Shaft Hack - The Otto Phlex Journey

[vandyland]

Sorry to blow up this thread after ignoring it (not on purpose) for a few weeks but I also want to try a utility iron in senior flex (at golf galaxy). Similar to the questions and points raised about "otto phlexing" the fairway woods and on down, I have always struggled with launching utility irons. Maybe a senior flex is the answer?

I must admit I love having weird stuff in my bag and I love this type of tinkering everyone is doing. I have played a 42" driver, a one length hybrid, one length irons, LAB putter (still have it), play with 10-12 clubs, carry a chipper (did that a few years ago), etc. If I got even slightly better results with a senior flex through the bag for some reason (maybe I like attention? positive or negative?) that would be SO FUN to have in my bag. Especially with a swing speed that is typically on the cusp of [TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE ALERT] "X-stiff speed" whatever that means. 

Already building my dream irons, haha

Edited November 18, 2022 by vandyland

[Geogolf007]

On 11/14/2022 at 3:04 PM, Bobbers said:

The Recoil is a great shaft in my experience.  Trying it in various flexes should be a very interesting experience for you.  I know I, for one, look forward to the data it generates. 

I went from the Mizuno JPX HM 919 to the new JPX HM 923 with the Recoil F2 Shafts and love the irons. I am 72 and tried both Recoil F3 and F2. I really couldn't feel the difference but the performance was more consistent in distance with F2. Now, I wish I would have tried the F1 but the F2 is working great!!

[vandyland]

Nine swings in and we just hit a PB club head speed and I’m not even trying, UST Helium 4F2. Oh yeah and results arent bad!

[azstu324]

49 minutes ago, vandyland said:

Nine swings in and we just hit a PB club head speed and I’m not even trying, UST Helium 4F2. Oh yeah and results arent bad!

Now for the magic.. do you have the loft cranked all the way down? What a lot of us are finding is that these things launch so easily that if you get that club loft as low as it goes, you'll find an effortless launch at 12 or so degree, your spin will back down a good 200-400 rpm, you'll tame that disbursement a hair and find an extra 10++ yds. 

In light of the holiday season.. 

"I double dog dare ya!"

[azstu324]

3 hours ago, vandyland said:

Sorry to blow up this thread after ignoring it (not on purpose) for a few weeks but I also want to try a utility iron in senior flex (at golf galaxy). Similar to the questions and points raised about "otto phlexing" the fairway woods and on down, I have always struggled with launching utility irons. Maybe a senior flex is the answer?

I must admit I love having weird stuff in my bag and I love this type of tinkering everyone is doing. I have played a 42" driver, a one length hybrid, one length irons, LAB putter (still have it), play with 10-12 clubs, carry a chipper (did that a few years ago), etc. If I got even slightly better results with a senior flex through the bag for some reason (maybe I like attention? positive or negative?) that would be SO FUN to have in my bag. Especially with a swing speed that is typically on the cusp of [TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE ALERT] "X-stiff speed" whatever that means. 

Already building my dream irons, haha

Sounds like we might be cut from the same cloth here! I've always had a thing for the abstract when it comes to golf equipment. This whole project is completely left field so it just naturally called out to me. I've been playing Maltby irons for the past 5 or so years. But just have a mish mash of clubs that work through my lineup. I've always had a Cobra or 2 in my bag because I just like their ideas, marketing, innovation, etc. Up until more recently they've been kind of an underdog brand just because they don't have 15 PGA guys on their roster. 

I'm currently mulling over the idea of getting a 20° Utility iron to see how it launches with an OP shaft.. OR a 21° oversized Hybrid. Either would be from Maltby but I just don't know which one to get. I'm leaning toward the HyWay 21°(7 wood alternative) because it's a tad heavier and would take my Riptide .335 shaft. I have been a sucker for a good driving iron though. Decisions decisions

[vandyland]

Forewarning, I have trackman numbers and I am NOT afraid to use them. I am tempted to do a "guess which is which" but I am too impatient for that. I will update this post with the numbers shortly. I will say my feelings in another post, this is just numbers and some context of where we were in the session when I hit each combo. I highlighted the top avg and medians for Club Speed, Ball Speed, Carry and Total:

