Project X HZRDUS Smoke Shaft

[trlgolf]

The Smoke and the Black are two different animals. The Smoke is much more playable than the black is for most people. Not that this applies to your case but they really took a shotgun approach with the Smoke to make it fit a broader spectrum. In the past the HZRDUS lines were made to fit one specific player regardless of flex but now you'll see the Smoke launch it higher in softer flexes and be more torquey which is why it should be a very popular stock shaft offering.

You can always try to source a head and then pick up a used Smoke to cut the cost down a little. M3 head and Smoke shaft is a good combo.

 

[mpeterson]

The Smoke and the Black are two different animals. The Smoke is much more playable than the black is for most people. Not that this applies to your case but they really took a shotgun approach with the Smoke to make it fit a broader spectrum. In the past the HZRDUS lines were made to fit one specific player regardless of flex but now you'll see the Smoke launch it higher in softer flexes and be more torquey which is why it should be a very popular stock shaft offering.

You can always try to source a head and then pick up a used Smoke to cut the cost down a little. M3 head and Smoke shaft is a good combo.

i was coming in here to say something similar - this is what Don told us out at THCE. The smoke is intended to play better across the spectrum than the black is. That said, the changes mentioned were focused more on the 5.5/6.0 flexes (which is what a lot of the guys in the room were or at least should be playing)

It will also swingweight a bit lower, since the black was super tip heavy. So that could be a noticeable change.

 

[trlgolf]

I've seen about a point or two difference between the swing weights of the Smoke and the Black and then the EF T1100 swing weights 3 or 4 points heavier than the balk. I did a lot of building with these lines at first but once the market got flooded with OEM stock shafts the aftermarket died. It was a good month or two run in the aftermarket but now I haven't installed one in a couple months.

Wish they would throw the PFC dealers a bone and figure out how to make some Handcrafted versions again. I've got a lot of customers who will pay a premium for something actually made in the US.

 

[Alez367]

I've seen about a point or two difference between the swing weights of the Smoke and the Black and then the EF T1100 swing weights 3 or 4 points heavier than the balk. I did a lot of building with these lines at first but once the market got flooded with OEM stock shafts the aftermarket died. It was a good month or two run in the aftermarket but now I haven't installed one in a couple months.

Wish they would throw the PFC dealers a bone and figure out how to make some Handcrafted versions again. I've got a lot of customers who will pay a premium for something actually made in the US.

I’m sure with hzrdus smoke yellow being released next month through PFC dealers only you’ll see a rise in installs again.


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[trlgolf]

I’m sure with hzrdus smoke yellow being released next month through PFC dealers only you’ll see a rise in installs again.


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I haven't heard if we are going to have access to the Small Batch versions or not.

The problem I've noticed with the HZRDUS Smoke Yellow is the butt is extremely fat and I get quite a bit of negative feedback with shafts like that. It's like .660" and I usually get some push back at shafts with .640".

 

[Dannywer]

The Smoke and the Black are two different animals. The Smoke is much more playable than the black is for most people. Not that this applies to your case but they really took a shotgun approach with the Smoke to make it fit a broader spectrum. In the past the HZRDUS lines were made to fit one specific player regardless of flex but now you'll see the Smoke launch it higher in softer flexes and be more torquey which is why it should be a very popular stock shaft offering.

You can always try to source a head and then pick up a used Smoke to cut the cost down a little. M3 head and Smoke shaft is a good combo.

So what I'm getting from this thread is that the overall reception to the hzrdus black has been negative?

I've noticed a few pros playing it - I like a low penetrating ball flight as I dont have any problem getting the ball up if I need to, just want something that gives me low spin numbers and consistency.

 

[trlgolf]

So what I'm getting from this thread is that the overall reception to the hzrdus black has been negative?

I've noticed a few pros playing it - I like a low penetrating ball flight as I dont have any problem getting the ball up if I need to, just want something that gives me low spin numbers and consistency.

Both the HZRDUS Black and the HZRDUS T1100 have a bad reputation for bad feel. They produce good numbers if you're looking for low launch and spin but they just feel bad to most people. They specifically designed the HZRDUS Smoke to feel better than the Black. I think the original HZRDUS Yellow did better than the black because it was a touch softer and had a little more torque.

 

[Alez367]

So what I'm getting from this thread is that the overall reception to the hzrdus black has been negative?

I've noticed a few pros playing it - I like a low penetrating ball flight as I dont have any problem getting the ball up if I need to, just want something that gives me low spin numbers and consistency.

So if you were fit into the smoke profile why not trust what you did during your fitting? Are you thinking the numbers were wrong?


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[jlew]

So if you were fit into the smoke profile why not trust what you did during your fitting? Are you thinking the numbers were wrong?


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That’s not very internet golfer-like now is it? Haha

 

[Ram-Rod]

I played the HZRDUS Black Handcrafted for a while before moving to the AD TP. It was boardy, but it was easy to control and was a spin killer (spin was almost too low at times).

I recently tried the Smoke and it was much smoother and easier to load than the Black. It isn't as much of a "spin killer" as the Black, but its still fairly low spin.

 

[OITW]

I enjoyed mpetersons proto smoke so much, I chose this shaft for my Morgan Cup driver.

During the winter on the different launch monitors it seemed that I was getting too much spin out of it.

So I tried the HZRDUS yellow and kept going back and forth between the two - but ultimately after an outdoor round settled back on the Smoke good launch good distance and good accuracy (tour length)

After reading up on the Smoke Yellow, I definitely think I need to try this one

 

[Molten]

My first go with the smoke has been amazing. I put them in my 3 and 5 woods and I’ve seen some easy yardage gains and a fair bit of control that I didn’t have in my last set.

