bsbmike5's Driver Shaft War

[bsbmike5]

A Driver War that Leads to a Shaft War!​

Fresh off of completing my driver war, and with the slight nudge to do this from @outlawx I have decided to take our driver head that won the war and have a full blown shaft war. I think it's fitting that we are about to enter an experience featuring Mitsubishi Chemical, and fresh off of one featuring UST Mamiya.

The Competitors
This is where I need your help. I have a few options that are already in my bags of golf stuff in my garage that are prepped and ready to go, but I'd like to also add in a couple more options that you want to see or think may fit well. I'm not made of money, but don't mind investing in a couple of options based on feedback and what people want to see. Please comment any and all recommendations so I can have a few to ponder over! And feel free to tag some people in. I'll start by asking @OldandStiff to weigh in!

Competitors as of 6/25/24:
Denali Black 60 6.5
Ventus Blue 6X
Diamana WB 53TX
LIN-Q Blue 7F5
Tour AD-VF 6S
Ventus TR Red 6X
Aretera Alpha One Gray 65X
Accra TZ Five 60X
Newton Motion 5 Dot​

This war will be very similar to the driver war we just had. But for those who may not have read through or need a refresher, this is how we will break it down:

1. Range - We will start by taking all of the shafts to the range and plugging them in and out of the Callaway. I like to start my testing with feel and looking at how it comes off the club with my eyes before jumping into data. This will probably be a couple of different sessions, to see what works feels best initially.

2. Data - We will then jump into grabbing Trackman data with each shaft. I like to get series of shots alternating every few as to not get into a groove with one or another. As I did with the driver war, I won't change cog settings with a shaft until I see and go through the full set of data. It may take a few more sessions, but I felt like this was the best way to do it.

3. On Course - Finally we will take them on course. I imagine when I get to this point it'll be narrowed down to 2 or 3 options. I'm sure they will start to distance themselves from the pack in the data portion.

You all made the driver war so fun, that it only felt natural to do the driver shaft as well. I'm excited to get going again with testing and can't wait to hear your recommendations!

Tagging some folks who were heavily involved in the driver war thread.
@ttucliffhanger
@jonnys009
@brians
@Deebo76
@Redd
@That post
@Parrot
@Chef23
@Raiderboost
@Iceman!
@GoodGriefMan
@Stryker

 

[Redd]

Man, loved following the driver war and excited to follow the driver shaft war! LFG!

 

[That post]

I’m a shaft guy. Excited to follow this.

I know the combo of head/shaft is important but in my mind I need to match well with the shaft to ever feel comfortable enough to make repeatable swings to get the data needed to make a decision.

 

[outlawx]

You’re testing in a callaway head right?

I have the following I can loan or swap you:
1) Tr red 6x
2) TR blue 6x
3) Ad-Bb 7s
4) velocity d20

 

[bsbmike5]

I’m a shaft guy. Excited to follow this.

I know the combo of head/shaft is important but in my mind I need to match well with the shaft to ever feel comfortable enough to make repeatable swings to get the data needed to make a decision.

I happened to feel pretty good with the Denali before ordering which made me start there, but I'm curious if something else makes the setup even better!

Open to any recommendations or ideas you may have!

 

[bsbmike5]

You’re testing in a callaway head right?

I have the following I can loan or swap you:
1) Tr red 6x
2) TR blue 6x
3) Ad-Bb 7s
4) velocity d20

Yes testing in a callaway head! You're the best! TR-Red might have to be a definite...never tried a BB or Velocity before

 

[Parrot]

The driver war was a fun follow. I'm excited to see how this plays out for you.

 

[jonnys009]

Oh I am all in on this one as well!

Ventus, Diamana, and LIN-Q are all definitely among the lines I would have hoped to see represented up there. Should be another awesome follow.

 

[outlawx]

Yes testing in a callaway head! You're the best! TR-Red might have to be a definite...never tried a BB or Velocity before

I’ll grab you some numbers from the skytrak we have similar speeds.

 

[outlawx]

Yes testing in a callaway head! You're the best! TR-Red might have to be a definite...never tried a BB or Velocity before

The velocity is fun, I can’t really control the face well with it but I post my highest swing speeds.

 

[bsbmike5]

The velocity is fun, I can’t really control the face well with it but I post my highest swing speeds.

That's interesting, and I'm intrigued...although my game probably tells me to avoid that situation

 

[MGoBlue]

Even though X flex shafts are way out of my league these days I look forward to following this.

 

[Stryker]

A Driver War that Leads to a Shaft War!​

Fresh off of completing my driver war, and with the slight nudge to do this from @outlawx I have decided to take our driver head that won the war and have a full blown shaft war. I think it's fitting that we are about to enter an experience featuring Mitsubishi Chemical, and fresh off of one featuring UST Mamiya.

The Competitors
This is where I need your help. I have a few options that are already in my bags of golf stuff in my garage that are prepped and ready to go, but I'd like to also add in a couple more options that you want to see or think may fit well. I'm not made of money, but don't mind investing in a couple of options based on feedback and what people want to see. Please comment any and all recommendations so I can have a few to ponder over! And feel free to tag some people in. I'll start by asking @OldandStiff to weigh in!

Currently ready:
Denali Black 60 6.5
Ventus Blue 6X
Diamana WB 53TX
LIN-Q Blue 7F5​

This war will be very similar to the driver war we just had. But for those who may not have read through or need a refresher, this is how we will break it down:

1. Range - We will start by taking all of the shafts to the range and plugging them in and out of the Callaway. I like to start my testing with feel and looking at how it comes off the club with my eyes before jumping into data. This will probably be a couple of different sessions, to see what works feels best initially.

