GRAPHITE vs STEEL Shaft Comparison | KBS Tour R vs UST Recoil

This graphite vs steel shaft comparison features 2nd Swing master fitter Taylor Ledwein testing the UST Recoil graphite iron shaft vs the KBS Tour R steel shaft. In many 2nd Swing fitters, the discussion of graphite vs steel shaft comes up and it's an important one to go through in a fitting.

In this video, 2nd Swing's Drew Mahowald and Taylor Ledwein conduct a Trackman Test to showcase differences between a graphite vs steel shaft in regular flex. Is there a major difference? Which one should you play?

FOLLOW 2ND SWING GOLF ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

[darrylyee]

I just got some irons with the UST Recoil 95 graphite shafts hoping it would help my tennis elbow. Previously I used the Nippon NS Pro 950GH Neo shafts which were almost identical weight. The graphite shafts feel so soft off the face... maybe too soft. But I still get enough feedback on my mishits. Overall, much less vibrations which is helping my elbow, so I'm super happy with the change.

[tdhawk]

First of all, thank you for this vid. Very interesting and relevant for a lot of folks. Second, congrats on a beautiful, repeatable swing. I’m envious. Gorgeous swing plane. Finally, I really think you are on to something and should take it further. Custom fit a slower swinger (got a retiree hanging around the store?) into a steel and a graphite shaft and compare results. From what I’m seeing, graphite yields more distance, more spin, and steeper landing angle with only a minor dispersion degradation. I’d take that any day.

[AP-ltfx]

Have played recoil shafts in the past. Great graphite shaft .

[michaeljones]

Mahowald was made for his position in these videos - what a pro! And Taylor's swing is great

[KenHumphrey-dyuk]

7 iron - when he hovered over the graphite shaft name at 7:36 the description indicated a 7 iron.

[johnk.atchley]

Great to see a test with Taylor because those of us who have moderate swing speeds can relate to hers. Wish you would let us know which iron, a 7 or a 6, and which ball. Spin rates and ball speed can vary with the ball. For Taylor, the Recoil graphite did better than the KBS Tour in every category. Probably would for me also.

[dominicwojczynski]

I bought zx5 with recoil stiff last year, first ever graphite and loved the feel but just too light, this year got custom fit and went with LA Golf 120 L 120 gram graphite and I am in love. I have a bad back and the graphite is nice

[midlifebiker]

Other tests ive seen used the same weight and flex however the grahite shaft had less bend at impact and tighter club face dispersion.
I find less finger fatigue from graphite partic when hitting off a range mat...

[davidbrown]

With all the options for 95 gram steel shafts available, why would you not test those against a 95 gram graphite That would be the true test.Dispersion in this test is more about weight than shaft material.

[blackibeamer]

I have been using Recoil 780es SmacWrap from Modus 105 tour. My right shoulder joint was forcing me to look at graphite in the irons. I loved the Modus 105 but the 780es SmacWrap has special anti- vibration material and I can play with no soreness.

[JDSFLA]

Wouldn't the KBS tour Lite 95 gram shaft have been a better steel shaft to use in this test so that you would be comparing a light steal shaft to a light graphite shaft? The Tour regular is 110 grams.

[mikemusto]

I am 63 years old, 7 handicap, driver swing speed on average 87-90. I have been just recently fitted and coincidentally compared the two shafts in the video. For my quick tempo the 110 steel seemed best even over 95 steel. That’s just me. What I will add is the 3, 4 and some times a 5 iron is moving to hybrids which I hate compare to irons. New possible trend . Mixed set steel through 7 iron and 6, 5 in graphite. Thoughts? Why not?

[gcoffey]

I ended up with the Recoil F3 (94g). The feel and feedback were amazing but the performance and consistency sold me, not even close

[glenburr]

Are these 2 shafts that fit her swing going into this test? Because that graphite shaft you picked is kind of not mainstream and has been discontinued.

[jamesanderson]

I disagree with the analysis of the dispersion. Take out the two worst shots of each shaft and see what remains. Removing the two left-most points of the graphite shaft leaves a circle about 12 yards wide, centered about 3 yards left of the centerline. Doing the same with the steel leaves a circle about 20 yards wide, centered 8 yards left.

[johnk.atchley]

Are UST Mamiya still calling the Recoil 95 a Prototype? I just checked their web site, and they have Recoil 95, 110 and 125 in F3 and F4, but do not mention Prototype anywhere. I saw reviews of the Recoil 95 Prototype from 2013, 2018 and 2019 but not newer. It may be only through a custom order from one of their TSPX (stands for Tour Spec) Lab fitters.

[justinstephenson]

You should do the test again but with a third option - a shaft which combines both such as the Steelfiber or similar, but crucially have all 3 shafts at the weight

In terms of the raw numbers once you take into account standard deviations and statistical significance any small differences in performance are almost certainly down to the weight differences in the shafts rather than one being steel and one graphite

What the test shows is that there are not really any performance differences now between graphite and steel shafts - which ever one you prefer the feel of, assuming proper fitting, will do you well

As for Taylor, what a lovely rhythm to her swing

[williaki]

Would you expect to see similar results if the weight of the shaft is the same? I have PXLZ6.5 and Steelfiber125.

[Aaron-vtgh]

Ive seen other comparisons where the graphite is producing more spin than steel. So this is interesting to me. I wonder why

[lutaayawamala]

This test wasn’t set up correctly - of course the steel shaft was heavier - it weighed 20 grams extra. Why not compare a 95 graphite shaft with a 95 steel shaft?