Baseline Driver Setup - Cobra Radspeed XB @ 10.5* with 12g weight in back in a 72 gram 44" stiff shaft (full disclosure I hit this later in the testing and was trying to mash it because I wanted to see what the top end of it looks like):

Now, we will go in the order that these were hit. I started the session (very little warmup) with what I assumed would be the closest to recommend setup. Also hit the most shots with this because it was fun and wanted to see the difference between STEPPING ON IT and swinging normal -- Cobra 10.5* with UST Helium Senior Flex 45.5" shaft with NO WEIGHT IN CLUB HEAD (removed 12g weight entirely):

Next up was the Cobra @10.5* in the A flex with a 6g weight in the head:

Next is the Cobra @ 10.5* with the 12g weight in the head, by now I was pretty loose and you can tell by these clubhead speeds. I have never touched 110+ before and I did several times here without losing (much) control:

Finally, as recommend by @azstu324, I turned the cobra down to 9.5* with the A flex with NO WEIGHT IN THE CLUBHEAD:

Edited November 18, 2022 by vandyland

[Bobbers]

36 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

Sounds like we might be cut from the same cloth here! I've always had a thing for the abstract when it comes to golf equipment. This whole project is completely left field so it just naturally called out to me. I've been playing Maltby irons for the past 5 or so years. But just have a mish mash of clubs that work through my lineup. I've always had a Cobra or 2 in my bag because I just like their ideas, marketing, innovation, etc. Up until more recently they've been kind of an underdog brand just because they don't have 15 PGA guys on their roster. 

I'm currently mulling over the idea of getting a 20° Utility iron to see how it launches with an OP shaft.. OR a 21° oversized Hybrid. Either would be from Maltby but I just don't know which one to get. I'm leaning toward the HyWay 21°(7 wood alternative) because it's a tad heavier and would take my Riptide .335 shaft. I have been a sucker for a good driving iron though. Decisions decisions

For what it's worth I tried one of the Callaway "Super Hybrids" a year or so ago.  I was very glad to be rid of it.  It wasn't quite a hybrid and wasn't quite a fairway wood and didn't do anything particularly well.

[vandyland]

Now, I am not a trackman expert so most of what I say here relates to feel. I "feel" like I can swing the A flex effortlessly fast. And it didn't seem to get completely out of control for me. I wasn't losing it crazy left and I wasn't all over the club face. It was the first time I can remember swinging a club over 44" and feeling like I had some control over it. I deleted shots that felt bad (toe and heel shots) but I wasn't looking at impact location as a guide, again it was feel. I have to say I deleted a decent number of drives from my "standard" setup so that should count for something. When I started hitting 111 mph, it did not feel hard or crazy fast, just well sequenced. 

To me, what I determined is that the A flex shaft is definitely do-able. It doesn't do anything negative to my swing or sequencing and I feel like my potential speed is much higher with less effort. Again, I was swinging hard-ish with the turned down A flex vs hard as I could with Standard Stiff setup and the highest clubhead speed I hit with the standard setup was 109.4 and my A flex setup was 111.4. I think there is a lot of potential in the turned down loft version since I was still launching the 9.5* at 17.7 (which is actually higher than my Standard setup at 10.5) but spin was less and carry. Hard to compare across all the combos since my average speed ranged from 104.8 to 108.9. The one thing that has me scratching my head a bit is the UST A flex with the 12g head weight. I guess it is just more force coming into the ball. Launched it too high (maybe? I don't know) and spun it like crazy on fast swings so that cannot be good. 

Anyone have any thoughts? I am sold on the A flex shaft but just maybe not on the UST Helium (maybe too much torque?). Here are the specs on the helium I was hitting:

 

EDIT: Well you only live once (YOLO), I am ordering the grafalloy A flex pro launch blue. I am joining the resistance. We can dial in the swingweight from there. $90 to find out if I can routinely hit 110 mph Club head speed on the course. 

Edited November 18, 2022 by vandyland

[azstu324]

1 hour ago, Bobbers said:

For what it's worth I tried one of the Callaway "Super Hybrids" a year or so ago.  I was very glad to be rid of it.  It wasn't quite a hybrid and wasn't quite a fairway wood and didn't do anything particularly well.

