Jackson Reid
Golf shafts come in different shaft flexes, weights, lengths and materials. The two types of steel shaft tips are taper and parallel. The tip is the part of the shaft that fits into the hosel of the clubhead. The difference between the two types of shafts is the tip diameter and shaft weight. The standard taper-tip shaft for irons is .355 inch at the end and requires a clubhead with a hosel the same size. Taper-tip shafts are manufactured to the proper length for each club. With a parallel-tip shaft, the entire tip section is a constant diameter.
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What You'll Learn
- The difference between parallel tip and taper tip shafts is tip diameter and shaft weight
- Taper tip shafts were the only choice until the 1970s when parallel tip shafts entered the market
- Taper tip shafts are manufactured with constant weights, meaning a 3-iron shaft weighs the same as a 9-iron shaft
- The standard tip diameter for a taper tip iron shaft is .355 inches, while the industry standard for parallel tip shafts is .370 inches
- Tour professionals and traditionalists prefer taper-tip shafts because of the constant weight
The difference between parallel tip and taper tip shafts is tip diameter and shaft weight
The difference between a parallel tip shaft and a taper tip shaft lies in the tip diameter and shaft weight. All golf shafts taper from the butt to the tip, but the key distinction is that parallel tips stop tapering below the last step, while taper tips continue to narrow further. The standard tip diameter for a taper tip iron shaft is .355 inches, which is slightly smaller than the parallel tip, typically measuring ".370 inches as the industry standard for irons."
The evolution of shafts favoured the development of taper tips in the late 1800s and early to middle 1900s due to the poor quality of glues available at the time. Taper tips provided a mechanical lock to address this issue. However, the introduction of epoxies in the 1960s offered significantly stronger adhesives, reducing the need for taper tips.
The weight variation in parallel tip shafts arises from the trimming process. Golf clubs within the same set vary in length, with higher-numbered irons being shorter than lower-numbered irons. To accommodate these differences, manufacturers start with the same shaft and trim it accordingly, resulting in weight variations.
In terms of performance, taper tips offer a flatter ball flight compared to parallel tips, which tend to launch the ball higher in the air. This performance characteristic has influenced the use of parallel tips in woods, as observed by golfers.
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Taper tip shafts were the only choice until the 1970s when parallel tip shafts entered the market
The evolution of golf shafts is an interesting one. The difference between a parallel tip shaft and a taper tip shaft is the tip diameter and shaft weight. All golf shafts taper from the butt to the tip, but the key distinction is that parallel tips stop tapering below the last step, while taper tips continue to narrow.
The taper tip shaft was the only option available until the 1970s. During the late 1800s and through the early to middle 1900s, taper tip shafts evolved due to the poor quality of glues available at the time. The taper tip provided a form of mechanical lock to compensate for the inferior adhesives. However, the golf industry underwent a significant shift in the 1970s with the introduction of parallel tip shafts.
The arrival of parallel tip shafts in the market offered a new alternative to golfers and club makers alike. The parallel tip shafts gained popularity due to their constant diameter at the narrowest portion, providing a consistent fit. In contrast, the taper tip shafts posed challenges as each different raw length required by golf companies for different head numbers had to be purchased in a single flex. This meant that if a company was creating a set of irons, they had to buy and stock multiple shafts, and any shortage in one type could delay the completion of the set.
The dynamic taper tip shafts, despite being the standard for many years, had limitations. The tip of these shafts could not be trimmed without altering its diameter, impacting the club head fit. The standard tip diameter for taper tip shafts is .355 inches, which is narrower than the parallel tip variant. The introduction of parallel tip shafts provided a more versatile option, allowing club makers to start with the same shaft and trim it to suit different irons. This versatility, coupled with advancements in adhesive technology, gradually made parallel tip shafts the preferred choice from the 1990s onwards.
While the taper tip shafts had their challenges, they did offer certain advantages. Producing a set of taper tip shafts from a parallel blank is far less expensive than crafting each shaft from separate tooling to achieve the same weight. This cost-effectiveness is one of the reasons why many OEM forged irons continue to feature tapered bore shafts, along with the traditional belief that "good players use taper tip iron shafts."
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Taper tip shafts are manufactured with constant weights, meaning a 3-iron shaft weighs the same as a 9-iron shaft
The difference between a parallel tip shaft and a taper tip shaft is the tip diameter and shaft weight. All golf shafts taper from the butt to the tip, but the parallel tip stops tapering below the last step, while the taper tip continues to narrow. The standard taper-tip shaft for irons is 0.355 inches at the end, requiring a clubhead with a hosel of the same size.
