range experiment swapping shafts

McLovin

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wall of text, but i wanted to share with some people who might actually care since i don't have any friends who are as big of a golf nerd as i am.

2015 has turned into the great shaft experiment. in 2014, i played 3 shafts: made-for aldila rip phenom 55g r flex in my r1, accra cs1 60 m3 (short-lived when tragedy struck and it broke), and ys six nano reloaded s flex. i've really enjoyed the nano reloaded, but when i found out that the r1 adapter also works on the rbz stage 2, sldr, r15, and adams xtd, the wheels started turning and i began to identify shafts with different manufacturers that i wanted to try. over the last month or so i've purchased the following:

- accra cs1 60 m4 (59g, 3.9 torque): i was fitted for the 60 m3 last year. after 5 rounds with it, my bag fell over and the shaft snapped. to accra's credit they gave the retailer a refund, but i took the opportunity to get fitted again and was put in a graphite design tour ad mj 6sr, but opted for the nano reloaded because $. i had mixed success with this in its short life, with my miss being a push slice, but when i was on i was hitting piercing drives and i could swing confidently. my ss has increased since i was fitted, so i bumped up a flex.

- miyazaki kusala white 56 s tour issue (54g, 4.0 torque): i've always loved the look of miyazaki, and i feel like this shaft has a good presence on the lpga. though i don't have the right plumbing to play on the lpga, i feel that my swing and numbers are more like theirs than the pga players. i read up on their different offerings, and mined thp for some info. i saw a lot of people rave about this shaft, and its high launch profile closed the deal. also got a great price on the bay.

- matrix red tie 6q3 s (67.5g, 3.1 torque): identified matrix as a solid producer i wanted to test, and mined thp to see a lot of people loved this shaft. i've been interested in the adams xtd driver for awhile, and when i found out a) the tip adapter is compatible with my r1 and the r15 if i want it someday, AND its stock shaft is a real deal (not made-for) matrix red tie 6q3, i bought the driver brand new for pretty much the same price i could buy just the head on the bay, and a lot less than i would pay to buy just the shaft.

- aldila tour blue 65 s (69g, 3.7 torque): i was fitted for this shaft in a driver last year, but passed because $. but i put it in r flex in my 3w, and love the launch profile.


the wife took the kids to wdw last night, so i left work around 7pm and went to the range for the 10-combo test: r1 head with each shaft and xtd head with each shaft. my plan was to hit 5 balls with each combo then switch. for some context, my ss is now in the 100-102mph range, spin is anywhere from 1,500-2,500, la usually around 12-14*. all tips were installed at 10.5* (the neutral setting for each driver head). the confounding variable is that not all the grips were the same, and because these were purchases on the bay, there's no telling how whether and how many wraps there were under each grip (some did feel "thicker" than others). here are my rankings after this first test:

5) graphite design ys six nano reloaded. i probably didn't give enough to this combo since i already own it and it wasn't new and shiny and fun, but dispersion wasn't great and well-struck shots weren't going as far as i wanted. on the course results tend to be better than range results with this shaft. well struck shots start at the target and fall away with a cut. ball flight is more of a rainbow shape. tighter dispersion in r1.

4) accra cs1 60 m4. lower initial launch angle, piercing flight when hit well, but lacked tightness in dispersion. the boardiest of the shafts. just feels like you really have to work to load it. interestingly and i can't really explain it well, but of all shafts this produced the best center-face contact the most consistently. but swings without perfect launch conditions and aoa suffered. ball flight was flat with some planing. tough to nail down a preference in heads, but would probably go with xtd since it spun a bit more and was a little hotter.

3) miyazaki kusala white 56 s. it is really tough to call this the 3rd best in my lineup because i loved it so much. there were some shots that i could see off the face out of the corner of my, and they EXPLODED. high, towering bombs. left bias, but not in a bad way. my miss with a driver is when i lay the club off too much in the downswing and flip through impact for a low ducking hook. the lightness of this shaft made me very aware that this miss was a possibly, so i had to try hard to not make that swing. ball flight was high initial and rising but still penetrating, and good descent angle. this shaft produced very well on mishits. tough to say which combo i liked better, they both performed brilliantly.

2) matrix red tie 6q3 s. almost a coin flip between this and the kusala as #2 vs #3. shockingly tight dispersion with this shaft, and very consistent ball flight even on horizontal and vertical mishits. a couple times i expected a shot to be a bomb and it came up a little shorter than expected, but in all great results. flight was lower initial than the kusala, but climbed and planed with a shallower descent angle. could easily see this one carrying well but still bounding forward. my biggest complaint is that it feels like you really need to work to get this shaft to load. i'm not sure that's the case, but it felt like it, although the ball really exploded off the face. preferred in xtd.

