Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH Shaft Review - Specs, Flex, Weight

Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH Shaft Review – Specs, Flex, Weight

Nippon is no stranger to lightweight iron shafts.

In fact, in the early days, that’s how the company made its bones.

We have also tested and reviewed a number of Nippon iron shafts in the past and we have been consistently impressed with how accurate they can be.

Even with all the personal and objective history in mind, we were still skeptical of the Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH iron shafts.

Why? Because they weigh almost nothing. The Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH are designed to be ultra lightweight and anyone can see that is the case simply by reading the spec sheet.

But what else do these shafts have to offer? Are they really any good? We find out in the following review.

Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH Shaft Overview

When we first received the Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH, we were even more skeptical.

We can feel how light they were and our suspicions only got sharper. All that aside though, we were impressed with the premium looks of these shafts.

The lettering is scant but presented in a really nice gold color. The lettering is placed in front of a polished chrome backdrop so you get a really elegant, classic and premium look.

The Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH is all but advertised as an aggressive shaft. Nippon wanted to help slower swing speed players take full swings with confidence and really smack the ball down the fairway.

And while the Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH’s certainly give you the confidence to do that, the feel of these shafts is equally important to discuss.

The Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH’s have a mid kickpoint. Upon release, you get a smooth and stable feel.

More importantly though is that you can feel the activity of this shaft. There is a little bit of a whip but it recovers almost before you even notice it.

So at the end of the day, we didn’t mind the slight whip even though most of our testers shy away from loose or whippy shafts.

So the stability of this shaft is almost on par with some of the other, heavier Nippon shafts we have tested in the past.

And that’s really saying something because these shafts are lightweight even by Nippon standards.

Our testers also noted that it felt very easy to make consistent contact with the ball from the fairway.

The rough and semi rough were slightly different stories. The shaft was almost too fast to be optimally effective from bad lies.

Why is the Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH So Popular?

The Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH isn’t the Nippon shaft you are likely to see on the PGA Tour.

Still, it remains a popular option for players who want to increase their swing speed without giving up anything in the way of stability. Nippon has always done right by their fitters too.

The Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH gives fitters the ability to meet the needs of low-end swingers.

How Does the Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH Perform?

We should start by mentioning that on average, our testers were seeing 9 yard distance increases from their 7-iron.

To be more specific, our average 7-iron distance after three swings each was 152.2 yards (we took the best distance from each of our three swings and averaged them among the test party).

The Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH shaft allows you to swing outside yourself without really feeling like you’re swinging outside yourself.

It allows you to take your natural swing with your natural tempo and make it faster. The launch was mid/high and the spin rates were what you would expect from such lightweight shafts.

But none of that mattered when we were swinging the club head significantly faster than normal.

Dispersion was also tighter than expected; but it still veered towards the outer range of what was tolerable.

They don’t perform great from the rough; but the consistency is solid and the distance can’t be argued with.

Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH Shaft Specs

Specs	Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH
Available flexes	Regular, Stiff
Weight	87g, 91g
Tip	.355”
Butt	.600”
Length	35” – 39.5”

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

Regular flex would be a good choice for anyone in the 75 – 80 MPH range. Stiff flex will likely suit the 80 – 90 MPH swingers.

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

The 87g version is best for 70 – 80 MPH swingers while the 91g version would likely work for 80 -90 MPH swingers.

Why is it So Good?

This is a solid shaft because it is a real distance-maker.

You can keep your swing fluid, not change much and still increase your iron distance.

Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH First Impressions

Nippon N.S. Pro 850GH Shaft1

We were first impressed with how easy it was to make consistent contact with this shaft in light of the fact that our club head speeds ticked upward quite a bit.