I've read similar statements but I've also read others stating how much they love it. I guess it's really an "individual" club. For some there's just not a space for it in the bag. My idea is that I have a semi-driving 4 (22°) iron that gets me to 210+ but low enough to cut through the breeze and stay in control. I've also got a Cobra RAD 24° hybrid that gets me to 220+ yds but much higher and with more spin when I'm in range of a green. I don't really have much need for a 5 wood because I don't often find myself needing 240-250 yds.. and in the event that I do, i can just choke down on my 3 wood. A high flying 230 yd 7 wood makes loads of sense but I've had a couple 7 woods that just got too hooky on me. Maybe because I ended up taking the lofts to the max which shut the face too much? Anyhoo.. Maltby has a 21° HyWay Utility that seems to work for a lot of folks. It has no offset, so less hook/pull tendency. That's really the only club of this type that I'd be interested in. 

I still need to get out and hit my 3 wood that I just built with the Garafalloy GWX. I need to see how that does before I give Maltby any more of my money!

[Bobbers]

3 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

I've read similar statements but I've also read others stating how much they love it. I guess it's really an "individual" club. For some there's just not a space for it in the bag. My idea is that I have a semi-driving 4 (22°) iron that gets me to 210+ but low enough to cut through the breeze and stay in control. I've also got a Cobra RAD 24° hybrid that gets me to 220+ yds but much higher and with more spin when I'm in range of a green. I don't really have much need for a 5 wood because I don't often find myself needing 240-250 yds.. and in the event that I do, i can just choke down on my 3 wood. A high flying 230 yd 7 wood makes loads of sense but I've had a couple 7 woods that just got too hooky on me. Maybe because I ended up taking the lofts to the max which shut the face too much? Anyhoo.. Maltby has a 21° HyWay Utility that seems to work for a lot of folks. It has no offset, so less hook/pull tendency. That's really the only club of this type that I'd be interested in. 

I still need to get out and hit my 3 wood that I just built with the Garafalloy GWX. I need to see how that does before I give Maltby any more of my money!

You're quoting distances I'd need a mortar to achieve.  Most of the time after my tee shot I find myself in what I call "no need to hold back..." territory.

[azstu324]

42 minutes ago, vandyland said:

Now, I am not a trackman expert so most of what I say here relates to feel. I "feel" like I can swing the A flex effortlessly fast. And it didn't seem to get completely out of control for me. I wasn't losing it crazy left and I wasn't all over the club face. It was the first time I can remember swinging a club over 44" and feeling like I had some control over it. I deleted shots that felt bad (toe and heel shots) but I wasn't looking at impact location as a guide, again it was feel. I have to say I deleted a decent number of drives from my "standard" setup so that should count for something. When I started hitting 111 mph, it did not feel hard or crazy fast, just well sequenced. 

To me, what I determined is that the A flex shaft is definitely do-able. It doesn't do anything negative to my swing or sequencing and I feel like my potential speed is much higher with less effort. Again, I was swinging hard-ish with the turned down A flex vs hard as I could with Standard Stiff setup and the highest clubhead speed I hit with the standard setup was 109.4 and my A flex setup was 111.4. I think there is a lot of potential in the turned down loft version since I was still launching the 9.5* at 17.7 (which is actually higher than my Standard setup at 10.5) but spin was less and carry. Hard to compare across all the combos since my average speed ranged from 104.8 to 108.9. The one thing that has me scratching my head a bit is the UST A flex with the 12g head weight. I guess it is just more force coming into the ball. Launched it too high (maybe? I don't know) and spun it like crazy on fast swings so that cannot be good. 

Anyone have any thoughts? I am sold on the A flex shaft but just maybe not on the UST Helium (maybe too much torque?). Here are the specs on the helium I was hitting:

 

EDIT: Well you only live once (YOLO), I am ordering the grafalloy A flex pro launch blue. I am joining the resistance. We can dial in the swingweight from there. $90 to find out if I can routinely hit 110 mph Club head speed on the course. 

Do they not have any at Golf Galaxy? That's where I picked up mine

[azstu324]

27 minutes ago, Bobbers said:

You're quoting distances I'd need a mortar to achieve.  Most of the time after my tee shot I find myself in what I call "no need to hold back..." territory.

Definitely not trying to "distance shame".. or "distance plug". Just throwing out #'s for reference.  

I run with a group where distance shaming will only have you eating crow on the green. "It's not what you do, but what you do with it" is probably my favorite quote to use.. and quite often I find myself using the phrase after I crap the bed on a chip from a perfect drive. 

