SHAFT REVIEW! – Nunchuk xi Iron Shaft

By: Matt Saternus
First came the Nunchuk wood shaft.  Then, last year, the Nunchuk 370 hybrid shaft.  This year, nVentix launched the Nunchuk xi, a graphite iron shaft.  Will anything stop Nunchuk and its mission to take over every club in your bag?

Honestly, I hope not.  When I first heard about the Nunchuk, with its bold promises of straighter shots, I wanted to laugh…until I tried it.  The Nunchuk hybrid shaft hasn’t left my bag since the review.  So it was with great anticipation that I installed the Nunchuk xi shafts into my Wilson FG Tour V2’s and waited for the epoxy to cure.  Will the Nunchuk xi be the shaft that breaks down the barrier to graphite shafts in irons?  Read on to find out.

Specs, Price, and Manufacturer Notes

According to nVentix:

• The Nunchuk xi performs better than steel with consistent launch, tight dispersion, and consistent distance.
• The Nunchuk xi feels softer and less harsh than steel with less vibration on off-center hits.
• The entire Nunchuk System (wood, hybrid, and iron shafts) can benefit players by giving them a consistent feel and function from club to club.
• There is no tip trimming required or suggested for these shafts whether in parallel (.370”) or taper tip (.355”).  Simply install and butt trim to the desired length.

True to form, the Nunchuk is only available in one weight (104 grams), one flex, and one length (40”).

The Nunchuk xi carries an MSRP of $75 per shaft.

Looks, Feel, and Miscellaneous

One hallmark of the earlier Nunchuk shafts was their weight: the wood shaft and hybrid shaft both tip the scales at over 100 grams, much heavier than standard.  The Nunchuk xi, while not a lightweight, is still about 20 grams lighter than shafts like Dynamic Gold and KBS Tour.  Additionally, like all Nunchuk shafts, it’s counter-balanced (heavier near the grip to reduce swing weight), which intensifies that weight difference.  This isn’t a good or bad thing, but it did require a bit of an adjustment period for me.

During the swing, the Nunchuk xi maintains the trademark “one-piece” feel through most of the set.  You can certainly throw out the “graphite is too whippy” stereotypes with these.  That said, when I got to the short irons (9 iron and PW, sometimes 8 iron), the shafts did feel like they loosened up a bit.  I want to emphasize “a bit”: I’m not suggesting that they became noodles with a PW, but there was a more noticeable kick with the PW than with the mid or long irons.

The best part of playing the Nunchuk xi is unquestionably the impact feel.  It is everything nVentix claims: softer, less harsh, and solid.  If you want soft feeling irons, forget Mizuno, forget Miura, just stick a set of these in your irons and thank me later.

One small disappointment for me was the look of the Nunchuk xi.  I’m rather fond of the Nunchuk purple, so seeing that the xi is solid silver with just a rectangle of purple (easily hidden at address) made me sad.  I understand the logic, make it look similar to steel shafts to minimize the stigma of playing graphite, but I wish it was a bold purple that announced, “Yeah I’m graphite…and I’m gonna whip your ***!”

Performance

For the Performance testing, I installed the Nunchuk xi shafts into a set of Wilson FG Tour V2 heads.  They were tested against a set of Dynamic Gold S300 shafts that were installed in the exact same heads.  Testing was done on a FlightScope X2 launch monitor.  All shafts were gripped with Pure Grips.

Testing was done at Golf Nation in Palatine, IL, one of the best indoor golf facilities in the country.

The Numbers

We tested the shafts head to head and gathered numbers on the 3 iron, 7 iron, and PW.  Here’s what we found:

Analysis

When I’m testing shafts, I try not to look at the numbers until I’m finished.  I feel like this helps to keep the test honest, and, on occasion, it gives me a good surprise.  This was one of the occasions where I was surprised by a couple of things.

First, I was shocked by how similar the launch angles were.  When I was hitting on a limited-flight range, I felt like the Nunchuk was launching much higher, but that was clearly a case of seeing what I thought I should see.  The numbers don’t lie.

Second, I was surprised by how good the dispersion was.  As I said, I felt that the Nunchuk got a little softer in the PW, so I expected the dispersion to suffer.  It didn’t.  While the 7I dispersion came out slightly worse, that was really just the result of a couple of marginal shots, not a problem with the sample as a whole.

The place where I could see the Nunchuk xi really grabbing a foothold is in the long irons.  For players still clinging to their 2, 3, and 4 irons, why not make things a little easier by installing a slightly lighter, easier-to-launch shaft?  Personally, if I actually carried my 3 iron, I would put the Nunchuk in it: it launched easier, went straighter, and stopped faster.

Conclusion

At some point, I’m going to learn my lesson and stop doubting the guys behind the Nunchuk shafts.  I thought they couldn’t make a straighter wood shaft, and they did.  I thought they couldn’t make a “one size fits all” iron shaft that actually performs, and they did.  If you’re in doubt, find a fitter who carries Nunchuk shafts and see for yourself.  The numbers don’t lie.

Personally, I’m just waiting for the release of the Nunchuk putter shaft.

 

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