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what are parallel golf irons?

by Margarita Anderson Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Parallel-tip shafts are the same, within the model type, for each iron but are trimmed to fit the length for each club. As a result, parallel-tip shafts are heavier in the longer irons and weigh less in the shorter irons. The taper tip was the standard until the 1970s, when the parallel tip was introduced.

Full Answer

What are parallel iron shafts?

Parallel Iron shafts come from the factory at a single length. This is a set of KBS Tour C Taper Lite Parallel Shafts. The word Taper is not exactly correct, like all parallel shafts the tips are .370. These shafts are designed to be tip cut 1/2 inch per shaft, then butt cut to length.

What is a parallel tip shaft on a golf club?

Parallel-tip shafts are the same, within the model type, for each iron but are trimmed to fit the length for each club. As a result, parallel-tip shafts are heavier in the longer irons and weigh less in the shorter irons.

What are the different types of golf irons?

The clubheads of irons are thin from front to back, and the clubfaces are grooved to impart spin on the golf ball. Accomplished players might choose a "muscleback" or "blade" style of iron, whereas beginners and most recreational players will want a "cavity back" style.

What are the long irons in golf?

Long irons are the 2-, 3- ,and 4-irons; mid-irons, the 5-, 6-, and 7-irons; short irons, the 8- and 9-irons and pitching wedge. (Two-irons are becoming obsolete and are exceedingly rare for recreational golfers. Because of this, some sources now count the 5-iron as one of the long irons. We still classify it as a mid-iron, however, as do most.)

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What are parallel irons?

Parallel-tip shafts are the same, within the model type, for each iron but are trimmed to fit the length for each club. As a result, parallel-tip shafts are heavier in the longer irons and weigh less in the shorter irons.

What is the difference between parallel and tapered shafts?

The difference between a parallel tip shaft and a taper tip shaft is the tip diameter and shaft weight. All golf shafts taper from the butt to the tip, but parallel tips stop tapering below the last step, while the taper tips, continues to narrow.

Are all .370 shafts parallel?

370 hosel is a parallel tip hosel. The only difference between the two is tip diameter and weight. Taper tipped shafts are a constant weight throughout the irons and the parallel tipped shafts are a decending weight.

What are Constant weight iron shafts?

Constant weight refers to each shaft in the set being approximately the same weight even though they are different lengths. This is a big issue in creating overall shaft balance in either swing weight or MOI matched sets of irons. Not all factory trimmed iron shaft sets are tapered, some are parallel.

What are parallel shafts?

Parallel shaft gear motors are a type of gear motor which uses gears to accomplish the speed reduction. They are called “parallel shaft” since the motor shaft and the speed reducer shaft are on parallel planes.

Are Callaway irons taper tip?

Callaway's hosels are slightly tapered so that when the shaft is inserted it pinches in the split shaft and forms a pseudo-mechanical lock.

Are Pxg irons taper or parallel?

PXG GolfWeight0.05 lbsFerrule I.D.355 Taper Tip, .370 Parallel Tip

What size tip are Taylormade irons?

// Tip Size For irons, this will usually be 0.370" (parallel) or 0.355" (tapered). For woods, it will be either 0.335" or 0.350".

What is tip in golf shaft?

The Basics: What Is Shaft Tipping? Shaft tipping is when a club builder removes length from the tip section of a shaft, which is the end where the clubhead is installed. In most cases, tip trimming a shaft makes it meaningfully stiffer.

What happens if your iron shaft is too heavy?

Nippon suggested that a player should be able to tell largely by feel. A shaft that's too heavy will cause a “labored golf swing.” A shaft that's too light will hurt your ability to make solid contact. When you find the right shaft weight, you'll experience a “high energy swing” with uniform contact.

What flex shaft should I use on my irons?

Determine the Proper Shaft Flex for Your SwingIf You Can Hit 150 Yards with a...Then Your Optimal Shaft Flex Is...6- or 7-IronRegular Flex (R)5-Iron/Hybrid or 4-Iron/Hybrid(Male or Female)Senior Flex (A/M)Any Iron/Hybrid lower than 4 or any Fairway Wood (Females or Juniors)Ladies Flex (L)1 more row•Apr 6, 2022

Why do pros use heavier shafts?

Heavy shafts tend to produce more distance, accuracy, and lower ball trajectory for a golfer with faster swing speeds.

What is a parallel shaft?

Parallel-tip shafts are the same, within the model type, for each iron but are trimmed to fit the length for each club. As a result, parallel-tip shafts are heavier in the longer irons and weigh less in the shorter irons.

