Nippon N.S.Pro Modus3 Tour 105
By Russ Ryden, A Golf Digest America’s 100 Best Clubfitter
Fit2Score, Dallas Fort Worth, Texas
The N.S Pro Modus3 Tour105 was released to the US public in August 2015. I had seen a set of these earlier in the year, labeled Prototype ST. The Modus3 Tour 105 is the same shaft that has been available on tour for several months. The word Prototype has been replaced with Modus3. I have been told it was put in play by a number of players. Lighter weight iron shafts are gaining broader acceptance in the tour community. In a slightly different form, this shaft has been with us for quite some time. The Modus3 Tour 105 is very similar to one of my long time favorite shafts, the N.S.Pro 1050. Lets look at the charts and numbers:
As you can see, the profile of the Modus3 Tour 105 is very close to the N.S.Pro 1050. The flexural signature shows It is a little softer in the butt and stiffer in the tip than the 1050’s, tilted in such a way to slightly lower launch. The set is slightly flighted. At this weigh range, these could become a very popular shaft. The N.S.Pro 1050 is one of my fitting favorites. I regard this weight range as a sweet spot for many golfers. We are looking at an update to the Nippon line, bringing the Modus style graphic to a very successful design.
Radial consistency of the Modus3 Tour 105 were perfect, averaging 99.9% with virtually no standard deviation. Any form of shaft alignment of these is a waste of time and money.
Studying the measurements very closely, what looks to be very similar EI profiles are subtly different. The Modus3 Tour 105 R & S flex models appear heavier only because the uncut shafts are 2″ longer. The stiffness as measured on a deflection board are softer, but the tip to butt rations are much higher. That means the tip stiffness is closer to the butt stiffness. That indicates lower launch. For a detailed discussion of reading launch from EI profiles read Understand Golf Shaft EI Profiles at Fit2Score. If you are a club fitter or club builder and would like to see more in depth information about golf shafts, subscriptions to the Fit2Score shaft profiling software are now available.
This is a discussion about Nippon Golf Shaft shot at the 2016 PGA Merchandise show. Be warned, it is a technical discussion between technical fitters.
The English Nippon Shaft site has been significantly updated recently. The update shows and explains the EI profiles of the Modus products. The section of that site that discusses EI profiles is excerpted below. When one of my fitting associates happened on it, I got a call telling me they copied my graphics. I had to explain, sorry, in fact, they were first, I copied them. Nippon and the other major shaft companies have designed and manufactured shafts with 3 point EI software for decades. It is only now, that the golfer and club makers are developing literacy in the language of the shaft engineer.
Nippon is one of the few shaft companies that has for many years explained and defined their products to club fitters with EI graphics. The other is Mitsubishi Rayon. The 2015 Fujikura shaft product brochure does the same. This is the language by which one can under the subtle nuances of today’s shaft choices.