Shaft Hack - The Otto Phlex Journey

[srooch2]

17 hours ago, 444Bullet said:

In lieu of just starting my own thread to ask a technical question, I'll try here first as it might fit. 

I've been playing a Paderson Velocity D20 (R? flex). Its very loose feeling and I don't know if it is anything like the AF (never hit) but I have wondered whether it might be. Anyway, I'd like to get another driver (to leave at a relative's house where I play when visiting) but they are not cheap shafts and I do like it.  So..

1. Is this shaft anything close to AF profile? In which case info here may already be useful.

2. If no, what other less costly shafts might be a match for the Paderson profile at a more budget friendly price?

 

I couldn’t find a profile the shaft you currently use. 

[IndyBonzo]

OK, Christmas is nutso.  

Santa has been extremely good to me, and I have the ProForce V2, Accra FX 3.0, and another MP5 (which I intend to tip trim 1/2" and maybe again to 1" depending on testing) all for this little OP experiment against my current (non-tip-trimmed) MP5, the GWX, and likely also my neighbor's PLB A-flex I built for him.  This should be a fun winter.  

I am crazy excited to test these and report back.  It will take a while . . .

Man I wish adapters were not so expensive!

[Ding-dong]

Been injured for a bit with the knees, they seem to not like bending, meaning no dishwasher duty or low cupboards..! Don’t tell anyone but they are okay now.

But with the down time I investigated my “rights”, to say block is incorrect. It’s just the face staying open. I did try the other shaft I have which is 0.5” longer with a std grip. 
This was closing properly.. but felt different.

So now I am about to go down some rabbit hole on the quest to get my swing weight sorted. 
The issue club was 20-30g lighter grip end. I don’t want to weight up the head too much and I want to use this big grip.

So I am going to invest in a swing weight scale, lead tape , tour lock weights etc … then I may start the silliness with my putter.

 

 

[IndyBonzo]

14 minutes ago, Ding-dong said:

Been injured for a bit with the knees, they seem to not like bending, meaning no dishwasher duty or low cupboards..! Don’t tell anyone but they are okay now.

But with the down time I investigated my “rights”, to say block is incorrect. It’s just the face staying open. I did try the other shaft I have which is 0.5” longer with a std grip. 
This was closing properly.. but felt different.

So now I am about to go down some rabbit hole on the quest to get my swing weight sorted. 
The issue club was 20-30g lighter grip end. I don’t want to weight up the head too much and I want to use this big grip.

So I am going to invest in a swing weight scale, lead tape , tour lock weights etc … then I may start the silliness with my putter.

 

 

@Ding-dong I have gotten accurate results with the online swing weight algorithms (and also with the iPhone app) without having to invest in a swingweight scale.  Far be it from me to discourage someone from getting more golf gear, but . . ..

[Ding-dong]

1 minute ago, IndyBonzo said:

@Ding-dong I have gotten accurate results with the online swing weight algorithms (and also with the iPhone app) without having to invest in a swingweight scale.  Far be it from me to discourage someone from getting more golf gear, but . . ..

I have a few clubs I like, so I want to know if it’s related and then the putter needs to be investigated 

[azstu324]

34 minutes ago, Ding-dong said:

Been injured for a bit with the knees, they seem to not like bending, meaning no dishwasher duty or low cupboards..! Don’t tell anyone but they are okay now.

But with the down time I investigated my “rights”, to say block is incorrect. It’s just the face staying open. I did try the other shaft I have which is 0.5” longer with a std grip. 
This was closing properly.. but felt different.

So now I am about to go down some rabbit hole on the quest to get my swing weight sorted. 
The issue club was 20-30g lighter grip end. I don’t want to weight up the head too much and I want to use this big grip.

So I am going to invest in a swing weight scale, lead tape , tour lock weights etc … then I may start the silliness with my putter.

 

 

Very generally speaking. 1/2" is roughly about 3 SW points and is definitely noticeable. There is the variable of total shaft weight and/or counter balanced shafts that hold more weight on the grip section.. but again very generally speaking.. 

If your looking for a bigger grip, the Winn Jumbo grips or Jumbo Max grips are extremely light for their size. I've seen them range anywhere from 10-30g lighter than standard grips and often times can help resolve the light SW issue. 

Also @IndyBonzo and @Ding-dong I've been using the online SW calc through leaderboard for a few years for a good generic SW tool. Tomorrow I'm actually picking up a true SW scale. I'll be doing a comparison with the Leaderboard calc. I don't question leaderboard's validity but just have wanted a legit scale for some time and it seems more convenient to have one with as much club work that I find myself doing lately. 

