Iron Golf Shafts – NIPPON N.S.PRO Zelos7

By Russ Ryden, Fit2Score, A Dallas Fort Worth Club Fitter & Club Maker
The Golf Center at the Highlands, Carrollton Texas

The Nippon Zelos 7 is now available in the US. Quality carbon fiber shafts dominate the lightweight iron shaft market. The NSPro 750 was the lightest steel shaft available from Nippon. The very thin walls of the butt of the shaft had to be reinforced with a woven graphite fabric. The Zelos7 is about 5 grams lighter than the 750. The graphite butt wrap is gone. Nippon is one of the largest manufacturers of automotive valve springs. They are using their metallurgical expertise in the design of golf shafts. The Modus3 shafts are one of my favorite steel iron shafts. The deliver great feel and exceptional dispersion control. The Zelos7 has quickly become a top seller in the Asian market. Using new alloys, Nippon design a 72 gram steel shaft that is stable. It is targeted at the slow smooth golf swing that is best fit into a light weight club.

I glued the review samples into some 6 iron heads and took them to the range. I was expecting a great deal of whippy dispersion from a shaft that had 4 pounds less stiffness than my current gamer. That was not the case. The S flex version was surprisingly stable and easy to control. The ball flight was higher, but that is to be expected with a shaft that is significantly softer than your ideal fit. I had no trouble controlling the Zelos7 and moved the samples immediately to my fitting system. If you are looking for a light weight iron shaft, you should be testing the Nippon Zelos7.