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As I might have mentioned before, I am returning to golf after about 15 years off. I have decided to try my hand at building a set of irons. While I have noticed that many sets come with graphite shafts these days, I can find no "science" to justify the extra cost. Just the opposite is the case, it seems: we give up control for whatever precieved benefits we think we are getting from graphite. Is this another case of trying to "buy" our game? What say you?

I don't like graphite in irons, but I'm also 25 years old. The only way graphite in irons I think would help golfers is if they were older and maybe unable to swing the club as fast as they once could. Graphite is lighter, hence giving them the ability to keep up a little clubhead speed.

I read a piece in a golf mag awhile ago that the difference between steel and graphite is minimal.Steel will give you a little better control and graphite will give you a little better yardage.With slower(older players)swing speeds you do come out a little better on both counts,butit really is a "what feels better to you"choice.

On the slower swings I ment with graph shafts.

I have taken graphite because of my proneness for tennis elbow. It takes out the vibrations a little bit.

One of the benefits of graphite is that in general it will be a lighter shaft than steel, although some makers (nippon steel) are now making shafts that are in the graphite weight ballpark...I am still relatively young (at least I like to think so) and quite strong so I do and will play steel until I see a reason not to do so...I prefer the weighting which seems to yield more control...that being said I think about going back to steel on the 3 wood I can no longer hit reliabily since switching to graphite, but haven't as I hit the same distance with steel as I do my hybrid 19* (graphite ironically) with less accuracy...

Vibration dampening is better with the graphite and can help to prevent injuries or prevent aggrivating a previous one. I am in the process of making a complete switch to graphite in all my clubs because of a bad wrist.

I hate graphite in irons however in a driver it is night and day difference over steel.

When I bought my TM V-Steel 3 wood about a year ago I went with steel in it. I don't have graphite in anything but my driver. Sure, I probably lose 5 yards and hit the ball a tad bit lower with steel in my fairway woods, but steel still feels better to me.

True Temper has a new alloy shaft (GS75) that has a raw weight of 86 grams. This is the lightest metal shaft i've seen for irons.

I've tried graphite shafts in my irons to see what kind of benefits there were. In my blades, I installed an old set of True Temper Dynamic graphite shafts, (purplish colored) which were comparable weight to a mid-weight steel. What I noticed was that while the feel was pretty good on well struck shots, there was not much of a dampening on mishits. I also seemed to have trouble working the ball and I found that distance control was difficult. The ball seemed to want to rocket off the face every now and again, almost like the shaft kick was erratic.

Ultimately, the tip on my 7 iron broke and I had to replace with TT DGX100's which has given me an increase in consistency and a slightly lower ball flight.

caveat: The graphite shafts were given to me almost 8 years ago and it could be that the manufacturing process at the time could not provide consistency close to steel like they can do today. I would be willing to try graphite shafts again in my irons, but only with new (current) shafts.

For now... the cost is prohibitive.

Before you do that, you might like to now that graphite cuts down about 60 % of the vibrations, and Sensicore, by TT, cuts down about 73 %. So Sensicore steel shafts are better for your bad wrist. I'm 59, have had tennis elbow for years and arthritis in my fingers of my right hand, and I've been using Sensicore steel shafts for the last 3 years, and I'm quite happy with them.
There is a good reason to stick with steel shafts in your irons, and that's torque. Steel shafts have a torque rating of 1.8-2.2 degrees, depending on flex. Most graphite iron shafts are closer to 3 to 4 degrees. Some as high as 5.5 degrees. That means you will have less directional control on your shots, which is what it's all about with your irons. YES, you can find graphite iron shaft with low torgue, but expect to pay at least $30 per shaft for them. When I can buy a better steel shaft for less than $10 per shaft, why buy graphite and lose accuracy at the same time?

Just 2 cents worth from a guy that's 72 years old, and really not that great of shape. Graphite in the irons I've tried feels way too light. I play with a guy just a couple years younger than me, and have for 40+ years, and he switched to graphite a couple years ago and after playing poorly for the better part of that time, much to his credit he's finally starting to hit them well. As for distance, I was always a little longer, not much, and I'm still longer. As for those that switch to graphite for the dampening effect, that would be my reason for changing. As much as the golf industry trys to fit everyone perfectly, I'm still from the school that thinks you need to adjust somewhat to the equipment. I also have played both regular flex and stiff in my irons (only irons) and hit them the same. So whatever you try, give it an honest try.

I'm with you, and I like it that way - all steel, everything but the driver.

I recently reshafted some factory steel shafted Cleveland irons with some lighter flex True Temper steel shafts...it would have cost me a fortune to have done it with good graphite shafts. I just don't see the real advantage of graphite iron shafts...the few grams you save compared with the new generation of super light steel shafts are just not worth the huge extra expense of the graphites. You could buy a brand new set of irons for what the graphite shafts could cost. I won't argue against the advantages of the graphite shafts in drivers or even fairway woods, but I think they are a waste of money in irons.

I just like the way graphite "feels" in an iron more... I have slipped discs in my neck and the difference between hitting a steel-shafted iron 50-60 times vs graphite is quite large for me. Mind you this is with "normal", not expensive or exotic shafts.