[arerrurrY]

Wanted to get the opinion of people on here. I recently had surgery on my left shoulder. ( I am a rightie FYI) Wondering if I will still be able to hit steel shafts or would graphite be a better choice. I just had my labrum, rc and collarbone repaired after an injury. I know I will not be able to play for a while now, but I am getting ready to buy a new set of clubs and wondering what the vast majority would say.

[Fellionas]

I would go graphite to minimize impact on that arm

[paydayus]

Go to a good pro, tell him about your situation, get your swing speed measured, your tempo examined, stuff like that. You may fall into either, but graphite may be the way to go to make up for the lost strength. Or a superlite steel shaft

[arerrurrY]

Thanks for the tips. I plan on going to a golf pro for the analysis once everything is better. Just didnt know if steel shafts would put too much vibration on the shoulder or if sensicore inserts would help at all. I have never played graphite shafts in my irons before, it has always been steel. I am hitting my 7-iron with a carry distance of 175-180 yards so a loss if a few yards wouldnt bother me too much if I couldnt get the accuracy with graphite. If any of that makes sense.

[MP+4]

How old are you? You may not lose much strength at all. I think it all depends on what shape you shoulders and the rest of your body was in before your surgery. I had RC surgery last September (95% torn supraspinatus tendon). I play stiff Rifle steel shafts (I think they're about a 5.5 on the Rifle scale). I'll be 50 this year. I'm also a regular weight-lifter - no really heavy weights - and I do a decent amount of cardio. I was also good about performing all the PT exercises regularly, with good form. I had a great physical therapist.

After checking with my PT, I started practicing again in March. First by just chipping and putting, then just pitching at the driving range to a 50 yard target. After a couple of weeks I started taking full swings with the rest of my irons. After a week or so of that I started with my irons and driver. I was never very long, but my distances are the same now as they were before my surgery. My shoulder was never an issue.

Your injury and subsequent surgery was much more involved than mine, so I could be way off base. My point is to wait and see, take it slow and take the advice of your physical therapist. Good luck!

[Lillie_Steins]

You may want to post this question in the Ask the Pro section. amollerud is a very valuable source of information and may have something to help you here.

Edit: You beat me to it

[BriKevin]

afmustang311 I have had both of my shoulders fixed. When I first got back into the game I was playing with graphite to protect them. I played graphite for 2 years. After that time I felt good and had little to no pain and made the switch back to steel. I have played nothing but steel since then and have had no issues. Take your time, do the treatments, and protect it until it feels good. That way you can continue to enjoy the game for many years.

[muytreda]

With a carry distance of 175 with a 7 iron you are probably swing over 90 mph in a x flex iron now or a hard stiff. That might make shaft choice options a little tricky when dealing with graphite. You will lose accuracy with graphite in irons but with soft grips and a good shaft you will have considerably less shock to your arm.

[arerrurrY]

Before the surgery my swing speed was 95+ mph. I am using true temper dynalite gold x100 right now. Someone told me about going to a soft grip, but I dont have much knowledge about softer grips since i currently am playing with tackimac dual molded jumbos. I had also heard that there is a sensicore insert that might be helpful.

[muytreda]

I recently switched to the winn lite softs midsize to try and help alleviate grip pressure which creeps in my game ever so often. I am really pleased with them so far and they are one of the better shock absorbing grips on the market. I haven't hit a shot that stings since putting them on and I have to say a good soft grip may be all you need. They make them in in oversize as well. Next time you are by the pro shop pick one of them up. They still give you great feel for a soft grip but they do help with shock. I used to play the v 17's on my irons until I recently switched to the winn lites. They seem to really help me hold the club lighter at impact.

[janeemljr]

Thanks for the tips. I plan on going to a golf pro for the analysis once everything is better. Just didnt know if steel shafts would put too much vibration on the shoulder or if sensicore inserts would help at all. I have never played graphite shafts in my irons before, it has always been steel. I am hitting my 7-iron with a carry distance of 175-180 yards so a loss if a few yards wouldnt bother me too much if I couldnt get the accuracy with graphite. If any of that makes sense.

My advice is this... don't buy or do anything for your game until after you have recovered and you know how much function you will/wont have.

I had knee surgery (left knee, RH golfer) 5 years ago and my golf game before and after surgery are two completely different beasts... to the extent that I pretty much had to relearn HOW to play golf. Its taken time but I am now just about as good as I was before that sugery but that is about the extent of the similarities. I am a completely different golfer now.

I would hold off buying new clubs until everything settles and you are back to playing conistant golf (repeatable swing, etc). Then go out and get fit for new clubs that match your new swing.

Just my $0.02

[arerrurrY]

Just wanted to give a big thanks to everyone that has posted here. I did not expect to get so many replies this quickly. It just goes to show how tight the golfing community is, whenever a complete stranger has a question about this great game that people will go out of their way to offer advice. Thanks again to all that have posted.