iron shaft test....

[supo]

deciding on whether to build a set of mci, i still wasnt convinced these are worth the coin. the MCI are double anything else i have so i was curious to see if they wud be awaste, the heads i had earmarked for them are my faves ,endo forged prgr idbls ,so they aint no mickey mouse head. im not going to waste a set of shafts on these heads..

range time sunday morning with these....

prgr idbl.....................modus 130s

prgr idbl...... ..............MCI 110s

masda blade........... monacco X soft stepped
tm r9 tp ............. ......modus 120s hard stepped
callaway tour authentic......NS sp blues

prgr tr500......monacco s

tourstage 701....aerotech 110x

the whole purpose was to test the MCI vs these tried, tested loved shafts

lofts are pretty similar . nothing was 3* stronger.

ok how to break down the particlaurs without takign 1 billion words and half my day

,

FLIGHT ........,

monacco X .....sp blue... modus 120 . all pretty low.

, the masda head is ULTRA low so that monnaco combo was like an arrow from the ground. i wudnt like to hit this over 170 yards of all carry water.. slightest under hit and......, plop!

modus 130...monacco S....aerotech , areotech the lowest of these, virging on low but ill call it mid , these are mid flighted, hard to say the monacco X is lower than the s, but thats a case oft he head matching, in the tr500s the flight wa 100% mid , delightfull flight.

MCI was highest. wasnt baloon high but was noticeably higher than the others.

i was purposefully hitting BIG cuts and massive hooks to see what the shafts do. exagerated to an enormous degree. the difffernce wer pretty big.

most later al movement ..EASILY the MCI, they went miles both directions.

least movement by a long way SP blue. cudnt make these draw to save my life.

modus 120 didtn wanna move left much either, but it did a lot the further the ball was nearing its zentih

the 130s simila. the monacco was a nice arc form inception.

aerotech was like drawing a straight line. these things are WAY strong. almost too much to count!

they just have zero feel

FEEL,,

modus 125 ........nicest .smoothest , all round perfection for me

monacco x .......... HARSH

aerotech........... like hitting a dull piece of light pole.
mouds 120......... lively but thin in t he bend point, felt a bit under whelming but perfofmed brilliantly of course

sp blue............ ahh thes things ,my nemisis. love em hate em. stiff , smooth but harsh alat the same time

endo heads softe nthe blow a bit and they just out and out perform as long as u dont wanna get cute .

and ont mind low worm burners. harsher than the modus range, i can see why NS canned the SP range and went for modus instead.

monacoc s..........just out and out all rounders,feel not great, not bad, they just :"are"

over all..

modus 130s my shafts , maybe too heavy to play ever yday for 10 days.

but for once a week, they just suit my play the best, cant get enough of them, they are storng but are moveable just enough. id not like to go any harder in these, icud prob soft step them nad loosen them up a just a bit more.

the sp blue are arrows . low arrows. stronger than the 130s, stronger than the rest in the equivalent flex.

modus 120s

are an easy every day playable shaft. smooth like silk, lighter. every enjoyable shaft , a bit low, so they do need a bit of encouragemnt to get airorn at times. but just a great all roud shaft

monaccoX

the soft stepped X are ONLY for links, id never thae these on hols they are way too heavy and harsh to play ever yday

my arm wud fall off.

but for longy in the puff, well, thats where these are headed!

monacco S ,

there is a noticeable differnce, these are all rounder s akin to DG s200 . nothng about them really sticks out, they are mid flighted ,they perform unrel in wind. feel is accetpable, weight is fine

these and modus 120 for ever yday shafts

aeotechs

well they are light for a start.

but ULTRA stiff, dull. and lifeless, these things are 100% about hard hitting performance. impossible to make these bend in any direction

i can play these every day no probs. bec the weight and harshness is minimal but they just kill any "niceness" the heads may have. its a pretty good match in the toutstage 701 heads bec toursatge are a bit harder than most heads, these dont ruin a butter soft epon kinda feel.

i was going to take these out of the 701s , but now, no chance, they ae spot on match

so where does this lav the MCI ?

im still not sure. i didnt mind them, the feel is ok, its better than the aerotech, no doubt.

but its no where near as tight.

flight was def high and floatiest of the above shafts , prob the easist to hit. these are undoubtable ever ydayers, but i wasnt that sold on them, they are the loosest of the above, which def means i can either go to a hard step S or an x flex. stock S isnt my match.

didnt like the kick point very much either , they felt the flimsiest of the shafts

ahhhhhhh

i dont think i can justify dropping close to a ton on them considering how good the others i have already are, poin it, ilove steel, and its never been more mphasised than sunday when i hit them all.

the ones i gravitated to every time were the modus 130s they just fele the best. i love the kick point, the smothtness, stepping on the gas they go better, performance ,well its nS they perform!

ranking tthem is usless bec i cu play everyone of these alone.

but i dont work like that i like t psice things up nad neach has its own characteristic.

suffice to say its modus 130s....monacco S....modus 120 tops for me

decision..

no MCI for me.

