Hive mind vs Ping Tour 65 shaft

[ConfusedBrit]

Hi everyone,

I recently got fitted for a G425 Max driver, tour 65 shaft based on swing speed of 105-108 mph.

I'm looking to purchase a PXG 0211 3 wood, but having trouble identifying the right shaft.  I know that right answer is go for custom fitting, but that option is effectively out because the earliest appointment in any fitting centre within 100 miles of home is booked until early-December (bah humbug) and lead times are currently 6 weeks from order in the UK.

I've been doing some research to work out the best bet for my 3 wood.  I appreciate this is an educated guess without swinging the clubs in anger, but I was hoping the eminent swing gurus on these fine pages might be able to help me out?

I think I've narrowed it down to the Diamana S+ 70g from available options (workings at the bottom of the post), but strangely struggling to work out whether stiff or x-stiff is required based on torque etc.

• Mitsubishi Diamana S+ is mid launch/spin, so a little 'higher' on both counts that the Ping tour 65 of my driver, but I thought not a bad thing for a 3 wood.
• 70g weight  - thou shalt have a heavier shaft in thy 3 wood etc.
• Ping tour 65 has a torque of 3.4.
• Diamana S+ 70 in stiff has a torque of 4.0, whereas the x-stiff has torque of 3.5.  On this basis, I wonder if the x-stiff is the better match.  What do you fine and knowledgeable people think?

Process of elimination:

HZRDUS smoke yellow (probably to low spin and low launch for me)

Aldila Green NXT (can't get past the fact I'd be looking down at an green shaft at address, sorry!)

Project X EvenFlow Riptide CB (can't get past the fact I'd be looking down at a blue shaft at address, even though the cammo-style pattern looks phenomenal, sorry!)

[ConfusedBrit]

...I was also thinking, if the x-stiff Diamana reduces launch a little, could this be balanced by increasing the loft of the three wood?

I also spotted that the Ping tour 65 seem pretty stiff in each flex class.  E.g. this chart shows that the stiff tour 65 is pretty close in stiffness to the Tensei orange AV raw x-stiff. With both the Tensei and Diamana coming from Mistubishi, could this same trend apply again?

 

[Granata13]

Rogue White in 60 gram range. For me it feels a little tighter but same performance as tour shaft

[Rtracymog]

Your Ping Tour shaft is counterbalanced so that's why it's going to feel lighter. Color seems to be pretty important so you might be eliminating some good options. If you choose the 60g Hzrdus yellow, you should be fine. Plus, if you're only 105-108 with the driver, you probably don't need an X in the 3 wood.

[RickyBobby_PR]

Picking a shaft based on something like torque is worthless. That value doesn’t have a standard in the industry because it’s measured differently by different rmaxs in with machine used and where on the shaft it’s measured. 
 

Picking based on the launch and flight characteristics such as low/low, mid/high also not that wise. Thats purely how the brand uses to describe their shaft and is in comparison to the other shafts in their lineup or that particular line such as the hzrdus as an example. The launch and spin are determined by the golfers swing and how they deliver the club to the ball.

Weight is definitely one place you want to start. Also EI profile more important than the other characteristics you listed

While some people can play the same shaft in their wood as their driver that isn’t always the case. It depends on how they swing and deliver the club especially when hit off the deck compared to a club used off a tee. Also it’s not a requirement to have a heavier shaft in 3w compared to drive although most recommend it I have played same weight in both several times and have seen people fit to same weight and shaft. There’s no hard and fast rules when it comes to golf equipment.
 

The interesting thing is you are eliminating the hzrdus yellow yet that shaft is the same shaft that people including myself who have been fit into the pin tour 65 have been fit to. I know 3 guys personally who have been fit by Ping and it’s been the hzrdus yellow and long tour 65 as the two best shafts. 
 

But if you are going to blind buy based on my experience with clubs and fittings including my own, ones I’ve witnessed or conducted your best options from pxg without paying for the upgrade shafts are the Diamana 70. Aldila or hzrdus yellow 

Also keep in mind that how one shaft or type of shaft plays in driver doesn’t mean it will play the same in a fw or that it’s performance will carry over from one brand to another. So buying without trying is going to be a guess by those on the forum and yourself. 

[BMart519]

11 hours ago, Rtracymog said:

Your Ping Tour shaft is counterbalanced so that's why it's going to feel lighter. Color seems to be pretty important so you might be eliminating some good options. If you choose the 60g Hzrdus yellow, you should be fine. Plus, if you're only 105-108 with the driver, you probably don't need an X in the 3 wood.

Is this posted anywhere re: the Ping Tour being counterbalanced? I know the Alta series is CB, but it also plays 1/2" shorter than the Tour at standard length. I always thought the Tour shafts were not counter balanced. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

18 minutes ago, BMart519 said:

Is this posted anywhere re: the Ping Tour being counterbalanced? I know the Alta series is CB, but it also plays 1/2" shorter than the Tour at standard length. I always thought the Tour shafts were not counter balanced. 

The Tour shaft is built on the UST Elements chrome+ which is counterbalanced as is the non + version of the elements chrome

[Rtracymog]

On 11/18/2021 at 10:45 AM, BMart519 said:

Is this posted anywhere re: the Ping Tour being counterbalanced? I know the Alta series is CB, but it also plays 1/2" shorter than the Tour at standard length. I always thought the Tour shafts were not counter balanced. 

Ping really likes the idea of counterbalancing. Their shafts are counterbalanced and I'm pretty sure that in the last few generations, most of the stock offerings are counterbalanced. Tensei orange, hzrdus yellow and even the evenflow black to an extent.

[cnosil]

8 minutes ago, Rtracymog said:

Ping really likes the idea of counterbalancing. Their shafts are counterbalanced and I'm pretty sure that in the last few generations, most of the stock offerings are counterbalanced. Tensei orange, hzrdus yellow and even the evenflow black to an extent.

Ping does like to used counterbalanced shafts and their specs generally states that a shaft is counterbalanced.  I have never seen the Ping tour 65 referenced as a counterbalanced shaft.  

[RickyBobby_PR]

3 hours ago, cnosil said:

Ping does like to used counterbalanced shafts and their specs generally states that a shaft is counterbalanced.  I have never seen the Ping tour 65 referenced as a counterbalanced shaft.  

The tour shaft is the elements chrome + shaft with a softer tip. I believe they may have softened the torque a bit. The elements chrome + is a counterbalanced shaft. 

[cnosil]

17 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

The tour shaft is the elements chrome + shaft with a softer tip. I believe they may have softened the torque a bit. The elements chrome + is a counterbalanced shaft. 

I know you have said that before in this thread.   All I am saying it that Ping generally lists if a shaft is counterbalanced and they do not list that shaft as being counterbalanced.   Looking at UST documentation it shows the Chrome as counterbalanced not the Chrome+

[RickyBobby_PR]

21 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I know you have said that before in this thread.   All I am saying it that Ping generally lists if a shaft is counterbalanced and they do not list that shaft as being counterbalanced.   Looking at UST documentation it shows the Chrome as counterbalanced not the Chrome+

The balance point on the chrome+ is higher up the shaft, which some consider counter balanced. The rogue white which is one of the Ping stock shafts is also like this and similar to rogue black are considered counter balanced, but Ping doesn’t list the rogue white as counter balanced.

Also a lot of UST shafts have some counterbalance design.

Whether someone wants to accept the Ping tour shaft as counterbalanced or not is on them but the general consensus for a long time is the shaft is counter balanced.