If it saves you $150 I'll definitely let you know what I find out. If it's just for this project you might find it much more economical to use the free online calc. 

[RCgs]

On 10/13/2023 at 2:42 PM, azstu324 said:

Hey so question for anyone still following along before I post a thread in the main room.. 

This doesn't have much to do with the OP so I guess technically I'm hijacking my own thread.. but everyone here has been so incredibly awesome to work that I figured I'd start here. 

"Weight loss and the driver swing". I've recently shed about 30 lbs in a fairly short period (2 months). I intend to to keep going for another 20 lbs. I've found that my driver swing has completed gone to hell in a hand basket. It's almost like I lost all of my tempo and I'm just way ahead of myself. Snap hooks are back and I'm just having a hell of a time trying to find my tempo again. 

Has anybody else experienced anything like this? I'm kind of perplexed as to what to do. My irons seem ok but my driver that used to be my golden ticket is the worst it's been in a long while. 

I'm sure I'll figure a solution but I'm just curious if this is a real thing happening and not just me looking for excuses

Thanks y'all!

 

Stu

 

I’m late to this party, but I lost 80 pounds intentionally over a year and a half, and my swing suffered at first.  But since some of that weight loss was muscle, I started lifting weights and that actually helped my swing.  I guess maybe I have better muscle control or something - I have no idea, but the yards returned.  Anyway, as to the original post, if you add another variable to the experiment, you’ll be surprised by the results.  Try the lowest lofted head you can find with the lightest shaft, but play the shaft as long as you can.  Once you time it up, and it’s not as hard as people think, you will hit absolute bombs.  The low loft goes well with the long shaft - that’s the long drive tournament setup.  But with the lighter shaft with the right torque, normal golfers can control that setup.  I’m playing a Grafalloy Blue 45 at 47” with a Stealth 2 head.  I didn’t even change the weight in the head because the club is so light, the swing weight feels fine with a heavier grip.  But I’m going to tinker anyway and change the heel weight from 25 to somewhere around 14 just to make the swing weight feel even lighter.

[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 just bought a RIP Phenom 50 A flex. There's an Ebay seller with a handful of them. I used to play a Phenom 70S up until a few years ago, and it was my favorite shaft  ever. I'm throwing it in an older Srixon 8° Z545 I picked up for $30. I've been playing a Z745 all summer, with very good results.

I'll start swinging it right away, and work on my timing over the winter, along with some speed training, but won't be able to get any real results until the spring.

Edited December 21, 2023 by ger21
Added

[srooch2]

1 hour ago, ger21 said:

I just bought a RIP Phenom 50 A flex. There's an Ebay seller with a handful of them. I used to the a Phenom 70S up until a few years ago, and it was my favorite shaft  ever. I'm throwing it in an older Srixon 8° Z545 I picked up for $30. I've been playing a Z745 all summer, with very good results.

I'll start swinging it right away, and work on my timing over the winter, along with some speed training, but won't be able to get any real results until the spring.

Awesome, I still game the phenom in my 3 wood and love it. I know the seller you’re talking about and I’ve bought several shafts from him.  

[azstu324]

21 hours ago, Ding-dong said:

I have a few clubs I like, so I want to know if it’s related and then the putter needs to be investigated 

Got my scale! 

So I had my mid-irons weighing in at just a tickle over D4 with the Leaderboard online swing weight calc. I'd say that it's pretty darn accurate as long as you do it correctly.

This is my 7i

 

[MuniGolfer]

On 12/16/2023 at 11:03 AM, srooch2 said:

In what way? It is a little high but I think it’s been proven that torque only effects feel. I don’t like high torque however for that reason and tend to stick to lower torque shafts. It’s a good shaft though. 

Yeah, just that it may be too high. Might be fine though. I have liked the sub 5 torque shafts so far, and I think that is part of the autoflex magic, is the low torque. If you try it, let me know. The silver kuro kage I had in my Nike was probably my favorite shaft I have ever played and why I look at the black every so often for an OP. I would be interested for sure.

I felt like the ust mp5 reminded me of my old kuro kage, just lighter and faster. I have been a little bummed that the tip disintegrated when I tried to pull it to put into my ping. It probably plays like a firm regular now tipped about in inch and a half. Which is probably fine. I still pulled the trigger on the maltby, since after reading azstu’s thoughts and researching it, it seemed like it would be comparable to where my a-flex mp5 was and the murdered out look with the g425 head sounds cool. Granted, the torque is higher than the kuro kage hbp, so we’ll see i guess. I also finally got a weight kit for that head too, so I can make quick switches and comparisons with all my shafts.

