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VA Composites SLAY Shaft - THP Review

Nippon Shafts
Canadan said:
The review for the SLAY is complete and will be on the homepage soon.

My takeaway is more in the mid-high launch with mid spin realm of the spectrum, with Raijin being the more appropriate shaft for those looking for greater stability through the swing and lower spin overall. I think with the right driver pairing, the launch will align well with what people are seeking in the mid spectrum. More importantly, I had AMart using this a fair bit, and it truly helped as he is a golfer who needs some extra spin and some extra launch to be successful. After playing much of the year with a Hashimoto, it's unlikely that SLAY will be leaving his 12.5 degree Epic setup any time soon, as the launch was so much better. It got to a mid to mid-high flight (for him) in a great line, and then had a great descent in the mid 30s which will almost always promote forward roll.

Overall I believe SLAY will fit a lot of golfers, and the softer tip section provides plenty of feedback through the swing.
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Good stuff Dan. Having played a round with Amart he and I had a pretty similar ballflight. This one has me intrigued since it sounds like such a good fit for him.
 
JB said:
Played this shaft yesterday and have to say I love the look of it, like the feel of it, but not sure anything else. I want to preface this by saying that I dont mean that positively or negatively, just couldn't make a lot of sense of it. A quick shaft change had me hitting the ball a little longer, but I was seeing about 500 more rpms of spin from this on average to a few others I have been working with.

I think in the right hands this could be a really solid option, like a few others, but I am not sure I am the right guy.
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Softer bend profile than the Raijin, according to Victor. It fits guys like me in R or S Flex in the 55 or 65 (want high launch, not much spin, early to mid release with some kick). I am getting high launch, not too much spin and extra distance. Would also probably make a great fairway shaft with the softer tip.
 
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I won this shaft from the VA Composites SLAY Contest. I received from JB about a week ago and finally put an adapter on for my Cobra F7 Driver head. I will be taking it out for a spin tomorrow at my local course. It is the 55 Three regular flex. Before I installed the adapter I called Victor at VA to discuss the flex and what I could expect if I tip trimmed it 1/2" or 1". He said it would play like the stiff shaft if I trimmed it 1". He recommended I trim it 1/2" to start. It just feels like it has more flex than the VTS Silver regular flex shaft I have in my driver now.

So tomorrow will be my first test with this shaft. Just a casual round so I can hit a couple balls on each tee. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow afternoon.

My swing speed is about 95 so this should be interesting.

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Ok, first round completed with this shaft. My first thought on the first tee was this shaft looked awesome with my Cobra F7 driver head. Then I proceeded to hook my drive almost OB. No problem. It took me a few tees to get used to the whippie feel of the shaft. My second drive on the 3rd tee was straight down the right side with mid flight. I was impressed with the distance since I usually never make it to the top of the hill on this par 5. So my drive was about 250 yds total uphill. For rest of the round, I was quite impressed with this shaft. I wasn't always in the fairway but the distance and height of drive was pretty impressive.

I think I am going to tip trim it by another 1/2" to make the shaft a little more stiff. I am playing again on Monday so I will share my thoughts again.

Forgot to add that my driver setting is at 10.5° and using mid-side MCC Plus 4 grip.

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Second round today with this shaft. I was crushing the ball today with no modifications from the first round. I was hitting my drives about 20-30 yards past the other three in my group. The flight of the ball was higher today, I guess I am getting used to the shaft. The shaft has a lot of flex to it. More than I am used to. Still playing my driver at 10.5 degrees. I was hitting more draws today. I have not hit a ball OB yet with this shaft. Something I normally do once or twice during a round. The guys I was playing with said I was crushing the ball. I am not a real longer hitter but I was definitely getting better length with this combo. I would really like to hit a 65 gram SLAY shaft.

I really don't want to take this shaft out of play right now. I am impressed that it has high flight and quite a bit of roll out. I usually never reach the 16th hole at my course but today driver and 5 wood made the green. I parred it!:act-up::act-up::act-up:

I am going to tip trim it another 1/2" to see how it handles. I am afraid to do it because I may lose what I am getting now.
 
I actually tip trimmed the shaft another 1/2" today. I will be trying it out sometime later this week.

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Good stuff so far, J-pin!
 
Ordered another SLAY 55 03 for the Epic and had Will Peoples tip it .25 inches (my SS is approx 90-92 avg, need to measure it again) -- on the range yesterday for the first time. Wow. It's a range monster.

Compared to untipped Ping G400 at 9 deg, the Epic at 9.5 had less of an arc, tighter dispersion, yet still a mid-high flight (and straight). And that was slightly into the wind with a strong right to left wind. Still felt smooth and lively. Another guy at the range was watching me and said, "You're looking good" -- no one ever says anything to me on the range. We will see if it translates to the course. If the shaft doesn't work initially on the course, it's me. Tipping was a night-day difference - retained all the good, got rid of the bad, with the benefit of added distance by my senior eyes. Will send the G400 shaft for the same treatment.
 
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Desmond said:
Ordered another SLAY 55 03 for the Epic and had Will Peoples tip it .25 inches (my SS is approx 90-92 avg, need to measure it again) -- on the range yesterday for the first time. Wow. It's a range monster.

Compared to untipped Ping G400 at 9 deg, the Epic at 9.5 had less of an arc, tighter dispersion, yet still a mid-high flight (and straight). And that was slightly into the wind with a strong right to left wind. Still felt smooth and lively. Another guy at the range was watching me and said, "You're looking good" -- no one ever says anything to me on the range. We will see if it translates to the course. If the shaft doesn't work initially on the course, it's me. Tipping was a night-day difference - retained all the good, got rid of the bad, with the benefit of added distance by my senior eyes. Will send the G400 shaft for the same treatment.
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Sounds like a fun combo that I'd like to try too. Hopefully the Epic/Slay combo translates well for you on the course!
 
shanewu said:
Sounds like a fun combo that I'd like to try too. Hopefully the Epic/Slay combo translates well for you on the course!
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Worked very well on the course today - lots of fairways, with distance.
 
