UST Mamiya Recoil Shafts — Premium Iron Performance with Graphite

Driving irons have become a real hot topic and sought after piece of equipment.  While they certainly are a niche product that requires a certain type of player (see: high speed) to maximize their performance, they’re also great tools when you’re trying to fit a certain type of ball flight (i.e., low) that might help you in certain conditions (i.e., windy).

Although I really enjoyed hitting my Callaway Rogue 5-Wood, I recently picked up a TaylorMade GAPR Mid (18°) head to provide me with a little versatility in my bag and an “Option B” when I knew I was playing somewhere that I’d want to avoid trouble with the longer shots.  The problem was that I needed a shaft.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Hozel Rocket 🚀 (@hozel_rocket) on Mar 7, 2019 at 9:36am PST

Fortunately, UST Mamiya is one of the few, premium graphite shaft companies that makes something for every club, from putter to driver, in your bag.  Given how much success I’d been having with UST’s Elements Platinum 6F4 in my driver, it was a no brainer that I’d turn to them when I needed to locate the right shaft to pair with the GAPR Mid head.

Following a brief exchange with UST’s customer service reps about my current setup and goals, UST suggested three different 3 shafts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by UST Mamiya Golf Shafts (@ustmamiyagolf) on Apr 1, 2019 at 6:29am PDT

Recoil 780 ES SmacWrap

The 780 ES SmacWrap is a graphite iron shaft that is designed to provide maximum control and distance.  What makes the ES SmacWrap wrap special is, first, Enhanced Stability, through a stiffer mid and butt section to help produce better shot control, a softer tip for improved feel and trajectory and lower torque for improved shot dispersion, and second, SMACWRAP, a viscoelastic material that is able to bring a high amount of damping (i.e., vibration absorption).

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by UST Mamiya Golf Shafts (@ustmamiyagolf) on Jun 3, 2019 at 1:52pm PDT

Recoil Prototype Hybrid
The Prototype Hybrid is, as the name indicates, a hybrid shaft that’s been designed for golfers who are seeking higher trajectory with their hybrids.

That said, the Prototype Hybrid shouldn’t be dismissed if you’re looking to fit a driving or long iron. Indeed, 2018 Byron Nelson winner Aaron Wise used a Recoil Prototype Hybrid shaft in his driving iron, where he hit 89% of fairways and 91% of the greens in regulation.

Recoil Prototype 125 Iron Shaft
The Recoil Prototype 125 iron shaft was UST Mamiya’s answer to the problem that plagued early graphite shafts–stiff flex with a lack of feel. With Recoil™ technology, UST gave the shaft some life and brought some feel back, while also providing golfers the ability to work the ball and hit a wide range of shots.

It’s also worth noting that Golficity’s favorite Tour Pro, Francisco Molinari, was using a Recoil Prototype 125 F5 shaft in his driving iron when he won the 2018 Open Championship.

Before I dive into the fitting results, I’d like to be entirely transparent about the shafts because they were actually 3 different weights.  Specifically, the 780 ES SmacWrap was 86 grams, the Prototype Hybrid was 102 grams and the Recoil Prototype 125 was 120 grams.  This is because shaft weight can make a drastic impact on the optimal shaft/club head pairing (as you’ll see in a moment).

To start, all 3 shafts felt great.  Each was stable and didn’t feel “flimsy” like a wet noodle, contrary to what most golfers would expect from a graphite iron shaft.  Indeed, it was immediately noticeable that the ES SmacWrap felt more like the KBS stiff shaft that I have in my irons, as opposed to the graphite shafts in my fairway woods and driver (which I can feel more at the transition from the top of my backswing).

That said, this experience truly highlights the importance of getting fit for the optimal head/shaft combination.  While all three irons generated similar ball speeds of 135 MPH, the Recoil Prototype 125 (ironically, the heaviest shaft of the bunch) came out on top.

Indeed, the Recoil Prototype 125 (pictured below in purple) produced the tightest dispersion and consistent ball flight:

Only adding a cherry on top of the performance, the Recoil Prototype 125 looks awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by UST Mamiya Golf Shafts (@ustmamiyagolf) on Apr 30, 2019 at 2:09pm PDT

Indeed, the black chrome shaft with the light white accents and branding will complement any polished iron club head, but it really does something special with a polished black head like the TM GAPR.  The unique combination really set it apart from not only everything else in my bag, and immediately sends a message through my mind that it’s time to fire off a low, pin-seeking missile.

After getting fit with Kevin Sprecher, the Prototype 125 really had a chance to demonstrate how valuable it would be in a driving iron during my vacation to the Dominican Republic.  As is the case with any island or coastal golf course, wind was a very, very big factor on every hole.  And while a course located right next to the beach makes for incredible pictures, it makes maintaining the control over the ball difficult.  As a result, having control over your ball flight and, ideally, keeping it low really helps you stay in the fairway and avoid a beautiful shot from sailing into a hazard or OB.

UST’s Recoil Prototype 125 turned out to be a real weapon in these conditions.  Indeed, the lower ball flight (due to the lower launch angle and lower spin) allowed it to be less affected by crosswinds, thereby making it a true fairway finder off the tee and and a sniper from the fairways.  Indeed, I was able to hit plenty of lower, penetrating shots that carried approximately 200 yards with approximately another 20 additional yards roll-out distance, largely due to an approximately 1,500 RPM lower spin rate.

In contrast, with my 5W—which Trackman confirmed had a significantly higher peak height, approximately 40 feet on average—the ball would’ve been blown all over the place.

In sum, for anyone looking into shafts for a driving iron, or even their irons, UST Mamiya has plenty of options worth looking it for every swing speed, tempo and ball flight preference.  In the end, the UST Mamiya Recoil Prototype 125 was a perfect match for me, as it provided tons of performance, feel and, ultimately, the ideal driving iron ball flight, particularly for when I need to battle the elements on a windy day.

Cover Image Via Instagram