hello,
I just bought a set of macgregor m85T irons. The shafts are stiff.
I wanted to put some modern shafts/grips on them, and add some weight to make them more playable. Should i keep the shaft length the same or is there a benefit to going longer/shorter? Any prefernce on shafts.If you build them to modern lengths, chances are you won’t need to add much weight, if any. The added length will serve to add static weight as well as increase swingweight. If you’re going to reshaft them, that’s what I’d do.
any advantages of having the shorter shafts they had back in the day. or did they just not have the technology to have longer shafts?
The old way of thinking was to design the pro line clubs for better players who basically hit the ball on the sweet spot. The mass was centered behind the hitting area… not around the border of the club (perimeter weighting). By having the mass centered, you can work the ball better by manipulating the center mass rather than trying to manipulate the club with the mass out on the perimeter which is more cumbersome and clumsy.
The shorter the shaft, the more control you will have over the club. The older courses were designed more as obstacle courses where it was required to play a much deeper palate of shots, curvatures and trajectories. Simply put, the older designs are better for this purpose. The new designs have one objective… to hit the ball farther. That was not the priority in the old game.
You will hit the ball straighter with heavier gear… shorter firmer shafts and flatter lie angles if you swing the club properly.
If you already hit your irons straight… you could add a half an inch or maybe an inch in length without too much negative effect. But always remember that irons are for accuracy. Someone who hits their irons straight will outplay someone who only hits their irons far.
I agree with JR, I have a set of m75’s 1950’s era , (same head, shafts are a bit softer) , I added about 3/4 inch
using some old shaft butt- ends (if you do a search you should find Lags thread on how to do it yurself)…and regripped
they were plenty heavy and I just flattened them down, they are great clubs with the shafts as is, IMO…
cheers
Dale
If your M-85s are 50s era and original then they have a very firm shaft that should be stiffer than most modern stiff shafts. Probably about 1/2"shorter than Lag’s specs but I would try them before doing a re-shaft. MacGregor’s old #1 shafts were pretty firm. Mike
I’m debating this decision currently also. will probably go half or .75" increase.
You should be more accurate with a shorter shaft… and since irons are made for accuracy, this should be a consideration.
Longer shafts allow you to flatten your lie angles, but it’s not much if you are only lengthening an inch or less, so I would not give that too much weight in your decision. A longer shaft makes the club slightly heavier and increases swing weight which I don’t have a problem with, but if you put a wedge head on a 2 iron shaft… you would not be a very good wedge player.
If irons feel too short, it would be better to bend at the knees more through impact rather than trying to bend over at the waist through impact as that tends to steepen the shoulder rotation and that can create a power loss in the swing and give you swing plane issues through impact also.
Noted thanks.