What size shaft is needed for a golf club?

With a parallel-tip shaft, the entire tip section--the portion below the last step--is a constant diameter. The standard size is .370 inch for irons and would require a clubhead with a .370-diameter hosel hole. Parallel-tip shafts are the same, within the model type, for each iron but are trimmed to fit the length for each club. As a result, parallel-tip shafts are heavier in the longer irons and weigh less in the shorter irons.

What is the tip of a golf club?

The tip is the part of the shaft that fits into the hosel of the clubhead. The difference between the two types of shaft is the tip diameter and shaft weight.

Why do golfers prefer taper shafts?

Tour professionals and traditionalists prefer the taper-tip shaft because of the constant weight, but the average golfer will notice little difference. According to True Temper, taper- and parallel-tip shafts play the same, and blind testing with identical iron heads showed the testers noticed no difference in the clubs.

How to adjust flex on golf club?

Adjusting Flex. To adjust shaft flex with parallel-tip shafts, you change the amount you trim. To stiffen the shaft, trim more off the tip end; to weaken the flex, trim less off the tip and make the club longer. To adjust the flex with taper-tip shafts, however, you have to use a different shaft.

When was the parallel tip shaft introduced?

When the parallel tip shaft was introduced in the early 70s, tour players still preferred the feel of the Dynamic taper tip because the parallel tip version of the shaft decreased in weight down through the set to the short irons. This happened of course because when you use one master shaft for every head, you cut more from each iron shaft ...

What is the difference between a parallel tip shaft and a taper tip shaft?

The difference between a parallel tip shaft and a taper tip shaft is the tip diameter and shaft weight. All golf shafts taper from the butt to the tip, but parallel tips stop tapering below the last step, while the taper tips, continues to narrow.

How many steps are there in a parallel tip shaft?

Notice that parallel tip shafts have two 3.0” steps before 9 or 8 equal steps, and the taper tip shafts have 11 or 12 steps all at the same length. We hope this has helped you understand the difference between taper tip shafts and parallel tip shafts. There will always be taper tip heads available, but we have found that more ...

What is the diameter of a taper tip iron?

The standard tip diameter for a taper tip iron shaft is .355 inch, slightly smaller than a parallel tip. Each taper tip shaft is built to length for a specific iron and is the same weight throughout the set of irons.

Is a golf club shorter than a lower iron?

Golf clubs are different lengths within the same set; the higher-numbered irons are shorter than the lower-numbered irons. Because the club maker starts with the same shaft and trims it for each iron, the weight of the shaft changes. Pretty much every other taper tip steel iron shaft today is made from a parallel tip blank model.

Feedback

I’m thinking of doing some experimenting with parallel irons shafts. I know the main differences from taper tip are that they will be descending weight, and obviously the tip is a parallel .370” diameter. But I vaguely remember reading that there is also a bend profile/IE curve difference.

Feedback

I’m thinking of doing some experimenting with parallel irons shafts. I know the main differences from taper tip are that they will be descending weight, and obviously the tip is a parallel .370” diameter. But I vaguely remember reading that there is also a bend profile/IE curve difference.

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Why are golf clubs called irons?

The golf clubs called irons are so-called because their clubheads are made of metal. Of course, "woods" are now also made of metal, but that's a relatively recent development. Irons have featured metal clubheads (steel, these days) for centuries. The clubheads of irons are thin from front to back, and the clubfaces are grooved to impart spin on ...

What are the different types of irons?

Irons are generally categorized as long irons, mid-irons , and short irons. Long irons are the 2-, 3- ,and 4-irons; mid-irons, the 5-, 6-, and 7-irons; short irons, the 8- and 9-irons and pitching wedge. (Two-irons are becoming obsolete and are exceedingly rare for recreational golfers. Because of this, some sources now count the 5-iron as one ...

Why are irons called irons?

The golf clubs called irons are so-called because their clubheads are made of metal.

What is the difference between a blade and a muscleback iron?

The difference is that a blade-style features a full back on the rear ...

How many clubs are in a set of irons?

A typical, off-the-shelf set of irons will include a 3-iron through pitching wedge (advertised as "3-PW"), 8 clubs total. The clubs are identified by a number (3, 4, 5, etc.) on the sole of each club, except for the pitching wedge which will have a "PW" or "P." Other irons may be available for purchase separately, including a 2-iron and additional wedges ( gap wedge, sand wedge, lob wedge). None of the additional clubs are necessary for beginners, and especially not the 2-iron. 1-irons used to be available, too, but are now virtually extinct.

How many yards is a 3-iron?