[Bobbers]

1 minute ago, azstu324 said:

Definitely not trying to "distance shame".. or "distance plug". Just throwing out #'s for reference.  

I run with a group where distance shaming will only have you eating crow on the green. "It's not what you do, but what you do with it" is probably my favorite quote to use.. and quite often I find myself using the phrase after I crap the bed on a chip from a perfect drive. 

Never took it as any attempt to distance shame, Stu,  no worries.  If I was touchy about distance I'd never "show my face" on any golf forum.  I'm sure even mini golfers outdrive me...

[Bobbers]

1 hour ago, vandyland said:

Now, I am not a trackman expert so most of what I say here relates to feel. I "feel" like I can swing the A flex effortlessly fast. And it didn't seem to get completely out of control for me. I wasn't losing it crazy left and I wasn't all over the club face. It was the first time I can remember swinging a club over 44" and feeling like I had some control over it. I deleted shots that felt bad (toe and heel shots) but I wasn't looking at impact location as a guide, again it was feel. I have to say I deleted a decent number of drives from my "standard" setup so that should count for something. When I started hitting 111 mph, it did not feel hard or crazy fast, just well sequenced. 

To me, what I determined is that the A flex shaft is definitely do-able. It doesn't do anything negative to my swing or sequencing and I feel like my potential speed is much higher with less effort. Again, I was swinging hard-ish with the turned down A flex vs hard as I could with Standard Stiff setup and the highest clubhead speed I hit with the standard setup was 109.4 and my A flex setup was 111.4. I think there is a lot of potential in the turned down loft version since I was still launching the 9.5* at 17.7 (which is actually higher than my Standard setup at 10.5) but spin was less and carry. Hard to compare across all the combos since my average speed ranged from 104.8 to 108.9. The one thing that has me scratching my head a bit is the UST A flex with the 12g head weight. I guess it is just more force coming into the ball. Launched it too high (maybe? I don't know) and spun it like crazy on fast swings so that cannot be good. 

Anyone have any thoughts? I am sold on the A flex shaft but just maybe not on the UST Helium (maybe too much torque?). Here are the specs on the helium I was hitting:

 

EDIT: Well you only live once (YOLO), I am ordering the grafalloy A flex pro launch blue. I am joining the resistance. We can dial in the swingweight from there. $90 to find out if I can routinely hit 110 mph Club head speed on the course. 

The Pro Launch Blue seems to have the right profile for most of us that have tried it.  I've tried a few other shafts with results that didn't measure up to the PLB.  For me, personally, the Bassara Wyvern shafts Titleist used a number of years ago in drivers, fairways, and hybrids have been a very, very close second.  Again, that's just "Mr. 80 mph with a driver would make me feel like Superman" talking.  But the concept seems very "scalable" for a wide variety of swing speeds as any number of posters in the thread would indicate.

[azstu324]

2 hours ago, vandyland said:

Forewarning, I have trackman numbers and I am NOT afraid to use them. I am tempted to do a "guess which is which" but I am too impatient for that. I will update this post with the numbers shortly. I will say my feelings in another post, this is just numbers and some context of where we were in the session when I hit each combo. I highlighted the top avg and medians for Club Speed, Ball Speed, Carry and Total:

Baseline Driver Setup - Cobra Radspeed XB @ 10.5* with 12g weight in back in a 72 gram 44" stiff shaft (full disclosure I hit this later in the testing and was trying to mash it because I wanted to see what the top end of it looks like):

Now, we will go in the order that these were hit. I started the session (very little warmup) with what I assumed would be the closest to recommend setup. Also hit the most shots with this because it was fun and wanted to see the difference between STEPPING ON IT and swinging normal -- Cobra 10.5* with UST Helium Senior Flex 45.5" shaft with NO WEIGHT IN CLUB HEAD (removed 12g weight entirely):

Next up was the Cobra @10.5* in the A flex with a 6g weight in the head:

Next is the Cobra @ 10.5* with the 12g weight in the head, by now I was pretty loose and you can tell by these clubhead speeds. I have never touched 110+ before and I did several times here without losing (much) control:

Finally, as recommend by @azstu324, I turned the cobra down to 9.5* with the A flex with NO WEIGHT IN THE CLUBHEAD:

I hate to break it to you, but you might need to find a 9° head and crank it down to 7 or 8°. You should definitely look into that next time you're at the store. 

