KBS Tour 90 Shafts Review - Forum Testing

I'm excited for you War. I'm glad these shafts are working out for you. And that you realize you don't have to force the issue. Solid swings will do just fine.
 
Great recap there War Eagle! Yes, I remember that 9i shot and us discussing it. There were several times where you were going after it and it really hurt your game (not just with the irons). I saw a huge difference once you started staying in that tempo that you talked about.

I know the biggest thing for you was seeking a higher ball flight and you definitely found that without hurting your iron game in any way. The game is played much differently when you can "play to a number" and not have to account for landing and rollout, etc. I love reading how these are working for you - keep up the great work!!


JN: even though the round did not go as you had intended it is good to hear that these can be flighted even if that is not the intention. Interesting to hear how your next outing goes and if you can get back that higher flight that you were seeking, sounds like just an off day as you eluded to.
 
Great recap there War Eagle! Yes, I remember that 9i shot and us discussing it. There were several times where you were going after it and it really hurt your game (not just with the irons). I saw a huge difference once you started staying in that tempo that you talked about.

I know the biggest thing for you was seeking a higher ball flight and you definitely found that without hurting your iron game in any way. The game is played much differently when you can "play to a number" and not have to account for landing and rollout, etc. I love reading how these are working for you - keep up the great work!!


JN: even though the round did not go as you had intended it is good to hear that these can be flighted even if that is not the intention. Interesting to hear how your next outing goes and if you can get back that higher flight that you were seeking, sounds like just an off day as you eluded to.

Thanks, Cookie! I'll be back at it today in my league this evening and will post some thoughts from that round.
 
I've been following this thread, even though I haven't posted a ton. Just wanted to say that it was basically the thing that made me start to pursue installing the R Flex Tours back in my irons. I looked at what you guys were seeing with the higher ball flight and easy swinging and wondered why the hell I was making things harder than they needed to be. Thanks for all the info.
 
KBS Tour 90 - League Night Thoughts and Results

Previous KBS Tour 90 Thoughts:
Range Session: Click Here
Should you replace your shafts:Click Here
Course Testing w/ pics: Click Here
Wedge Range Session: Click Here
Stats Post: Click Here


I think it goes without saying that the fellow KBS shaft testers have been seeing some amazing results. It is hard to explain how/why we are seeing such vast improvement. Tadashi, put it best, CONFIDENCE. It has been the ultimate result from putting these shafts in clubs we love. As you can see by the results. Tonight's result:

scoretr.png

There were several shots on the bogey holes where I barely missed the green.

Hole 3 - I put the ball in the fairway on the right side where the ball ended up on an uphill lie with the ball above my feet. The shot was about 155 to the middle and pulled a 7 iron, I would have used a 6 iron in the past. I put a good swing on it. It carried nice and high and landed soft just to the left of the green. The ball flight was a right to left due to the ball above my feet. It was poor aiming on my part.

Hole 4 - Put my 3 wood in a fiarway bunker on the left side. I pulled a 7 iron from 152 uphill. I picked it clean and hit a high ball right onto the front part of the green. The KBS Tour 90 allowed me to hit a great ball out of the bunker and placed it nicely on the green. Several "good shot perry" rang out from the fairway...THAT PUTS A SMILE ON MY FACE

These were some highlights from my night during league play. Hard to argue my results. Once again the stat that really sticks out is my GIR putting. It was 2.2 tonight. Where my average is 2.8 putts per GIR. This has been a wake up call to my new GolfTec teacher. He says keep at it and he said he will work with me more on my overswing to get me more consistency. Correctly fitting shafts just makes me go out there and attack pins where my old clubs always had me thinking which way the ball was going to miss. Poor swing thoughts are now a thing of the past since these shafts have been in and highly recommend getting yourself fit online via KBS' website. It will do wonders for your game. Let me reiterate what War Eagle has said. Hitting long irons no longer scare me. I can expect a more positive result without having to swing out of my shoes and "trusting the club" to do the work. This has never been more evident.

To be continued...

Perry great write up and your scores are improving for sure. I hope that we can tee it up soon so I can see this in person dude.

KBS Tour 90 Shaft Testing
8/1/12 - 9 Hole Round & Some random thoughts...