2. Data - We will then jump into grabbing Trackman data with each shaft. I like to get series of shots alternating every few as to not get into a groove with one or another. As I did with the driver war, I won't change cog settings with a shaft until I see and go through the full set of data. It may take a few more sessions, but I felt like this was the best way to do it.

3. On Course - Finally we will take them on course. I imagine when I get to this point it'll be narrowed down to 2 or 3 options. I'm sure they will start to distance themselves from the pack in the data portion.

You all made the driver war so fun, that it only felt natural to do the driver shaft as well. I'm excited to get going again with testing and can't wait to hear your recommendations!

Tagging some folks who were heavily involved in the driver war thread.
@ttucliffhanger
@jonnys009
@brians
@Deebo76
@Redd
@That post
@Parrot
@Chef23
@Raiderboost
@Iceman!
@GoodGriefMan
@Stryker

I am looking forward to following along on this as well! Can’t wait to see how it turns out.

 

[brians]

Yes! This one is going to get a lot of people’s interest.
What a fun project

 

[bsbmike5]

Just for kicks, I decided to take my numbers from Mizunos shaft optimizer and see what wood shafts it recommended. Interesting to see so many of them be in the 70 gram area which I’ve never normally played before.

Also taking with a grain of salt that this is only Mizuno available options, so I can work off of what I know about these shafts to see what other brands have something I may get along with.

I will say typically I’ve reacted best to shafts that have some responsiveness to them. I’ve never gotten along with super boardy shafts (hence the WB experiment at a much lower weight). But maybe it’s worth throwing one or two of these in the mix. Intrigued by the AD-DI and the Ventus Red TR.

I am mulling over the idea of doing a club champion fitting to try some more before pulling the trigger on some, but I’ve always hated the added swingweight from their fitting system. D9 and above swingweight isn’t my thing, and I’d hate to waste my time and money trying stuff that doesn’t feel good because it’s so head heavy.

 

[Chef23]

I have always like the GD AD DI shaft. It would be interesting to see you try one of those but they are a pricey option.

I wish I had the swingspeed to have something that fits you to add to the tryout. I have a 60g stiff flex but I don’t think that will help you at all.

I am looking forward to the follow.

 

[outlawx]

Just for kicks, I decided to take my numbers from Mizunos shaft optimizer and see what wood shafts it recommended. Interesting to see so many of them be in the 70 gram area which I’ve never normally played before.

Also taking with a grain of salt that this is only Mizuno available options, so I can work off of what I know about these shafts to see what other brands have something I may get along with.

I will say typically I’ve reacted best to shafts that have some responsiveness to them. I’ve never gotten along with super boardy shafts (hence the WB experiment at a much lower weight). But maybe it’s worth throwing one or two of these in the mix. Intrigued by the AD-DI and the Ventus Red TR.

I am mulling over the idea of doing a club champion fitting to try some more before pulling the trigger on some, but I’ve always hated the added swingweight from their fitting system. D9 and above swingweight isn’t my thing, and I’d hate to waste my time and money trying stuff that doesn’t feel good because it’s so head heavy.

View attachment 9275002View attachment 9275003

Interesting indeed to do this

 

[bsbmike5]

I have always like the GD AD DI shaft. It would be interesting to see you try one of those but they are a pricey option.

I wish I had the swingspeed to have something that fits you to add to the tryout. I have a 60g stiff flex but I don’t think that will help you at all.

I am looking forward to the follow.

I appreciate that! I’m not shy to take a flier on shafts so I’m sure a couple will be added to my arsenal

 

[bsbmike5]

Interesting indeed to do this

I don’t know if it helped or hurt my brain in trying to decide on what to throw into this mix

As much as I’m on the fence might have to try club champion to weed some out. There’s one literally around the corner from my house

 

[Stryker]

Just for kicks, I decided to take my numbers from Mizunos shaft optimizer and see what wood shafts it recommended. Interesting to see so many of them be in the 70 gram area which I’ve never normally played before.

Also taking with a grain of salt that this is only Mizuno available options, so I can work off of what I know about these shafts to see what other brands have something I may get along with.

I will say typically I’ve reacted best to shafts that have some responsiveness to them. I’ve never gotten along with super boardy shafts (hence the WB experiment at a much lower weight). But maybe it’s worth throwing one or two of these in the mix. Intrigued by the AD-DI and the Ventus Red TR.

I am mulling over the idea of doing a club champion fitting to try some more before pulling the trigger on some, but I’ve always hated the added swingweight from their fitting system. D9 and above swingweight isn’t my thing, and I’d hate to waste my time and money trying stuff that doesn’t feel good because it’s so head heavy.

View attachment 9275002View attachment 9275003

The connectors they are using now are different then I remember them being when I did a fitting a couple years ago. We actually weighed the exact combo I was swinging well at D4. I only found one to feel heavy but that was a shaft issues and some heads actually felt too light.

 

[bsbmike5]

The connectors they are using now are different then I remember them being when I did a fitting a couple years ago. We actually weighed the exact combo I was swinging well at D4. I only found one to feel heavy but that was a shaft issues and some heads actually felt too light.

That would definitely sway my opinion!

 

[bsbmike5]

When there’s a war to be had you need to have shaft adaptors!

 

[That post]

View attachment 9275146
When there’s a war to be had you need to have shaft adaptors!

Let's get this party started!

 

[bsbmike5]

Club champion booked for Friday Saturday (I’m an idiot!)…don’t think I’ll buy anything from them (not a fan of paying for install and PURE)

But should give me some options that I can buy and add to this mix!

 

[outlawx]

Club champion booked for Friday…don’t think I’ll buy anything from them (not a fan of paying for install and PURE)

But should give me some options that I can buy and add to this mix!

I got some boxes in that fit a shaft and protect it nicely just say the word