LA Golf Bryson Proto Shaft

Adapter curing/grip on ready to go this weekend and I couldn’t be happier to get the Bryson proto experiment rolling.
 
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Out for some swings tomorrow! Excited to get this in play!!
 
Looking forward to your thoughts. We talked to Oly a lot about “nerd ****” (his term) and it has me interested in your specific testing.
 
Was able to take the Bryson shaft out for a run today. After testing out the Olyss first, I wanted to see if I could notice the differences in the shafts. And boy, was I (and my golf group) able to see and feel it. I installed this straight in and butt trimmed to 45" and I kept the settings the same as the Olyss (heavy weight forward, S/D) in my Epic Sub Zero. Off the first tee from the switch, the flight was noticeably lower than Olyss. Immediately, though, I hit it off with this model in the 65 TX variety. 3/4 fairways hit and the one that was missed was because I hit it straight through the dogleg on the initial hole. Next hole, a long straight par 5 where the right side needs to be hugged to set up for a clean shot into the green....288 measured and couldn't have dropped it in a better spot. Fast forward to the 4th and final hole of the day, another long par 5 measuring just over 500 yards. Playing some downwind and we havent got rain in a while, but I nestled it in the fairway and had only 185 yards to the middle pin. The feel is incredibly stable, which some might interpret as a little boardy or harsh, but I absolutely love the confidence it instills after a couple swings and seeing/feeling the results. Im trying to find a comparison to a shaft I've used in the past, the closest I can come up with would be HZRDUS Black, but with a tuned up feel. I cant wait to get this out again and hopefully find a way to get some solid launch #s for a worthy review.
 
Wanted to get something out there for everyone regarding the tech specs on the new LA Golf Bryson Dechambeau prototype that I've been given the opportunity to test. Shot an email over to John Oldenburg (Oly) to get the specs, and I actually got a whole lot more. Here are the basic specs of the shaft:

Bryson 3VD-1 65 Tour X
Weight – 69 grams
Torque – 3.2 degrees
Frequency – 280 cpm
Tip Stiffness – 84 mm (stiff)
Tip O.D. – 0.335 (3.0 inch parallel)
Butt O.D. – 0.630 (tapered, butt O.D. is 0.600 at 10”)
Balance Point – 22.7 inches from butt end (49% - standard)

In emailing with Oly, he said that the Bryson proto differs from every other shaft on the market (to his knowledge) in it's bend profile. Before getting to how it differs, Oly explained how it came to be working with Bryson on it. He is all about stability and consistency in his driver shaft preferences, he wants something that is going to react the same way every time he makes the same swing. Knowing how particular Bryson is with his swing, this made perfect sense. He's looking for something that helps mitigate head path, face angle and misalignment when there are variations in his swing. Which is why the 3VD-1 was created the way it was-- but since Oly is much smarter than I am, I'm going to copy and paste what he sent me:

"You can see from the specs that the Bryson proto is stiffer overall (about 5 cpm) and in the tip (8-10 mm) than either the OLYSS or the TPOC products that I have sent to the other testers. The most unique feature of the Bryson proto is the bend profile. It is the only shaft I have ever designed, and the only one that I am aware of that is actually stiffer in the middle third of the shaft than it is in the butt end. Typical EI curves for shafts slope down from the butt end toward the tip (EI is a measure of localized stiffness based on the stiffness of the material E, the modulus of elasticity, and the cross sectional shape of the beam/shaft expressed in terms of an area moment of inertia, I). Many shafts then level off at the tip or even rise between the middle third and the tip. The Bryson proto increases in stiffness from the butt to the mid section of the shaft before decreasing from the mid section to the tip (but, the tip is still pretty stiff compared to most shafts). It is designed for the high ball speed player that is looking to reduce launch and spin and decrease swing to swing dispersion. I have attached a comparison of the EI profile for the Bryson 3VD1 proto vs my new OLYSS product to show you visually what I am talking about – in case you care."

