Shaft Hack - The Otto Phlex Journey

[GolfSpy SAM]

Just an update with my VERY light Ai Smokeax/Maltby UL combo. 

I only hit 5 Fairways. Before you "boo", please note I hit 7 other drives that missed the fairway by 3 yards or less. 

I'm not kidding: this was the best, easiest driving experience of my life. The ball just went where I aimed it - like, incredible straight. 

I took it to the range after the round to see if it was some kind of fluke. 

It's not. 

Now I will say, I did have one ball slice off to the right (my normal miss), and I hit another immediately after just to see if I could feel what was slightly wrong, and I realized I shifted my weight hard to the left at the top of my swing. When I kept my weight back a HAIR longer, boom - crushed and straight. 

I can't tell you what a difference this made for me today (playing from the fairway/near-fairway). Shot a -1 on the back 9, total of 76.  And I barely made a putt today. 

This could literally change my game. I'm still going to tinker a little with some lead tape to see what that does, but... My god. This was night and day better in every way (like, the number of centered strikes was astounding). 

I will say the Ai Smoke head is... Incredible. I'll be putting the PXG head on this shaft as well, but the sound on the Cally is head and shoulders better than the PXG. 

As for distance, longest drive was 295, slightly wind-assisted. Drives averaged (quick calculation looking at card) 260, which includes a 200-yard drive that hit a tree that was...200 yards out, lol. 

I'm a little bit in love with this combo. VERY curious to see if getting it up to c8/D0 somehow betters this result... Which might feel like cheating. Wow. 

[GolfSpy SAM]

And an even FURTHER update! I found I still had a few lighter midsize grips in the garage - 17g difference when blown onto the Ai Smoke. So now with that easy fix, I've got it at C9.1, so up five swingweights just with the grip! 

I'll experiment more with lead tape next time I'm at the range, but REALLY curious what this combo will feel like after the success of today

[chisag]

12 minutes ago, GolfSpy SAM said:

So now with that easy fix, I've got it at C9.1, so up five swingweights just with the grip! 

 

... Keep in mind changing to a lighter grip basically just fools the swing weight scale. You aren't changing the head weight and the performance of the shaft should be unchanged as well. That said, feel can be different as you have changed the static weight and that can play a role in how you swing the club. Sounds like you are having fun so good luck with the new grip nd your continued experiments! 

[GolfSpy SAM]

1 hour ago, chisag said:

 

... Keep in mind changing to a lighter grip basically just fools the swing weight scale. You aren't changing the head weight and the performance of the shaft should be unchanged as well. That said, feel can be different as you have changed the static weight and that can play a role in how you swing the club. Sounds like you are having fun so good luck with the new grip nd your continued experiments! 

100% it's just fun. Honestly, I was only slightly hesitant to change into the lighter grip because of the success of today's round.  I can't stress enough how EASY it felt off the tee, which is legit something I've never experienced. 

If the lighter grip (and I actually just ordered the Dri-Tac LT which is 10 grams lighter still than my "light" one) isn't an improvement, I'll just blow it off and blow on the one from today.  

I think you hit it on the head there with that last statement - it IS fun. I can't tell you what a dark place the tee box was becoming, knowing that there was a better-than-even chance that I'd peel one off to the right, no matter how strong my grip was, lol. 

 

[chisag]

39 minutes ago, GolfSpy SAM said:

100% it's just fun. Honestly, I was only slightly hesitant to change into the lighter grip because of the success of today's round.  I can't stress enough how EASY it felt off the tee, which is legit something I've never experienced. 

If the lighter grip (and I actually just ordered the Dri-Tac LT which is 10 grams lighter still than my "light" one) isn't an improvement, I'll just blow it off and blow on the one from today.  

I think you hit it on the head there with that last statement - it IS fun. I can't tell you what a dark place the tee box was becoming, knowing that there was a better-than-even chance that I'd peel one off to the right, no matter how strong my grip was, lol. 

 

... Back when metal woods first came out, after market shafts were just being introduced and there was no such thing as a hybrid, golf forums were filled with all kinds of interesting experiments. It was a ton of fun with some really outside the box thinking. I love that you, azstu and the rest in this thread are bringing back a little taste of those crazy fun times. And double glad to hear your tee box woes have been banished to a distant memory. 

[slay4klay]

12 hours ago, GolfSpy SAM said:

100% it's just fun. Honestly, I was only slightly hesitant to change into the lighter grip because of the success of today's round.  I can't stress enough how EASY it felt off the tee, which is legit something I've never experienced. 

If the lighter grip (and I actually just ordered the Dri-Tac LT which is 10 grams lighter still than my "light" one) isn't an improvement, I'll just blow it off and blow on the one from today.  

I think you hit it on the head there with that last statement - it IS fun. I can't tell you what a dark place the tee box was becoming, knowing that there was a better-than-even chance that I'd peel one off to the right, no matter how strong my grip was, lol. 

 

I felt that "what a dark place the tee box was becoming" line so hard. I had very similar results my first time out with my Maltby UL shaft. Can't wait to get out for a second round to see if it really is as easy as it was that first time!

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

18 hours ago, GolfSpy SAM said:

Just an update with my VERY light Ai Smokeax/Maltby UL combo. 

I only hit 5 Fairways. Before you "boo", please note I hit 7 other drives that missed the fairway by 3 yards or less. 

I'm not kidding: this was the best, easiest driving experience of my life. The ball just went where I aimed it - like, incredible straight. 

I took it to the range after the round to see if it was some kind of fluke. 

It's not. 

Now I will say, I did have one ball slice off to the right (my normal miss), and I hit another immediately after just to see if I could feel what was slightly wrong, and I realized I shifted my weight hard to the left at the top of my swing. When I kept my weight back a HAIR longer, boom - crushed and straight. 

I can't tell you what a difference this made for me today (playing from the fairway/near-fairway). Shot a -1 on the back 9, total of 76.  And I barely made a putt today. 

This could literally change my game. I'm still going to tinker a little with some lead tape to see what that does, but... My god. This was night and day better in every way (like, the number of centered strikes was astounding). 

I will say the Ai Smoke head is... Incredible. I'll be putting the PXG head on this shaft as well, but the sound on the Cally is head and shoulders better than the PXG. 

As for distance, longest drive was 295, slightly wind-assisted. Drives averaged (quick calculation looking at card) 260, which includes a 200-yard drive that hit a tree that was...200 yards out, lol. 

I'm a little bit in love with this combo. VERY curious to see if getting it up to c8/D0 somehow betters this result... Which might feel like cheating. Wow. 

Don’t bring me back on this train of thought. lol. I don’t need more shafts to think about. 
 

edit: hindsight could help my game as I won’t feel the hit instinct with driver. Just swing. 

Edited Saturday at 05:22 PM by Vegan_Golfer_PNW

[HikingMike]

4 hours ago, slay4klay said:

I felt that "what a dark place the tee box was becoming" line so hard. I had very similar results my first time out with my Maltby UL shaft. Can't wait to get out for a second round to see if it really is as easy as it was that first time!

Amen, same here. I hit driver fairly long, and it can really be a weapon. But I go through streaks where I can't keep it near the fairway half the time.

I may have to learn how to attach grips and adapters and all that and try some shafts at some point  

[GolfSpy SAM]

Swinging the driver with the lighter grip right now in the backyard into a net. Feels great - C9 weight, may keep it here, depending. Obviously can't see ball flight, but can definitely feel the weight difference. Not offensive in any way, mind you, but definitely different. Will be curious to see on the range how this differs from the C4 weight from yesterday.