Alright, so I havent had an update here in a minute, but that doesnt mean my mind hasnt been churning and burning with what these shafts have helped me achieve in my golf game. For this review, I will highlight my round from this evening, as well as talk about some thoughts that I had in a round prior the MC in Myrtle Beach and some things that made me think.


My round tonight...
bttoday.png


I played great tonight, and a lot of that has to do with my confidence in my game right now. The greens had recently been sanded so putting was a struggle, but I dont place the blame for putting struggles 100% on the greens.

Regardless, 7/9 greens had me excited. Rightfully so, I have gotten to the point now that I expect to hit my shot on it's line and hold the green. As long as I keep myself in an even tempo and contain my swing, these shafts fit perfectly with me. I have three shots from tonight that I want to really highlight, as these three shots really showcase what I have been seeing throughout the past month;


  • Hole #12, Par 3; 168 yards: This hole can be tricky, as it is all carry over water to a slightly elevated green. I had my 7iron, and choose to go without a tee (something I find myself doing more often since switching to these shafts in my irons). I hit my 7iron quite well, taking a nice divot and seeing a very nice high ball flight. The ball landed past the pin, and pulled back a few feet. My playing partners said it was tight, and from where we were it looked like it was. Got up to the green, and I was well inside the previous groups "Closest to the Pin" marker. I had hit my shot within 5 feet for an easy birdie, and my first ever in 4 years "Closest to the Pin" win. I was ecstatic. In the past I had been praying to land the green, tonight I was firing at the pin.
    • What this shot showed me was that with my slightly higher ball flight, I am seeing a slight distance increase. Usually, 160 yards is the most I get out of my 7iron. Tonight, I felt comfortable that I had my number right, and had the club picked perfectly. The results showed me I was correct, and a tap in birdie on a Par 3 is something that I can get used to!

  • Hole #15, Par 4: After my tee shot, I am left with 186 yards in to the pin. There was a slight wind at my back, and I was really feeling that I could get my shot where I needed it. I pulled the 6iron from the bag, and knew that I would have to get a solid shot on it to get it to where I needed it to go. I put a beautiful strike on the ball, and although it didnt cut as I was expecting it to do, I wont complain about it going straight. High ball flight with the 6i, and landed the left side of the green, leaving me with a long birdie try.
    • The fact that I can even think about pulling an iron with confidence for a shot over 180 yards says it all to me. I actually landed the green, and held it with my 6iron. When I hit the long irons pure with these shafts in them, I know it instantly, and it's a great feeling.

  • Hole #17, Par 3: Playing to 135 yards tonight at a back pin location. I went with the PW and sent it out there, dead straight and HIGH! Ball flight was amazing, just got up in the air quickly, and came down with a sharp trajectory that had the ball land at stick. I was pin high, and looking at 25 feet or so for my bridie try.
    • I get excited now when I have a short iron shot. 8-PW, I feel like I can put my shot wherever I want it to go. Extreme confidence, and a lot of it has to do with being able to stick my shots when I land the green. I have long worked my way around courses that I play, and focus on getting to the 150 yard marker. If I can get there, I know that my short irons will serve me well and allow me to pull off the shot I want.

I really cant say enough good things about these irons. Having the opportunity to talk equipment with other THPers over this past weekend was great, and I just couldnt say enough about these shafts that I have in my irons. They have absolutely transformed my game, and my approach to shots that I have. Confidence in my short irons is at an all time high, and being able to pull of a tough shot with a long iron is priceless.

Now...for some random thoughts;


  • I played a "Pre-MC Round" in Myrtle beach this past weekend with some of the guys, and I talked about these shafts for a while. During that round, Cookie/SW/DHJKelly all saw first hand what happens when I get away from my "smooth tempo" swing thought with these irons. The results werent great. When I keep with my swing thought and contain my swing, I drop my shots where I want them.

  • During that round, we were about 145 yards out from the pin and I hit a very, very bad 9iron shot. I think Cookie looked at me and said, "What the heck was that?". I dropped another ball, then said, "I need to reread my own reviews, and remember my swing thought." I hit the second shot to prove a point, that shot landed me about 8 feet from the hole. It's all about keeping my swing in sync and getting myself in the proper position to make a solid strike on the ball.

