

[Ty_Guy]

I've had to order all my iron sets through a rep to get LA Golf shafts. Avoda had them as an option for a while but have since switched to only custom orders.

 

Though I have noticed KBS TGI getting increasingly popular as a "stock" option. As the current generation of golfers grow up on graphite shafts, the demand will grow more and more. I'm betting within 10 years, every major manufacturer will offer a couple players graphite options along with their standard Dynamic Gold, Nippon, KBS, and Project X shafts.

 

KBS is doing a really good job at creating a shaft to fit any players needs. I hope their driver and wood lineup develops a positive reputation. There is a lot of benefit to having the same profile and manufacturer throughout your entire bag. It really makes every club's full swing feel connected.

[PNW]

I'm seeing Callaway offering 100g+ graphite shafts for Elyte irons including Axiom, Steelfiber, several Recoil options including Protos, MMT, and TGI. What's the problem with those? 

[is1ander]

4 hours ago, ericm007 said:

I did a search but didn’t see anything on this, so I thought I would throw this rant out there, sorry if it is a little long.

 

A little about me, 62 years old, 6’2”, 195 lbs., and I currently play Ping i210’s with Aerotech SteelFiber 110 Regular flex shafts at .5” over standard. I like graphite shafts in the 100 gram range, and my 7 iron plays around 150 yards. I play stiff flex shafts in my driver, fairway and hybrids. I do pretty much all my own club work, but this time I was hoping to get a set of irons setup just the way I desire them to be.

 

I’ve recently started looking at a new set of irons and particularly like the Ping G440 and Callaway Elyte irons. I’ve been seriously disappointed with the available graphite shafts options. I get the target audience may be slow swingers for these irons, and they may want or need a lighter shaft, but can’t manufacturers offer a wider range of options, specifically in the 85-100 gram range. I would like to try these irons, but if I can't get what I feel is the proper shafts how can I do an honest test. Manufacturers all claim fitting is what you need, but how do you fit a golfer with such a limited range of graphite shaft options?

 

Ping offers two graphite shafts; Alta Blue, 65g soft reg, 75g regular, 85g stiff, and Alta Quick 35 and 45 grams.

Callaway offers a few more options, but a 75g stiff shaft is the heaviest graphite option.

I would like a 95g regular flex shaft at a minimum, much like the Steelfiber shafts I currently play.

 

I understand the drawbacks for manufacturers, they’ll need to stock and make available possibly double the number of shafts in their fitting carts, possible swing weight issues, etc… and I’m sure there are more I haven’t considered, but it can’t be that difficult to provide more graphite shaft options.

 

Before it is asked, I have tried lighter shafts and I do not like the way they play or feel, and I’m not concerned with the 3-5 yards a lighter shaft may provide. Can you tell I'm frustrated?

 

It is very frustrating, so it looks like I will again be waiting on a good used set of irons so that I can reshaft them myself, and then have to deal with the swing weight issue caused by the heavier shaft. Lead tape anyone?

 

Does anyone else feel this way?

 

 

Eric

 

I agree, the current industry state for graphite irons is horrible, especially for more athletic swings. So I completely changed the way I look at and think about graphite irons. My standard specs are off the rack. After about 18 months experimenting, I'm now gaming SteelFiber i95s shafts +1.5" E1 swing weight. I'm 150 lbs even. Easiest way to keep head feel from the factory, less slumped over with short irons and dispersion is just as good because I don't need to go after shots as much. 

 

[ericm007]

1 hour ago, PNW said:

I'm seeing Callaway offering 100g+ graphite shafts for Elyte irons including Axiom, Steelfiber, several Recoil options including Protos, MMT, and TGI. What's the problem with those? 

Yes, I see those now, not sure how I missed those, a little quick on the draw there I guess. I do like the Recoil shafts. Thanks.

 

Now if we can get Ping onboard. 

[ericm007]

1 hour ago, PNW said:

I'm seeing Callaway offering 100g+ graphite shafts for Elyte irons including Axiom, Steelfiber, several Recoil options including Protos, MMT, and TGI. What's the 

 

Edited May 31 by ericm007

[ericm007]

1 hour ago, gdb99 said:

I just looked again on Callaway’s site. I was on there this morning, and could have sworn they offered heavier shafts for the Elyte irons. And they do. Drop down menu under custom graphite.. 

Aerotech, UST, Mitsubishi, KBS.

 

Granted, anything over 100 grams or so is stiff or x-stiff. 

Yep, I see those now. Thanks. 

[Pnwpingi210]

59 minutes ago, ericm007 said:

Yes, I see those now, not sure how I missed those, a little quick on the draw there I guess. I do like the Recoil shafts. Thanks.

 

Now if we can get Ping onboard. 