Been a few since I posted.

As I said in a previous post, I tipped the shaft another 1/2" and it seems to have given me the results I wanted. I am hitting most fairways until my swing gets in the way. The flight of the ball seems to be about the same (mid/high) but the dispersion is tighter. I am getting more of a draw flight than I was with my other shaft.

The bad news is our local course (La Contenta) just closed because of financial problems. I don't know what will happen because there are so many rumors going around. Now I have to travel about 30 miles to play on the nearest course. Not happy! I guess I will be hitting into my net in the backyard. I may have to invest in Track Man like system. Notihng too expensive but something.

I am playing tomorrow if the rain doesn't ruin my plans. I will give another update after my next outing.
 
Played this shaft on Sunday, 55 03 (R flex tipped .25 inches) at 45 inches, in an Epic set to 9.5. Hit 11/14 fairways, the tipping made a difference as to less dispersion while still retaining all the smoothness and kick of the shaft with a nice mid-high trajectory - leveled out the steepness of the arc both ways. I think the 03 or R flex in the 55 is good for swingspeeds in the 80's. As you approach the upper 80s and into low 90's - as I am - I would suggest tipping, depending on your tempo and release.

It's a great value shaft at $180-200 with an adapter. The only shaft I've liked better for my swing is a TPT Golf Prototype Series 18 - but that's $700 and is not yet available ... and it's $700 ... and it's ...
 
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Played again yesterday and getting about the same results with this shaft. The ball flight is mid/high and a tight draw to the ball. I really like the feel of this shaft. I would like to know the numbers I am getting but no Track Man in the area. I did get some pretty long drives with it. I would say about 230-240 yards for my swing speed. I would recommend you try this shaft when you are getting fit. I was pleasantly surprised with the feel and results. I am not playing until after Christmas but I will post again.
 
J-Pin said:
Played again yesterday and getting about the same results with this shaft. The ball flight is mid/high and a tight draw to the ball. I really like the feel of this shaft. I would like to know the numbers I am getting but no Track Man in the area. I did get some pretty long drives with it. I would say about 230-240 yards for my swing speed. I would recommend you try this shaft when you are getting fit. I was pleasantly surprised with the feel and results. I am not playing until after Christmas but I will post again.
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I was getting fairly low spin numbers with it at 1/4 inch tipped at my 88-91 SS - around 1700-2100 on trackman. Still got it up high, and not falling out of sky.
 
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Desmond said:
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I was getting fairly low spin numbers with it at 1/4 inch tipped at my 88-91 SS - around 1700-2100 on trackman. Still got it up high, and not falling out of sky.
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I seem to hit stiff shaft better than regular. I hit 10/14 fairways yesterday. My swing is a mess right now but it will be ready in a couple months.

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J-Pin said:
I seem to hit stiff shaft better than regular. I hit 10/14 fairways yesterday. My swing is a mess right now but it will be ready in a couple months.

Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk
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In the same boat. Taking lessons since March on a regular basis - every 2-3 weeks. It messes up your rounds - 3 more months and we'll see where we are. Apparently, my practice swings are perfect. It's when I address a ball that matters go sideways. My path is excessively in to out, having done the Haney swing to right field when they needed to tell me to cut the ball. Now I'm trying to cut the ball to exaggerate and get a zero path, which on the course will will 2-3 deg in to out, which is fine.

As to the Slay, for the money, it offers great value. I had an Isawa Red 55 Stiff that was tipped - and it was too much for me. Need to sell it and its 3 wood brother. Wonder if it would get something similar to the Slay in a regular, tipped. Victor designed them both, I believe. But I think the SLAY is meant for slightly higher launch and less spin.
 
Desmond said:
In the same boat. Taking lessons since March on a regular basis - every 2-3 weeks. It messes up your rounds - 3 more months and we'll see where we are. Apparently, my practice swings are perfect. It's when I address a ball that matters go sideways. My path is excessively in to out, having done the Haney swing to right field when they needed to tell me to cut the ball. Now I'm trying to cut the ball to exaggerate and get a zero path, which on the course will will 2-3 deg in to out, which is fine.

As to the Slay, for the money, it offers great value. I had an Isawa Red 55 Stiff that was tipped - and it was too much for me. Need to sell it and its 3 wood brother. Wonder if it would get something similar to the Slay in a regular, tipped. Victor designed them both, I believe. But I think the SLAY is meant for slightly higher launch and less spin.
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I played the other day, getting same results. I really like this shaft. I seem to be hitting more fairways which is making golf more enjoyable. Lol. I have never spent over $150 for a shaft but this shaft would be worth it. I like the higher launch and less spin. Since I tipped it an inch the flight isn't as high so I am happy with that. I am playing Thursday and Saturday so I will see if the same results continue. I will let you know.
 
Glad this got bumped...need to remember it's on my ponder list. :D And at such a good price point too.
 
i've been playing the SLAY 55 03 tipped with the Epic at 9.5 in the Dominican Republic this week -- as my swing path has improved, I am getting more a consistent mid-high, straightish flight that I sometimes stop to admire. It's been awhile since I did that. Shaft is smooth and consistent.
 
Tested the Slay 55 03 (R) in my Rouge Draw Driver. Like the feel of the shaft. To me it felt really stable

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