Graphite Design Tour AD XC Golf Shaft Review

Graphite Design Tour AD XC Golf Shaft Review

By Russ Ryden, Fit2Score, A Dallas Fort Worth Club Fitter & Club Maker
The Highlands Performance Golf Center, Carrollton Texas 
Golf Digest Certified America’s 100 Best Club Fitter

The Graphite Design Tour AD XC is an update of the Tour AD BB design. The Tour AD BB design is still available while several other models have been discontinued. That speaks to the success of the design. One of the teaching pros I work closely with has the BB in his gamer driver. As materials evolve so must the shafts built with them. The Tour AD XC uses 50 ton ultra premium carbon fiber as was used in the BB. New is TORAYCA MX40 pre-preg and TORAYCA T1100G NANOALLOY pre-preg in the mid and tip regions for increased stability and feel.

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

Graphite Design Tour AD GT Golf Shaft Review

GRAPHITE DESIGNS TourAD GT DRIVER SHAFT
RANGE TESTS OF THE TourAD DI, DJ, BB, GT

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

GD TourADGT Image
GD AD BBvsGT EIReleased in 2013, the Tour AD GT is intended as a higher launching design than the Tour AD BB released in 2012. That was confirmed in our range testing when the proper weight and flex were used. The torque measurements were right between the Tour AD DJ and the Tour AD BB.  The bend profiles are consistent from shaft to shaft. The Tour AD GT like the Tour AD DJ have slightly stiffer midsections as the increase in weight and stiffness.  This is different from the Tour AD BB which maintain exactly the same profile from weight to weight, and flex to flex.

The technical discussion, measurements and range tests are available only to registered readers

This video is Mark’s comments on the feeling from the 8 shafts we tested.

Graphite Design Tour AD DJ Golf Shaft Review

GRAPHITE DESIGNS TOUR AD DJ DRIVER SHAFT

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

GD TourADDJ Image

The Graphite Design Tour AD DJ was the second shaft released in the current Tour AD series. It followed the original Tour AD-DI and was designed to promote a lower launch by stiffening the tip. GD AD DIvDJ EI.fw

The technical discussion and measurements are available only to registered readers

Diamana B-Series Golf Shaft Review

 Mitsubishi Diamana B-Series Third Generation Blue Board

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

Diamana B Images

The third generation of the Mitubishi Blue Board, the B-Series released in late 2012. The original graphics show on the bottom is sold in Asia. A revised graphic, the top image, toning down the floral pattern is sold elsewhere. Same shaft. The Blue Diamana was to my knowledge the first of the Diamana Family of shafts.  My first encounter was in a Taylor Made TP driver.  It was the beginning of a long lasting relationship.  The Diamana Blue profile has been one of Mitsubishi’s best sellers.  It is butt stiff / mid soft / tip stiff.  The profile has been copied by most brands as one of their models.  The second generation Diamana Blue was the Kai’li.  It was the first of the Mitsubishi Diamana shafts to use a wrapping technique called Multi Dimensional Interlay.  Diamana B MDI image.fwAll the the second generation Diamana’s, the Kai’li, Ahina and ilima featured stiffer tip sections than the first generation designs which resulted in longer sections of uniform stiffness.  The Kai’li refined the original Diamana Blue profile with a slightly stiffer butt and tip.

Diamana B EiProfiles In all the Mitsubishi Shafts, weight and stiffness from shaft to shaft ascend uniformly.  That means the 70 S shaft is stiffer than the 60 S as you can see in this illustration. This makes it easy for a fitter to move from weight to weight, knowing the bend profile of the shaft does not change. Not all brands follow this design choice. Some change profile with weight.

 The third generation Diamana Blue takes the stiffness of the design up a notch.

Diamana B vs Kaili.fwWith the release of the KuroKage model in 2012, Mitsubishi introduced a high density prepreg using more fiber and less resin. The PR talked about adding strength by changing the proportion of fiber to resin. This technology is now being used in the third generation Diamana B-Series. . What I see is a 10 gram weight reduction. The 50 gram B-Series is the same as the 60 gram Kaili. Same stiffness, same bend profile, but 10 grams lighter. Look at the previous chart to understand this.  Recall how the Mitsubishi shafts ascend in weight and stiffness.  Now, just ratchet the profiles up a notch, lighter is now stiffer. And I am now fitting the player I would have put into the 60 gram Kai’li into the 50 gram Diamana B.  The Diamana-B series in available in a wider weight range than former models.  50 gram R, S and X flex shafts are now available.

Where we do see a difference is in torque. The 50 gram shafts have 1/2 degree more torque than the 60 gram models. Still in an acceptable range, 3.0 tip, 4.2 butt in the 50 S. As shafts get lighter, they generally need more torque to transmit feel. With the mix of Kai’li and the B-Series in a fitting cart, the Mitsubishi fitter has an interesting range of options in the search for the perfect fit. The Blue Board design is the a perfect fit for the golfer with a quick tempo and aggressive transition. I view it as a neutral launch, not biased toward high or low. With the addition of a 50 gram model, the gap between the Ultra Lite driver shafts and the typical 60 gram shaft has been bridged.

Diamana B EiGj Table

UST Mamiya Recoil Prototype Iron Shaft

UST Mamiya Recoil Prototype Iron Shafts – Ascending Weight Taper

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

Recoil_Image

TourSPXTransparetLogo.fw

In the recent past, composite iron shafts were not looked on as something suitable for strong, low handicap, competitive golfers. The idea that composite, aka graphite, iron shafts belonged in the bag of a tour pro is still hard for many traditional minded golf professionals to accept.  Then, Brandt Snedeker comes along and wins the 2012 FedEx Cup with composite iron shafts in his bag. Composite has arrived and the composite shaft companies are delivering tour quality shafts.

The UST Mamiya Recoil ascending weight iron shaft is one such golf shaft. It released in 2013 through the UST Mamiya TourSPX dealers. I first saw this shaft in its prototype version two years ago. This review is about the ascending weight taper shafts. It does not apply to the parallel shafts available to the general public. I have not yet looked at those shafts. 

The technical discussion and measurements are available only to registered readers

Michael Guerrette, Senior Director of R&D discussed the Recoil with me at the PGA 2013 merchandise show.

Recoil_Set_Certification

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

True Temper Dynamic Gold Golf Club Shaft Review

True Temper Dynamic Gold, Dynamic Gold SL & Dynamic Gold Sensicore

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

DG RSX LabelsNo overview of golf shafts would be complete without a discussion of the True Temper Dynamic Gold Iron shaft.  It has been with us for a long time and does not change. Its not as exciting to review as some of the new technology we see, but it remains the number one iron shaft on the PGA tour.

The EI profiles show three different shaft designs, Regular, Stiff and X-Stiff. This is not what we see from most other companies. Their patterns are consistent from weight to weight, flex to flex.

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

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