Iron Golf Shafts – NIPPON N.S.PRO Zelos8
By Russ Ryden, A Golf Digest America’s 100 Best Clubfitter
Fit2Score, Dallas Fort Worth, Texas
The Nippon Zelos line of light weight steel now includes an 80 gram model, the Zelos8. it has been exactly a year since I looked at the Zelos7. At that time I had not made the transition to looking at irons sets. I was looking only at 6 iron shafts. The graphic below shows the set images of the Zelos8 and the Zelos7. What we see is a moderate amount of “flighting” in the Zelos design. The longer irons have relatively softer, longer tip sections than the wedges.
The Zelos shafts were modeled after the Modus3 120. Long tip for first step. This creates a shaft with a soft mid zone in relation to the tip and butt. This design has been remarkably successful in the Modus3 120 which I am told has become the most popular shaft ever produced by Nippon.
The Zelos8 is another shaft born from the metallurgical expertise of NSK bearings. New alloys and annealing process create strengths in light weight steel shafts that have not existed in the past. Look at the hoop strength of the Zelos8 in comparison to the N.S. Pro 850.
It is designed to be a little higher launching as can be seen in the deflection graphic. Torque is exceptional in a light weigh shaft. That comes as no surprise in steel, but it takes superior prepreg and fabricaton to accomplish this in light weight carbon fiber.
The difference in the EI profiles of the 850 and the Zelos give us unique fitting options in this weight range. Most shaft companies offer a single iron profile in this weight range. Within the Nipon line the fully equipped fitter has two options, the lower launching 850 or the higher launching Zelos8.
If you find light weight iron shafts fit your strength and style be sure to test the Nippon Zelos family of iron shafts.