Bryson Proto.PNG

The last piece of this that Oly mentioned was the proprietary tooling that was used to lessen the harsh feeling you'd expect from the shaft. "This particular cross sectional shape not only aids in stabilizing the cross section during bending, but helps attenuate high frequency vibrations as they move up the shaft after impact. This unique tooling, along with the fact that the shaft is softened slightly directly beneath the hands, helps to give this very stiff, very stable shaft a better feel. Don’t get me wrong, it still feels stiff, but not as harsh as it would feel built on standard shaft tooling."

I actually managed to get out to the range tonight for about 45 minutes tonight specifically to give this a quick couple of swings. Full disclosure I helped my daughter move today so I was sore and didn't have my best swing. Anyways enough excuses, I'm playing the HZRDUS Smoke in XS that's in my sig below in a Cobra F9 head. The Smoke to me is extremely smooth, and coupled with the F9 head has given me an additional 5-7 yards distance over my previous driver. The immediate feeling I got with the 3VD-1 was that it felt like I was swinging Thor's hammer. It was noticeably more stiff, but it gave me a good feeling of where the head was at during my swing. A couple crap swings and then all of a sudden things just clicked as my body started getting used to the shaft. Drive after drive hammered dead straight and about the same distances that I've come accustomed to with my gamer HZRDUS in the head. I will say that in the few that I measured with my G80, I was seeing 260 carry- 285 roll give or take. (Range balls in play) and again no change in normal dispersion with a few fliers here and there.

All in all the first very quick experience with the 3VD-1 was positive and I look forward to getting it on the course tomorrow.
 
Unfortunately life got in the way this weekend and my Sunday round was cancelled. Out for 9 on Wednesday and hopefully another trip to the range this week.
 
jlew2144;n8875206 said:
Unfortunately life got in the way this weekend and my Sunday round was cancelled. Out for 9 on Wednesday and hopefully another trip to the range this week.

Bad luck. Hope you have a good 9 tomorrow. Really looking forward your feedback. Just to pass along some tour talk, Bryson has been working with the 65 gram version of his shaft on the range this week. He has been playing the 75 gram version since Harbour Town. I haven't had a chance to talk to him (I try to leave him alone on tournament weeks), but I'll let you all know the results and if he makes the switch.

Best,
Oly
 
So, is the 3VD-1 and TPOC two completely different designs? I saw H8tobogie referenced that the TPOC was a competitor to the Tensei Pro. What would the 3VD-1 compare to closest, if anything?
 
radiman;n8875867 said:
So, is the 3VD-1 and TPOC two completely different designs? I saw H8tobogie referenced that the TPOC was a competitor to the Tensei Pro. What would the 3VD-1 compare to closest, if anything?

I'm sure Oly will reply with the full technical details, but I will have the 3VD-1 in hand and will be able to compare it directly to the TPOC by next week. I have to order a new adapter and get it set up over the weekend. Can't wait to try the 3VD-1!
 
radiman;n8875867 said:
So, is the 3VD-1 and TPOC two completely different designs? I saw H8tobogie referenced that the TPOC was a competitor to the Tensei Pro. What would the 3VD-1 compare to closest, if anything?

Yes, the TPOC and the Bryson 3VD1 are completely different animals. They have significantly different flex profiles, different torque values, built on different tooling with different materials. For a quick summary:
The 3VD1 is stiffer in the mid section and the tip than the TPOC.
The TPOC is stiffer in the butt than the 3VD1
The TPOC is slightly lower in torque than the 3VD1
The TPOC is built on standard parallel butt tooling, while the 3VD1 is build on proprietary HD (hexadecogonal - 16 sided) tooling

The TPOC is a low/mid launch, low spin design that would compare favorably with other parallel butt designs such as the Tensei, Hzrdus, Ventus, etc...
The 3VD1 kind of stands alone. I wouldn't really know what to compare it to. Maybe a T1100 or Atmos Black on steriods but with good feel.

