Nippon 880 AMC Shaft Review - Specs, Flex, Weight

Nippon 880 AMC Shaft Review – Specs, Flex, Weight

Nippon 880 AMC Shaft

As your game improves and your swing speed pisces up, you may want to consider switching out your iron shafts.

A lot of players spec up in swing weight as they grow to be more powerful swingers. But what specific shafts should you try?

Nippon is always a good brand for fitting because they make shafts for skilled players.

If you are considering a stouter shaft for your irons, you should definitely check out the Nippon 880 AMC shafts.

In the following review, we will tell you about our experience testing these shafts. Let’s get started.

Nippon 880 AMC Shaft Overview

The Nippon 880 AMC shafts were actually made for Titleist irons so that should tell you that they were built to be precise right off the bat.

They are a bit hard to find these days but you can usually score them second-hand but in gamable condition.

“AMC” stands for Ascending Mass Concept. These are progressive mass shafts which means the long irons are lighter than the short irons. This does a couple of things for the player.

One, it makes your long irons more manageable and helps you control flight. For another, it improves control in the short irons and helps control spin.

Overall, these are very manageable steel shafts. In fact, if we had blindfolds on, we may have guessed that these were actually graphite shafts.

They are a bit on the heavier side which was a bit perplexing but the kick feels ultra-smooth. You get very good response from these shafts and even if you really load up on them, they remain controllable.

Why is the Nippon 880 AMC So Popular?

The Nippon 880 AMC gained a lot of exposure being released as the stock shafts for the Titleist T100 and T200 irons.

Since then, they have gained sort of a cult following.

How Does the Nippon 880 AMC Perform?

We tested the Nippon 880 AMC shafts in stiff flex.

There was good response right out of the gate. In the long irons, you feel like you’re getting help with club head speed and smash factor. They have a mid kick point so they are very easy to get the hang of.

In the end, we were pleased that we opted to test the Nippon 880 AMC in stiff flex. After testing, we all got the feeling that regular flex would have felt a bit noodly.

That’s because the Nippon 880 AMC shafts are about as close to graphite shafts as you can get with actual steel shafts.

That being said, the Nippon 880 AMC shafts produce a nice mid spin and mid launch.

Everything is in control and you never get the feeling that these shafts will send the ball flying over the green or so high that you actually lose carry distance.

The short shafts are actually heavier than the light shafts; but that really didn’t affect our swing too much.

Around the green, the kick point moves a bit lower so you get better control over the club head. This allows for excellent precision and spin control.

Our testers were able to get the rollout they needed on the green or stop the ball dead.

Nippon 880 AMC Shaft Specs

Specs	Nippon 880 AMC
Available flexes	Regular, Stiff, Extra Stiff
Weight	114g
Tip	.370”
Length	33.25” – 34”

What Flexes Are Available? What Swing Speeds Do They Suit?

The Nippon 880 AMC is available in regular, stiff and extra stiff flex.

For anyone swinging under 80 MPH, the regular flex would be a solid choice.

If you are swinging 85 MPH or faster, stiff and extra stiff flex would be better for you.

What Weights Are Available? What Swing Speeds Do They Suit?

We tested the Nippon 880 AMC in the 114g weight class and they were a good fit for our testers who range between about 82 – 92 MPH.

Why is it So Good?

Nippon 880 AMC Shaft2

What we really liked about the Nippon 880 AMC was that the heft was enough to yield acute control; but we never really felt like we were swinging heavy steel shafts.

If you’ve got a sweeping swing, these shafts will still work with you. Even if your tempo is on the deliberate side, you will still get optimal launch and spin from them.

Nippon 880 AMC First Impressions

Again, we were very surprised at how well these heavy shafts worked with our slower swing speed testers.

The launch and the spin were optimal almost immediately.

Key Features & Performance

The main feature that drives the performance of these shafts is the ascending mass design.

It makes them very workable – even if you have never played steel shafts before.

Nippon 880 AMC Irons Review

The Nippon 880 AMC shafts are great if you want to transition from graphite shafts to steel shafts and don’t want to change to be too jarring.

They allow any type of player to gain a small distance and considerable accuracy boost with their long irons.

Nippon 880 AMC Wedges Review

The spin rates definitely picked up in the wedges which you just love to see.

We were able to pop the ball high so that it lands dead on the green and put some spin on it to get a little roll out.

Nippon 880 AMC Pros & Cons

Pros:

They allow for excellent control in the long irons
Good for a wide variety of players
Not too stout
Good control
Good short game precision

Cons:

Not great distance shafts
Hard to find

Nippon 880 AMC Shaft

Overall Score: 94/100

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Who Should Buy it?

The Nippon 880 AMC shafts would meet the needs of a wide variety of players.

But based on our experience, we think they would be ideal for players who want to spec up from their graphite shafts and need shafts that will increase their iron swing weight a bit.

We must say, for 114g shafts, they feel light. They won’t yield a ton of distance but they are proper shafts for iron accuracy.