  • During league tonight, after I hit a great 6iron shot, one of the guys asked about my irons. He was playing the Cally X Forged w/ a flighted 6.0 shaft in them. He loved the looks of my irons (loved the green setup!), and wanted to hit them. I explained what I was working with in the KBS Tour 90 shafts, and he hit the same shot from where I had just hit. All he could say was "smooth." He was blown away at the feel of the iron/shaft combo I had, and kept saying that he felt in absolute control of his swing even though the shaft was lighter than what he played.

  • My game is coming around, and I give most of the credit to my iron play. The two bogeys I had in my round tonight came when I didnt hit a green. There is a lot to be said about being accurate when you have an iron in your hand. I cant say it enough, but these have taken my confidence to a new level.

  • Hitting 7/9 greens in 9 holes for me is crazy. I never see those numbers...on 18 holes, much less 9 holes. But tonight, I felt as if I couldnt miss.

I am absolutely thrilled with my current iron setup. Having long wanted to find a way to get my ball flight higher than what it was in the past, the KBS Tour 90 shafts have given me that. I still have my misses, but what I find is that my ball striking has gotten more consistent, and that I can rely on my swing to produce the shot results that I need. I have a few rounds lined up for this weekend, and look forward to getting these irons back out there and seeing if they can continue to help me see awesome results.

Ryan impressive scorecard.
It was cool that you got out with some of the MC players in a warm up round.
I saw your bag in the living room @ the Villa and hoped that we would get some free time to play to see how the shafts performed in your J40's.
Didn't happen perhaps next time.
 
I'm trying to catch up on this thread since the last 10 days have been kind of a whirlwind. I must say I am liking what I am hearing from all of you.
 
I'm kinda worried War might slaughter me the next time we go out and play. That's some impressive GIR numbers right there man and a heck of a score.
 
I'm kinda worried War might slaughter me the next time we go out and play. That's some impressive GIR numbers right there man and a heck of a score.

don't be worried. Just accept that it's going to happen. The guy is on a hot streak right now.
 
I'm trying to catch up on this thread since the last 10 days have been kind of a whirlwind. I must say I am liking what I am hearing from all of you.

Thanks! I think I can speak for all of us in that we are trying to give our honest feedback. Hope tonight's league turns my swing around.
 
I'm kinda worried War might slaughter me the next time we go out and play. That's some impressive GIR numbers right there man and a heck of a score.
Thanks dude. You can still out drive me though.
 
Thanks dude. You can still out drive me though.

I can outdrive everybody if you give me enough chances. [/sarcasm] I probably won't hit 7 GIR's though. Do that on 2 9's and you're going to put up a score more often than not.
 
KBS Tour 90 Shaft Testing
8/5/12 - Full Round


Got out for 18 this morning, early tee time and was running late so I didnt have time to hit the range. This had me worried, as I know when I am not keeping myself within my tempo, that my golf game will suffer. Did some warmup swings on the first tee while waiting for the group in front of us to clear, but not exactly the best way to warm up. I suffered through a few bad holes before I finally started to get my iron swing where it needed to be, once that happened, good golf happened. I was +3 through the first 3 holes, and finished the next 15 at +3.
  • The reason I wanted to bring up the fact that I did not get to hit ANY range balls prior to my round is this; Since putting the KBS Tour 90 shafts in to my irons, I have relied on a smooth tempo in my swing to get me the results that I want. When my swing isnt in tempo, I tend to throw a hitch at the top of my swing and take myself out of position at the impact zone, resulting in a miss. I have learned that even if it's only a few balls on the range prior to my round, it helps set the tone for my swing throughout the round.
Let's look at my round;
rg85.png


My group started on Hole #10 today. As you can see, the first three holes; No greens hit, and all resulted in a bogey. Starting +3 thru 3 holes had me a bit frustrated, but I knew that it was my swing that was causing me to miss. I had to settle myself a bit, and forced myself to take some practice swings before my shots, and focus on the club going back, making a smooth transition from the back swing to the down swing, and then have a nice smooth follow through and finish.