Hope this helps!

Oly
 
Shafted;n8876030 said:
Yes, the TPOC and the Bryson 3VD1 are completely different animals. They have significantly different flex profiles, different torque values, built on different tooling with different materials. For a quick summary:
The 3VD1 is stiffer in the mid section and the tip than the TPOC.
The TPOC is stiffer in the butt than the 3VD1
The TPOC is slightly lower in torque than the 3VD1
The TPOC is built on standard parallel butt tooling, while the 3VD1 is build on proprietary HD (hexadecogonal - 16 sided) tooling

The TPOC is a low/mid launch, low spin design that would compare favorably with other parallel butt designs such as the Tensei, Hzrdus, Ventus, etc...
The 3VD1 kind of stands alone. I wouldn't really know what to compare it to. Maybe a T1100 or Atmos Black on steriods but with good feel.

Hope this helps!

Oly

Thanks for breaking that down Oly. Appreciate you taking the time to be so available here.

Looking forward to continuing feedback from the testers.
 
Shafted;n8876030 said:
The 3VD1 kind of stands alone. I wouldn't really know what to compare it to. Maybe a T1100 or Atmos Black on steriods but with good feel.

Hope this helps!

Oly

This has me all kinds of exited to try the 3VD-1!
 
H8tobogie;n8876091 said:
This has me all kinds of exited to try the 3VD-1!

Just got the notification from UPS that your Bryson Proto 3VD1 has been delivered. Good luck. Can't wait to hear your feedback!

Oly
 
Shafted;n8876893 said:
Just got the notification from UPS that your Bryson Proto 3VD1 has been delivered. Good luck. Can't wait to hear your feedback!

Oly

Just got home and yessir, she’s here! Will get it setup before the end of the weekend. Thanks, Oly!


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Got the opportunity to put this in play tonight in my league. We played just after a monsoon came through and intermittent rain so very little in the way of rollout. Used driver on 5 holes tonight and was in the fairway for 3 of them. The other two were not penal, in the first cut.

Initial impressions from my first 9 holes with this in play:

Looks- Subtle would be the best way for me to describe it. I wanted to snap some pics on the course but as I mentioned the rain didn’t allow for it. Those will come soon though.

Launch- I typically see mid to high ball flight with my Smoke and the Synergy I played last year. With the 3VD1 the ball was launching lower than my Smoke. Not worm burning low, but a low piercing flight that is what I prefer.

Feel- As I said in the initial write up, it’s definitely stiff but doesn’t have the rebar feel. It felt fairly smooth to me and gave me the connected feeling with the head.

Performance- No rollout tonight as a result of the rain we got, but I was seeing distances similar to the norm for me. Somewhere in the 240-250 range and dispersion was solid as well. My typical straight to small fade was in full effect tonight and it was pretty well point and shoot

Very small sample size but so far so good with the 3VD1. I’m heading out of town Friday and unfortunately will not be taking my clubs. No golf for me over the next 10 days but will get this back out to the course as soon as possible.
 
Just completed my first round with the TPOC Proto shaft in an M5 Head. My launch is typically mid and my spin has been very under control lately with my normal shaft (the MCA Tensei Pro Orange). I was seeing the same out of this shaft. Mid launch and nice spin control.

I normally carry the ball in the 280 range but can get some out past 300 when I’m swinging well. I used this club on 9 holes today, I only hit 4 fairways but the others were just barely off the fairway and quite playable. I was not spraying the ball. My shortest was about 280 and got 2 out past 315-325 range. And one at 300 into a one club wind on 18. That’s about all I have in the tank but I normally don’t see my slight misses out that far. So big check mark for dispersion and spin control.

Feel was smooth and I feel mostly connected to the head during the swing. I say mostly because I am seeing some slight fades out of this shaft at times. Not bad and I have been changing my grip lately so it may just be that. I will do a comparison day on the range soon to see if it carries over to the Tensei.

