What are the differences between a shaft designated as a “hybrid shaft” vs. one that is an “iron shaft?” They are both the same tip size (.370). If I were to install a hybrid shaft in an iron, would I notice a difference in distance (?), trajectory (?), feel??
I’m nearly certain it was Britt who was asked about this in the thread at Golfworks where there was a closeout of KuroKage “X stiff” hybrid shafts early this last spring*.
[*The shafts were then priced at $25.00 each]
Whoever answered the query was asked this same question, and the answer was (paraphrasing mine): “Yes, it can be done, but because the hybrid shaft has a shorter parallel tip section than would a similar iron shaft (4″ in that case ^), you’ll need to ‘get creative’ as far as tip trimming between [the iron] clubs vs. the shaft’s originally intended hybrid heads goes.”
In the case of those ^^^ specific KuroKage X hybrid shafts I bought ten myself (and found four others from another source) with exactly this idea in mind–put the shafts into a set of irons, possibly into one or more hybrids, and potentially even into a set of wedges. If possible, and if I’m not sure where I’m going with an idea, I like to allow as much flexibility as possible until I narrow things down.
At the time I had the black DBM heads in mind as a match and still do. I can move them over from another set (and I do have the three iron head too), but I’ll admit to being intrigued by the new TS1-IM, and I think I’ll want to try one first with this shaft before making a final decision about it. Probably more than once–range balls are cheap. Soon…before the snow flies.
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Given that I do have the DBM #3, my math tells me a trim between heads of 3/8″ rather than 1/2″ between successive clubheads, would be a good way to go, and since my own reference head when testing is a seven iron, that’s a tip trim of 1 1/2″ off a single shaft to find out (we’ll leave the butt length out of it).
1 1/2″ tip trim + a 1 1/8″ hosel penetration depth = 2 5/8″ effectively “used” off the tip end of a single shaft. If I really love it compared to the DBM head with the same shaft**…enough so that I want to go with the TS1-IM…then I now have a new #7 iron.
[** I have already put one of these shafts into the DBM #3 head, and I really do like it]
If I don’t, but want to drop the test shaft into another clubhead (probably a DBM), then I can cut the head off at the top of the hosel, and scrape off another 1 1/8″ to insert it into a wedge. A DBM PW, GW or other wedge head, for example. This works because the original 2 5/8″ + another 1 1/8″ for the subsequent head is a 3 3/4″ total used from the hybrids 4″ parallel tip section.***
[*** my experience tells me to measure the tip end of a given shaft with an outside caliper–some may have a longer parallel tip section than others, some shorter. For an experiment like the one I’ve just described, you’d need a shaft with a 3 3/4″ tip section at least. So I’ll go with the longest parallel tip I have to run my test.]
Further updates as events warrant…and “Film at Eleven.”