The yardage gap between irons is generally 10-15 yards. Your 3-iron, in other words, should produce shots that are 10-15 yards longer than your 4-iron. The specifics of this gap depend on the player, but the gap should be consistent from club to club.

Why is a shorter shaft better?

A shorter shaft makes a club easier to control in the swing (think of baseball where a batter will " choke up " on the bat—essentially, shorten the bat—when he's simply trying to make contact rather than swing for the fences). More loft helps get the ball airborne and adds a little more control to the shot.

Super Game Improvement Irons

The super game improvement iron category has been around for less than a decade. There have always been versions of super game improvement irons, but today just about every manufacturer offers its own version.

Game Improvement Irons

Game improvement irons are a toned-down version of super game improvements irons and they fit a much wider range of golfers. Some players can actually stay in game improvement irons for their entire golf life.

Players Distance Irons

The players distance iron genre came out of necessity and consumer demand. Golfers playing game improvement irons who found they weren't getting enough spin on their approach shots but weren't ready sacrifice distance by switching to players irons needed another option. And with that, players distance irons were born.

Muscle Back Irons

Muscle back irons are a more forgiving alternative to the traditional blade. The point of a muscle back iron is to provide feel and workability to better players while incorporating some of the offset and forgiveness found in other types of irons. The word “muscle” refers to the noticeable material you’ll see near the sole on the back of the club.

Players Irons

Players irons are another broad category, but to to put it simply, they are intended for better golfers. Players irons can take on the design profile of cavity backs or muscle backs, but they typically don’t lean towards the blade profile.

Blade Irons

Blades irons feature the thinnest top and bottom line of any golf iron you can find. They are the least forgiving, lowest launching, and overall hardest to hit. Sold yet? No worries, blades aren’t for everyone, but for advanced players, blades can be a tremendous asset to your golf game.

Iron Selecting Guide

Now that you know all about every type of iron on the market, it's time to decide which style is best for your game. Use this table to help guide you to the perfect set of irons.

Nessism

Depends on the specific shaft model but often they are different. For example: KBS Tour and True Temper Dynamic Gold

Manz60

As the parallel get shorter, they get lighter so to maintain the same swingweight thru out the set more head weight has to be added....and that creates a greater bend variance (feel variance) from shaft to shaft which may not be good if your trying to swing the same, from club to club. Hope this helps M60

swheeler5

The Nippon 950GH series are discrete length taper and parallel tip shafts. This means the parallel shafts come trimmed and are butt cut only, the same as the taper tip shafts. You will find the parallel and taper tips to be very consistent from blank to blank.

NRJyzr

The Ever Changing Bag! A lot of mixing and matching Driver: Original One 11.5* (tuned down), NV75 X -or- SpeedZone 10.5*, Aldila ProtoPype 80S, <44" TBD

FairwaysToHeaven

i am checking into whether its possible to install Aerotech steelfibers into TM Speedblades. I first don't know if this is even a custom upgrade offered by TM. I've also heard its available in Tour Preferred line but not Speedblades.

Nessism

Hi, I have just joined GolfWRX, although I have been referencing for quite a while and have gleaned a wealth of info.

dunn

Yeah you cut the shafts to spec and than throw it on swing weight scale "dry"....tip weight will vary from iron to iron....your not in control of the "tipweights"....it comes out what it comes out....

LuciusWooding

You insert the whole tip 2 inches into the hosel anyway, and you're not bending metal that thick with your swing. No real reason to pick one over the other except compatibility, you need either a shim or to ream the hosel if you switch.

Nemicu

Taper tips are basically made to make assembly easier. Sets of shafts are available in discrete sets so there is no need to trim to flex - it's already done for you. No need to worry about insertion depth either because the bore taper takes care of that too. Just butt trim to your desired length and you're more or less done.

Mulligan Jeff

That's the information I was looking for Nemicu - what is the night & day difference?

WUTiger

This Golfsmith Clubmaking link contains this brief history and comparison of taper-tip vs. parallel-tip:

Nemicu

That's the information I was looking for Nemicu - what is the night & day difference?

WUTiger

Simply put, the parallel version plays weaker at the same weight. It's difficult to achieve the feel you are looking for if you have a variable weight - if you have to incrementally trim the tip (and then the butt) of a parallel shaft to make a set, you end up with descending weight shafts. Tip a bit more to firm up and you lose even more weight.

Nemicu

Thanks, but I really don't need anyone to explain how my irons feel to me. And with 30+ years experience, how to build them either for that matter. I can tell the difference between parallel and taper DG - no question - however you build them. So can many others who will testify the same.

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