[kaaayelll]

Very nice review, Stew!

[Eca]

Great review Stew-san.

I only know the modus 120s & aerotech really well in this line up & totally agree with your findings.

[needmoregolf]

great write up stew, I think I'll hold off on graphite for awhile as well. still can't put down those Ora's in stiff and the modus 125 s has become another fav.

[supo]

was trying my hardest to like them a lot and im pretty sure if i hard stepped them they wud work well

but i cant really see the point, whrn i ve got 20 sets of irons dropping close on a thou on shafs alone which im sure wont get near the airtime they deserve with my stash. plus , they didnt jump off the page at me.

nope for now im ver yhappy with my litte stash.

soft stepping the monacco X is another serious option i will loook at for another set of heads.

they just play damn well.

[zwan]

Hi Stew,

That's exactly the information I was looking for! Thanks once again for sharing your insight with us! A great support for me not being able to play these shafts here in CH.

[Mjr. D]

When you say Monaco X are those different than the Monaco Protos? I have Monaco Protos... Not sure where they fit in..

I hear ya on the MCI - very workable but will go dead straight too. A real pros shaft IMO. Fantastic feel and very long but yes a tad loose or flimsy or... workable I guess..

[chiromikey]

I think Stew's using X to denote flex on the Monacos since he was also testing an S flex shaft.

Great info Stew. I'm honestly not sure I can find better than C-Tapers or Modus3 120s.

[Jeffrey Tan]

Wondering how hard stepping the monacos would work?

But, geez thanks for the great review.

[supo]

When you say Monaco X are those different than the Monaco Protos? I have Monaco Protos... Not sure where they fit in..

I hear ya on the MCI - very workable but will go dead straight too. A real pros shaft IMO. Fantastic feel and very long but yes a tad loose or flimsy or... workable I guess..

the monacco X, as in X flex. theres only a few grams differnce between the stiffs , but in heads they play much heavier and taughter. especially when u get to the 7 plus.

its def a case of each to thier own.

and depending on what each individual wants to see in ball flight and movement ... and feel.., , each shaft differs signicantly.

as much as the SP blue play uber striaght, i think myh ead space has moved onto other shafts now, but for a specific type of play, like if i was playing links every day, these are world beaters.

similarly playing on rock hard greens in autumn when theres no wind and the ground is gettign harder. then the NS ST shafts are the equivalent. but on he other send, super high, ligh, very thin but very tight, land soft like a feather. these are great in the cold. easily the best shafts for winter .

but in mid summer nothing beats my 2g18s.

monacco stiffs right up there strasa. and the new 125s might be a very close chaser, not enough time with them yet.

of the DG.. the s200 are playable. the rest mehhhh. once uve gone to NS its virtually impossible to go back to DG.

i hate KBS, and i dont like those flighted project X things, they baloon.

graphite is really gettign there. but not yet for me.

aerotechs are the ones id choose if i went that route 100%

ahhh shame. bec i really wanted to play these.

[supo]

Wondering how hard stepping the monacos would work?

But, geez thanks for the great review.

dont think id need to do that to the stiffs. they are ,for me, spot on . it wud def tighten them up a tad. but i like their specs just as they are. if u like tighter, sure thing!

[Mob]

Thanks for the review. I was starting to ponder new shafts myself. I have to play graphite due to elbow tendonitis that required surgery 2 years ago. Right now, I am playing the Recoil Prototypes and I really like them, but wonder if there is a better option out there. I was considering the MCI, but you may have squashed that desire. The other graphites I am considering: Roddios, Accra Tour iron shaft, and hard stepping my existing Recoil 110 Prototypes F4, rather than straight in. Chris mentioned the Crazy iron shafts, but that may be prohibitive from a cost standpoint.

[Mjr. D]

Believe me, the MCI's are the real deal. They are absolutely fantastic. Supo is the man on here but what doesn't work for him may work for you. If you want effortless distance, workability and feel look no further than MCIs.

[chiromikey]

Mob, I moved to Recoil 125 F4s in my 302s after a nerve injury and they allowed me to continue playing when I was close to giving up...so I know your position. I still get nerve issues but I'm able to mess with other shafts now. I stumbled upon the Modus3 120s (in X flex no less) simply because they were already in a set of PRGR ID-BLs I picked up. These are as soft feeling and easy on my hands as my Recoil/302 combo. Don't ask me how...but the Modus3s might be worth trying out in a 6iron.

