Shaft Hack - The Otto Phlex Journey

[Ding-dong]

So new grip installed and tomorrow I will hit a few with it.

Today was very cold so I will take care.

[Ding-dong]

Today I did some more testing and got to the conclusion that 4g extra in the head was okay. Launch angle was a little high as peak apex was around 90-95 ft.

So I went out to fiddle further… and this is when I confirmed the hosel adapter was rotating on the short shaft. Initially I thought it was my poor grip fitting… but it was someone else’s poor tip gluing .

So have I just been down a massive pointless rabbit hole ? 
 

To a degree yes, but I have a 1” longer version of the GPLB .. which I was testing as well. 
So the +4g stays, the strike is toe side of centre and I cannot get it to heel or middle (help!?!) . I dropped the loft to 8 degrees, apex dropped to sub 90ft and spin reduced (R10 guesses so no point being too specific) . My set up and ball position is locking down, as it’s dictating club face angle. 
 

I am now thinking should I remove some shaft butt end? 
I could brutalise the other tip off , I don’t have a shaft puller just a monkey wrench, gas hob and a steady hand.

Or I could piss the wife off and order a new shaft with the right adapter glued on… given the cheapness of these shafts it’s a frivolity I can manage.

i will check who supplied the poorly glued shaft and I will check my 3wood shaft ..

[IndyBonzo]

If the adapter is already rotating, you can probably remove it without inflicting damage on the shaft or adapter.  Try it with just a hair dryer, and then a heat gun if you have it.  Pull it straight off and avoid twisting; given that it's loose already it should be simple.   I would not go to the torch unless you have experience pulling adapters and saving them using a torch.   You could also take it to a shop and they can remove and save (and re-glue) the adapter.

Re-gluing is super simple if you clean the shaft and adapter with acetone, and a wire brush in the adapter, then just glue it on with epoxy.   I have done several after giving it a shot as a complete novice and have never had any issues.  There are lots of videos online on how to do it.

Good luck @Ding-dong!

[Ding-dong]

2 hours ago, IndyBonzo said:

If the adapter is already rotating, you can probably remove it without inflicting damage on the shaft or adapter.  Try it with just a hair dryer, and then a heat gun if you have it.  Pull it straight off and avoid twisting; given that it's loose already it should be simple.   I would not go to the torch unless you have experience pulling adapters and saving them using a torch.   You could also take it to a shop and they can remove and save (and re-glue) the adapter.

Re-gluing is super simple if you clean the shaft and adapter with acetone, and a wire brush in the adapter, then just glue it on with epoxy.   I have done several after giving it a shot as a complete novice and have never had any issues.  There are lots of videos online on how to do it.

Good luck @Ding-dong!

Sorted ! Found the super 2 part glue monkey wrench and gas hob. It did resist, but I told it resistance is futile .

Shaft cleaned up and adapter glued back on .. will see how it is tomorrow.

[ger21]

On 12/15/2023 at 3:58 PM, srooch2 said:

I still vote for aldila phenom in the 50 gram and lite flex. I think someone will be happy with that.

So I threw the tip on the Phenom last week, and I've been swinging it a little in my garage when I've been speed training.
What I've found, is that to me, it feels stiffer than I expected. I need to play around a little more to see if I can get the swingweight lower with the head I'm using, as it's around D5 right now. The head is 193g with the weight removed, and I'm playing a 48g grip. I'm going to wrap some lead tape around the butt end of the shaft to see if it makes any difference. It seems a little crazy that I'm seeing the same swingweight on my normal driver with a 75g shaft and a much heavier head (~210g), but it's playing at 44.5" vs 45.75".

What kind of clubhead speed increases are you guys seeing, for those that have gotten good results with the OP?
I need to do some back to back testing to compare the two. Spring can't come soon enough.

[MuniGolfer]

14 hours ago, ger21 said:

What kind of clubhead speed increases are you guys seeing, for those that have gotten good results with the OP?

I have been averaging 4-5 mph more with the op. It’s also easier to get there. I feel like I am swinging easier, if anything.