I played a 10.5° Mizuno last year. This year I took a gamble on a 9.5° and it paid off when I jumped into this experiment. 

[azstu324]

46 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

I hate to break it to you, but you might need to find a 9° head and crank it down to 7 or 8°. You should definitely look into that next time you're at the store. 

I played a 10.5° Mizuno last year. This year I took a gamble on a 9.5° and it paid off when I jumped into this experiment. 

And just to clarify.. I meant to just find a demo or used head and plug it in to try out. 

I'm definitely not of the the assumption that anybody can or would just go buy what I tell them to.

 

[Bang60]

1 hour ago, azstu324 said:

I hate to break it to you, but you might need to find a 9° head and crank it down to 7 or 8°. You should definitely look into that next time you're at the store. 

I played a 10.5° Mizuno last year. This year I took a gamble on a 9.5° and it paid off when I jumped into this experiment. 

Would you know what adapter would fit my Mizuno MP Type 2 head, I'd like to try my lady's shaft in it but can't find what's the correct adapter, is it the JPX850 sorry to go off topic but I'm desperate lol...

[azstu324]

For anybody's information, when I started this thread almost 2 months ago, I thought It'd at least get a few good pages of fun banter and maybe get a few guys to follow along.. 

Thinking maybe I'll give it till the end of the month and then do a separate survey and post the results here. 

[Bobbers]

10 minutes ago, Bang60 said:

Would you know what adapter would fit my Mizuno MP Type 2 head, I'd like to try my lady's shaft in it but can't find what's the correct adapter, is it the JPX850 sorry to go off topic but I'm desperate lol...

Does this work at all?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/115242667487?hash=item1ad4ff8ddf:g:uusAAOSwCXxiAz9C&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4PK2uQKUDFHqEUIv%2BxSp8MYy60oshU9LmO%2BVr%2BMrRKSfcx%2BUWBMgbPNMLNIjFSddt0Ro0dws3a%2FGfPD46SwBPiRoZ%2FO2dd78oCWW24nO9KU6ttXDLWgjhR5gfcfisBqmaIuUgaGUNxK0mEY7GjUED0ACHpop5K2qyURr%2FjnUhzfY6a8GCzSsiSSR8qFuIak8XYGTeG80S3WV7iuYflPtBY2xxok0wlO49mwcUfvOvIz9nOK1DYr0c%2FtOPCiXILUNXd4XU5BPvYY6G0XEwRfFO0u2P8ORT%2Frnehk9CYi%2B0%2BoS|tkp%3ABk9SR_D9wNCRYQ

[Bobbers]

2 minutes ago, Bobbers said:

Does this work at all?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/115242667487?hash=item1ad4ff8ddf:g:uusAAOSwCXxiAz9C&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4PK2uQKUDFHqEUIv%2BxSp8MYy60oshU9LmO%2BVr%2BMrRKSfcx%2BUWBMgbPNMLNIjFSddt0Ro0dws3a%2FGfPD46SwBPiRoZ%2FO2dd78oCWW24nO9KU6ttXDLWgjhR5gfcfisBqmaIuUgaGUNxK0mEY7GjUED0ACHpop5K2qyURr%2FjnUhzfY6a8GCzSsiSSR8qFuIak8XYGTeG80S3WV7iuYflPtBY2xxok0wlO49mwcUfvOvIz9nOK1DYr0c%2FtOPCiXILUNXd4XU5BPvYY6G0XEwRfFO0u2P8ORT%2Frnehk9CYi%2B0%2BoS|tkp%3ABk9SR_D9wNCRYQ

Or this?

https://www.grips4less.com/products/mizuno-compatible-driver-shaft-adapter-fits-st-180

[Bang60]

50 minutes ago, Bobbers said:

