Matrix DEUS Driver Shaft Review

Matrix DEUS, DEUS Tour and DEUS Tour B Driver Shaft Review

By Russ Ryden, Fit2Score, A Dallas Fort Worth Club Fitter & Club Maker
The Golf Center at the Highlands, Carrollton Texas

Shaft DEUSMatrix DEUS

Shaft DEUS Tour

Matrix DEUS Tour

Shaft DEUS Tour B

Matrix DEUS Tour B

The Matrix DEUS line is new in 2017. It joins a large array of shafts available from Matrix. In this review I cover the DEUS, DEUS Tour and DEUS Tour B. The Matrix website does not give much information about these shafts other than spin ratings. It was discussed with Tom Deshill at the 2017 PGA merchandise show. He did mention the DEUS line was targeted at a lower price range than most previous Matrix shafts.


Lets take a close look at the specs. 

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Russ

To continue reading this section of the review, you must be registered at a higher level membership.
Russ

Matrix SpeedRulz Driver Shaft Review

Matrix SpeedRulz Driver Shaft

By Russ Ryden & Jim Achenbach

Russ Ryden, Fit2Score, A Dallas Fort Worth Club Fitter & Club Maker
The Golf Center at the Highlands, Carrollton Texas

SpeedRulz_A

For more than 20 years, the graphite golf shaft manufacturer known as Matrix has retained something of a cult following among touring professionals and highly skilled amateurs. Many ordinary golfers, though, know more about Matrix the movie than they do Matrix the golf shaft.
But that is changing, thanks in large part to the new Matrix SpeedRulz driver shaft and PGA Tour players Rickie Fowler and Fabian Gomez. In the last 10 months, Fowler has won three tournaments (Players Championship, Scottish Open, Deutsche Bank Championship) and Gomez two (FedEx St. Jude, Sony Open in Hawaii) — all with the SpeedRulz shaft.

To be honest, some of the consumer confusion came from the name of the shaftmaker, which originally was Apache but later was changed to Matrix. K.J. Choi created a buzz in 2004-2005 when he used bright orange Apache shafts on the PGA Tour. Choi later switched back to steel iron shafts, but the Apache/Matrix name was starting to slowly building a following in the graphite shaft universe. Most Tour players, including Choi, Fowler and Gomez, are not paid to use a particular shaft brand. It is simply a matter of individual preference.

Following Choi, the next big assist for Matrix came from TaylorMade, which designated the shaftmaker as one of its primary suppliers.

Now, 23 years after Apache was founded in 1993, Matrix sometimes is cited incorrectly as a new shaftmaker that came out of nowhere. Golf equipment historians know better.

The long-range goal of SpeedRulz is to appeal to amateur golfers of various abilities. To accomplish this goal, three variations of the shaft were devised by chief designer Daniel You. The SpeedRulz A-Type, with weights of 50, 60 and 70 grams, is aimed at golfers with somewhat slower swing speeds. Generally these players would exhibit a swing profile that appears smooth and balanced. B-Type is backweighted — or counter balanced — for a golfer who prefers a longer club or a heavier head. It is slightly firmer in the butt and mid sections and a little softer in the tip. Available in weights of 60, 70 and 80 grams. The low-spinning, low-launching C-Type, used by Fowler and Gomez, is firmer in the tip and slightly softer in the handle. The two weights are 60 and 70 grams. The hallmark of these shafts, according to Matrix president Chris Elson: “All three feel stable, but not boardy. Golfers can go after it without the shaft feeling loose or soft.” Each of the three is widely available for $275 at retail.

multimatchingMatrix has always focused on shaft technology. At Apache golf a unique shaft measuring instrument, the MultiMatch was created and sold to club fitters. It was long regarded as one of the best instruments available to the club making community for understand golf shafts. It was never that popular because of the cost, but those club fitters that own them still use them. It was revised a few years ago, but once again the expense is outside the budget of most club fitters.

Matrix is one of a very few golf shaft companies that make their own prepreg. That gives them the ability to create unique properties. They consistently produce round shafts, a property they call “Circumferential Flexural Integrity”, CFI. For me, consistency around the shaft is one of those go / no go properties. If a shaft is not round, no amount of ‘spining’, ‘puring’ or alignment is going to make it better. If it is round, none of these things matter. The SpeedRulz are round, the average hard to soft side difference was 99.5% with a 0.4% standard deviation. That’s as good as it gets.

The three designs, A, B and C are available in two color schemes, Black and Red. There is no difference between the two paint colors other than color. Here are the numbers and profiles

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The design targets of the SpeedRulz are eloquently described in the video by Chris Elson, president of Matrix Golf Shafts.

Matrix is making its own Prepreg. In southern China, Matrix has built an entire manufacturing headquarters and campus from the ground up. The new facility allows Matrix to make not only shafts, but also prepreg. What is prepreg? It is the material — containing carbon fibers impregnated with resin — used to make graphite shafts. It is manufactured in sheet form and is molded, using a variety of patterns, into graphite shafts.

