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A couple of summers ago I built a set of Synchron Medic irons (clone of the Nike Slingshot). I used TT Lite shaft and cut them so they would be stiff in flex. Played them about a year and hit them great and loved them. After reading all the talk about how much better OEM is than clones, I decided to buy the real deal and purchased the Nike OSS Slingshots also with stiff shafts last summer. Have played them for a year and am still a club shorter with the OSS. Had the local shop check lofts to make sure the clones weren't stronger. All checked out fine. I'm not trying to start anything about clones being better. Just want to know why there is such a difference between the two. Could it be the shafts? Just would like to be able to hit the expensive clubs as far as the cheap ones. If it's the shafts, I'd have no problem reshafting them.
Thanks in advance.

It could be the shafts, It would be real easy to pull the shaft from one of the Nike irons, and replace it with the same shaft as you have in the other set. Then you'd know for a fact if it was the shaft or not. One question I do have for you. Do you hit the Nike irons as well as your other set? If you are making better, more solid contact with the old set, that could explain the extra yardage over the Nike irons. If contact is solid with both sets, then by all means, replace one shaft in the Nike's and see if that's the cure. How about ball flight? Is one much higher than the other? Sorry, I think I just asked a second question.

I feel like I hit the Nikes as solid as the clones. I hit the clones higher.

Sometimes if you hit the ball higher, you also hit the ball farther. I'd try pulling one shaft and replacing it with the same one as in your clone set, and go from there.

Will try that this weekend.

Please let me know what you find out with the shaft switch.

you might also check the overall length of each club and compare them. That could make a difference in distance. Also check shaft weight and swing weight. All three could be reasons for the difference in distance, as well as the loft of each iron in the set.

Who said OEM were 'better' than clones? To even make such a general statement about either one better than the other sounds like someone who knows very little about equipment. The secret is in the fitting. For the record, this not a valid statement. Its likely that this same person would group component equipment with the clones. This 'third' category of equipment offers a strong arguement as being the "best"

What exactly is a "clone" anyway? Is a clone a "copy". Well, you could say that all golf clubs are "copies". All 9 irons are pretty much the same. A little different shape or size maybe, and a degree of loft different maybe. But really, isn't that pretty much what all club makers do. When ever the industry settles on a "Standard" for what a 9 iron or any other club should be, we have nothing more than 25 OEM's making a bunch of "clones of that standard. Same can be said for 90 percent of the drivers on the market. All of them are 460CC or close to it, and about the same shape, weight, and all made with an alloy that doesn't vary more than 5 percent. Even the color of most drivers is the same dull black. I have OEM drivers and component drivers and irons, and I don't really see much difference other than the guality of the shafts. Most OEM clubs use cheaper shafts than what I use when I build a set of clubs or a wood. It's evern been stated that the after marker shafts in some of the OEM upgraded drivers aren't the exact same shaft as what the company sells as an after market shaft. That NV65 in your new driver, isn't the same shaft as the NV65 shaft you would get from say Golfsmith.

Here's where I'm at now. I reshafted my 5 and 8 irons with FST Pro White Lite shafts. I trimmed them to R flex and then butt trimmed to finished length. I'm also trying to tweak my swing a little. Played pretty well for me, shot a 41. Only hit my 8 once, and hit it about 165 yds. and a little left. Not sure, but I think I lined up that way. Seems to be a common fault of mine these days. Didn't hit the 5 at all. Really like the flight I saw when I hit my 8 though. But, I'm not going to change the rest untill I hit these a few more times. After I'm satisfied that I know how these work, I will reshaft the same 2 irons with the FST shaft, but I will trim them to S flex and see how I like that.

Any reason you didn't use the TT Lite shafts for this? I would think that with the way you liked the first set of irons with that shaft, you would use the same shaft to see if it worked with the OSS heads?
In any case, let me know how it goes and if you gain any distance.

OnePutt,
I'm just trying something new. I didn't want to increase the swing weight by using the TT Lite. Also, the Pro White Lite is supposed to be a little lower launching shaft. Although, at R flex, they are still pretty high, but not as high as the oem shaft.

Well, did you get your lost distance back with the new shafts? Or is it too early to tell?

Yeah, I've only got 2 rounds and a couple of range sessions in but I'm averaging 160-165 with the 8 and 190-195 with the 5. If I really go after it and get fast, my miss is left. Thinking about trimming 1" more off to make them firm and trying that. Ball flight is much lower though which isn't a bad thing. I live in Wyoming where the wind blows a lot so the lower ball flight will help as long as I don't give up distance. Really impressed with the feel of these shafts.

Amazing what a set of shafts can do for a set of irons.