Choosing Iron Shafts

The most important choice you make when building a set of irons or a single wedge is what shaft and flex to use. The shaft has a major impact on shot trajectory, distance, direction and consistency.

The standard steel shaft for GigaGolf irons and wedges is our proprietary True Temper Feather Flight shaft. The Feather Flight's specifications are very similar to the stock steel shafts used by Callaway and Ping.

For the last 30 years, True Temper has set the standard by manufacturing the finest steel shafts in the world. Without a close rival, True Temper steel shafts are found in the bags of most PGA tour professionals.

GigaGolf carries many other first quality shafts that may be used to fit your game. The GigaGolf shaft fitting wizard can help you determine the best shaft for the way you play. Click here to open the shaft fitting wizard.

GigaGolf eFit Shaft Flex Recommendation

The GigaGolf eFit tool needs your average carry distance with a 5 iron to make a shaft specific recommendation concerning shaft flex.

Flex is a critical determining factor for both distance and direction. Generally speaking, the more flex equals more distance but less control. Conversely, at a given swing speed, stiff shafts can result in less distance but more accuracy. These generalizations only work if the fitting is close to correct, taken to their extremes they do not hold up.

Shafts that are too stiff for a player will often feel "like a board". The unmistakeable pop of a well-struck golf shot is difficult to achieve. The directional tendency will be to the right for fight-handed players with a corresponding loss of distance. Shafts that are too flexible may feel better but are more difficult to control. The directional tendency will be to the left for right-handed players.

No Flex Standard

Like many specifications in the golf industry, there is no set standard for shaft flex. One manufacturer's R Flex may be as stiff as another companies S Flex. For woods, shaft manufacturers publish flex recommendations based on swing speed or carry distance with a 5 iron.

An accurate fitting system must take the shaft you are buying into consideration before an accurate flex can be recommended. Fitting systems that make general recommendations should be avoided.

Steel vs. Graphite Iron Shafts

Depending on the player, stell iron shafts will be more accurate than graphite iron shafts, while graphite may produce more distance. Steel has less torque or twist than graphite; therefore, it is better able to impact the ball square to the target. Graphite is lighter than steel so players with slower swing speeds can hit the ball further with graphite iron shafts.

Steel shafts are the most common choice in irons because irons are typically used to hit a small target. When approaching a green with an iron, accuracy is at a premium. When hitting from the tee, distance is more important and the target is larger. That is why most PGA tour pros play steel in their irons and graphite in their woods.

Graphite is an excellent choice for those players looking to regain some lost distance with their irons. GigaGolf carries only finest quality graphite shafts, which are far superior to the graphite composite you might find in a department store board.

Insist on Finest Quality

Although you can save some money on purchasing lessor quality shafts, we recommend you spring for the good stuff. True temper prints their quality levels on the lower half of the shaft.

Commercial shafts are inconsistent in weight, wall thickness, shaft diameter and other shaft specifications. They look just like higher quality shafts but they can not be used to manufacture a consistent set of clubs. Weight variations can be as high as 10 grams.

True Temper puts their Finest Quality shafts through an 8-point inspection process. Everything from the weight to the tip diameter is inspected for consistency. For example, weight tolerances between shafts are +/- 2 grams.

Premium shafts are also inspected for consistency. Weight tolerances are +/- 1 gram. These shafts are typically designed for the skilled player. They can be difficult for the intermediate to handle.

Who Can I Trust?

There are only a few major manufacturers producing finest quality steel shafts. In the U.S., there are two, True Temper and Royal Precision. Keep in mind, True Temper also manufacturers commercial quality shafts, look for the words "Finest Quality" printed on the shaft to be sure.

Sometimes it is difficult to tell what you are getting. Apollo and Harrison are two companies that are importing steel shafts from China. The shafts we have tested from these companies to not meet our Finest Quality criteria for weight, flex and frequency consistency.

GigaGolf's position has always been that our customers are saving a significant amount of money by purchasing direct from the manufacturer and avoiding the expensive markups other brands must charge to cover their endorsement and advertising expense. Our customers want the same quality the pros play with, therefore, it does not make sense to compromise the quality of the shaft.