Question

4.93K viewsAugust 15, 2025

SpookyMoulder 16 August 14, 2025 0 Comments

I’m planning to replace my iron set from GW to 6-iron and would appreciate some tips and ideas on what might suit me. I have three main thoughts regarding the change:

I’m no longer in my youth and need a more forgiving iron in the transition between my 7-iron and 6-iron, as I’m losing some distance with my current 6-iron. I want to minimize the risk of a gradual loss of distance throughout the set.
I’m curious to try graphite shafts for a swing that’s less physically demanding on the body.
I tend to introduce a slight fade in my shots with the longer irons.

Goals:

Achieve a smoother transition between my 7-iron and hybrid 5, where the 6-iron should ideally cover a range of around 164–175 yards (currently 156–162 yards). By this, I mean I want to mitigate the risk of gradually losing distance throughout the set.
Preferably reduce the fade tendency with longer irons.
I don’t want a club that’s too light (total weight), and the swing weight should be configurable to match what I currently use, approximately D1.
If anything, I’d prefer the set to produce a higher ball flight rather than a lower one—especially with the longer irons.

My current sets that I alternate between:

Mizuno MP-20 MMC with Nippon Modus Pro 120 REG flex and midsize grips (Karma 55g)
Mizuno MP-15 with Nippon Modus 105 REG flex and midsize grips (Karma 55g)

My handicap is around 8.

My thoughts: Replace my irons with a set of Maltby TS4 with graphite shafts, or possibly a combo set with TS4 and TS3 including midsize Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips.

Question: Which graphite shaft and club combination would you recommend that theoretically addresses the goals I’ve outlined above?

Britt Lindsey Answered question August 15, 2025

2 Answers

Answer 1 · 2025-08-19T00:38:52+00:00

TS3 as the #6 iron and the TS4 for the 7-GW works. They should perform extremely well for you.

As far as the shafts, you should go with the flex that fits your speed and tempo. I doubt the 5 grams difference in weight will matter than much.

As far as the R flex offering a bit more distance and S flex offering a bit more control, that is not always true, especially when a player should be playing an R flex due to their clubhead speed and tempo. Generally speaking, that is the belief. Too stiff a shaft can possibly go straighter, but will also go shorter, with less trajectory and feel harsh or hard to a player that should be playing R flex. If a player should be playing an S flex but chooses and R, he might hit it higher, longer, maybe not quite as straight, but it will feel better, or softer. Of the tradeoffs, I will always err on side of more flex, not less.

Comparing the Pro Series+ to the MMT or Recoil Dart, the Pro Series + R and the Recoil Dart 75 R are similar in profile. Both of them are slightly firmer than the MMT R flex profile. The heavier 90 gram Dart in the R flex is a lot firmer than all three of the above.

Britt Lindsey

Hi Britt, I noticed that the TS3 #6 iron is currently out of stock. Do you happen to know when it might become available again?

Answer 2 · 2025-08-15T07:11:38+00:00

Thanks for the information and outlining where you are what your goals are. Obviously any recommendations I can make long distance are general at best. The changes you’re talking about should involve some in person discussions and fitting to be able to narrow down how options may feel and perform.

That being said, I will give you some ideas or a direction to consider. First, the TS4 and/or the TS3, just based on their mass and dimensional characteristics, are a much more stable head than either of the Mizuno’s you have been playing. Mizuno makes a great looking product, high quality, but those particular models require extremely precise and consistent ball striking to get anything out of them. Shorter blade lengths, narrower soles, longer hosels are just not features that lend themselves to stability and a high degree of playability. So any combination, or just a single design set with the TS4 or TS3 should give you some improvement in the overall playability.

As far as shafts, graphite offers some things steel can’t. There are more, lighter weight options, and they provide more vibration dampening than steel. There are some really good light weight steel now as well, but graphite does help when our joints get a little older and need some relief. Aerotech SteelFiber is one that offers a broad range of weights, which would allow you to go a little lighter but not too light. Might look at the 80 or 95 options. Most of the graphite shafts in those weights will be mid trajectory profiles. To get to a higher trajectory profile, most offerings are going to be lighter, like 75 grams or lighter. Because you said you didn’t want to go too light, I did not make any recommendations in the lighter weights. On the swing weight, I can’t really know if the D1 is doable without knowing your playing length, but most likely would not be an issue unless you play overlength clubs.

On the gapping, or the need to be able to hit the #6 iron the distance you listed to fill the gap between the #7 iron and the #5 hybrid, I think you would just have to do the build with the components you decide and see if the change in the shaft and club head allows that to happen. The lofts of the TS4 and TS3 are close to what I have for the MP20, but stronger than the MP15. If, for some reason, the #6 iron still is a problem, you might have to look at another hybrid. Not knowing the loft and the playing length of the hybrid you do have I can’t offer suggestions on whether or not we would have something to fill that gap. Might be that the #6 iron could be the TS3, which is slightly stronger in loft, and the 7-GW are the TS4. The TS3 #6 is 28 degrees and the TS4 #7 iron is 33 degrees loft. That’s OK and lofts could also be tweaked a little if needed for a better progression. You might want to consider the TS3 for the entire iron set. It has the slightly stronger lofts and that would help with the distance and I do not believe it would present an problem as far as trajectory. The actual vertical cg is .691, which is lower than the TS4 and way lower than the Mizuno irons you’ve been hitting. Just a thought.

A lot to unpack, I know, but that should give you some ideas on what to consider. Hopefully it helps.

Britt Lindsey

Hi Britt,

Thank you for the quick reply. Just a bit of follow-up on your comment:

I play standard length irons, and my 5-hybrid is a Taylormade M4 with 25 degrees of loft. I did some testing with Trackman yesterday, and with a 6-hybrid I’m swinging at around 80–82 mph, while my irons are around 76–78 mph. I tried hitting with, for example, the MMT R shaft (70g) and the UST Recoil Dart R (around 80g), and the overall weight of those clubs didn’t feel off. So it’s probably not impossible that a lighter shaft could work.

Choosing TS3 as the 6-iron and TS4 for 7-GW sounds reasonable to me. If I were to go with, say, the Maltby Pro Series + shaft, would you recommend I look at the R or S flex, considering the S is slightly heavier?

Also, would you say that the R flex might offer a bit more distance due to increased shaft loading, while the S could provide slightly better control and tighter dispersion? How do you typically weigh those trade-offs when recommending flex?

And finally, how would you say the Maltby Pro Series + shaft compares in feel and stiffness to something like the MMT or Recoil Dart? Does it tend to play softer or stiffer in a given flex?