[cksurfdude]

Hey guys - been away from this one for a while but wanted to recap...

But 1st: big shout-out and THX! to @azstu324 for starting this thread and promoting his O-P experiment. Really helped me get going with hitting the driver, after struggling with it for years. Dude I owe you a cold one (or two or... )!

2nd: last Summer I had the chance to participate in the Paradym X test/review, but had to stick with the stock shafts offered .. combined with what I was able to hit during a fitting which ended up being the MCA Kai'Li Blue 50R. Great shaft btw.

3rd: after the review wrapped up I went back to the GPLB 45A that I'd been using with my prior driver Gen 5 0311XF (switched out the adapter). I continued happily with that shaft until...

New item:
Later last season, as my swing was continuing to improve, I started missing more and more tee shots left .. vs what was my typical ummm "strong fade"  .. so with the forum mod's ok I traded the X for a standard Paradym .. BUT...

.. with an Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40A .. which I totally love!!

I honestly feel - not (yet?) tracked on the course - that this combo is working really well for me!

Yes, this coming season I will experiment with the GPLB, the Kai'Li Blue and a UST Pro Launch V2 HL 50R that I still have from an older Callaway driver. No, not a huge difference between 50R vs 40A but I kinda have a feeling that for me and the way I swing the driver that lighter & flexier is gonna win out.

So to anyone considering getting in on the O-P experiment -- Just Do It!! 

[Vernon]

Man January is getting me down.  Haven't been able to play or hit balls since 23 December and with nearly a foot of snow (frozen like granite) on the ground I don't think I'm gonna get to anytime soon.

Have had the new Accra plugged into the G430 for a couple of weeks now and I've "waggled" it and made enough air swings in the family room that it's probably gonna need a new grip by the time I see bare ground again.

And NOW Ping comes out with the 10K which I'm obviously gonna have to have which is only gonna add to the misery!

The life of a golfer during winter is truly a pitiful thing.

I don't wanna sound desperate or anything but it's 57 days, 12 hours, 40 minutes and 30 seconds until spring..........

[IndyBonzo]

I hear you @Vernon!  I had the best driving round of the "season" 12/24 with the Accra, and have not hit it since.  It's killing me too.

Soon . . . ish.

[Bad Golfer]

I stopped by Golf Galaxy over the weekend and pick up a PLB in A flex to start down this rabbit hole. Lol

Do you guys have any tips on gluing the tip on the end of the shaft? Do I need to align the shaft graphics strait down as well?

[IndyBonzo]

1 hour ago, Bad Golfer said:

I stopped by Golf Galaxy over the weekend and pick up a PLB in A flex to start down this rabbit hole. Lol

Do you guys have any tips on gluing the tip on the end of the shaft? Do I need to align the shaft graphics strait down as well?

Unless you have your shaft pured you can align the graphics however you prefer.   Just rough up the tip and the inside of the adapter with some sandpaper, mix your epoxy very well, spread it thinly but evenly on the tip and inside the adapter, and you should be fine.  There are lots of YT vids too.  Building clubs is a fun hobby.  Be careful you may get hooked!

Best of luck with your build, and welcome to the OP experiment!  @azstu324 did us all a solid by starting this thread.

Oh and send pics!

[Bad Golfer]

1 hour ago, IndyBonzo said:

Unless you have your shaft pured you can align the graphics however you prefer.   Just rough up the tip and the inside of the adapter with some sandpaper, mix your epoxy very well, spread it thinly but evenly on the tip and inside the adapter, and you should be fine.  There are lots of YT vids too.  Building clubs is a fun hobby.  Be careful you may get hooked!

Best of luck with your build, and welcome to the OP experiment!  @azstu324 did us all a solid by starting this thread.

Oh and send pics!

Thank you!

[Vernon]

On 1/22/2024 at 11:30 AM, IndyBonzo said:

I hear you @Vernon!  I had the best driving round of the "season" 12/24 with the Accra, and have not hit it since.  It's killing me too.

