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Maltby KE4 Max Driver

I just got a KE4, Kuro Kage 65 R shaft. It's the same specs as the Max only $10 less expensive. Not sure what changed other than the graphics. I just got mine today and I managed to get in 9 holes with it to check it out.

Mine came setup in position 7 even though I requested position 5. What I really wanted was position 6. (See table)
1673138832532.png

I did not know it was in position 7, which, was OK, since I hit it pretty well as is.

Initial thoughts are it's as long as my Tm R11 as is. When I hit it straight or with a slight draw it maxed on height quickly and slowly started dropping. With a slight cut the ball flight was a little better IMHO, so I may need a little more weight in the back of the club to increase the spin number a touch. I need to get it in the sim to do a little more tuning and compare to the R11, but I think at this point I have a keeper. I like that it's tunable and that it would be simple to make another shaft if I wanted to.

At this point I am going to order some of the weights to do some more tuning. I'd be interested to know what the difference is between the KE4 and the KE4 Max other than the Max comes in right or left.
 
It seems very similar spec but is 460cc instead of 450, hence "max" but I would guess otherwise just about identical. Not sure if any material difference. I would not expect much, if any difference in result. I'm considering one only because I like the paint job better and I'll take all the forgiveness I can get.
 
Actually, I ordered mine last week, I get it today and they come out with the new one??? Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot!
 
The KE4 is much more attractive than the lefty options Maltby provides 😒
 
ben17e said:
The max is available lefty
Click to expand...
Touche. I typically look at the club paks but not as important for a driver. Looks pretty good.
 
I took my KE4 to the range today, did a little tuning and comparison to the Old R11. My KE4 is equipped with a Kuro Kage Silver 60 (65g) R flex standard length, 45.5" For comparison, the TM R11 is a 10.5* Fujikura Blur 60g shaft 45". Loft is set standard, the bottom plate is set closed, and the heavy weight (red) is in the heel with a yellow weight in the toe. According to Trackman, my driver swing speed with the R11 is ~85mph. My ball is a Pro V1, I keep playing with it, but it's not going to change.

The KE4 came with the shaft in position 7, I initially asked for position 6, then told them to put it in position 5. I played 9 holes with it in 7 (11*, 1* Open) and didn't realize it until I got home and started looking at it. Me being the inquisitive type, I started playing with it at home and put it in position 5 (10*, 1* Open) to see the difference, yep, less loft, same look. That's where I started at the range. Did a quick warmup with a gap wedge and started with the R11. Hit about 6 of those and only managed one decent one (trying too hard) Switched to the KE4, fanned the first one, but the next few were nice fades with at least 10 yards more carry than the R11. Next, I put it back in position 7, I thought that hit it a little too high, then I tried position 6 (10.5*, Square). That seemed to work the best and most consistent. What I need to do now is get it on a launch monitor bay and see what I am getting for ball speed, launch angle and spin. I'm looking for 14-15* launch, 2000-2400 spin and hopefully a little more ball speed than the R11. BTW, with the trackman, my smash factor is 1.45 and up.

One cool thing I found out with the hosel adapter is, it 2 pieces. The cool thing is you can change to a different loft/lie setting without changing the orientation of the shaft to the club. This is cool if you want to have the shaft pured as you can always keep it in the same orientation. This also means you can use a reminder rib grip is you want too.

I ordered some weights for the adjustable weight in the heel. My guess is I probably need to go slightly heavier with the heel weight to get a little more spin. It's not totally in the bag yet, but so far it's winning.
 
Follow-up with launch monitor data. The KE4 is slightly longer, with better dispersion, than the R11. Its about 5 yards on average although longest was 10 yards longer. Launch was about 12* and 1990 rpm for the best distances recorded. Average ball speed was in the 118-120 range. Pretty similar between clubs, but the spin on the R11 was lower, so that might have contributed to less distance. I could have jacked up the loft to 11* on the R11, but on a trackman the best ball flight was a 10.5*. I think the launch angle is good and getting just a hair more spin would be a good thing. I have weights coming to play with, so we'll see. For now, it's in the bag.
 
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