Fitting

[Bruiser]

18 handicap

Stayed down. Released The club head and took it to the target. Right heel up meaning weight shifted to left side at impact.

Look at the right shoulder at impact. Stayed inside not out the left.

For all of this to work, the shaft has to react properly.

7 shaft profiles were used of the same shaft until the right one was found. "I feel like I can't miss" is what you experience.

The face tape shows results of 22 driver impacts.

The right shaft will change your game.

[GolfSpy WD]

Cool info, but what did you test and what did you wind up with?

[Bruiser]

Used the fitting set for launch300 driver shafts. Made up of three TM slider heads 9.5. 10.5 and 12. Same Shaft 8 different performance profiles Big Red Shaft 62grams med torgue. Same Shaft 6 performance profiles Big Blue Shafts 67grams low torgue

 

After trying 7 different Big Red and Big Blue shaft with the same 9.5 slider head, the proper fit was found. 22 balls were hit resulting in the face tape pattern posted.

Other shafts were then tried afterwards but out of the 14 choice none produced the face tape pattern like the one posted. In fact, most were all over the face.

 

I will also comment, the slider head is the most forgiving head I have ever used.

Also, I have modified the Slider 12 degree head and made it 10grams lighter. It performs much better for lower swing speeds.

[revkev]

Used the fitting set for launch300 driver shafts. Made up of three TM slider heads 9.5. 10.5 and 12. Same Shaft 8 different performance profiles Big Red Shaft 62grams med torgue. Same Shaft 6 performance profiles Big Blue Shafts 67grams low torgue

After trying 7 different Big Red and Big Blue shaft with the same 9.5 slider head, the proper fit was found. 22 balls were hit resulting in the face tape pattern posted.

Other shafts were then tried afterwards but out of the 14 choice none produced the face tape pattern like the one posted. In fact, most were all over the face.

I will also comment, the slider head is the most forgiving head I have ever used.

Also, I have modified the Slider 12 degree head and made it 10grams lighter. It performs much better for lower swing speeds.

On that last note do you find that the slightly lighter head lends itself to a shorter shaft?

[Bruiser]

No, this drivers are 45.5". Lighter head still has a good head feel but let's you gain swing speed without arriving late at impact with an open face. Tour players are the only ones who can get the lighter heads. I have a source to obtain the the lighter weights for the slider heads and lighter weights for the R1. The R1 normally has a 10 gram heel weight which prompts hooking for better players.

 

The head is 10 grams less which is 5 swing weights lighter. With the 62 gram shaft, the club comes out to D2 to D3 swing weight which is ideal for slower swing speeds. I find lighter shafts have greater dispersion patterns. These shafts have a special winding pattern that controls dispersion better than your standard wrapped shafts. But, with all that said, the parallel portion of the shaft, is what determines the performance of a shaft. The difference of an 1/2" more or less can make a huge difference in finding the center of the club head. Little know fact, because most driver shaft specify no tipping, insert as is. This is like the erroneous Statement , 4 or 5 flexes fit all golfers.

[sp0rtsfan86]

Bruiser- what is the best way to find a fitter for shafts. Most of the places I've been too are stock shaft or other...

 

I'm specifically thinking of chaining up my woods in the offseason, and live a few hours away from Hotstix golf but wanted to know what you think is the best way to find a good fitter for shafts.

[Bruiser]

Explanation. When We hand a golfer one of our shafts, he or she had no idea they just hit a double X shaft. They get the results with out the harsh feel of stiffness. We see the results on the monitor and actual ball flight. When Handing that golfer a shaft that is just an 1/2" more or 1/2" less parallel than the one he feels is the one he can't miss, brings him out of center impacts and different results . It's that sensitive. We slice that one shaft into 8 pieces on big red and 6 pieces on big blue. 14 different flex performances. We take as much as 4" off the parallel section. We are able to do this because of the tech and material used in the modification of "Steel Fiber" manufacturing process. There is a reason why Steel Fiber is the number one played graphite iron shaft on all tours. If all shafts were able to do this system, there would be more golfers enjoying their game. This means less golfers giving up the game.

We don't sell shafts, we sell more love for the game.

[RookieBlue7]

Tour players aren't the only ones that can get the lighter heads or the toe cap with the screw. You just have to know where to go when TMag sells out on their Vault site. Anyone can get the weights, toe cap or lighter heads. Just depends on if you're willing to pay for it or know how to modify them.

 

Also, manufacturers will provide you with any shaft tipping information you need. You just have to ask. For example, Fujikura, depending on shaft, will tell you how much to tip their shafts to account for the adapter. They will also tell you how much to tip their shaft to increase CPM by a numerical value to the desired or needed CPM number. I've called True Temper/ProjectX/Grafalloy, Matrix, Mitsubishi Rayon, Graphite Designs, Aldila, Fujikura, etc and gotten this info on many occasions without issue.

[Bruiser]

I have demoed golfers with every shaft on the market. You don't get the point. No One, knows what to order till they find it by hitting it. No One. It is the shaft that you feel like you can't miss and it may take a 4" tip to find it. No One has ever tip a Driver shaft that much because it feels like a board. With the "Steel Fiber" modification you don't feel it but you get the benefits of the stiffness. I find, stiffer shafts produce more center face impacts, more swing speed, better dispersion.

The point is also, just a little bit of adjustment in the parallel will mean golf haven or golf hell lol

 

But don't take my word. Go tip an old driver shaft 4" and see how feels.

 

I have 10 gram slider weight in lieu of the 20 gram that is standard. The standard slider head weighs 212 grams. Nike and other heads weigh 200 grams. Would love to have more of a supply. Could you post the link?

[RookieBlue7]

Contact Will Peoples at The Peoples Clubs.  He can get any weight you need.  If memory serves, they're around $100 for the replacement weight(you reuse the blue weight cover), toe cap and toe screw.  TaylorMade released limited numbers of lighter heads through The Vault as well.  EDIT: Just checked and they're $80 shipped if the numbers I'm looking at are correct.

And yes, I can tell you exactly what CPM number fits me best.  It's 267 CPM's, and it's the right number in every shaft I've used for the last 5 years, and there's plenty.  The flexural stiffness number is the same for me across every shaft I've tried and fit into, the launch characteristics are the only difference for me, and the launch characteristics are dependent upon the head that's chosen.  My PX Handcrafted, right now, is trimmed exactly to 267 CPM's, and it took a 12 degree 430cc head (12.3 degrees of actual loft) for me for the SLDR 430 for that shaft and head combo to be mated.  I also trimmed the weight to 14 grams(by shaving the back side of the weight down) and it swingweights out at D3.5, which is my preferred swingweight.

I will say the SLDR headweight seems to be all over the map.  I've seen them from 205 grams up to 222 grams.  They, evidently, just slap a weight on there, nothing consistent.

[Bruiser]

My weights are $35 with the blue cover.

$80 is high but thanks for the info.

 

Good luck . But are you sure your maximized? The only way to know is to compare. This golfer as an example found his match. Then went up 1 more, just a 1/2", the spin was really bad.

We have had this shaft since 2006 and have always had great results. When the new head tech arrived , we learned a lot about what works best. Fitters have tipped shafts in the past but not to this extreme. We never know what shaft will maximize the golfers driver swing. Some times it doesn't make sense but it works.