I am perplexed

I took my neighbours 9 year old daughter down to the driving range just now as she seems very keen to have a go.

When we got there I asked for a club that would suit her size and they kindly gve me one of those cut down ones, with a nice flexible graphite shaft and a conventional head. 

It was a nine iron and I had a go with it and could not believe that I hit this tiny little club further than my own 8 iron, not once, but consistently. This prompted me to pop along and see one of the pros who I know well there and related what I had just done, and me asking whether or not a graphite shaft that was as soft as the little one would be more suitable for my current swing speed, which is rather slow.

He went to the section where they have all the clubs for fitting purposes and picked out a shaft which he then attached to one of the new Burner heads and told me to give it a try.

It was a six iron but the feel of the shot as it left the clubface was so sweet.

The shaft was 55 gramme weight of regular flex but for a senior.

When I suggested that I would like my heads reshafted to this spec he was not too happy saying that the latest technology heads are what makes the difference in the distance when compared to my seven year old X14 steelheads.

So once again I have come up against the usual hard sell which will never work with me and it is looking as though I will have to reshaft them myself, assuming I can get the right shafts. 

Good for you John, it's the shaft that makes the difference not the head.  You may get a few more feet with new heads, but the main gain with the graphites will, as you correctly assume, be in their particular flex characteristics.  In general with a flexible shaft it's better to have a heavy head as this initiates the whip as it's swung back.  And this will suit a man of your experience (didn't mention the word old there!).

What shafts were they?

Tim, the shaft was a TM burner shaft but the weight was 55 grammes, it was regular but an M shaft, whatever that is. The difference was so pronounced it stood out like a sore thumb.

Stuart, your swing speed is substantially faster than mine, I can assure you, even though you might think it is fairly slow.

Regarding Friday, I am looking forward to it but as yet the time has not been confirmed by Danny, as he might have difficulty making 1 o'clock. David suggested perhaps later, even up to 4 o'clock.

Steven, I really cannot believe that the modern heads have any more distance in them than those of the past, in fact some of the old forged irons made in this country fifty years ago were just as good as anything produced now, just because of the quality of the metal in those days.

The mere fact that I hit a junior club of about 30 inches in length further than my own tells me that it is the shaft.

I've booked it for 3.30 John. A buggy too, weather permiting.

Great, Danny, I will be there and looking forward to it. I need the buggy, thanks.

Looking forward to it. Even with all the rain recently it should still be nice and firm.

Have you had a look at their website? seen any holes you like the look of?

I have a clubmaker local to me, in fact he is the one I bought the X14's from, so I will have to have a chat with him. I know he gets a lot of his material from Golfsmith. He makes up the Snake Eyes range for the discerning player.

I really am amazed at how far this little junior club sent the ball in comnparison to mine.

Danny, one can only play what is in front of you, some holes look nice, others not so nice, but at the end of each hole should be a surface that is worth getting to. Lets hope Pedhams does not let me down on that score. I will concentrate on your short game on Friday.

I'll have a word with my man Melvyn tomorrow to see if they are generic shafts branded for TaylorMade - they usually are -  and see if he can source them.  I'll let you know.

Thanks, Tim.

John, just buy a set of junior clubs with graphite shafts, sorted ,you can't let a 9 year old girl out drive you   

Everyone outdrives me Tony.

Interesting one this, John.  The TM Burners appear to use Fujikara RE AX Superfast shafts, although they seem to be 50, 60 or 65 grammes in iron sizes.  They do a amatuer (regular) flex.  Seem to be about £30 a shaft (or $30 from the US).  Will still ask Melvyn tomorrow but if you're really interested I could get my brother to bring some from the States when he comes over in a couple of weeks to avoid all that import tax and stuff if he slips them in his travel bag.....

Thanks for the info, Tim, but it appears that there is no cheap fix seeing these shafts cost that amount of money each. As the Pro said  just as cheap to buy a complete new set.

Perhaps I had better look around for a secondhand set with the shafts that suit me.