Soon . . . ish.

We've finally melted a little snow the last two days which is nice but the highs have only been in the mid 30's with some rain.  Still not exactly pleasant but an improvement nonetheless.

Forecast is calling for 50's next week so that should at least get rid of the snow and ice but it's gonna be swamp city out there for quite some time.

Needless to say cart path only will be the norm for the foreseeable future as well.

Ugh.

[Bad Golfer]

I got the Otto-Flex all built up this evening! The only thing I did wrong is installed the adapter the opposite way that I should have so the graphics are on the back side. No big deal. Everyone will just be amazed at the bombs I'm going to be hitting anyway.

I took a few pics but they didn't really turn out to great but definitely looking forward to try it out and I think I'm going to like this grip as well. 

Thank you @IndyBonzo for the guidance!

[IndyBonzo]

4 hours ago, Bad Golfer said:

I got the Otto-Flex all built up this evening! The only thing I did wrong is installed the adapter the opposite way that I should have so the graphics are on the back side. No big deal. Everyone will just be amazed at the bombs I'm going to be hitting anyway.

I took a few pics but they didn't really turn out to great but definitely looking forward to try it out and I think I'm going to like this grip as well. 

Thank you @IndyBonzo for the guidance!

I did the same with my first one!  Too funny.  But no harm done.  Looks great!  Good luck and let us know how it goes! 

[rlb4]

Does anyone know the profiles of MP5 and PLB shafts? Red, blue, white, black? What are the butt, mid and tip sections? Stiff, soft...

[Vernon]

It's been very pleasant most of this week with temperatures making it well into the 60's when the forecast was calling for low to mid 50's.  The weather guys don't typically miss in that direction!

Anyways made it to the range twice and I gotta say I'm really liking the Accra.  Like the PLB and others it is very easy to swing and has a great feel throughout but especially at impact.

It was difficult to tell carry distance on the range as the typical landing area is somewhat obscured by a small hill and swale ahead of the target green so it's tough to tell exactly where they're coming down.

That being said it was my sense that the Accra was carrying at least a little farther than the PLB and others would typically fly but it was hard to tell for sure.

If so, this thing is gonna be well worth the extra expense because as Indy has mentioned it just seems to want to go straight.  Out of about forty balls or so I hit one hook and everything else just flew high and straight.

Probably won't be able to get back out this afternoon but I'm hoping to play tomorrow afternoon and can't wait to check this thing out on the golf course.

It's still pretty wet but the warmer temperatures, sunshine and steady breezes seem to have helped dry things out more than expected.

Hope so anyways.

[Wheelieb]

I’m actually going to say that I find this really interesting, and was about to go on my own trip of doing this myself and posting my thoughts in the forum. I just wasn’t going to compare it to the Autoflex as you did. For that matter, I hadn’t been up to date with the videos you posted in the very first post and I’ve been watching those guys since 2020. What made me want to do a similar experiment was I went to the golf store here, and one of the guys swapped out the stock 65g tensei shaft in the paradym driver I was hitting, cause I said I didn’t like the weight, and put an older Aldila Tour ATX Blue shaft that was maybe 58 grams still a stiff shaft and I noticed an uptick in swing speed, carry distance, and total distance. I’m around a 108-111 mph swing speed, yes I was fit for my driver. The launch monitor at the golf store was getting my swing speed between 110-116 with the lighter shaft. I’m going to try and see if I can find a light shaft again and hit it in the paradym to see if it was just a fluke, or if I really am hitting bigger bombs. Good read and I will have to post my findings as well. 

