G410P Shaft Upgrade

[fixyurdivot]

My Truespec driver fitting came up with the KBS TD 50, Cat 2 as the best amongst several others tested and against my Alta CB 55-S.  Not available at TS and one that I was interested in is the Tensei Orange 55, either in R or S.  When I was fitted for the G410P, as part of the 2018 "Official Tester", the shop did not have those available... so I went with the Alta CB.  

I just picked up the KBS TD and have one range session in with it.  Not seeing the same added distance as the fitting session and it feels a little on the whippy side (probably just did not notice that during the fitting). This is interesting in that several product reviewers say the KBS TD series play "stronger to flex".   We did not test the stiff (Cat 3) version during the fitting.  I often find my swing speed numbers/carry distance fall right on the OEM recommendation for R or S flex.  I just went with the fitters suggestions.

If the KBS TD doesn't pan out, I'm thinking of giving the Tensei Orange 55 a try.  It, like the Alta CB are a counterbalanced design and the PING shaft feels good to me.  I would probably opt for the 55 stiff?? With these Tensei shafts being so popular amongst the forum, I was hoping to get some feedback on how these play to flex?  If anyone has tested them against the Alta CB Red, how did they compare?

Here's a photo of the driver shafts I tested:

 

[ejgaudette]

Only have played the Tensi Blue in my Cobra which I have liked, but I know the orange is a different profile. Also I had to comment as KBS flex categories has 'rock you like a hurricane' running through my head.

[fixyurdivot]

The MCA chart puts the Orange in about the middle of the pack and the "S-flex" shown to be a little less stiff than the Alta CB in the stiff and x-stiff flex.  Because I'm straddling R & S flex, I figured this would be a good compromise?  I presume the 55g Orange would follow the same basic curve, but don't know that either.

 

[RickyBobby_PR]

The whole plays to flex is somewhat misleading because you have to know what it’s being compared to. Since there’s no industry standard on flex there’s different shafts that are going to play stiffer or weaker to flex than some other shafts. Original Hzrdus play stiffer than the the evenflow shafts but are from the same company.

Weight and shaft design is what really should be the focus especially starting with weight. A counterbalance shaft works well in lots of the driver heads over the last 5 years especially in ping, but some people don’t like the feel/loading of a cb shaft. Some people like a stiff handle especially those who tend to pull hard in transition, while others prefer a softer handle.

I fit well into a cb shaft with being fitted into the hzrdus yellow multiple times in ping and Tm both in the 60 and 70g versions. I was even fit into a 59g stiff helium in 2016. The two times I tried the tensei orange I hated the feel and couldn’t keep a drive in play during a fitting.

A friend of mine liked the orange in the g400 but hated the Alta. 
 

Ping shafts are designed by their engineers and they work with a shaft company to have them build to pings specs. Iirc the Alta is made by Aldila. The ping tour shaft is made by ust based off the elements chrome shaft.

[Shapotomous]

You may need to be aware of swing weight changes when swapping shafts and adjust the driver weight accordingly.  My G410P went from about a D2 to a D5+ going from an Evenflow Black to an Accra.  I recently got a few lighter driver head weights and experimented with various combos and ended up going from 14g to a 6g & 3.5g getting down to D2.  This was one sim session a few weeks ago and I plan to do another sim session in a week or so to confirm what I saw in the last one.

[fixyurdivot]

*****Hold the presses on the Tensei Orange*****

Today I got my first round in with the KBS shaft.  I saw some fairway positions on several holes I've not seen before.  I hit the longest drives on #6 and #16, at Desert Hills, I've ever hit... by at least 15 yards.  #16 was 278 yards by my Shotscope V2.  The other thing I'm noticing, between the range session and today, is that I'm hitting closer to center more often.  This isn't something I would have thought flex would have much to do with... but I'll take it and hope it continues.  I would say dispersion is a toss up at this point but perhaps a little more time adjusting to the new shaft will see gains there?

One round does not establish a trend - but man I'm hoping it is one! 

[fixyurdivot]

Second round complete at Mesa Del Sol yesterday and again seeing some significant distance increases.  Two drives in particular found places on the fairway I've never been. How much of this is related to the actual shafts performance vs. its aid in me hitting the face center more accurately I don't know.  To me the standout difference was moving from a stiff to regular flex (no change in length). I realize shaft flex means little since there is no standard, but it seems to be agreeing with me. I've been paying close attention to strike marks and they are tight - much more so than the Alta CB.  This is not something I noticed during the fitting - but suspect the fitter did.  I think the "whippy feel" I previously mentioned was just my getting use to the nuisances of this shaft.  I was not noticing that yesterday.   

To be brutally honest I was skeptical about premium shafts and whether they were/are worth the money. It's still too early to tell, but I'm thinking it was a good investment.

 

[RickyBobby_PR]

2 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

Second round complete at Mesa Del Sol yesterday and again seeing some significant distance increases.  Two drives in particular found places on the fairway I've never been. How much of this is related to the actual shafts performance vs. its aid in me hitting the face center more accurately I don't know.  To me the standout difference was moving from a stiff to regular flex (no change in length). I realize shaft flex means little since there is no standard, but it seems to be agreeing with me. I've been paying close attention to strike marks and they are tight - much more so than the Alta CB.  This is not something I noticed during the fitting - but suspect the fitter did.  I think the "whippy feel" I previously mentioned was just my getting use to the nuisances of this shaft.  I was not noticing that yesterday.   

To be brutally honest I was skeptical about premium shafts and whether they were/are worth the money. It's still too early to tell, but I'm thinking it was a good investment.

 

Sounds like either your swing doesn’t work with a counterbalance shaft or it could be the somewhat softer tip in the kbs thats helping. 

[fixyurdivot]

52 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Sounds like either your swing doesn’t work with a counterbalance shaft or it could be the somewhat softer tip in the kbs thats helping. 

Either or both could be true.  Trust your fitter . Now, for the record, I did buy this shaft new on eBay; from a seller who does LOTS of business in golf equipment.  He told me that the standard, KBS recommended, practice is to trim 1" from the tip.  I specifically asked about this as it stated the tip had been trimmed 1" in the description.  It has an OEM PING G410 adapter (not aftermarket).  His standard policy is not to trim the butt to desired length but rather leave that to the buyer.  I told him I had no way to do the trim and he wrote me back saying he'd do it for me and had me provide my current Alta CB tip to butt length.

My quick search prior to buying didn't turn up any "standard" trimming practice, but I subsequently found this article and it makes me think the 1" trim is moving me more towards the CAT 3 (stiff) flex?  So maybe I have a CAT 2.5, and just by luck, a really good match .