[nicsherman]

We are going to be getting some of these for the shop. The claim is 30%-40% greater accuracy. Anyone??
Shotmaker
Thanks.

[Shambles]

nicsherman, on 05 June 2011 - 11:57 PM, said:

We are going to be getting some of these for the shop. The claim is 30%-40% greater accuracy. Anyone??
Shotmaker
Thanks.

I think you had best try it first on a shaft that is excessively tip active and see the degree of stiff that is added. It's too easy for the thing to make the tip too stiff and therefore useless. You might also find the thing impossible to remove after it has been applied and the owner who was trying to save a $ 400 shaft might be a little upset.

I can accept that it makes changes but it's rather important to know the degree of change that will be introduced before applying the change. That thing could change the shaft characteristics beyond the strength level of the owner.

I also doubt simply stiffening the tip improves accuracy for anyone except the person who needs it, and again there is the matter of degree. It might be easier to just tip the shaft and add a butt plug to restore length, depending on the shaft characteristics.


Shambles

[nicsherman]

Exactly my thoughts. The website claims that the insert has a negligible effect on trajectory or stiffness. I can't wait to find out.

[Shambles]

nicsherman, on 06 June 2011 - 12:52 AM, said:

Exactly my thoughts. The website claims that the insert has a negligible effect on trajectory or stiffness. I can't wait to find out.

I would very much appreciate some pictures of the manner of installation and of the insert itself.

This is a first for me and I'm left wondering how it can be tested independent of the hand feel. Would a flex board help ? At the moment I can't think of any testing that can be done other than the hand.


Shambles

[MyGolfSpy]

We will be getting one of these to review for you guys. Spoke with them at length regarding the "shotmaker". Will be interesting to see the results.

[nicsherman]

MyGolfSpy, on 06 June 2011 - 04:30 AM, said:

We will be getting one of these to review for you guys. Spoke with them at length regarding the "shotmaker". Will be interesting to see the results.

Cool. We should have ours by Tuesday.

[radtech]

Any results yet?

[nicsherman]

radtech, on 15 June 2011 - 07:09 PM, said:

Any results yet?

We have installed it, and are in the preliminary stages of testing. Initial results are quite surprising. There have been 8 testers so far, and only 1 has not seen a dramatic increase in accuracy and an increase in distance. Waiting for a larger sample size before giving it the true thumbs up, but so far, so good.

[Benchmade]

Mine should be here tomorrow. I have yet to find anything that Harrison makes to be gimmicky. 30 day guaranty is hard to beat too.

[wdgolf]

This seems to be yet another alternative to FLO + Spine finding or PUREing. Anything I'm missing here?

[Benchmade]

So far i have hit the range with two drivers and three shafts. Superfast "1.0" with stock shaft. And a Supertri with stock Motore and a GD "G" series shaft. Long story short i got the best results with the GD G series setup. Second was the stock Supertri shaft and third was the Burner. I really didn't feel or see any improvement in the Burner. We all know it can be an unwieldily club to begin with. If this was my only driver to have the SM in i would have sent it back.

In the Supertri though. Amazing results. I'm not a fast long hitter. My Avg drives are around 180 longest 190ish. This is also marked at my range. Yesterday was the first time i was able to reach the back of the range 200y+. My shots were lower due to the lower spin. The Supertri is known as a high spin head. Like others have said it feels more solid without loosing the load of the shaft. My next step is to try it in my 3 wood.

I'm sold so far.

[GolfSpy T]

I considered doing a video, but I figured I start simple, so here's a picture of the Harrison Shotmaker next to a grip so everyone can get a better idea of the actual size. From what I've gathered in speaking with Harrison is that fitting can be a bit tricky. Figuring out someone's swing speed is simple enough, but figuring out the 2nd factor of a proper fitting, Angular Velocity, can be a bit difficult.

Now if you're sitting here saying to yourself, "What the F*!K Angular Velocity", you're not alone. Angular Velocity is basically the amount the wrist turns (measured in degrees per/second) immediately before impact. I can tell you with certainty that my average swing speed is between 103 and 107 MPH. I can also tell you that I have no idea what my angular velocity is (although given my propensity to hook the ball, I expect it might be on the high end).