Ping offers heavier graphite too as an upcharge.  As far as fitting carts, it’s always a problem if you aren’t a regular or stiff flex. There are usually 3 xstiff options on the best fitting carts if your lucky.

 

 

[iRod]

5 hours ago, Nixhex524 said:

Pretty sure there are other options, but they come at a cost.  Most often if you are willing to pay the upcharge you will find there is more available.  I love Ping, but I would agree, their standard shaft list is pretty poor for the most part.  If you do all your own work you can basically make anything happen.

PING has more shafts than their site shows. Their custom catalog has pretty much every major shaft available, only dealers have access to specifics. It's a matter of paying the upcharge for it and finding somewhere that has it on their fitting cart.

[Nixhex524]

21 minutes ago, iRod said:

PING has more shafts than their site shows. Their custom catalog has pretty much every major shaft available, only dealers have access to specifics. It's a matter of paying the upcharge for it and finding somewhere that has it on their fitting cart.

 

I am aware but its what they don't show the customer that bugs me.  Like Mizuno, Srixon, TM... as examples... you can see everything on their sites including upcharge.  I think it would really benefit Ping to do something similar.  People get the wrong idea and move on.

[Pnwpingi210]

12 minutes ago, Nixhex524 said:

 

I am aware but its what they don't show the customer that bugs me.  Like Mizuno, Srixon, TM... as examples... you can see everything on their sites including upcharge.  I think it would really benefit Ping to do something similar.  People get the wrong idea and move on.

Carls golfland shows many for ping i believe

[jeffrey r]

10 hours ago, PNW said:

I'm seeing Callaway offering 100g+ graphite shafts for Elyte irons including Axiom, Steelfiber, several Recoil options including Protos, MMT, and TGI. What's the problem with those? 

 

As pointed out, I have literally ordered irons direct from Callaway with KBS TGI 100, Steelfiber i110 (S only), MMT 105 (TX only), Recoil Dart 105, and my current Axiom 105. Callaway also has Recoil Dart 110, Prototype 110, 125, etc. This is just a sampling.

 

Ping also has custom options like heavier Steelfibers, Axioms, etc. OP, I think you now have a better lay of the land.

[ericm007]

Thanks for all the  replies. I guess it comes down to finding the proper fitter, I'll have to widen my search.

[Streuner]

There are heavy options but Most of them becomming very stiff and regid when the weight rises. Good example the Axiom, the Recoil or the MMT to simply name some of the most popular 

I am still looking for a graphite shaft that plays like a DGR300 in weight AND stiffness… the Axiom 105 and the MMT 105 I Both used in 2x soft step build which was ok. But the soft stepping makes the lower part of the shaft softer, not the full length 

[ShortGolfer]

I play ladies shafts.  Often there is an option for lightweight ladies shafts but it can take a lot of work to find them in the options menu.

I've found them by looking at eBay listings so I know what to look for in the options menu.  I think Vokey has just one ladies option but that is easier and cheaper than re-shafting a club.

[gsrjc]

Heard LA golf is releasing a 130 version. 

[ericm007]

I know Ping used to have the custom options catalog on their site, I have those from a few years back, but but I can't locate that catalog now, like someone posted above it must only be available to certified fitters.

 

I did find some heavier shaft options at 2nd swing and what appears to be all the shaft options at Carl's as someone posted above, now I only need to find a fitter with more options.

 

Take care.

[driveandputtmachine]

There are so many shaft options these days every manufacturer has to skimp somewhere, they cannot keep them all in.  In MMT alone, there are 9 different variations in their taper tip lineup, plus each shaft is individual for the head.  The amount of space housing that many shafts for a large company starts to become astronomical for just a couple of shaft brands.  When you factor in that there are what, 10+ brands at least, and add models in each brand and weight and flex, the amount of space to store becomes just stupid, your assembly facility carries more space housing shafts than it does the heads they are putting them into.

 

As far as stock vs upcharge, well that is negotiated before the irons are available to sell, the club company has to agree to buy so many before the shaft company will give them a break on pricing. 

[Pnwpingi210]

3 hours ago, ericm007 said:

I know Ping used to have the custom options catalog on their site, I have those from a few years back, but but I can't locate that catalog now, like someone posted above it must only be available to certified fitters.

 

I did find some heavier shaft options at 2nd swing and what appears to be all the shaft options at Carl's as someone posted above, now I only need to find a fitter with more options.

 

Take care.

 If in us club champion or golf tec are the national brand agnostic fitters.

 

if your close to a major metro area you can probaly find 1-2 local agnostic fitters.

 

no green grass or retail shop is going to have a full fitting cart of graphite.

[Pepperturbo]

On 5/30/2025 at 2:05 PM, ericm007 said:

I did a search but didn’t see anything on this, so I thought I would throw this rant out there, sorry if it is a little long.