Hole #13, Par 5 (3rd shot); Like I said above, I was +3 thru 3 holes and was frustrated. I hit a decent tee shot here and hit a little layup shot, still sitting 145 yards from the pin. I grabbed my 9iron, and forced myself to take a few practice swings to try to even my swing out so I can get a good shot in to the pin. I hit a nice, high shot that had a sharp trajectory down in to the green with a perfect hop and stop. I was pin high, about 10 feet left of the pin. This was the shot I needed, and once I knew that my swing was going to be working, I was ready to go.
  • Since reshafting my irons, I have found that rather than hitting a bomb of a drive or a long putt to get the excitement level up during my round, I find that nothing gets me more excited during a round than hitting a perfect, high iron shot, landing the green and being close to the pin. After playing poor through 3 holes, hitting this shot close really had me pumped up.

Hole #15, Par 3, 171 yards; Wanted to highlight this shot, for a different reason than normal. It wasnt a good shot...at all, but it worked. This is a rather long Par 3, but only playing at 171 yards today. Had a slight wind at the back so I had 7iron in hand. Like I have been doing over the past few weeks on par 3s, I had the ball on the ground and chose not to go with a tee. I caught my shot slightly thin, and had a lot of feedback when I hit it. Fortunately for me, it still gave me a mid-line drive ball flight, but I knew it would be short. It landed short of the green and had enough go in it to run up the front of the green and settle on it. Left me with a long try at birdie, but if there is such a thing, it was a good miss.
  • I wanted to bring up the point of a miss, for a few reasons. 1. Since changing to these shafts, I have found that my misses (thin/fat) have reduced significantly. 2. Even with this miss, I was still able to get decent results in terms of ball flight and distance, it was not overly penalizing.
Hole #4, Par 4; This is by far my shot of the day. I couldnt have hit it much better than I did. Tee shot left me on the edge of the fairway, 164 yards to the pin on a very small green. I had 7iron, and was aiming right at the flag. Shot had a perfect ball flight, got up quick and had a nice trajectory down in to the green. Landed the green, hopped, bounced forward and stopped, pin high. Was pretty excited about the shot, so obviously I had to snap a picture;
871E47EC-orig.jpg


Analyzing my Round & Random Thoughts;

  • I hit 10 GIR today. Since reshafting my irons, I have seen this stat improve greatly. I attribute that to a couple different factors, but the two that stand out the most to me as helping are; the increased ball flight allowing me to have a sharper angle of descent in to the green, landing and holding the green, and the improved accuracy and control I have with my irons on my shots.
  • I am working hard to maintain an even tempo during my swing with my irons. When I havent warmed up and am "swinging cold", my percentage of miss is much increased. If I try to swing out of my shoes and kill the ball, things get a bit erratic as well. Never have I preached to myself the old saying of "let the club do the work." Moving to a lighter weight shaft, I have found that all I need to do is swing even and make solid contact and the results will be there.
  • I mentioned earlier that nothing gets me more excited right now than sticking an iron shot close on the green. I really cant say how awesome that feeling is, especially when I am sitting 160+ yards out. Those kind of shots arent the norm for me in the past, but being able to attack a green/pin has been something that has been fun to do the past few weeks.
  • Confidence. Right now, that's what it's all about for me. I am comfortable when I have my irons in my hand. It doesnt matter if I am pulling a 5iron or a 9iron, right now I feel that as long as I keep my tempo during my swing where it needs to be, then I cant miss. Obviously, I still have my misses, but it's confidence thing, and right now I have found that in my irons.
Testing iron shafts has been an interesting testing. Honestly, I didnt know where it would take me when I found out I got picked. Would they be a good fit? bad fit? Imrpove my game or make things more difficult? There were a lot of questions I had, but I just cant say it enough of how much these have helped me. I know I said it before, but I almost feel like a walking advertisement for the benefits of lightweight shafts/clubs. At times, I know I can "overswing" and perhaps overpower the shaft, so I do have the question in the back of my head of, as my game improves will these continue to work for me? My first guess is, yes. I have learned through this testing that it isnt about hitting the ball further or how far can I hit this iron or that iron. This testing has taught me to learn my numbers and trust them, that a smooth swing will provide the distance I need out of my club and allow me to control my shot for improved accuracy.

I have league on Wednesday night, and after winning my first ever Closest to the Pin this past week, I am looking forward to doing some more work with these irons/shafts this week. We shall see how it goes...
 
One More Thought...

