Graphite shafts are still associated almost exclusively with drivers, fairway woods and hybrids by most recreational golfers, but graphite shafts for irons have been available for decades. The lingering stigma clinging to graphite iron shafts remains that for only slow-swinging golfers who need something light, but with the release of the Axiom graphite iron shaft, Fujikura is bringing one of its most-popular wood technologies to the iron category and making it available across a broad spectrum of weights and bend profiles.
Stars like Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth currently use Fujikura’s Ventus wood shafts in their drivers, and VeloCore is a critical technology in those shafts. VeloCore includes different types of carbon material that are layered in specific directions to increase the stability of the shaft as it transitions from your backswing to your downswing and through impact.
With the Axiom graphite iron shafts ($105-$125 each), Fujikura is bringing VeloCore to iron shafts for the first time and touting that the technology that boosts the moment of inertia (MOI) to make driver heads more stable on off-center hits can do the same thing with a golfer’s irons. According to Fujikura, Axiom graphite iron shafts help your irons twist less on off-center hits, so your accuracy improves, your dispersion pattern tightens and mis-hits are not punished as severely.
The Fujikura Axiom graphite iron shafts are available in three weights: 75 grams, 105 grams and 125 grams in flexes ranging from R to X. The Axiom shafts have a 0.370 parallel tip construction and are made in three different lengths (2-4, 5-8 and 8-PW), so club builders can minimize tipping and keep more of the VeloCore material in each shaft when trimming them to their finished length. Axiom shafts can, however, be trimmed to fit .355 taper tip hosels.
First-Hand Impressions
As Golfweek’s resident equipment writer, I get a sneak peek at the new clubs before they are made available to the public. After going through technical presentations and discussions, I often have a chance to hit new irons and go through a custom fitting to see how they feel and perform first-hand. While the technologies that go into irons evolve and improve every year, one thing has remained the same for several years, my iron shafts. I’m tall (6-foot-4), but my specs are not especially unusual: Steel shafts that are 125 grams in weight, 0.5″ longer than standard, with a standard lie angle. This spring, however, I went down to 105 grams to get more clubhead speed and found it helpful, but that’s the only chance I have made in five years.
While I have hit some shots with graphite irons, I have never been fitted for them and, frankly, have been perfectly happy with my steel shafts. Fujikura, however, made some Axiom graphite iron shafts available for me to try for this article and the results were very interesting.
Using a Full Swing launch monitor to collect data and track my shots, I warmed up and then hit a series of 8-iron shots. You can see the results below.
According to my Arccos data, my typical 8-iron goes 151 yards, and when I use it to hit approach shots, I hit the green 42 percent of the time. With the Axiom shafts in my irons, my shots ranged from 143 to 151 yards, with an average of 150, so my distance stayed the same. However, as you can see from the chart above, my dispersion was fairly tight, even though I hit at least two shots toward the toe of my 8-iron.
I changed holes and hit a series of 5-iron shots, and as you can see in the chart, the dispersion pattern was fairly tight once again. According to Arccoss, my average 5-iron total distance is 200 yards and miss right 50 percent of the time. So, I wasn’t surprised to see a few balls drift that way in the left-to-right wind, but once again, the overall dispersion pattern was tight. A toe miss fell short (185 yards) and more right, while a pulled shot rocketed slightly left and 197 yards in the air.
At 105 grams, I did not notice anything different in the way my irons felt during the swing and the Fujikura Axiom graphite iron shafts did not provide me with more distance. However, while well-struck shots felt as good as ever, slight mis-hits toward the toe definitely felt more solid than mis-hot shots with my old steel shafts, and the ball flew further than I expected on those shots. My dispersion pattern was tighter, so the Axiom shafts could help to decrease the severity of my misses, which would be extremely helpful on the golf course. As the cliche goes, golf is all about managing your misses.
Everyone wants more distance, myself included, but if reducing the punishment for poor strikes is important to you, the Fujikura Axiom graphite iron shafts could be an interesting option to discuss with your custom fitter.
