I have long been a fan of Nippon’s steel shaft range, both playing their irons and fitting them in many of my customers clubs. Nippon offer a number of different shafts but generally their shafts offer the same bend profile, a stiff tip and butt with a flexible mid section. This allows great stability and consistency whilst ensuring maximum distance and feel. 

Nippon are less well known for their graphite shafts and these are designed to offer the same bend profile as the iron shafts. I have used the Nippon graphite shafts in my woods and at Carus Green the WT6000 model has now become popular amongst the Pro’s and some of the Amateurs.

This popularity has enabled me to install some Nippon shafts into some of TaylorMades RocketBallz rescue and fairway woods. The results have been spectacular to say the least with huge increases in club and ball speeds.

Below is a comparison of a RocketBallz rescue, the clubs are identical in model and loft the only difference was one has a stock shaft the other fitted with a WT6000 shaft.

The Nippon shaft was able to create a higher swing speed through a more stable acceleration profile; this increased the club head speed by 2.4 mph. The club with the Nippon shaft produced a much more efficient power transfer to the ball giving a higher smash reading, and therefore a much faster ball speed which was up by 8.2 mph giving 8 yards of additional carry.

So what does this all mean?

Well it means that clubhead design is only part of the puzzle. Many would argue that the shaft is by far the most important part of the club, in essence the engine of the club. Without this correctly fitted to your swing you are simply missing out on all of the new features modern club design has to offer.

Now I am not saying that a Nippon shaft will definitely work for you but the likelyhood is that somewhere on the market there will be a shaft that will offer you both better consistency and distance.

How do you know when you have found that shaft?

The answer to this question is that it is hard to tell unless you work with someone who has a launch monitor and is experienced, knowledgeable and independent. Analysing clubhead and ball speeds without such equipment is simply impossible, and if the launch monitor allows you to look at the shaft in detail then all the better.

I run club fitting and club MOT sessions at Carus Green so if you interested please get in touch.

I can guarantee that if we evaluate your clubs in a 1-hour MOT session that I will be able to identify either areas where we could increase your distance or accuracy. Give it a try – you’ll be surprised at the results and very pleased with the outcome. If you aren’t able to make the journey to the Lakes then feel free to drop me an email and I will see how I can help. Alternatively get in contact with your local club fitter to see how they could help your game.