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The Nippon 950GH is an interesting steel shaft alternative to those that may usually prefer graphite irons. Nice high ball flight.
Introduction
When these shafts came in for review, Matt asked me if I had ever hit a Nippon shaft before to which I answered “No.” He immediately handed the set of Nippon 950GH shafts to me and said “You need to review these.” What he was explaining (without really explaining at all) was that these shafts were going to be unlike most iron shafts I had hit to date, and I would have some interesting results with them. What I found was one of the purest feeling iron shafts I have ever hit.
Feel
Personally, I think the biggest highlight of the Nippon 950GH is the feel of the shaft. The first thing I noticed was that they were the purest flexing shaft I had ever felt in my life. What Nippon does to produce this exact feel is create a consistent “loss of flex” from the butt end to approximately twelve inches from the tip of the shaft. As a result, you get a gradual transfer of energy to the head of the club. Often times, I find a graphite shaft or “smooth” iron shaft to feel a little unstable and like a wet noodle, but the Nippon 950GH was smooth in the hands yet maintained a solid kick at contact where it left me feeling like all of the energy in the swing found its way into the club head. The smoothness in these shafts is not consistent with a typical standard steel shaft. You’re going to find a lot of similarities to graphite iron shafts but with the accuracy you may be more used to out of high-quality steel shafts.
Performance
As usual, a golf shaft can look and feel as good as it wants, but at the end of the day, if the shaft doesn’t produce a usable shot on the golf course, it’s useless. The Nippon 950GH creates one of the most interesting ball flights I have seen this year, and I actually found it very useful on the golf course. As a lighter weight shaft (95 grams), the 950GH is billed as a higher ball flight shaft which typically makes me terrified of my arch-nemesis: the balloon ball. When I put the Nippons in play, I still achieved a nice mid to high ball flight. It was far from a balloon flight and actually helped me achieve some incredibly soft landing. The soft landings paired with the exquisite feel gave me the confidence to attack greens with my longer irons and also made the longer irons feel a lot easier to score with than most of the clubs I usually hit.
Conclusion
The Nippon 950GH steel iron shafts are one of Nippon’s most popular shafts for a very good reason. The nice soft landings from a high-rising ball flight will leave you with more accurate shots on greens and give you better chances to score. If you’re not quite ready to convert over to graphite shafts, but you’re looking for a smoother, lighter, and softer feeling shaft, then look no further than the Nippon 950GH iron shafts.
Bill Bush
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How do the NS Pro 950 regular shafts compare to TT Dynalite Gold R300?
I’ve never hit either shaft in regular, and I’m not sure I’ve ever even hit a Dynalite Gold at all. What exactly are you looking for in a comparison? They are two pretty different shafts, but generally, I’m likely going to direct you to a Nippon 95% of the time when it comes to blind steel shaft recommendations.
Hi Bill
Need some advice if possible. My son has been playin golf for about 6 months and is improving quickly. I am buying him a set of Srixon 545 but am undecided about the shaft flex. He hits the ns pro 950 regular well and generates about 80 mph clubhead speed with a 5 iron going about 180. But I think he could handle the stiff and they would be more future proof as he will practice a lot over the summer. Because the ns pro is so light I thought the stiff would be OK. Do you have any suggestions. Thanks
Unfortunately I can’t answer this question for you. I know someone with a 115 mph driver speed and they play soft stiff flex lightweight shafts. I know guys with much slower swing speeds that play much stiffer and heavier shafts. The point is, everyone has a different swing and the equipment is going to react different. I would go with whatever makes him play the best golf and feel the most comfortable, and address his needs in the future as required. In a dynamic game like golf, and especially for a growing kid, thinking you can future proof his equipment simply isn’t the best approach.
I would suggest having test equipment, on a launch monitor if possible, and get properly fitted by a skilled professional.
What does “dst” mean in a shaft with this label “NS pro 950 gh dst.
I’ll be honest, I don’t know. I googled it and apparently it popped in shafts made for OEMs which moved the weight/balance further back toward the butt.
I believe it stands for Delayed Strike Technology. It’s similar to counter weighted shafts. More weight in the butt end. True Temper has a Dynamic Gold DST & Nippon has DST versions that are made for Srixon and XXIO. It sounds like it’s a common variant in the Japanese market.
Hi, currently, I’m using R300 shaft and planning to buy NS PRO 950 HG. Could you pse tell me How to purchase on line and which website I have to go? Rgds
If you google Nippon NS Pro 950 GH, a variety of results come back for purchasing options.
Would these suit 80mph swing speed?
Swing speed is more impacting to weight and flex. How these would fit your swing depends on a lot of other factors. Your best bet is to get properly fitted and determine which flex and shaft profile is best fit for your specific swing.
Hey Bill I’m putting nippon 950 gh in 4-AW parallel tip they are already trimmed at the tip. So I just put the longest one in 4 iron and butt trim. what if I was doing a 3 iron or just 5- AW.
I’m not sure I’m following what you’re asking. They typically make the shaft with a profile specific to its relative iron. So if you start moving them around the set, you’re looking at a world of soft and hard stepping. What am I missing here so I can better answer your question?
What is the difference in a .370 and .355 shaft tip. Parallel and tapered respectively. Ball flight, feel at impact, etc.
.370 parallel is a larger tip that is straight and fits that size hosel bore. .355 taper is smaller and the tip tapers because the respective hosel bore is tapered. It’s just about fitting into the head, not related to the characteristics you’re asking about.
Hey.. I am a hcp 2 and i am playing CB 716 with kbs tour stiff shaft. But having troubbel With my longer iron. I tried my frinds MP 68 with a kbs tour reg shaft, they felt way more easy to get ind the air. Would you think the NS pro 950 stift could feel as light.
From Danmark☺
Oskar
Oskar,
The NS Pro 950 is significantly lighter than the KBS Tour.
Best,
Matt
Hi Bill,
I am 6′ 2″ tall and a 24 HC and using a Taylormade graphite SpeedBlade 2016 iron set. I happened to use a Ping i3 white dot more than 12 years ago. I still find the Ping performing good and steadier. I would like to consider to change them to the NS Pro 950 GH shafts. My swing speed used to be 105 but now around 95 -98 as age caught up. Can I have your comments?
Francis,
Bill no longer writes for Plugged In Golf. I would suggest going for a fitting to see if a lighter shaft would be beneficial.
Best,
Matt
Hi.
I’m playing Project X PXI 6.0 today and I’m not completely satisfied with them.
What is the difference between Project X PXI 6.0 and N.S. Pro 950GH rigid shaft?
Per,
The Nippon should feel smoother and launch a bit higher.
Best,
Matt
Do you remember the unified shafts call away use to use, are they similar and did you lose any distance with the ns pro shafts cheers tommy
Tommy,
Yes, I recall the unified shaft.
Did I lose distance with the NS Pro compared to what?
Best,
Matt
I wonder how light the NSPRO 950 GH would be compared to the 980 GH
How does it compare to say the KBS Tour 90 Reg, Nippon Modus 105 Reg or XP95 R300/Reg?