1) aldila tour blue 65 s. this feels like a steel pole. so heavy. my first swing with this shaft was in the r1, and when i hit the ball and watched the flight i laughed out loud at the amazing results, then started looking around hoping someone saw what was quite possibly the best drive i've ever hit in my life. mid/high initial trajectory then fights to climb even higher with a good descent angle. shot after shot with this was straight bombs. as heavy as the shaft is, it feels like the tip is really responsive and whips through impact to give great launch conditions. great results in both heads, but would probably lean toward xtd because of the hotter face and slight increase in spin.


as someone who is NOT strong, and doesn't have that fast of a swing speed, it's interesting that i work so much better with heavier shafts in my driver. i think for me the trick is a heavier shaft but with a soft, responsive tip to help initial launch conditions. i had so much fun last night and didn't want to leave. if you made it through the wall of text, thanks for reading!
 
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We all respond to weight differently for sure. I watched some of that in person during 9 Wilson fittings. Some liked lighter and others did much better with a little more heft.

Good post caelric. I'm a big fan of the Tour Blue. To me it's not exceptionally heavy, but that's a familiarity thing on my part having played around that weight range for an extended period of time. I will say that it's maybe my favorite feeling driver shaft. Nice pop through impact.
 
It was pretty easy to make it through that wall of text....interesting reading. Seems like you eliminated enough variables to get some really good data. Now my question is.... how long until you go back and spend more time with a particular shaft/head combo and tinker with different settings to see if you can maximize each combos potential? Would be interesting to see if you could come up with some optimal settings for some of your lower ranked shafts that would move them up your preference list.

I currently own 3 shafts that work in my Stage 1 RBZ driver. The most detailed comparing I have ever found time to do is just taking one extra in my bag and swapping out during my pre round warmup. Have always wanted to spend some time with all 3 and different settings and really find out if I can gain a little extra. Maybe I can distract Daddio during our round Sunday for long enough to sneak his launch monitor out of his bag for a week or 2.... hahaha
 
Now my question is.... how long until you go back and spend more time with a particular shaft/head combo and tinker with different settings to see if you can maximize each combos potential? Would be interesting to see if you could come up with some optimal settings for some of your lower ranked shafts that would move them up your preference list.

hopefully not too long! i want to test the lower-performing shafts with a little more loft on the driver to hopefully mitigate the lower initial launch but take advantage of the low spin characteristics. it would also be interesting to see whether the left bias in the miyazaki can be mitigated by moving the weights around in the head. the weights are currently set to draw bias in the r1.

I currently own 3 shafts that work in my Stage 1 RBZ driver. The most detailed comparing I have ever found time to do is just taking one extra in my bag and swapping out during my pre round warmup. Have always wanted to spend some time with all 3 and different settings and really find out if I can gain a little extra. Maybe I can distract Daddio during our round Sunday for long enough to sneak his launch monitor out of his bag for a week or 2.... hahaha

it's so much fun, and so eye-opening. the fortunate thing is that i lucked out and had a pretty consistent ball-striking evening. i don't really have access to trackman or flightscope to get real numbers on anything, but i can compare carry distance and ball flight.

my next step will be to get everything re-gripped with the same grip and give it another go. of all the grips, the tour blue 65 felt like it had extra wraps, and it was a boccieri secret grip. my preferred grip is standard golf pride tour velvet bct full cord.
 
Great post, I am actually going to the range today to do something similar with the Rogue S and KK X stiff shafts in the Z 545 Euro head. Got to get this puppy dialed in or it is going to the Bay and a 815 or XR Driver will be taking it's spot in the bag.
 
Good post, sounded like you had some fun.
 
Dubsdread isn't that bad right now is it?

the range is always a dump. the course is in good shape though.


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hopefully not too long! i want to test the lower-performing shafts with a little more loft on the driver to hopefully mitigate the lower initial launch but take advantage of the low spin characteristics. it would also be interesting to see whether the left bias in the miyazaki can be mitigated by moving the weights around in the head. the weights are currently set to draw bias in the r1.



it's so much fun, and so eye-opening. the fortunate thing is that i lucked out and had a pretty consistent ball-striking evening. i don't really have access to trackman or flightscope to get real numbers on anything, but i can compare carry distance and ball flight.

my next step will be to get everything re-gripped with the same grip and give it another go. of all the grips, the tour blue 65 felt like it had extra wraps, and it was a boccieri secret grip. my preferred grip is standard golf pride tour velvet bct full cord.

Wonder if that boccieri secret grip had anything to do with your success? Maybe you are in need of more total weight on your drivers?
 
The beauty is today it is so easy and inexpensive to tinker. I just picked up another shaft for $49 to try in my Ping Anser driver. Love that it only takes a minute to swap out shafts with today's drivers.
 
Wonder if that boccieri secret grip had anything to do with your success? Maybe you are in need of more total weight on your drivers?

I had that thought too! so of course I am now in secret grip ponder mode...


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I had that thought too! so of course I am now in secret grip ponder mode...


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if a secret grip works couldn't the same thing be achieved by putting on a watch? Secret grips use a 17 grams back weight while my watch weighs 150 grams. Just an idea.
 
Wonder if that boccieri secret grip had anything to do with your success? Maybe you are in need of more total weight on your drivers?

I think the grip could have helped. They are supposed to counterweight a club to help keep it on plane or something. I did the same on my favourite wedge that I do all my varied touch shots with and it really makes a difference for me. Just took 3 quarters and a rubber cap and I've kept it on since.
 
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