[azstu324]

25 minutes ago, Wheelieb said:

I’m actually going to say that I find this really interesting, and was about to go on my own trip of doing this myself and posting my thoughts in the forum. I just wasn’t going to compare it to the Autoflex as you did. For that matter, I hadn’t been up to date with the videos you posted in the very first post and I’ve been watching those guys since 2020. What made me want to do a similar experiment was I went to the golf store here, and one of the guys swapped out the stock 65g tensei shaft in the paradym driver I was hitting, cause I said I didn’t like the weight, and put an older Aldila Tour ATX Blue shaft that was maybe 58 grams still a stiff shaft and I noticed an uptick in swing speed, carry distance, and total distance. I’m around a 108-111 mph swing speed, yes I was fit for my driver. The launch monitor at the golf store was getting my swing speed between 110-116 with the lighter shaft. I’m going to try and see if I can find a light shaft again and hit it in the paradym to see if it was just a fluke, or if I really am hitting bigger bombs. Good read and I will have to post my findings as well. 

Any additions to our "little" experiment are always welcome. I simply started the fire and everyone who's been involved has continued to pour the fuel for the past 2 years. It's been a hell of a ride! Welcome to the club

[Wheelieb]

So idea time here, as I realized one thing. My swing speed based on the fitter I had said "your swing speed says you need an X-stiff shaft" I've went down that road and had good success with it in the tensei 1k white shaft I have. It's the 65g model, but I've noticed in my other driver shaft that I got from Dallas golf, which is a stiff Kai'li White shaft at 68g I hit it a tad more consistently. My mistake on not getting the X-stiff shaft, and that's not really the point. One of the golf stores has a Ventus 5S which is 58g and is not the velocore, it's just a stock option someone gave them. Do you think it would be worth trying that shaft for this experiment would bring any value to this thread? I'm not sure if they made a 4R version of any of the Ventus stock shafts, or I might be inclined to try and find one and test it.

 

TL;DR should a stock Ventus 5S be considered for this test?  

[cnosil]

1 hour ago, Wheelieb said:

So idea time here, as I realized one thing. My swing speed based on the fitter I had said "your swing speed says you need an X-stiff shaft" I've went down that road and had good success with it in the tensei 1k white shaft I have. It's the 65g model, but I've noticed in my other driver shaft that I got from Dallas golf, which is a stiff Kai'li White shaft at 68g I hit it a tad more consistently. My mistake on not getting the X-stiff shaft, and that's not really the point. One of the golf stores has a Ventus 5S which is 58g and is not the velocore, it's just a stock option someone gave them. Do you think it would be worth trying that shaft for this experiment would bring any value to this thread? I'm not sure if they made a 4R version of any of the Ventus stock shafts, or I might be inclined to try and find one and test it.

 

TL;DR should a stock Ventus 5S be considered for this test?  

Sure.  Part of the concept of this thread is disproving the notions you stated in your first paragraph like my swing speed says I should use a heavy Xstiff shaft because of my swing speed.    There is no standardization on how things are measured in golf.   As you have read the thread, it was largely founded as a way to get a cheaper autoflex shaft which generally profiled out equal to shafts that were 2 flexes weaker and 20 grams lighter.  

[Wheelieb]

25 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Sure.  Part of the concept of this thread is disproving the notions you stated in your first paragraph like my swing speed says I should use a heavy Xstiff shaft because of my swing speed.    There is no standardization on how things are measured in golf.   As you have read the thread, it was largely founded as a way to get a cheaper autoflex shaft which generally profiled out equal to shafts that were 2 flexes weaker and 20 grams lighter.  

I will go and get that shaft just to start down my rabbit hole research myself. 

[Ding-dong]

Sorry not been on for a while as I had not really done anything of interest.

Weather here has been mild and I have managed to get a few rounds in. I had been struggling with a bit of swaying and the rotating head issue mentioned previously. 
So I was on a reset and go again. 
I think I have the swaying stuff sorted, my knees are recovering okay with a little bit of tendon soreness. 
I have started to try the big fat grip again but I installed on a 46” GPLB ladies. I have the head set to 9.5 std. 

Yesterday I played my first full round with it after a couple of range sessions (2 x 20 ball bucket warmups). I noticed I had a nice fade moving left to right by 3 yards max. I could increase this just by hitting earlier or I could remove it  by changing the path so sending the  club through at 11 o’clock of the ball.

