Distance problem with irons
 

Alright so let me preface this by saying that on my driver I swing an R11 w/ an x-stiff shaft, but my irons are regular graphite shafts. They're Nike VR full cavity back irons, stock R graphite shafts.

I can swing my driver clean and long - over 290 on average, with the best about 310-315. I naturally play a slight fade (I'm left handed). My irons, however, are a different story; as an example, I'm swinging my 7 iron about 135. (Last year I played a cheap beginner set of irons with steel shafts and my distance was much better, about 165 with my 7 iron). If I play anything beneath my 7 iron it slices a great distance to the left. I can play my wilson fybrid just fine, 225 dead on with a perfect ball flight, and the same thing with my woods, about 245 and 270. I know often times it's the player and not the club, but should I re-shaft my irons with stiff steel? I feel like the graphite shafts aren't working at all. I fact I despise graphite shafts on irons.

Just curious what you guys think? It's the beginning of the year for me here in Maine, so it could just be that my swing needs some fine tuning, but I ust can't help but feel like this is more than a coincidence.

Umm, I think it's definitely the shafts. I assume if you're successful hitting a xstiff driver shaft then having regular flex shafts in your irons are doing you no good. I think you need to consult a fitter or a PGA Professional.

yeah look into getting those reshafted for sure. If you can swing an x-stiff driver there's no way that you should have regular graphite iron shafts

Flex and weight of the shafts probably. Just a guess.

Does the shaft really make that much of a difference? I played a buddy's x-stiff shafted driver and decided it felt right for me. I've never paid for lessons but the pros at the ranges I've been to always have something to say about my swing speed or my power. I was a baseball player and I'm just really picking up golf now at 19. Could the shaft really cause you to lose all of that distance? I don't really have the budget for golf that most people do, and it's hard to try other people's clubs being left-handed, so I have to estimate it the best I can and then I just buy the best stuff I can used (like my used R11 TP for $150).
I'm sorry to overwhelm with questions, but is it really worth it to get on a launch monitor? I have a golf digest top 100 launch monitor place about 15 minutes from my apartment, but I don't know the cost of it.

Uh, yeah man. An improperly fit shaft can be very destructive. You want your gear to fit you. It sounds like you can hammer the ball, might as well make sure and get the ball out there as far and best as possible.

Alright, great. I was going to get a round in tomorrow morning before work but I think I'll go get properly fitted instead.
One more question though - do you think it's worth it to get my irons (Nike VR full cavity back irons) re-shafted or should I go for new irons altogether? It seems like re-shafting would be quite expensive.

It's probably easier to get a good set of irons with shafts better suited to your swing speed at a lower price than what it would be to buy the shafts + grips + get them installed

Up to you though. If you really like your Nike's you might want to re-shaft them

But if you get a different set you could always sell the irons easier than it would be to sell the shafts

What is it about graphite in irons that people get so worked up about, despise graphites in irons, really come on???, Gets a little ridiculous , blame it on the graphites, but as many have mentioned, it comes down to getting a proper fitting

Yeah, you make a good point. I was thinking about that. I would have done the reshafting by myself, so I'm not worried about that cost, but the shafts are quite expensive. I can get the grips I want super cheap, so not worried about them, either. Essentially it comes down to whether or not I want to put awesome shafts on a set of game improvement irons, or just sell them as is for like $200 and buy a new set.

No one is blaming the graphite shafts themselves. The problem is an improperly fitted graphite shaft not the fact that the shafts are graphite

Did you read what i wrote:

What is it about graphite in irons that people get so worked up about, despise graphites in irons, really come on???, Gets a little ridiculous , blame it on the graphites, but as many have mentioned, it comes down to getting a proper fitting

He was agreeing with you man. You kinda made it sound like everyone was blaming it on the Graphite. Graphite iron shafts have been getting a lot of love around here lately.

Was just the intial post that started it off, "Despise" graphites, that I was refering to

Thats his opinion, and one founded off of pretty limited experience. I am sure if he had some that fit him he would like them just fine.

Ok, but how does this help the OP? This discussion should be in another thread.

OP - as others have said, it most definitely is the shafts. Go get fitted, and make sure to bring your clubs along for comparison sake. A good fitter will get you into the proper shaft and you should see an increase in distance and accuracy.

Yeah, that seems to be the consensus here.

Thanks to all, I appreciate the help.

I don't believe graphite is the sole problem with hitting a 7 iron 135 after hitting a driver near 300 yards,operator error?

If you are hitting them too high with a ton of spin iron shots will come down very short of where you think they should land. Whippy shafts can cause you to flip the head under the ball with every club. If you move the ball back in your stance and swing slower you will hit these clubs a lot farther. At least until you can get some stiffer shafts to hit.