The smoke launches a bit higher than the yellow in my driver and it’s a great combo. Still pretty darn low/low but not as much as the yellow.

 

[jim54]

I went up a flex and it really is the best of both worlds in the 3 wood for me, great launch and control.

 

[OITW]

I went up a flex and it really is the best of both worlds in the 3 wood for me, great launch and control.

Did you go to a 6.0 or 6.5?


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[jim54]

6.5

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[Jimmy3864]

Having never hit either a Hzrdus Black or Smoke, does anyone know why Srizon would have gone with the Hand Crafted Hzrdus Black as their stock offering in the Z785 if the Smoke is more appealing to the general golf community? I'd be curious if anyone has maybe tried both shafts in the Z785 driver? I see they do offer a bunch of no-charge stock shaft options plus you can pay an upgrade cost and select from a few other shafts but the Smoke is not even offered either way?

 

[Dannywer]

So if you were fit into the smoke profile why not trust what you did during your fitting? Are you thinking the numbers were wrong?


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No I loved the feel of the hzrdus smoke and would go with that in a heartbeat, just found a good deal on an m3 with the hzrdus black shaft and am curious how much of a compromise I'd be making and how comparable the 2 shafts are. From what I gather I'd be making a big compromise in feel by going with the black but the numbers should be similar?

 

[jim54]

To me the straight in Black handcrafted played much stiffer to flex or just the profile played stiffer for me as I played a Black in my driver at 5.5 and really enjoyed it and the smoke would have to be 6.5 but that is just me and my weird tendencies.

 

[trlgolf]

No I loved the feel of the hzrdus smoke and would go with that in a heartbeat, just found a good deal on an m3 with the hzrdus black shaft and am curious how much of a compromise I'd be making and how comparable the 2 shafts are. From what I gather I'd be making a big compromise in feel by going with the black but the numbers should be similar?

The Smoke will spin more and launch a little higher and the feel is quite different. For most people the ball speeds of the Smoke are a little faster as well.

If the Smoke is a good fit for you the Black will probably not be a good fit unless you go down a flex and lighter in the Black.

The reason they made the Black so stiff is in the past Grafalloy couldn't get any shafts in play on the Tour because they played really soft to flex. It was great for the consumer but not for most of the guys on Tour.

 

[trlgolf]

Having never hit either a Hzrdus Black or Smoke, does anyone know why Srizon would have gone with the Hand Crafted Hzrdus Black as their stock offering in the Z785 if the Smoke is more appealing to the general golf community? I'd be curious if anyone has maybe tried both shafts in the Z785 driver? I see they do offer a bunch of no-charge stock shaft options plus you can pay an upgrade cost and select from a few other shafts but the Smoke is not even offered either way?

I haven't hit both in the Z785 but it is a great deal if the HC Black fits you. Callaway uncharges $250 for the same shaft to the Epic Flash ends up being almost $300 more expensive with that shaft in it.

It would make sense to but a lower spinning and launching shaft in the Z785 because that's what that head is built to do. The've got the HZRDUS Red in the Z585 because that's the head that will appeal to the slower swing speed masses.

 

[mpeterson]

Having never hit either a Hzrdus Black or Smoke, does anyone know why Srizon would have gone with the Hand Crafted Hzrdus Black as their stock offering in the Z785 if the Smoke is more appealing to the general golf community? I'd be curious if anyone has maybe tried both shafts in the Z785 driver? I see they do offer a bunch of no-charge stock shaft options plus you can pay an upgrade cost and select from a few other shafts but the Smoke is not even offered either way?

I know Srixon has gotten some kudos on forums and in advertising about using the handcrafted line as stock so part of it could be marketing - there’s a large segment of folks that, despite the people who actually design the shafts saying the non HC versions are the same materials and design don’t believe them. So part of it could be that. I also don’t remember if that line predates the Smokes availability.

 

[trlgolf]

I know Srixon has gotten some kudos on forums and in advertising about using the handcrafted line as stock so part of it could be marketing - there’s a large segment of folks that, despite the people who actually design the shafts saying the non HC versions are the same materials and design don’t believe them. So part of it could be that. I also don’t remember if that line predates the Smokes availability.

The non HC and the HC versions are the exact same materials and the exact same design. The HCs are just done here by hand with tons of quality checks where the nonHCs are done in China. It really wouldn't make sense to pump money into designing an entirely different shaft and then charge less for it. They also don't use any exotic materials in the HC version so it really wouldn't save much by watering down the materials in the nonHC version. Quality checks and manpower cost money hence the higher price.

 

[OITW]

Smoke was grooving pretty well in my 18 holes today.

Really glad I went with it. The profile for me is comfortable, good spin and good launch.

 

[Dannywer]

The Smoke will spin more and launch a little higher and the feel is quite different. For most people the ball speeds of the Smoke are a little faster as well.

If the Smoke is a good fit for you the Black will probably not be a good fit unless you go down a flex and lighter in the Black.

The reason they made the Black so stiff is in the past Grafalloy couldn't get any shafts in play on the Tour because they played really soft to flex. It was great for the consumer but not for most of the guys on Tour.

Fair enough. Thanks to all of your input I ended up purchasing an x-stiff 70g smoke. Found it new on ebay for 150$ shipping and everything in . Now just to find a cheap M3 head!!

 

[Dannywer]

Fair enough. Thanks to all of your input I ended up purchasing an x-stiff 70g smoke. Found it new on ebay for 150$ shipping and everything in . Now just to find a cheap M3 head!!

150$ Canadian that is lol, super good price, didnt expect to find it that cheap up here in the north