Regarding wdgolf's question about the Shotmaker being an alternative to, or similar to spine & FLO or Puring, the short answer is no. Spining, Puring, etc. are all about aligning the shaft along the Neutral Bend Plane (allowing the shaft to bend and return to it's natural position along a flat line (no wobble). Even with the NBP aligned, there is still distortion that occurs on impact. Think of it as a wave, or what what it looks like when a whip cracks. When the shaft isn't pured, that whip-like effect would have a twist to it. With a pured shaft it's flatter, but the distortion still occurs. My read on things is that the shotmaker provides additional internal stability, which basically limits or eliminates the wave-like bowing that occurs on impact...sort of like sticking a broomstick handle inside of a pool noodle.

Manufacturers have tried different techniques to help stabilize the shaft, with the most common being to simply make the tip stiffer. The Shotmaker can reportedly (we haven't started testing yet) dramatically improve stabilization (which means better accuracy and distance), without having the questionable feel of an extremely stiff tip.

There have been questions regarding feel and swing weight. Harrison tells me there is no change in feel whatsoever. The insert does raise swing weight by one point, however; if you install the optional grip cap, it balances out.

Installation is incredibly simple. Just slide the insert down the shaft. Once it settles as far down as it slides naturally, a telescoping torque wrench is used to tighten a screw, which expands the insert just enough to hold it in place. Removal is equally as simple. As I said, there is a locking grip cap. You can also use a plug with some glue. When either is in place, the Shotmaker is USGA legal. The insert is just slightly more than paper thin so you do need to be careful when handling it.

Attached image(s)

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[Shambles]

I thought that thing was going into the tip. As it turns out, it goes much higher up the shaft closer to the grip, and is held in place by friction. By the description, I'm reminded of a fancy shaft extender I used on one of my wedges. It was also carbon fiber and seemed fragile when I first looked at it but the butt end of a shaft gets almost no pressure of any significance in normal use. That one apparently goes much lower and looks to be designed to act as an additional layer of carbon fiber for the shaft. At the bend point, it will act as a stiffener.

If a guy just wanted to do a little bit of home fine tuning, that seems an alternative to buying a slightly stiffer shaft, or pulling a shaft tipping and extending and then re installing the shaft, provided it stiffens the shaft at the place the player wants it and to the needed degree.

If it were available locally, I might pick one up to try it out.


Shambles

[GolfSpy T]

Shambles, on 23 July 2011 - 05:02 AM, said:

I thought that thing was going into the tip. As it turns out, it goes much higher up the shaft closer to the grip, and is held in place by friction. By the description, I'm reminded of a fancy shaft extender I used on one of my wedges. It was also carbon fiber and seemed fragile when I first looked at it but the butt end of a shaft gets almost no pressure of any significance in normal use. That one apparently goes much lower and looks to be designed to act as an additional layer of carbon fiber for the shaft. At the bend point, it will act as a stiffener.

If a guy just wanted to do a little bit of home fine tuning, that seems an alternative to buying a slightly stiffer shaft, or pulling a shaft tipping and extending and then re installing the shaft, provided it stiffens the shaft at the place the player wants it and to the needed degree.

If it were available locally, I might pick one up to try it out.

Shambles

Perhaps I wasn't completely clear in my description. The shotmaker slides down the shaft, and will ideally sit just 6 to 8 inches above the hosel. When you inset the shotmaker the red screw should be loose. When the shotmaker has slid as far down the shaft as it will go, a telescoping torque wrench (extends to somewhere in the ballpark of 36") is used to tighten the screw, which expands the top of the shotmaker enough to hold it securely in place. The grip cap, and butt-end stuff are optional because they 1) Provide easy access to the shotmaker 2) offset the swing weight added by the shotmaker. Because the grip cap is locking and requires a tool to modify, it makes the configuration USGA legal. It is possible to install the shotmaker in a "fresh" shaft, and simply put a new grip on the club, but if it were to come loose, you'd need to pull or cut the grip to get at the insert.

A couple of other quick points...

The Shotmaker won't work with all shafts. It definitely won't work with uneven bore shafts like the Aldila VooDoo or an angular bore like the Matrix HD. It also won't work in shafts that have less taper than the insert. Currently the Shaftmaker is only available for shafts with a tip diameter of .335, which probably rules out many OEM shafts. Harrison is working on a compatibility list. We're going to be testing this in Harrison's new Mugen Black shaft, and a couple of others if the Shotmaker proves compatible.

[Shambles]

What does this thing cost ? I'll be looking forward to your review.


Shambles