Shaft Hack - The Otto Phlex Journey

[Bang60]

2 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

New question for anyone who's decided they're gonna stick with an O-P shaft -- any thoughts on changing your regular golf ball, vs sticking with your normal gamer??

Well for me variety is the spice of life lol...

[Rchang]

Am wondering if the magic sauce is the swing weight irrespective of the flex? Anyone tried a regular or stiff with D0 swing weight?

[Bang60]

2 minutes ago, Rchang said:

Am wondering if the magic sauce is the swing weight irrespective of the flex? Anyone tried a regular or stiff with D0 swing weight?

Interesting point @Rchang, I think I've got a TM driver shaft I could try ... like you're thinking outside the square...

[BadgerRick]

1 hour ago, Rchang said:

Am wondering if the magic sauce is the swing weight irrespective of the flex? Anyone tried a regular or stiff with D0 swing weight?

yes, I have an Xcaliber ultra light X flex in my Callaway, around 50 grams, really good and stout shaft. My carry with that has been around 285, and with the Grafalloy PLB my carry is around 300, and my swing speed is a few mph faster. 

[Bobbers]

4 hours ago, Rchang said:

Am wondering if the magic sauce is the swing weight irrespective of the flex? Anyone tried a regular or stiff with D0 swing weight?

I have.  And the improvements I see with the O-PH concept being applied have, for me, been very noticeable.  For  me it's the combination of swing weight AND lighter flex.  Again, that's just one person's experience.

[azstu324]

4 hours ago, Rchang said:

Am wondering if the magic sauce is the swing weight irrespective of the flex? Anyone tried a regular or stiff with D0 swing weight?

I've tried a heavier and stiffer more standard version at D0 and it's not for me. I always needed to play at least D4 in my conventional setup or else I just couldn't maintain a playable tempo and the feeling just wasn't enjoyable. 

D0-D1 in OP really doesn't play or feel the same as D1 in standard. It feels more like D4+ but requires much less effort to load and release. I think this is a multi-part equation. Shaft and total weight + SW + flex = results

[vandyland]

Hit the GPLB A flex shaft today on Trackman and was having no issue turning it over a bit. Must have just been a swing issue on the day OR I hit the ball better on Trackman (both could be true). Anyway, setup was a 10.5 loft with the heavy weight in the back (12g) using a 45 g Grafalloy Prolaunch Blue shaft. Here are the numbers for me:

vs my current "ideal setup" which is a "stiff" shaft that has a ton of torque (6.0) so it feels whippy, with the driver head turned down to 9.5* and the 12g weight in the back:

 

A few things to note is that I obviously have a larger sample size with the "ideal" setup and was swinging considerably faster. All that said, the results are encouraging on the Pro Launch Blue. Basically the launch angles are similar which is interesting and the spin is lower. Not what I would have expected. Dispersion is probably a tad better with the ideal setup (for now) but carry isn't that much different when you take into account the swing speed difference. 

[azstu324]

1 hour ago, vandyland said:

Hit the GPLB A flex shaft today on Trackman and was having no issue turning it over a bit. Must have just been a swing issue on the day OR I hit the ball better on Trackman (both could be true). Anyway, setup was a 10.5 loft with the heavy weight in the back (12g) using a 45 g Grafalloy Prolaunch Blue shaft. Here are the numbers for me:

vs my current "ideal setup" which is a "stiff" shaft that has a ton of torque (6.0) so it feels whippy, with the driver head turned down to 9.5* and the 12g weight in the back:

 

A few things to note is that I obviously have a larger sample size with the "ideal" setup and was swinging considerably faster. All that said, the results are encouraging on the Pro Launch Blue. Basically the launch angles are similar which is interesting and the spin is lower. Not what I would have expected. Dispersion is probably a tad better with the ideal setup (for now) but carry isn't that much different when you take into account the swing speed difference. 

Very interesting.. You try turning the PLB down all the way? Efficiency is higher with the Garafalloy . I bet there's a secret code in there somewhere to unlock the distance. Just gotta keep playing the game. 

[Bang60]

@azstu324 please delete this if it's out of order but I don't have another forum to ask, I've seen this advert a few times and would like to convert my bicycle. Has anyone tried and did it work?

[azstu324]

2 minutes ago, Bang60 said:

@azstu324 please delete this if it's out of order but I don't have another forum to ask, I've seen this advert a few times and would like to convert my bicycle. Has anyone tried and did it work?

Man I wouldn't even know where to start with this one. I haven't owned a bike in 15 years. 

[vandyland]

2 hours ago, azstu324 said:

Very interesting.. You try turning the PLB down all the way? Efficiency is higher with the Garafalloy . I bet there's a secret code in there somewhere to unlock the distance. Just gotta keep playing the game. 

