Matt Kuchar’s graphite iron shafts
Whenever I see Matt Kuchar in action, I always notice, and am confused by, his pale grey iron shafts.
They look graphite, but surely a pro with the swing speed and strength of Kuchar wouldn’t look twice at anything other than heavy steel – it must be a paint finish he likes the look of, right?
Wrong.
After seeing him in the mix on Sunday at Augusta, I did some research and found out he is using graphite – and he’s not the only one. Indeed, both Geoff Ogilvy and Brandt Snedeker have made the switch to the same model.
Snedeker swapped after trying his Bridgestone stablemate’s sticks at the range, and Ogilvy changed after using them in a hire set on holiday.
Surely a pro with the swing speed and strength of Kuchar wouldn’t look twice at anything other than heavy steel. The shafts in question are called SteelFiber and are manufactured by a company called Aerotech. The shafts come in five different weights, but all three are using the second heaviest version – the 110-gramme model.
Here’s how the company describe their shaft: “Players looking to go a little bit lighter than the typical steel shafted irons choose the SteelFiber i110 so they can pick up some yardage while maintaining a low penetrating ball flight and avoid changing the overall feel they are accustomed to from playing steel shafts.
“The player will also take advantage of the reduced vibrations of a composite shaft resulting in fewer injuries and less fatigue during the round.”
The switch sounds a no-brainer when you put it that way. Is this the start of a graphite revolution?