The new plant is the result of a strategic alliance between Matrix and Toray, the largest manufacturer of prepreg in the world. Matrix, according to Elson, is expecting to have access to unique fiber types for future graphite shafts.

The technical discussion, measurements and testing results are available only to registered readers

 

Matrix Program F15 Iron Shaft Review

Iron Golf Shafts – Matrix Program F15

By Russ Ryden, Fit2Score, A Dallas Fort Worth Club Fitter & Club Maker
The Golf Center at the Highlands, Carrollton Texas

ProgramF15Image
The Matrix Program iron shaft has been with us for some time. The 2015 Matrix Program F15 is a subtle evolution of what has been a very successful shaft. Matrix, acting on club builder input, creating balance points in this version of the Program that will easily build into D2-D3 swing weights. The earlier Program shafts were white. If you had tested the Program and liked it, as many did, you lived with the white. The change to a neutral color, a shiny silver gray, removes an entry barrier for many.

The Matrix Program F15 is available in three weights, 80, 95 and 125 grams. As is typical with most shafts, weight and stiffness are interrelated. One thing you will notice when handling this shaft is the wall thickness. In carbon fiber tubes, wall thickness creates hoop stiffness and torsional rigidity. The Program F15 has both, the torque numbers are as low as it gets, and the hoop stiffness negates any possible ovalizing during the golf swing. That means the head is going to follow your hands. When you square off you hands the head is going to follow. The impact wave coming up the shaft is solid thud.

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Russ

Matrix Driver Shaft Review – REIGH & TIE Fitting System

Matrix REIGH Driver Shaft &
Matrix White Tie, Red Tie, Black Tie Driver Fitting System

By Russ Ryden, A Golf Digest America’s 100 Best Clubfitter
Fit2Score, Dallas Fort Worth, Texas

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The Matrix REIGN shaft is distributed exclusively through Matrix authorized club fitters. It is an elegant looking shaft with a laser etched logo and serial number. It comes in four structures, MCG, MTX1, MTX2 and HDZ. The MGC is the light weight game improvement design, mid to high ball flight and spin for lower swing speeds. MTX1 is slightly counter weighted for heavier heads or longer builds, the flighting and spin are mid range. The MTX2 series is traditionally weighted, and has a stiffer mid and tip section. The HDZ is premium Matrix, employing Boron and Zylon materials for feel and launch control. It is a unique profile emerging in a number of brands. A rapid loss of stiffness high in the shaft with a long stiff tip.

The technical discussion, measurements and testing results are available only to registered readers

The review samples are a subset of the REIGN line. But they are part of a new approach to golf club shaft fitting. Matrix created a 38 shaft system for Matrix Shaft fitters. They provide the fitting shafts and a software package to guide the fitter through the process of using their products of optimize launch and spin. I discussed this system with Tom DeShill, Director of R&D at Matrix Shafts during the 2015 PGA Merchandise show.

MatrixFittingGridThis fitting system also uses the Matrix Black, Red and White Tie shafts review earlier. The fitter finds the best fit in the Matrix Ozik Red Tie, then based on the optimizations target, continues testing with the proper weight and flex selected from the different design profiles to move the launch and spin toward the target.

My kit arrived and is being fitted with Club Conex UniFit tips. It will head to the range for fitting and testing, stay tuned.

Matrix VLCT Driver Golf Shaft Review

Driver Golf Shaft – Matrix VLCT SP & Matrix VLCT ST

By Russ Ryden, A Golf Digest America’s 100 Best Clubfitter
Fit2Score, Dallas Fort Worth, Texas

The VLCT model is the 2014 driver shaft from Matrix Golf Shafts. It is available in two versions, Sp and St. The stiffness on the shaft is shown as a speed rating. A = +75, R = +85, S = +95 and X = +105. My review samples were the original graphic. The name on the shaft is VELOX, that is changing. If you see a shaft labeled Matrix Velox, it is the same shaft, different graphics. The ST version has a stiffer tip to promote a lower launch. 

Matrix uses the term CFI, Circumferential Flexural Integrity for what I call radial consistency. They define it perfectly as ” an innovative layup method devised to insure a shaft’s flexing properties are consistent around the 360 degree circumference”. I checked a total of 18 shafts and found the radial consistency at 99.0% with a 0.7% standard deviation. Those numbers translate into a shaft that can be installed in any orientation. The shaft is suitable for rotating hosels. Alignment will add nothing of value to the performance of the Matrix VLCT shafts.

The technical discussion, measurements and testing results are available only to registered readers

I had a chance to talk to Tom DeShiell, Director of R&D at Matrix Golf Shafts at the 2014 PGA Merchandise show. He discussed all the 2014 models.

 The Velox 60 gram ST shaft is stock in the 2014 TaylorMade JetSpeed TP driver. At $400 retail for the driver, that is a great bargain, considering the retail price of the shaft alone is $375.