Cobra SpeedZone with VA Composites Vylyn Shaft

[SGFarms]

My last driver upgrade was about 8 years ago...not much money was being thrown at my golf game coming out of college. I’d bought a Callaway RAZR Fit Tour 8.5 with a stock shaft that I learned to hit reasonably consistently but the distance just wasn’t there. I don’t expect to ever hit Phil-esque seeds or Bryson bombs, but I did feel like I was leaving some distance on the table. And that 10-20 yards felt like a huge difference. Spoiler alert, I was right. I finally took the plunge, trusting Club Champion after they nailed my iron fitting a few years ago. Same results here.
 

I’ve had the Speedzone for a few months now, and I’m hitting it on average 15 yards further than that old Callaway. I love the way the ball jumps off the face. I can affirm what I’ve read from other sources, even my miss-hits turn out considerably better. Like maybe-way-out-of-the-fairway-but-still-over-235 better (I average about 265-270 with this baby). The sound is scintillating...there’s that resonant “tink” with just a hint of smash on every. Single. Swing. I love the look at address, sleek but solid. Clean lines that somehow instill confidence. The adjustable weights are a little tedious to switch but that’s really my only complaint.
 

Now, about the shaft. I’d never heard of VA composites before my fitting. Truly under the radar if you ask me now. I got fit in the Vylyn, and boy does it make me feel like I’ve stolen some secret. First off, the look is just geeky cool. Reminds me of reading comic books growing up. The face on the shaft seems like it should be distracting but it’s actually like having a man on the inside. Performance-wise, I notice what I can’t feel.  I don’t feel the weighty-ness of this shaft, I know the kick point is higher but I just can’t feel it like I could with my old driver. It feels solid but in a comforting way, not an “I can’t bend this brick of a shaft” way. I was surprised that I hit the X version best as my swing speed isn’t particularly high. 
 

I know I’m probably late to the party on both of these, but just wanted to share my experience. I can’t wait to get back on the course with this baby once these cold winter months are over for us Midwesterners. Guess I’ll be frequenting my local indoor range a little more often!

Also, shoutout to Fairway Jockey for the shaft. Doing great work over there, check them out. Pics of the shaft below, I figured there’s enough out there on the Speedzone.

[cksurfdude]

Congrats on finding your new bomber! Someday I hope to be as happy with a driver...

Separately... my only comment about Club Champion - while they do have good fitters who do good work - is the insistence on the Pure'ing ... admittedly I'm no fitter nor shaft expert, but .. it does seem superfluous to me especially with a high end "exotic" shaft which you'd think should be tightly quality-controlled.

...plus .. as soon as you change the hosel setting you've rotated the shaft so it's no longer Pure'ed......

[SGFarms]

Yeah, I agree about pure-ing. Seems like it’s just another cost to tack on. I’d be interested to see some data to back up the practice, see if it actually makes a difference? If nothing else, I’m hesitant to rotate the shaft anyway because I don’t like the look as much. 

For what it’s worth, I also noticed my shot dispersion was much tighter with this big stick. I do attribute that to the fitting. Hope you can find something that works similarly for you!

[SGFarms]

But one thing I’d add about pure-ing, I was able to get it for free when I purchased the shaft through Fairway Jockey. They run promotions for different shaft brands on a regular basis, either discounted or even free with purchase occasionally. That was part of the reason I really enjoyed purchasing the shaft from them rather than going through Club Champion directly.