Ted,
Apex 4s. My normal shot is starting the irons and fairways on the line or a bit left, and going left from there. The driver is the only club I am hitting decently though somewhat short. It nas a Graffaloy graphite stiff. I think that my clubhead speed is still over 100 mph (115 - 125 in years past). Some advice?
I don't know how much you know about shafts and golf equipment in general so pls forgive me if I am stating the obvious, but I'll start off by keeping it as simple as possible . . .
Apex 4's are the Hogan version of "stiff". There really isn't any industry standard defining "stiff", but there are a bunch of other "stiff" shafts out there to choose from and 2 that I would recomend looking into if relieving pain is going to be a factor in your decision making.
Rifle shafts tend to play/feel a little smoother than others. Rifle makes a few different types of shafts, but to keep things as simple as possible, I'm just talking about "standard rifles". Rifle 5.5 and 6.0 play right around "stiff", with 5.5s maybe being a shade softer and 6.0s being a shade tighter than other "stiff shafts"
I switched from DG s300 to Rifle 5.5 and couldn't be happier. The Rifles are a bit softer, flight the ball a bit higher, and the feel is way smoother. I broke both of my elbows when I was younger and have pain in them pretty regularly, the switch to Rifles has eased that pain as it relates to golf a great deal.
The other shaft that might be worth checking out is Nippon. Nippon makes a "950" and a "1050" in both "stiff" and "regular". The 950 is 95 grams and the 1050 is 105 grams. The Apex4s are 113 grams. The Nippons are lighter than the Apex4s and play MUCH smoother . . .many "strong hitters of the ball" don't care for Nippons because they can be overpowered, while "smoother swinging" types tend to really like them. Callaway is using Nippon 950s as a stock shaft in their new Fusion Irons.
If you have a chance to check out a set of irons with Rifle 5.5s or Nippons in them, it might be worth your time. . .
I can put you in touch with people who know this stuff inside and out. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask. If I can't help you, I can certainly put you in touch with someone who can.
-Ted