Wedge shafts and shaft length

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By Mikael H

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  • 9 Replies
  1. Mikael H

    Mikael H
    Lammhult, 0

    Hi there,

    about to get new vokeys (52, 56, 60). I have always used the standard shaft (s200) at 1/4" short and 1-2° flat. Now, since I use (sorry) mp-68 irons with project x 5.5 I am thinking of maybe go for project x in my new edges as well. A few questions come to mind:

    1. Since my pitching wedge is 35.50", which is the same length as the 52° vokey gap wedge I like it to be 1/4" shorter than standard. This works fine with the s200 shaft (since it is pretty heavy to start with) but since the px5.5 is a bit lighter I have concerns of swing weight, especially going 1/4" shorter. Could an alternative be to soft step a px6.0 to get a similar flex as the 5.5 and also get a more ok swing weight?

    2. Or, maybe it is better to keep the standard length of the vokey (despite being the same as my pw)?

    3. Many seem to prefer a softer flex in sand- and lob wedge. As I said, I like the s200 in all my wedges. Is px5.5 all the way to prefer or should I go for px5.0 in the 60 (and perhaps the 56).

    Best,

    Mike

  2. Lou G

    Lou G
    San Diego, CA

    1/4" in swingweight is 1.5 swingweight points and that probably isn't even noticeable. You COULD change the grips to Winn Excel RF Soft (which would restore the swingweight and add .5 pt) or Winn Lite (which would INCREASE the swingweight by 3.5 points) If the Vokeys work with the stock shafts and the way you have them set up, leave them alone. The unknown is how they feel with the Project X shafts. If you are going with standard length, then you need to have the wedges bent 1/4 degree flatter. Did you have your wedges checked on a lie board - reason I say is because you stated "1 to 2 deg flat". 1 degree is a rather significant error in lie angle.
  3. Mikael H

    Mikael H
    Lammhult, 0

    Thanks for the response. I have tried the winn grips earlier and don't like them very much, prefer multicompounds. You're probably wright about the swing weight, it was the lighter weight in combination with the shorter length that mad me a bit concerned. But, since the px5.5 in the pw works just fine it should work well in the gap wedge as well. Yes I have had my lie angels checked (the thing is that standard lie differs between Miz and Titleist, so getting the same lie angel in my vokeys and Miz pw means them being bent differently).

  4. Lou G

    Lou G
    San Diego, CA

    The "standard" lie for a 9 iron is 64* with spacing 1* apart going up to the long irons (it is 60* by the time it gets to the 5 iron). The "standard" shaft length for a 9 iron is 35.5". These are the "traditional" (as in Old School) values.

    Cally irons are 1/2* flat vs Titleist or TM (all 3 space the 3-5 1* apart and 1/2* apart from the 5-9 irons). Black Dot is .75* upright from "standard" on a 5 iron, 0* on the 8 iron, and 1/4* flat on the 9 iron. I have all of this recorded on an Excel spreadsheet, along with my setup.

    1.5 points in swingweight is hardly noticeable among most golfers. Swingweight points: 5g/point for grip weight change 20g uncut shaft weight change/swingweight point (also why steel shafted clubs are generally 1/2" shorter than graphite). 1/2" length change for steel shaft = 3 swingweight points; graphite is 5 points/inch. 2g head weight change/swingweight point I learned all of this through constructing my own golf clubs 3 years ago (I constructed a Toski Target 7 and 9 wood, Snake Eyes Q3I 5-SW irons, Snake Eyes 600W lob wedge, Snake Eyes Q3A 38 approach hybrid, Snake Eyes Q4A approach hybrid).

    All my clubs, except the Vokeys, have Winn Excel RF midsize grips. Going to a midsize grip results in a loss of ~ 3 swingweight points on Lamkin Crossline or Golf Pride Tour Velvet (52 g for standard and 67 or so for midsize). I also tried the Winn Lite grips and don't really like the feel.

  5. Mikael H

    Mikael H
    Lammhult, 0

    I rephrase my question. If I want a wedge 1/4" shorter than standard is it then a good idea to soft step a px6.0 to maintain similar weight and flex as a px5.5 in standard length?

  6. Lou G

    Lou G
    San Diego, CA

    I would have to defer that to someone that knows about those kinds of shafts.
  7. Lou G

    Lou G
    San Diego, CA

    Lou G said:

    I would have to defer that to someone that knows about those kinds of shafts.
    From what I have read on "stepping" a shaft, going 1 step (i.e., putting an 8 iron shaft in a 9 iron head) changes the flex .3. I've also read that PX 5.5 supposedly feels stiffer than S300. With this, to make a 6.0 close to 5.5, you would have to put an 8 iron shaft on a wedge (that would make the flex ~5.4). The uncut weight diff between the DG S200 and PX 5.5 is 14g (.7 swingweight points). By the time they get cut to wedge length, the swingweight diff may be almost nil. I've weighed two Ping irons with the same grips and proper shaft length spacing (7 iron with KT-M stiff and 8 iron with DG X) and they both had the same swingweight (I reshafted my irons to TT Lite XL since then). The 1/4" short club is only 1.5 swingweight point different from standard and not even golf pros can detect that much of a change.
  8. Mikael H

    Mikael H
    Lammhult, 0

    Thanks very much for your answers. I just switched to px5.5 in my irons a month ago and like them very much thats why I am thinking of trying them out in my wedges as well. I think PX 5.5 would be just fine in my wedges as well.

  9. Lou G

    Lou G
    San Diego, CA

    I'd stick with using the 5.5 with your wedges since you know they work with the rest of your irons. Granted it may be a little firmer than the stock S200. It sounds like too much work to "soft step" a 6.0; for a 1/2 swingweight point it isn't worth it and what you are going to get is a borderline x flex shaft with a soft tip. I have been a bit of a "golf mad scientist" since 2006. Prior to that it was simple.. from 1972-2003 I played with wooden woods (laminated and persimmon 3 and 4 woods; didn't use a driver and I could hit a 3 wood much farther) and blade irons (I used my dad's X31s from 1979-2003); I played little golf between 1993-2003. Like I said, I played with a home made set of irons for 3 years (2008 till early 2011). This is where I learned about proper fit and effects of grip weight. I also found out an interesting thing about a True Temper TT Lite XL shaft vs DG R300: although the former is a lighter shaft (128g/43" uncut vs 129g/41" uncut) an assembled club is 2 swingweight points heavier because of the thinner wall on the butt end. The DG R300 and Sensicore feel softer vs the TT Lite XL and you get more feedback with the latter. I also have three persimmon clubs I bust out every now and then (a Louisville Niblick Vanguard 5W and Even Stripe 10W, and an HL3 34 hybrid - great conversation piece on the golf course; I bring it along for the ride at all times). The woods have TT Lite XL as stock shafts and the HL3 has DG. The hybrid feels a bit softer. I liked the TT Lite XL so much that I reshafted my Eye 2 Yellow Dot 6-PW to the tapered version. I alternate between them and the 6-PW in my DCI 981 set (R300 Sensicore). As far as my wedges, they are bone stock Vokey Spin-Milled C-C but bent 1* upright lie angle.
  10. glen h

    glen h
    eugene, OR

    Please be aware that because of the head weight of wedges compared to regular irons, most shafts in wedges are slightly stiffer than in your irons. Something to keep in mind if you find the 5.5 shafts don't feel right. Although in the gap wedge it probably won't make that much difference. I have A4 forged irons with an A4 gap wedge with a 5.5 project x shaft and it feels about the same as my 900 50* wedge with a S300 TT shaft.

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