Edited December 22, 2023 by MuniGolfer

[Stephen C Wilson]

Sounds very interesting, but over my head to do myself. Still fun to see what others do. Keep up the great input!!

 

[Bad Golfer]

So after reading through most of this thread the goat is still the PLB in A flex?

[IndyBonzo]

41 minutes ago, Bad Golfer said:

So after reading through most of this thread the goat is still the PLB in A flex?

I would say the majority here have thought the PLB-A and MP5-L (tough to find - discontinued) have been the best options.  Others - feel free to disagree if you feel I have that wrong!

That said, my first round with the Accra FX 3.0 140 M0 shaft was nothing short of incredible.  I am not ready to say that it is definitely going to kick out my MP5, or that it is certainly better than the PLB, but if it continues to perform similarly it will become *my* gamer for certain.  It was really long, and incredibly accurate.  I have much more testing to do after the holidays and will report back.  I am very excited about it, if you cannot tell.  Ha.  Maybe it will join the GOAT list?

Edited December 28, 2023 by IndyBonzo

[Vernon]

2 hours ago, IndyBonzo said:

I would say the majority here have thought the PLB-A and MP5-L (tough to find - discontinued) have been the best options.  Others - feel free to disagree if you feel I have that wrong!

That said, my first round with the Accra FX 3.0 140 M0 shaft was nothing short of incredible.  I am not ready to say that it is definitely going to kick out my MP5, or that it is certainly better than the PLB, but if it continues to perform similarly it will become *my* gamer for certain.  It was really long, and incredibly accurate.  I have much more testing to do after the holidays and will report back.  I am very excited about it, if you cannot tell.  Ha.  Maybe it will join the GOAT list?

Well now that's just great........

And I thought I had myself talked into waiting until at least spring! 

To quote Maggie from Caddyshack, "Tanks fer nuttin'!"

[IndyBonzo]

1 hour ago, Vernon said:

Well now that's just great........

And I thought I had myself talked into waiting until at least spring! 

To quote Maggie from Caddyshack, "Tanks fer nuttin'!"

So sorry @Vernon!  You can justify waiting until I get some more testing done, if you like.  That will take me a few weeks to be sure, if not longer.  

Early returns are awfully promising however . . .

[Vernon]

1 hour ago, IndyBonzo said:

So sorry @Vernon!  You can justify waiting until I get some more testing done, if you like.  That will take me a few weeks to be sure, if not longer.  

Early returns are awfully promising however . . .

Too late - The damage is done!

Will Peoples has a fifteen percent off deal going so the shaft cut to playing length with a Ping G430 tip installed and an Iomic Sticky Midsize grip came to $215.58 shipped.

Thought that was a pretty deal considering most other places I looked were $225 before tax and shipping (if applicable) and didn't include prep, tip and grip.

And I guess I'm not really all THAT mad - it's cold and gray and boring here and now the anticipation or the shaft arriving will help keep me sane for another couple of weeks!

Thanks and I hope your first experience with this thing wasn't a fluke but I gotta doubt it.

I've hit a few Accra shafts that friends had a few times and always really liked the way that they felt so I can't imagine I'll be disappointed in this purchase.

And if it proves to be the answer I'll have a bunch of other options to cut down for fairway woods as well as a few to sell if I want.

[IndyBonzo]

4 hours ago, Vernon said:

Too late - The damage is done!

Will Peoples has a fifteen percent off deal going so the shaft cut to playing length with a Ping G430 tip installed and an Iomic Sticky Midsize grip came to $215.58 shipped.

Thought that was a pretty deal considering most other places I looked were $225 before tax and shipping (if applicable) and didn't include prep, tip and grip.

And I guess I'm not really all THAT mad - it's cold and gray and boring here and now the anticipation or the shaft arriving will help keep me sane for another couple of weeks!

Thanks and I hope your first experience with this thing wasn't a fluke but I gotta doubt it.

I've hit a few Accra shafts that friends had a few times and always really liked the way that they felt so I can't imagine I'll be disappointed in this purchase.

And if it proves to be the answer I'll have a bunch of other options to cut down for fairway woods as well as a few to sell if I want.

That is a very good deal!  And FWIW, I also put an Iomic grip on that shaft, and the responsiveness is top notch.  
 

Fingers crossed for both of us!

[ger21]

20 hours ago, Vernon said:

MP5-L (tough to find - discontinued)

There were a couple new ones on Ebay as of last week.

[Titleist fanboy]

On 11/3/2023 at 11:48 AM, bocaf said:

I have been playing since it came out and love it. Most accurate shaft I have ever played by far. My AF rep states that he will be getting one of each flex in a couple of weeks to start demoing. I know this site reaches many parts of the globe, don't know if Korea is one of them. So it may be early but I'll ask. Has anyone seen or tried one yet?

