It's been a long time since I carried a three iron, or a four iron for that matter. Hybrids took care of that.
For me, it wasn't so much that I couldn't HIT a three or four iron, it was that being a low ball player by nature made them difficult to use effectively on approach shots of 185 yards or longer. The only time I felt that my trajectory gave me an advantage over the guy who could hoist a three iron up in the air like Jack Nicklaus was into the wind, or maybe playing links golf.
As a matter of fact, the 22 degree hybrid that replaced my 4-iron probably launches at the same angle as my 6-iron. I have played around with graphite shafts in my irons, and they offer great feel and distance, but not much in terms of trajectory. However for players who have trouble with t
heir hands, wrists, or elbows, graphite's vibration-dampening qualities make it a viable option.
Durability and appearance, while fairly minor issues, tended to bother me over time with graphite as little chips and decal peeling made the clubs look ragged.
Enter the GS95 Gold Series from True Temper -- a shaft coming to market on October 1st that the Memphis, TN manufacturer describes as having "a responsive tip that increases your launch angle and maximizes your ball's peak trajectory, while giving you the best feel in steel."
I was already playing True Temper's Dynamic Gold SL, which weighs in approximately 20% lighter than the Dynamic Gold -- but that shaft has the same low to mid launch characteristics desired by Tour players.
The weight of the Dynamic Gold SL and GS95 are close enough that a simple swap wouldn't do too much to the swing weight or overall weight of my irons, so I decided to do an experiment before diving in to a full set. I would go see my friend Jake Wiese, a teaching and fitting PGA professional at Carlsbad Golf Center, where I get all my fitting done. By hitting some balls on the radar-based "FlightScope" with my existing setup, then doing the same with the GS95, I should have evidence besides my own feel and visual feedback.
Alas, that required a little string-pulling to beat the October 1st (excuse the pun) "launch date" but the marketing folks at True Temper were anxious to get the word out and had a hunch that I might like the product.
They were right.
The day I hit my existing 5-iron I was swinging well, and the trajectory was actually pretty good, with a slight fade. Jake took down the data, printed it out, and I left the club to be reshafted. The next day we went through the same drill, but even before he got the FlightScope ready I could feel the difference that the GS95 makes. I was not only launching it higher, but also farther with less effort.
The FlightScope data (see chart below) confirmed that I had picked up 8 yards of carry distance and that the clubhead speed with the GS95 was 5 mph higher. Average height increased by 6 feet. There is no downside in those numbers. The new responsive tip "Speed Step" design of the GS95 looks pretty flashy, too.
I will add to this article once I have had a chance to test a full set of irons. Until then, I recommend that you go beyond the launch monitor and get on a FlightScope or another 3D Doppler radar-based device for not just your driver, but your irons as well. Please see the links below for companies that were mentioned in this article.
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