One thing I forgot to talk about in the review above, was something that I have noticed the past few rounds. When I began testing the KBS Tour 90 shafts, I had also put them in my previous set of wedges to complete the reshafting throughout the entire set, 5-PW, 50*, 55* and 60*. This allowed me to keep my a similar feel through my irons and into my wedges. My wedge and short game was a strength of my game.

Two week ago, I put a new set of wedges in the bag, and all of a sudden I am quite inconsistent with them. Distances are all over the place, Im hitting long and short, high and low, just no two shots are the same. The one thing I can think is that I am switching from my irons with the light weight Tour 90 shafts in them to a wedge that has a heavier head weight and a heavier shaft in the DG Spinner. I am curious if anyone else has any input on how much this would affect my shots. I just dont feel that I am making that consistent contact with the ball on the face of the club as I do with my irons and the wedges I had the Tour 90s in.

My plan for league on Wednesday is to switch back to my previous wedges and see how that goes. I am going to try to get to the range after work Monday or Tuesday for some short game work and will let you guys know how that goes.
 
That's an interesting thought in regards to the wedge shafts. There was a radio show awhile back talking about weight of shafts being consistent throughout the bag. I think it was one of the Hoeflich shows, maybe JB can confirm that.

Nice birdie out of the box too dude.
 
That's an interesting thought in regards to the wedge shafts. There was a radio show awhile back talking about weight of shafts being consistent throughout the bag. I think it was one of the Hoeflich shows, maybe JB can confirm that.

Nice birdie out of the box too dude.
I will have to listen or relisten to that show. I started on #10 today, so the birdie was on my 10th hole, actually, but i'll take 'em wherever I can get 'em.
 
WE, I have found the opposite coming from the stockers in my CG14 wedges. I was extremely inconsistent with clubface contact. I had one Tour 90 put into y gap wedge and left the sand wedge alone. I have the typical sometimes scoopy wedge game with my stock shafts. But now, it seems easier to get the ball up in the air with the Tour 90's. They are are an order of magnitude better than my stock wedge shafts. However, it is interesting for your to see a degrading performance switching from the DG spinner. Are you saying the DG spinner was better or worse? Perhaps the lighter weight Tour 90 is the problem? Do you like the heavier shaft in the wedges?
 
WE, I have found the opposite coming from the stockers in my CG14 wedges. I was extremely inconsistent with clubface contact. I had one Tour 90 put into y gap wedge and left the sand wedge alone. I have the typical sometimes scoopy wedge game with my stock shafts. But now, it seems easier to get the ball up in the air with the Tour 90's. They are are an order of magnitude better than my stock wedge shafts. However, it is interesting for your to see a degrading performance switching from the DG spinner. Are you saying the DG spinner was better or worse? Perhaps the lighter weight Tour 90 is the problem? Do you like the heavier shaft in the wedges?

You have what I am saying backwards, but it's confusing...

What I am saying is; When I was playing the wedges with the KBS Tour 90s in them, my wedge game was pretty good and a strength of my game. About two weeks ago I changed wedges that have the spinners in them, and my wedge game has declined.

So; KBS Tour 90s in my wedges was giving me good results, spinners seem to be giving me fits now. I think it has to do with switching from a light weight iron to a heavy-ish wedge?
 
War you know my thoughts on the matter. Up until recently I didn't pay too much attention to my wedge shafts and just went with spinners. Now I have the same shaft though out my irons and wedges and I like the consistent weight and feel I get from that. I would imagine if you were going from a 90+ gram shaft to a 120+ gram shaft that could have been causing an issue or two.
 
War you know my thoughts on the matter. Up until recently I didn't pay too much attention to my wedge shafts and just went with spinners. Now I have the same shaft though out my irons and wedges and I like the consistent weight and feel I get from that. I would imagine if you were going from a 90+ gram shaft to a 120+ gram shaft that could have been causing an issue or two.
Yes sir, one of the things that has shown me is how important a wedge shaft is. The KBS Tour 90s are 102g and the DG Spinners are 124g. Thats a pretty significant increase, and I think it's just throwing me off. It makes sense when I think about it.

I absolutely loved the Tour 90 shafts in my Nike wedges, and they were working great for me. Back in the bag they go!
 
You have what I am saying backwards, but it's confusing...

