Snapped my 3 iron again, last time it was impact bag work, this time a tree.
Quite glad it was the 3 actually because the club pro put an S300 in it last time because he couldn’t get an S400 and the weight always felt wrong (all in the mind, maybe?), plus he put a horrible grip on because he couldn’t get the requested one.
So I’ll reshaft it myself this time. Thought I’ll try an X200 this time, being the same weight.
Now I haven’t got access to my clubs at the moment because I locked them and my car keys in the trunk and am awaiting a new key from overseas, but I want to order a new shaft soon as a big event is coming up. And I’m trying to verify it’s a 0.355 Taper.
I do have in my possession the sand wedge that initially came with the set but the S400 label on it is worn and I can’t see any model number, if there was any.
The clubs are Mizuno TP19s and from what I can tell with other clubs from Mizuno, they tend to have 0.355" hosels. However when I measure the shaft diameter at the ferrule, I get 0.380".
The bottom step thickens to 0.395" before it steps up, making me believe the very base of the inserted shaft tapers down to around 0.375". So I’m unsure about the 0.355".
Or is 0.355" the diameter before it was cut? I would have thought taper shafts would have to be trimmed at the butt, but I really don’t know this stuff at all.
FYI - When you had the shaft replaced the first time whoever re-shafted your club could have saved your original grip. It’s done by using a hypodermic needle and injecting solvent (e.g. lighter fluid) in half a dozen areas of the grip (and lightly twisting the grip) until the double-face tape adhesive dissolves. The tiny needle holes in the grip close up and do not damage the grip. The old grip can then be installed on the new shaft.
Thanks GL, but I have TP-19s, not MP-19’s–very different clubs. I’m pretty certain it is a 0.355" but would like to make sure before ordering. The chart you posted, which models does it correspond to?
The original grip was 10 years old–I thought it was time for a new one
I’m sorry - my mistake. The TP-19 irons take a .355 taper tip shaft also. TP-19s are nice clubs!
The chart just shows that True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts in Tapered Tip are Product Code DGI-Taper. Taper tip shafts should never be tip trimmed because they are designed to discrete lengths. Therefore, you must butt trim taper tip shafts to the correct finished length. I do not have information on the standard lengths for Mizuno TP-19 irons so I would suggest taking a measurement of the next shorter iron (in your case - the 4-iron) and trim the completed of “finished” (clubhead, shaft and grip) length to be 1/2" longer than the 4-iron. Please disregard the 39" standard club length I gave you when I mistakenly thought you had MP-19 clubs.
When ordering whatever DGI-Taper shaft stiffness you desire (e.g. S300, S400, X100, etc.) you’ll be asked which iron number you need it for, which of course will be the 3-iron. I believe the untrimmed shaft for a 3-iron is 40", which will be butt trimmed to arrive at your finished club length. Each consecutive (iron #) untrimmed DGI-Taper shaft length has a difference of 1/2".
Not to confuse matters but you can fine-tune the shaft stiffness (cpm frequency) by soft-stepping or hard-stepping. For example, soft-stepping would be to use a 2-iron shaft in your 3-iron…and hard-stepping would be to use a 4-iron shaft. This makes the lowest step on the shaft further or closer to the clubhead, which alters the shaft stiffness slightly for an in-between shaft flex.
Do you mind if I ask your source for this? I just have a tiny bit of concern because I’ve seen things on the net which suggest the same thing, but the measurements I made above (with a micrometer) are making me second guess. I did initially get the clubs from a tour van and I guess it’s not totally out of the question they were rebored for a larger shaft.
I might run off an email to TT just to ask them if the measurements I have sound right for a .355 taper.
re: the hard and soft-stepping, I wouldn’t be refined enough, nor do I play enough, to feel the difference!
I suggest talking with Mizuno and asking them. Their steel shafted irons have used .355" taper tip shafts for as long as I can remember. I play Mizuno irons myself and have for many years. I’ve also had my irons re-shafted and they were always .355" taper tip shafts. I’ve only seen the tour van bore out iron hosels one time and I don’t recall the circumstances. TT Dynamic Gold shafts are available in .370 parallel tips so there would be no advantage to drill out a .355" taper tip hosel to accept a .370" parallel tip shaft.
Since you are still concerned based on your measurements and where the clubs came from it’s probably a good idea to also talk with True Temper in order to confirm or reject your own findings in terms of measurements. You may also want to talk with The Iron Factory ( http://www.theironfactory.com/ ). They re-shaft, repair and chrome a lot of the older irons. You would probably getter a fast answer from them.
Good luck with it. You have a very nice set of irons…
Steb, the cut out GoLow used is from the ‘GolfWorks’ club component catalog…it has nothing to do with the exact tips for Mizuno, Cobras, taylor mades, PGF or Ben Sayers…all it does is discuss Dynamic Gold shafts weights, tips and such per their sales catalog
I’ve gained enough confidence that they are .355" - it’s definitely a taper tip and really I can’t see any other larger option in DG anyway.
Also I noticed from the TT pdf above, it shows how the bottom step is actually parallel for quite a bit before it tapers. This will account for the difference in measurements I’m getting. Maltby’s club repair manual also seems to agree.
Yes, the True Temper pdf file was the most important information because you could see the measurement information of the shafts, especially the dimensions for the lower part of the shaft from the bottom-most step to the tip. I should have picked-up on the fact that you were only able to measure the shaft diameter above the hosel, which of course would give you a larger diameter than the diameter of the smaller [tapered] tip buried down in the club’s hosel.
I’m glad you feel more confident now that the shafts are .355" tapered tip.