Does this work at all?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/115242667487?hash=item1ad4ff8ddf:g:uusAAOSwCXxiAz9C&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4PK2uQKUDFHqEUIv%2BxSp8MYy60oshU9LmO%2BVr%2BMrRKSfcx%2BUWBMgbPNMLNIjFSddt0Ro0dws3a%2FGfPD46SwBPiRoZ%2FO2dd78oCWW24nO9KU6ttXDLWgjhR5gfcfisBqmaIuUgaGUNxK0mEY7GjUED0ACHpop5K2qyURr%2FjnUhzfY6a8GCzSsiSSR8qFuIak8XYGTeG80S3WV7iuYflPtBY2xxok0wlO49mwcUfvOvIz9nOK1DYr0c%2FtOPCiXILUNXd4XU5BPvYY6G0XEwRfFO0u2P8ORT%2Frnehk9CYi%2B0%2BoS|tkp%3ABk9SR_D9wNCRYQ

 

47 minutes ago, Bobbers said:

Or this?

https://www.grips4less.com/products/mizuno-compatible-driver-shaft-adapter-fits-st-180

Both links work perfectly @Bobbers thanks but, can't find any link to the Mizuno MP Type 2 Driver. It's strange that this Mizuno head works for me when 4 bigger brands didn't, I really want to try a lady's shaft in my Mizuno head as I'm thinking it's going to be better than the Titleist 917. I asked Mizuno and didn't get a answer just some info on the newest drivers etc, really appreciate your help, cheers Colin...

[cnosil]

12 minutes ago, Bang60 said:

 

Both links work perfectly @Bobbers thanks but, can't find any link to the Mizuno MP Type 2 Driver. It's strange that this Mizuno head works for me when 4 bigger brands didn't, I really want to try a lady's shaft in my Mizuno head as I'm thinking it's going to be better than the Titleist 917. I asked Mizuno and didn't get a answer just some info on the newest drivers etc, really appreciate your help, cheers Colin...

You indicated JPX 850 in your original post.   The links your were provided had adapters by Bobbers had adapters that would work.   The universal might be a good option.   Or,  here is another: 

https://www.golfworks.com/the-golfworks-jpx-850-shaft-adaptor/p/bb9072rh335/?bvstate=pg:2/ct:q

 

[Bang60]

45 minutes ago, cnosil said:

You indicated JPX 850 in your original post.   The links your were provided had adapters by Bobbers had adapters that would work.   The universal might be a good option.   Or,  here is another: 

https://www.golfworks.com/the-golfworks-jpx-850-shaft-adaptor/p/bb9072rh335/?bvstate=pg:2/ct:q

 

I don't know if that JPX 850 is correct or not that's why I'm trying to confirm it, I think I will just buy it as it looks the same. Appreciate your help..

[vandyland]

2 hours ago, azstu324 said:

I'm definitely not of the the assumption that anybody can or would just go buy what I tell them to

I mean, I will buy golf clubs. I have a problem and threads like these show me I am not alone

[Rickp]

42 minutes ago, vandyland said:

I mean, I will buy golf clubs. I have a problem and threads like these show me I am not alone

You are not alone…

[Bobbers]

10 hours ago, Rickp said:

You are not alone…

...and take comfort in the fact you never will be.

[vandyland]

Now we wait

 

[azstu324]

Hmm... Although they're steel, I wonder if a L or A flex build with these would work? And.. if a tester were picked who also happens to be doing the OP experiment, if they'd allow them to use an OP version as their choice?

[PACK7483]

I went a slightly different route to get my swing weight down.  Pxg 0211 driver 9 degree with the PLB 45 A flex.  Cut mine to play at 44 inches.  It's a dang fairway finding machine! While the shorter shaft may not give me the 10-20 yards of extra distance it does go about the same average distance as my stock Cobra LTDX, but with way more control and so easy to swing.  I would say if you factor in total average distance, and balls in play it is "longer". It may not have that one rare "bomb" I would get every now and then lol.  But so far loving the combo. 

[azstu324]

10 minutes ago, PACK7483 said:

I went a slightly different route to get my swing weight down.  Pxg 0211 driver 9 degree with the PLB 45 A flex.  Cut mine to play at 44 inches.  It's a dang fairway finding machine! While the shorter shaft may not give me the 10-20 yards of extra distance it does go about the same average distance as my stock Cobra LTDX, but with way more control and so easy to swing.  I would say if you factor in total average distance, and balls in play it is "longer". It may not have that one rare "bomb" I would get every now and then lol.  But so far loving the combo. 

Love the thought process! If you're lacing fairways and not giving up ANY distance from your previous setup, and gaining distance isn't a major necessity, I see that as a total win! 

Now you have my wheels spinning again...