I didn’t but will try that. What is an ideal launch angle at my speed? 14*? I am reading it is between 13-16* so I am probably still slightly high but I know two easy ways to bring that down (1) lofting down as you mentioned and (2) reducing the back weight or removing it all together.

[Golfspy_TCB]

On 11/30/2022 at 4:59 PM, Bobbers said:

I have.  And the improvements I see with the O-PH concept being applied have, for me, been very noticeable.  For  me it's the combination of swing weight AND lighter flex.  Again, that's just one person's experience.

I 2nd this.  These are my findings as well.  

[Bobbers]

1 hour ago, vandyland said:

I didn’t but will try that. What is an ideal launch angle at my speed? 14*? I am reading it is between 13-16* so I am probably still slightly high but I know two easy ways to bring that down (1) lofting down as you mentioned and (2) reducing the back weight or removing it all together.

Unfortunately the answer is "try both".  We're in uncharted territory so the more people who are willing/able to "play around" a bit with some of the possible variants the more we'll be able to home in on some of the buried truth we're trying to uncover.

My "hunch", and that's what it is at this juncture, is that lofting down is probably your best, and certainly easiest, move.  I'd not be surprised to see carry go up a bit as well as total distance, even with a speed that's lower than what you're charting with your "ideal" set up.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Bobbers

[Bobbers]

1 hour ago, Bang60 said:

@azstu324 please delete this if it's out of order but I don't have another forum to ask, I've seen this advert a few times and would like to convert my bicycle. Has anyone tried and did it work?

I'm at the age where my interest in electric bikes is inversely related to the brittleness of my bones.  If it were me I'd simply google "reviews of ebikeschool.com" and see what pops up.  If nothing shows?  Wait for the guinea pigs to surface or ditch the idea.

[Bang60]

6 hours ago, azstu324 said:

Man I wouldn't even know where to start with this one. I haven't owned a bike in 15 years. 

I've on a bike off and on all my life, not so much recently it's why I need help with peddle power..

[Bang60]

5 hours ago, Bobbers said:

I'm at the age where my interest in electric bikes is inversely related to the brittleness of my bones.  If it were me I'd simply google "reviews of ebikeschool.com" and see what pops up.  If nothing shows?  Wait for the guinea pigs to surface or ditch the idea.

@Bobbers appreciate your input will try that, never thought of those search parameters. Just the heads up I was looking for, cheers..

[vandyland]

So I searched the MGS site and found this old (like a decade old) article on shaft flex -- Wrong Shaft Flex

First and foremost, they did not test senior or lady flex shafts. Only X-Stiff, Stiff and Regular. I will spoil the article with this chart that I think properly dispels the "XXX mph should swing an X shaft" trope:

 

Now, to some earlier points, I think we are collecting a solid amount of data for MGS to do another article and, specifically, over this idea that you can copy an AutoFlex's (or just a smooth, whippy shaft) rather inexpensively and that it will have surprising results (for some). Not taking shots at anyone but I find that more interesting and aligned with MyGolfSpy's mission rather than "Spy Kicks" (I mean, it's just shoes) or "gift guides".

 

 

[azstu324]

1 hour ago, vandyland said:

Not taking shots at anyone but I find that more interesting and aligned with MyGolfSpy's mission rather than "Spy Kicks" (I mean, it's just shoes) or "gift guides".

This is me NOT disagreeing

It's gotta be a matter of time before an article or video goes up on what we're doing here. It's all too compelling and interesting not to. 

Good find BTW! 

[Bobbers]

3 hours ago, azstu324 said:

This is me NOT disagreeing

It's gotta be a matter of time before an article or video goes up on what we're doing here. It's all too compelling and interesting not to. 

Good find BTW! 

My hope, and I know I speak only for myself, is that any effort in this area would include some of us in the 70-80 mph driver swing speed.  Age is a "******" but it does eventually get us all if we're lucky enough to hang around.

I read a LOT of what gets posted here and on other sites.  I have a hard time finding anyone, regardless of age/handicap that doesn't have "an average drive for me is 220-240" on up to "my typical drive in the 295+ carry range".  Hard to express how disheartening that is.  You'll note in earlier posts how pleased I am that the O-PH concept gets me around 175-180 yards; up from 160-165...

But when I look at the "retro" videos that compare an older driver with it's new counterpart I see numbers for the "slow swing speed/below 90 mph" showing that even with the new driver the average drive is in the 180 yard range.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Bobbers

[Bang60]

One thing I'm 100% positively certain of is when using a lady's 40gram shaft that "LOW loft" is key, I played with a visitor to my club and he let me hit one drive with his 12deg 50gram driver lady flex shaft that went straight up with distance of 120 metres. I've now got a pinched nerve behind my left shoulder that's killing me even though I'm taking ibuprofen and paracetamol. I'm not sure when I'll be ready to hit balls again as it's extreme 'paid' painful when I turn to the right...

Edited December 3, 2022 by Bang60
info