[supo]

Believe me, the MCI's are the real deal. They are absolutely fantastic. Supo is the man on here but what doesn't work for him may work for you. If you want effortless distance, workability and feel look no further than MCIs.

ahhhhhh...right ..

it was NOT the intetnion to quash anyones intent at all for graphite. far from it..

i just observed what each shaft played like in similar heads agaisnt another shaft

...

the whole reason i went for this test was bec my elbow also blew up late last year and it was agony till about 4 weeks ago. i cud ahdly lift it after a game , and i was intending to play grpahite only this whole year, but its improved outta site so i dont need to (HOPEFULLY)

the compariosn was inted to ilustrate thpeformance of graphte vs steel that I PLAY and enjoy.

it might be a tad unfait looking back o nthsi mow, to comare a graphite stif 110 gram shaft vs a 128gram X

but i think i put that to bed by using the aerotech 110 vs the MCI 110, diff stinness granted, and i played both of htese hafts on course a cl of weeks back

hit plenty of balls with both

the aerotech for me was hte btter suited shaft, no doubt.

the MCI for what it is worth, on 18, i think i mentioned as well, was so easy to get it on green, but it was def looser.

the ablity to hard stpe these i beleive wud improve the performance to what i like

but

the restriciting factor for me is the price...

if they were 3/4 of this id get them. but buying, preppeing, installign them runs at a huge peremium over steel

like almosttwice the price.

i dodnt see enough proof that these wud imporve my performance by a factor of 2:1,esp as the aerotechs were 1/2 the price nad a LOT better than 1/2 as good!

if the MCI were the same , or maybe a bit more than my top shelf shafts , id tget them in a heartbeat.

but NOT AT CURENT PRICING LEVELS..

they ddint show me a SIGNIFICANT impovement over any thing i already have.

i like them but think they are too expensive .

if i cud get a set used in top nick , for a good price, sure...,id have them in a jiffy.

is that a better statement of intent ?

[supo]

MOB if u want a set of lighter , tighter , higher steel shafts,

i seriosuly recomend the NS ST protos.

these are feather light , but TIGHT,

they will not ruin ur arm i play these in the cold exclusively now.

thats a shaft well worht looking into

, they run about 110 grams launch HIGH land soft.

diff to the other NS out at the moment.

[Jeffrey Tan]

dont think id need to do that to the stiffs. they are ,for me, spot on . it wud def tighten them up a tad. but i like their specs just as they are. if u like tighter, sure thing!

Hi Stew,

I play the SPB x softstepped with my AFTours and they are just about perfect. Have a set of P1 I am going to shaft up and thought maybe try the monocos either X SS or Stiff HS. Are the monocos S stiffer than the Dgs300. I find s300 too loose.

Cheers

[Mjr. D]

Oh no man, I had no problem with your findings at all! In fact they were very informative as are all your posts and findings! Hell whatever works. For me personally I like the MCI's quite a bit although I agree dispersion isn't as good as steel. I was just saying to Mob he should give them a try if possible, first, before writing them off.

Cheers!

[supo]

D yea thast what i was also refereiing to as well

i dont want anyone o ace them bec of percieved flaws, (bec there isnt any ) ,

it was just a cost point that made my final decision.

who knows , i might hit the brown water one night , jump online and end up with a set anyway !

monacco are differnt. if u can handle the s300 or s400 or sp blux then id def go the monacco X

NO probs at all

you womnt need to do any thing to them. id think, although Spblue x sfot stpeed will prob get you the same reuslt as mon X

the mons arent quite as ferocious as SP blue. they are abit mellower, but in x , ull get what u ask for no doubt.

the soft stepped X i nthe masdas are delicious!

[Mob]

Believe me, the MCI's are the real deal. They are absolutely fantastic. Supo is the man on here but what doesn't work for him may work for you. If you want effortless distance, workability and feel look no further than MCIs.

I am really looking for a graphite shaft that is less workable, and curves less. Looking for a graphite shaft that mainly goes straight, even when I don't want it to.

[Mob]

Mob, I moved to Recoil 125 F4s in my 302s after a nerve injury and they allowed me to continue playing when I was close to giving up...so I know your position. I still get nerve issues but I'm able to mess with other shafts now. I stumbled upon the Modus3 120s (in X flex no less) simply because they were already in a set of PRGR ID-BLs I picked up. These are as soft feeling and easy on my hands as my Recoil/302 combo. Don't ask me how...but the Modus3s might be worth trying out in a 6iron.

I used to play the Modus3 and agree it has a very soft feel for steel. Great shafts, but I am graphite for life.

[jonbev78]

I am really looking for a graphite shaft that is less workable, and curves less. Looking for a graphite shaft that mainly goes straight, even when I don't want it to.

ALDILA RIP tour 115 maybe your answer

[Mob]

ALDILA RIP tour 115 maybe your answer

Have you hit them? If so, how do they fell, ball trajectory, etc.

[chiromikey]

I am really looking for a graphite shaft that is less workable, and curves less. Looking for a graphite shaft that mainly goes straight, even when I don't want it to.

Steelfibers are what you're looking for. I had them in my AF-Tours and they were almost boring.

Edited April 8, 2015 by chiromikey

[Mob]

Steelfibers are what you're looking for. I had them in my AF-Tours and they were almost boring.

I have heard how straight they are, my only concern is that I have heard from a bunch of people how they feel dead, or lack feel. I was hoping to find something alittle straighter than my Recoils, but still had decent feel; essentially the best combo of the two factors. Maybe that is unrealistic.I am going to try them in a single iron head and see how they feel and perform.