What I am saying is; When I was playing the wedges with the KBS Tour 90s in them, my wedge game was pretty good and a strength of my game. About two weeks ago I changed wedges that have the spinners in them, and my wedge game has declined.

So; KBS Tour 90s in my wedges was giving me good results, spinners seem to be giving me fits now. I think it has to do with switching from a light weight iron to a heavy-ish wedge?

Ah gotcha! Perhaps that is the same reason why my sand wedge has been misbehaving badly! Only my gap wedge has the Tour 90 in it and it is much better out on the course. Range sesh during lunch tomorrow will shed some light.
 
Yes sir, one of the things that has shown me is how important a wedge shaft is. The KBS Tour 90s are 102g and the DG Spinners are 124g. Thats a pretty significant increase, and I think it's just throwing me off. It makes sense when I think about it.

I absolutely loved the Tour 90 shafts in my Nike wedges, and they were working great for me. Back in the bag they go!

I'll be interested to see what kind of difference you see.
 
Ah gotcha! Perhaps that is the same reason why my sand wedge has been misbehaving badly! Only my gap wedge has the Tour 90 in it and it is much better out on the course. Range sesh during lunch tomorrow will shed some light.
Yeah, it could be it. I just thought it was me struggling with my wedges, but it really makes sense now that I am thinking about it.
I'll be interested to see what kind of difference you see.
Me too, hopefully I see some improvement back to where I was a few weeks back.
 
That's an interesting thought in regards to the wedge shafts. There was a radio show awhile back talking about weight of shafts being consistent throughout the bag. I think it was one of the Hoeflich shows, maybe JB can confirm that.

Nice birdie out of the box too dude.

Yes sir, one of the things that has shown me is how important a wedge shaft is. The KBS Tour 90s are 102g and the DG Spinners are 124g. Thats a pretty significant increase, and I think it's just throwing me off. It makes sense when I think about it.

I absolutely loved the Tour 90 shafts in my Nike wedges, and they were working great for me. Back in the bag they go!

Question. Is there a way that you can see exactly what the swing weight is comparing the 2 wedge sets? I think I've seen some sort of balance beam device that club builders use to check swing weights would this apply to the wedges?
 
Question. Is there a way that you can see exactly what the swing weight is comparing the 2 wedge sets? I think I've seen some sort of balance beam device that club builders use to check swing weights would this apply to the wedges?
A swingweight scale, I believe it is called. I will see what I can find out at Golfsmith this week.
 
KBS TOUR 90 League Night Struggle

Previous KBS Tour 90 Thoughts:

Range Session: Click Here
Should you replace your shafts:Click Here
Course Testing w/ pics: Click Here
Wedge Range Session: Click Here
Stats Post: Click Here
League Night Thoughts and Results: Click Here

War Eagle and Jersey Nate have been killing the irons and their games are confidence driven with amazing results. Officially, my honeymoon has been over with these shafts. There is a little lack of confidence with the iron game right now. I am struggling a little bit off the tee as well so it is contributing to a so-so result during my rounds. I just wanted to point out the fact that swing flaws cannot be masked by equipment. The ball will still do things on bad swings no matter how good the equipment is.

On hole number 7 tonight I had about 108 to the flag and it is our usual elevated green here. I pulled my 50* gap wedge and completely bladed it. Even though the shot was bladed, the shaft did help the shot get high enough where the ball flew the green rather than a worm burner through the grass. THe result was a ball that hit the green hard and only ended up in the fringe. I can honestly say that if my stock shaft was in my gap wedge the ball would have been about 7 feet off the ground whistling through the green and into the environmental.

I am working on a video that will show my swing flaw (left arm broken down at the elbow, overswing past parallel, and resulting over the top). You can defintely tell at impact my wrist breaks down and I end up scooping the ball. The resulting shaft kick is that the shaft kicks really late in the swing and just like in my avatar, the bend in the shaft happens AFTER impact not AT impact. This results in the typical high scoopy shot that balloons into the air and lands short of the intended distance.

The end result tonight was a round of 40 with only 3 GIR. Still a good result in the league. I have scheduled lessons with GolfTEC coming up and will be using my irons during my lesson package. This will make for some VERY interesting results and a good way to compare other shafts. All in all, pretty decent result, more thoughts to come on the comparison between swingweights in the wedges.

To be continued...
 
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