Taper-tip shafts are manufactured with constant weights, meaning a 3-iron shaft weighs the same as a 9-iron shaft. This is achieved by making each different raw length, used to make each different numbered iron in a full set, the same weight. As a result, the tip cannot be trimmed without changing its diameter, and therefore the club head it fits into.
The parallel-tip shaft, on the other hand, has a constant diameter but not a constant weight. The standard size is 0.370 inches for irons, requiring a clubhead with a 0.370-diameter hosel hole. The weight of a parallel-tip shaft changes as the club maker starts with the same shaft and trims it for each iron. This means that parallel-tip shafts are heavier in the longer irons and weigh less in the shorter irons.
The parallel-tip shaft is also advantageous for club makers as they can control their inventory better. They can stock just one shaft length for each model of woods and irons, instead of stocking a different length shaft for each club. With taper-tip shafts, golf companies had to buy a different raw length for each head number, and each different length raw shaft also had to be bought in a single flex. This meant that a golf company had to buy and stock 26 different shafts to build a full set of clubs.
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The standard tip diameter for a taper tip iron shaft is .355 inches, while the industry standard for parallel tip shafts is .370 inches
The tip diameter and shaft weight are the key differences between a parallel tip shaft and a taper tip shaft. All golf shafts taper from the butt to the tip, but the parallel tip stops tapering below the last step, while the taper tip continues to narrow. The standard tip diameter for a taper tip iron shaft is .355 inches, while the industry standard for parallel tip shafts is .370 inches.
The taper tip was the standard until the 1970s when the parallel tip was introduced. The parallel tip shaft allowed club makers to control their inventory because they could stock just one shaft length for each model of woods and irons, instead of stocking a different length shaft for each club. With parallel-tip shafts, the manufacturers trim the tip for flex and trim the butt (top) of the shaft for length. To adjust shaft flex with parallel-tip shafts, you change the amount you trim. To stiffen the shaft, trim more off the tip end; to weaken the flex, trim less off the tip and make the club longer.
To adjust the flex with taper-tip shafts, you have to use a different shaft. For a stiffer flex, use the next shorter shaft (put a 5-iron shaft in a 4-iron club head). To soften the flex, step up one shaft length (put a 3-iron shaft in a 4-iron club head). Taper-tip shafts are also manufactured with constant weights, meaning the 3-iron shaft weighs the same as the 9-iron shaft. With a parallel-tip shaft, the weight of the shaft changes as the club maker starts with the same shaft and trims it for each iron.
While the size does vary between manufacturers, the industry standard for irons is .370 inches. Golf clubs are different lengths within the same set; the higher-numbered irons are shorter than the lower-numbered irons. Golf club companies design the bore diameters in their irons to use either .370 or .355 steel shafts. During the assembly process, tapered shafts only need to be trimmed from the butt end to the preferred length, whereas parallel shafts must be trimmed from both ends.
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Tour professionals and traditionalists prefer taper-tip shafts because of the constant weight
The difference between a parallel tip shaft and a taper tip shaft lies in the tip diameter and shaft weight. While all golf shafts taper from the butt to the tip, parallel tips stop tapering below the last step, while taper tips continue to narrow. The standard tip diameter for a taper tip iron shaft is .355 inches, slightly smaller than a parallel tip, which has an industry standard of .370 inches.
Taper tip shafts were the only choice until the 1970s when parallel tip shafts entered the market. Despite this, the dynamic taper tip shaft from True Temper remained the most popular steel iron shaft among tour players for years. This is because the dynamic taper tip shaft is one of the few steel shafts where the taper tip version weighs the same for each shaft. This is achieved by using one master shaft for every head, which cuts more from each iron shaft from the long to the short iron clubs.
In contrast, with a parallel tip shaft, the narrowest portion of the shaft has a constant diameter but not a constant weight. This is because the club maker starts with the same shaft and trims it for each iron, causing the weight of the shaft to change. Therefore, tour professionals and traditionalists prefer taper-tip shafts because of the constant weight, ensuring a consistent feel across different clubs.
However, it is important to note that according to True Temper, the average golfer will not notice a significant difference between taper- and parallel-tip shafts. Blind testing with identical iron heads showed that testers did not observe any difference in performance between the two types of shafts.
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Frequently asked questions
The difference is in the tip diameter and shaft weight. A taper tip shaft continues to taper to the very end, whereas a parallel tip shaft stops tapering below the last step.
Taper tip shafts are manufactured with constant weights, meaning the 3-iron shaft weighs the same as the 9-iron shaft. This is preferred by tour professionals and traditionalists.
Parallel tip shafts come from the factory at a single length and are designed to be cut from the tip to create different lengths. This increases stiffness by moving the mid-section of the shaft closer to the tip.
