Where to even start with all the club making options?

King_Slender · July 12

I've always been a tinkerer as far as willing to switch up my bag and have wanted to build a set of clubs for fun - thinking about the Maltby TS1 IM or TS4s (currently game Mizuno JPX 921 Forged with KBS Tour 110 R shafts), but the options as far as shafts are so overwhelming and there really isn't an avenue to try them anywhere. I think I could go a little stiffer, but not 100% sure that's the way to go.

Should I just stick with a similar shaft as my current (I've used the same shaft in my last 2 sets of irons) or is there some better way to know what would match up with those heads as far as swing weight?

Jtgavigan · July 12

I have built my own stuff for 20+ years. I was struggling with my TS1 irons and knew it was shaft related. I went to a local fitter and we chose a CB that matched the look/feel of the TS1s (Cobra CB). We also made sure I was getting similar numbers.

Then we went through an iron shaft fitting. Ended up with $-Taper 130. I ordered them through him and I built the set.

I would have never tried those shafts. The 3 I hit best wouldn't have been on my radar at all. I have gone from around 50% GIR to 63% for the last 3 months. It was a huge change.

My advice, find a fitter and tell them what you want to do like I did. It was well worth it.

RHenderson · July 12

From a tinkerer to another, stick with what is working and spend your free time and effort playing the game of golf. I went down the rabbit hole of club building, it started out harmlessly then escalated to almost obsession, and over the last few years I have spent almost 70K on every sort of equipment, irons, Drivers, Fairways, Putters, etc. now yes I have had some success and yes learned a lot ( priceless ) but thinking back if I would have spent my time focusing on the game of golf it might have been more effective.

At my age and place in life I was able to do this without effecting anything or anyone, meaning it became my hobby and consumed a lot of time & money, thankfully I'm at a place in my life I'm able to do it without harm to myself or anyone so I consider it a life's learning lesson. There is no doubt you can gain performance by switching equipment, but so many times we wind up chasing the perverbial unicorn which does not exist. One thing I have learned is the average golfer does not spend enough time practicing, we can learn a lot about our equipment by practicing. There is a great video of Johnny Wunder getting fit by the Titleist guys, it's a great watch and there's a lot to learn from the video.

Best of luck, and good luck if you decide to go down the rabbit hole.

Nessism · July 12

Shafts don't provide propulsion, driving the ball faster than your body's ability to swing the club. What shafts can do, is affect how you swing the club. A shaft that feels good in your hands, will support your ability to put your best swing on the club.

Bottom line: if your dispersion is good, you make solid contact, the trajectory and spin is reasonable, then you have a good shaft fit. Beyond this, there is nothing a shaft can do to help you.

ode1 · July 12

If the KBS Tour R works for you then stick with it or something with a similar profile. The two Maltby options you list have a Uni hosel bore and will accept taper or parallel. Be advised that the KBS Tour taper and parallel don't quite profile the same. Make sure to know which one you currently have if decision is to order that shaft for your project. There stock TT Score shaft wouldn't be too drastically different from a weight perspective and could work. I have also heard that the Nippon 1150 profiles similarly to the KBS tour. It will be a smidge heavier than the KBS Tour. It is a fabulous shaft!

Stuart_G · July 13

23 hours ago, King_Slender said:

the options as far as shafts are so overwhelming and there really isn't an avenue to try them anywhere. I think I could go a little stiffer, but not 100% sure that's the way to go.

Should I just stick with a similar shaft as my current (I've used the same shaft in my last 2 sets of irons) or is there some better way to know what would match up with those heads as far as swing weight?

Don't worry about matching shafts to a new set of heads. The shafts need to be matched to you and your swing, not the heads. So if you know what shaft works well for you, it's a pretty safe bet to stick with that shaft. Head weights (for the most part) are fairly standardized and usually just need some tip weights to manage swing weight. And with few exceptions the variations in swing weight from the shafts are more commonly just +/- 1 sw pt.

If you want to see if a heavier shaft might work, you can just use lead tape to simulate a heavier shaft weight. Wrap it around the shaft about 4"-6" below the bottom of the grip. 5 gm or 10 gm increments usually works out the best.

However, for testing different shaft profiles or lighter shaft weight it's a bit different. If you want to see how well a different shaft profile option works or see if something better might be out there, testing it out is the only way to get any answers to that question. And if you can't find any place local to test out a particular shaft model (e.g. demo day, retail fitting cart, getting fit, etc...), just buy a single shaft to test out before you commit to buying a full set of shafts.

Edited July 13 by Stuart_G