All in all, this is a fantastic shaft. I much prefer it to the HZRDUS Smoke (a really good retail shaft) and feel it is pretty interchangeable with the Tensei Pro Orange, which is high praise as that shaft has a big following and has been in the bags of some of the top pros on tour (Tiger and Rosie come to mind). More to come including some launch monitor data soon.


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H8tobogie;n8878011 said:
Just completed my first round with the TPOC Proto shaft in an M5 Head. My launch is typically mid and my spin has been very under control lately with my normal shaft (the MCA Tensei Pro Orange). I was seeing the same out of this shaft. Mid launch and nice spin control.

I normally carry the ball in the 280 range but can get some out past 300 when I’m swinging well. I used this club on 9 holes today, I only hit 4 fairways but the others were just barely off the fairway and quite playable. I was not spraying the ball. My shortest was about 280 and got 2 out past 315-325 range. And one at 300 into a one club wind on 18. That’s about all I have in the tank but I normally don’t see my slight misses out that far. So big check mark for dispersion and spin control.

Feel was smooth and I feel mostly connected to the head during the swing. I say mostly because I am seeing some slight fades out of this shaft at times. Not bad and I have been changing my grip lately so it may just be that. I will do a comparison day on the range soon to see if it carries over to the Tensei.

All in all, this is a fantastic shaft. I much prefer it to the HZRDUS Smoke (a really good retail shaft) and feel it is pretty interchangeable with the Tensei Pro Orange, which is high praise as that shaft has a big following and has been in the bags of some of the top pros on tour (Tiger and Rosie come to mind). More to come including some launch monitor data soon.


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Great to hear man. Great thoughts and I'm looking forward to seeing the numbers.
 
Excited for more info on this one.
 
After watching the video JB posted above, I'm curious on something. Oly said that this design is significantly stiffer in the mid section than it is in the butt. If it's not something that has really been done before, I'm wondering if you testers have noticed that in any way. If so, do you feel like it effects the performance in any way good or bad?
 
I have been traveling for work for the past week but will be back to testing both the TPOC and the Bryson shaft this next week.


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Good morning- Back from vacation and back to the golf course tomorrow night. Looking forward to getting the Bryson shaft back out to the course this week as normal rounds resume for me. Apologies for the lack of updates, just got the shaft right before a 12 day family vaca.
 
jlew2144;n8891297 said:
Good morning- Back from vacation and back to the golf course tomorrow night. Looking forward to getting the Bryson shaft back out to the course this week as normal rounds resume for me. Apologies for the lack of updates, just got the shaft right before a 12 day family vaca.

Can't wait for the feedback. Best of luck. Oly
 
Ok got back in town, and got the adapter and grip installed on the Bryson shaft. Set the club up at 44.75” for my Epic Flash SZ Head. I haven’t swung in a couple of weeks but made it out for a brief session tonight. I will have some more thoughts coming soon, but I was getting along pretty well with this shaft by the end. I was struggling at first, shaking some rust... and felt like I wasn’t loading the shaft as much as I’m used to. That was a welcome change as the shaft felt very stable and connected to the head. The shaft felt very nice despite being so stable. I need some more time with it, but so far I like the performance!


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Got out this evening for league and put the Bryson shaft in play. First time playing in about 14 days so was a touch rusty, but drove the ball extremely well. Managed to hit 3/4 fairways this evening with the driver and again we've gotten substantial rain the past two days, so the fairways were a bit soggy and provided minimal roll out. The distances that I did see this evening, mimicked what I've come accustomed to with the Smoke.

I've got two rounds for sure this weekend, with a 3rd being possible depending on mother nature. Going to let a couple buddies put a few swings on it this weekend to see what they think, but so far the 3VD1 and myself are getting along swimmingly. More to come!
 
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