 

On 12/6/2023 at 9:42 AM, O2BGOLFN said:

Really glad I found this thread about 18 months ago.  I have the PLB A flex in my Ping 400 Max driver and in my Ping 425 fairway. Very happy with the results although I am wondering about going to the L flex and perhaps a 425Max head.  Hitting the ball longer and with a nice draw.  Definitely a believer.  

Have you seen the latest from the Autoflex company?  It's called Freeflex /Metaflex and brings a whole new dimension to shaft manufacturing.  I'm not an engineer but my understanding is there is torsional stiffness while retaining the flexibiltiy of a soft flex of great benefit to faster swing speeds.  Won't help my 92 mph driver swing speed but can't wait to see actual testing.  

Happy Holidays to all,  

Freeflex shaft is from another Korean  company called SJ golf lab. They recently launched a new shaft Metaflex that is supposed to retain the advantages of a soft shaft but feel firm like a stiff shaft. The article over the golfwrx was hard to believe but the company says they can control how stiff a shaft feels despite it being low cpm and high torque. Don't quite know how that'd work but I'm sold on their Freeflex shafts for sure. Love my FF38 shaft with stealth head so no need to sqitch to the stiffer feeling Meta but very curious to see if it works for faster swingers seeing as that was where Autoflex was lacking. Anyone try them yet?

[ger21]

6 hours ago, Titleist fanboy said:

Anyone try them yet?

I think the purpose of this thread is to find an "Autoflex on a budget".

Looks like the Freeflex is $650, and the Metaflex $550?

Most people here are playing $50 shafts.

[GolfSpy_APH]

That was the original thinking was finding a cheaper close to equivalent shaft to the Autoflex.

[Fred Mitchell]

2 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

That was the original thinking was finding a cheaper close to equivalent shaft to the Autoflex.

lets face it even the club makers are putting out clubs with shafts for speed increases. The shaft in the TSR1 and the Ping 430 H/L for instance.

 

[MuniGolfer]

On 12/29/2023 at 6:11 AM, ger21 said:

There were a couple new ones on Ebay as of last week.

If the maltby doesn’t work out and I feel like the mp5 I had to tip is just not the same anymore, I may pick another up. 

Edited January 2 by MuniGolfer

[Ding-dong]

So I finally got round to adjusting my club I have moved it from a C9 to D1. I added 4 grams of lead tape heal side on the 44” shaft with the jumbo grip … just too ill to swing it

[Ding-dong]

On 1/4/2024 at 10:02 AM, Ding-dong said:

So I finally got round to adjusting my club I have moved it from a C9 to D1. I added 4 grams of lead tape heal side on the 44” shaft with the jumbo grip … just too ill to swing it

Well I got out today…

Heel weight made little or no impact.

I went back to the 50g 5.5 hzdus im10 shaft set the head to 11 degrees draw and all was rosey.

Swingweights were D1 vs D0.

So the experiment tomorrow will be std grip vs hzdus , then I will put lead tape on the toe side to see if I can get the closure rate going.

my path is in to out by 0,5- 5 degrees depending how I visualise my head path.. like wise I can get out to in but not to that margin. 
I am happy with my swing path, I am unhappy with the release .. so I need to find a way to make it happen.

 

[Vernon]

Well the good news is the new Accra is supposed to arrive tomorrow!

The bad news is so is six inches of snow followed by five more later in the week along with single digit high temperatures and below zero lows.

Looks like lots of indoor "waggling" for the next couple of weeks.

At least........

[Ding-dong]

Manage to get out on my home simulator and go through some options.

To cut a long story short..

The jumbo grip is off the driver, reducing the head weight to get the closure rate was too costly regards ball speed.

The OP feels better than the Hzdus … back in the game gents ! 

[IndyBonzo]

2 hours ago, Ding-dong said:

Manage to get out on my home simulator and go through some options.

To cut a long story short..

The jumbo grip is off the driver, reducing the head weight to get the closure rate was too costly regards ball speed.

The OP feels better than the Hzdus … back in the game gents ! 

Welcome back to the light side of The Force @Ding-dong!

Edited January 7 by IndyBonzo

[Bang60]

On 1/4/2024 at 10:02 PM, Ding-dong said:

So I finally got round to adjusting my club I have moved it from a C9 to D1. I added 4 grams of lead tape heal side on the 44” shaft with the jumbo grip … just too ill to swing it

Yeah know how that feels as it's best part of a year since I was swinging my clubs, l keep thinking it's got to be soon but not in a good space and need to make some life style changes...