 

A little about me, 62 years old, 6’2”, 195 lbs., and I currently play Ping i210’s with Aerotech SteelFiber 110 Regular flex shafts at .5” over standard. I like graphite shafts in the 100 gram range, and my 7 iron plays around 150 yards. I play stiff flex shafts in my driver, fairway and hybrids. I do pretty much all my own club work, but this time I was hoping to get a set of irons setup just the way I desire them to be.

 

I’ve recently started looking at a new set of irons and particularly like the Ping G440 and Callaway Elyte irons. I’ve been seriously disappointed with the available graphite shafts options. I get the target audience may be slow swingers for these irons, and they may want or need a lighter shaft, but can’t manufacturers offer a wider range of options, specifically in the 85-100 gram range. I would like to try these irons, but if I can't get what I feel is the proper shafts how can I do an honest test. Manufacturers all claim fitting is what you need, but how do you fit a golfer with such a limited range of graphite shaft options?

 

Ping offers two graphite shafts; Alta Blue, 65g soft reg, 75g regular, 85g stiff, and Alta Quick 35 and 45 grams.

 

Correction - I was mistaken, Callaway has quite a few heavier shaft options.

Callaway offers a few more options, but a 75g stiff shaft is the heaviest graphite option.

I would like a 95g regular flex shaft at a minimum, much like the Steelfiber shafts I currently play.

 

I understand the drawbacks for manufacturers, they’ll need to stock and make available possibly double the number of shafts in their fitting carts, possible swing weight issues, etc… and I’m sure there are more I haven’t considered, but it can’t be that difficult to provide more graphite shaft options.

 

Before it is asked, I have tried lighter shafts and I do not like the way they play or feel, and I’m not concerned with the 3-5 yards a lighter shaft may provide. Can you tell I'm frustrated?

 

It is very frustrating, so it looks like I will again be waiting on a good used set of irons so that I can reshaft them myself, and then have to deal with the swing weight issue caused by the heavier shaft. Lead tape anyone?

 

Does anyone else feel this way?

 

 

Eric

Yes, I hear the frustration.  Graphite shafts are for a niche segment of golfers.  When I went to graphite in 2018, it wasn't because of medical issues, I was fighting Father time.  Nonetheless, I discovered the market limitation.  Typically, it's too costly for any fitter to stock a complete inventory of graphite, for all types of demand.   Like you, I wanted heavier weight, only mid-high to high bend, while most graphite is mid to low bend for moderate swing tempos.  

 

The best way to go about this is buy the clubs you want with stock no up charge shafts, then buy new or used graphite shafts in retail or secondary market, which is what I did.  Only cost for heavier weight quality graphite shafts leads to more costly shafts.

 

Presently, Titleist offers, 4-5 different graphite shafts, but there are up-chargers.  Lead tape is not the only way to swing weight clubs.  There is powder and tip weights, etc.  My builder does a fantastic job setting my T100 irons to D2 and D3.  Only, I have recently went back to PX Red 6.0 steel.

 

 

Edited June 2 by Pepperturbo

[ericm007]

On 6/2/2025 at 12:44 PM, Pepperturbo said:

The best way to go about this is buy the clubs you want with stock no up charge shafts, then buy new or used graphite shafts in retail or secondary market, which is what I did.  Only cost for heavier weight quality graphite shafts leads to more costly shafts.

 

 

This is what I have done for the last 20 years, granted they were mostly used clubs, as I have the loft/lie machine, swingweight scales, and any needed weights, but this time I wanted to be on a launch monitor to be able to dial in the exact shaft that works the best for my older self, since this what all the major manufacturers recommend? This is to be a semi-retirement present and I would like a box of factory fresh shiny new irons that were spec'd perfectly for me. I guess I'll need to go to a bigger market and make a day trip or long weekend out of it.

 

I guess the frustration is being told to get fit, and the box they offer to fit you into is very small, without going the extra mile, which I guess is something I will probably be willing to do this time.

 

Thanks to you and everyone else who has replied.

[ericm007]

Quick update for those interested.

 

I was in Kannapolis this past weekend, so I made a stop in the Golf Galaxy in North Charlotte on my way back to SC. I checked the Ping and Callaway fitting carts and while they had some graphite shafts, nothing in the heavier weights, the Dart 75 was about as heavy as it got. I spoke with a very friendly store associate, and he said that when it comes to the heavier shafts it would be very difficult to get fit for those, and they do get that question on occasion, but wasn’t much they could do. 

 

So unless I want to spend a lot of money and go to a place like Club Champion, I guess I will again just buy the clubs or heads, and reshaft them myself as I’ve done for the last 20+ years.

 

I do plan to at least get my specs updated with a fitting such as shaft length, proper flex, and maybe I’ll be able to hit some heavier shafts, 90 or 95 gram shafts should work fine I think, to get a feel for the shaft kick and clubhead feel.

 

Wish me luck.