Suffice to say I had the ball on a string and hit every fairway except 2 which were in the 2nd cut ( no pick and place). I went round in 74, 1 birdie and 1 double bogey, 4 bogeys… didn’t convert enough chances to be fair. The last 4 holes were slow because the 3 ball in front were playing too slow and I started to get stiff plus the sun was setting. So 3 shots dropped in the last 3 holes … .

Distance was good, and for the first time I had some ability to vary my shape and distance, well pick a target and hit it  … I hope this continues, but it is comforting to know I can still do it .

I did think about the new Callaway AI smoke … simply because it would suit the GPLB colours… but hold that thought, let’s see if this round can be repeated and bettered! 

[Ding-dong]

Oh yes I forgot to mention we are off winter tees, some are forward but there is no roll out, it’s soft. The settings are quite a high flight for me, but I think correct. Also I was playing a reduced number of clubs … well to be fair the ones I only need really 14 clubs is a bit overkill 

[Shrek74]

I'm only 11 pages into this thread, but figured I'd get myself down this little rabbit hole.

Just ordered a PXG Gen5 driver 9* with the Motore X F3 5R2 shaft (thank you Hero pricing). Can't wait to get it in and give it a go. I was fit into the 6 S version a couple years ago, so I'm hoping that carries over into the lighter flexier version.

I'm also eyeing the PLB and ProSeries UL. But then again, I'm also eyeing UST 55 Gold, Proforce V2 HL, and the Aldila 45g Orange. But we'll see how the Motore works and I'll go from there. I have a few of the PXG weights coming too in case I need to alter it for swing weight.

Now to get my net put together in the garage and the R10 out of the box and registered.

Let the Otto Phlex journey begin!!

[cksurfdude]

3 hours ago, Shrek74 said:

Motore X F3 5R2 shaft

Proforce V2 HL

Great shafts! Have the same Motore in a Miz ST-X head and really like it; used a Pro Launch V2 HL 5R in an old 3W and it made that club head come alive.

[IndyBonzo]

4 hours ago, Shrek74 said:

I'm only 11 pages into this thread, but figured I'd get myself down this little rabbit hole.

Just ordered a PXG Gen5 driver 9* with the Motore X F3 5R2 shaft (thank you Hero pricing). Can't wait to get it in and give it a go. I was fit into the 6 S version a couple years ago, so I'm hoping that carries over into the lighter flexier version.

I'm also eyeing the PLB and ProSeries UL. But then again, I'm also eyeing UST 55 Gold, Proforce V2 HL, and the Aldila 45g Orange. But we'll see how the Motore works and I'll go from there. I have a few of the PXG weights coming too in case I need to alter it for swing weight.

Now to get my net put together in the garage and the R10 out of the box and registered.

Let the Otto Phlex journey begin!!

Welcome to the Cult of Easy Distance!

[cksurfdude]

FYI ... Plugged In Golf did a review and look at the tech features of the Newton Motion shaft...

https://pluggedingolf.com/newton-motion-shaft-review/

6 "profiles" are offered from 1 Dot (lightest weight, lowest CPM, highest torque) up to 6 Dots.

It's $250 retail and comes with grip, adapter plus 30 days to trade for another.

Already had gotten some use on the Champions Tour.

Edited February 10 by cksurfdude
typo

[Wheelieb]

6 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

FYI ... Plugged In Golf did a review and look at the tech features of the Newton Motion shaft...

https://pluggedingolf.com/newton-motion-shaft-review/

5 "profiles" are offered from 1 Dot (lightest weight, lowest CPM, highest torque) up to 5 Dots.

It's $250 retail and comes with grip, adapter plus 30 days to trade for another.

Already had gotten some use on the Champions Tour.

I’m almost positive @GolfSpy_APH has a topic going about these shafts on the forum. Good read. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

27 minutes ago, Wheelieb said:

I’m almost positive @GolfSpy_APH has a topic going about these shafts on the forum. Good read. 

Yup, it's a good shaft. I still need to do some more testing with it. However I think there is definitely some promise with it.