aldila rip a review

wburdett

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I have a tour razr hawk driver with dromo's shaft 63g. I've liked this setup for awhile but I'm launching too high now 14-15 area and spinning 3500-3900 at launch. SS is 104-111 with ball speed 154-162 just to have some numbers. Basically a 250 carry and 260 shot. I really wanted to get spin down and launch a bit lower as well, more boring flight.

I installed rip alpha (red eyes) 2.7 torque shaft.

First glance its a slimmer shaft with a textured feel and mean look shaft.

I just played my first round with it and I actually really liked the rip a 70 shaft. It does feel a bit loose but I put it in without tipping just straight into club. The ball flight did come down and I was getting some more roll out. I think its a good shaft as you can really feel the club through out the swing in terms of where it is and I had two big misses pull hook and one block right both lost balls. I found you do have to release hard with this club at impact or you will get that block. Definitely not boardy which I can't stand but some hard swingers do like it. This was very easy to square the face. I have my baby draw back which I love playing.

There is some loose whip at bottom of club but think that really help square head at impact giving me that slight draw back. With dromos' I would hit high draws but most straight shots not too many fades or baby draws. The rip would give the lower more piercing draw. This was not hard to launch high as I could easily tee it up and launch high when I wanted too so no worries this is just going to shoot line drives.

I picked up probaby 7-10 yds off driver vs my dromo's shaft but that's probably due to .5 lin onger shaft length but had a lot of drives roll out into the 278-293(twice) range which I've not done as often. I hit 10/14 fairways avg about 265 which I'll take on any course.

Look forward to some more rounds to get better review and do think tipping very well may help bring flight down a tad more.

Hope this helps and will keep you posted on further results
 
Nice review and comparison!! Glad that combo is working out- I have the RIP alpha in my PING driver, 3 wood and hybrid and love it.
 
Nice review. I just have never gotten along with a RIP. Not sure why as on paper it should fit me well.
 
shafts can be funny as swings so dynamic. can be just way you load your swing, release at impact,attack angle all sorts of things that flexes shaft as each shaft has unique charateristics. I'm a bit suprised as play kua that rip would be a good fit with low torque but it does feel different that's why so many option out there I guess.
 
Well day 2 of review after another round with setup.

All I can say is this is a game changer. The ball flight after getting used to loading the shaft was very piercing not a line drive with nice baby draw. You do have to let club load a little on takeaway but can release as hard as you want as it does such a great job squaring face. Just hard to hook it unless you cast it...problem I have.

I definitiely picked up 10-15 yds today. Wasn't sure first time out but today was quite noticeable. Thats the lower spin as getting some run now. I had 3 drives over 290 and 4 over 275. Use golfshot for measure. Into the wind still hit good shots which was a godsend as before I'd lose significant yds into wind with high flight. I got 20 yds back into the wind which really makes a differenc.

Very pleased I still may tip this but going to try a few more rounds to see if need it
 
shafts can be funny as swings so dynamic. can be just way you load your swing, release at impact,attack angle all sorts of things that flexes shaft as each shaft has unique charateristics. I'm a bit suprised as play kua that rip would be a good fit with low torque but it does feel different that's why so many option out there I guess.

I'm surprised as well. It seems like it would be perfect. I keep trying though lol
 
Thanks for the data point.
 
Its a good shaft if you can bring the heat. Plays pretty stiff from my experience. I bought my R9 SuperTri TP used and it had a Fubuki X stiff in it and the RIP played firmer in Stiff than the Fubuki did in X Stiff. Mine is the Taylormade graphics version which doesn't look as sweet but is at least the same shaft under the paint. My driver SS is about 98-100 and its too much shaft for me by a long shot but then again I have a pretty smooth transition and tempo. I had good control with it but couldn't load it enough to get any distance. Would recommend it for the 105 plus crowd or someone who has a very fast tempo that really loads the shaft well. I was holding on to mine in hopes my practice would lead to higher swing speeds but put it up on the bay last night as it's just too far of a stretch. Glad yours is working out for you!
 
I play this shaft as well RIP alpha 60 and it fits my swing well as I have a quick transition and fast tempo, ss 98-104. The RIP plays very straight for me and the lower flight has added at least 15 yards to my drives. One of the best shafts I have played.
 
Courtesy of JMan, I now have this shaft installed in a Nicklaus ML4 head, and dear god, it's a motor. I love the feel, and it has zero stability issues with my very quick tempo. It is just smooth through the whole swing, and really puts a hurt on the ball, giving me a piercing, screaming fast ball flight that starts low and finishes in the mid-range. Oh, and then it rolls, as a result of the lower spin. It is a beautiful combo.
 
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