My Autoflex Journey

[ashmore72]

Driver, well this club has always been an up and down experience each time I take to the links.  I have a love/hate relationship with this club.  One day everything works, and the next I might as well throw it in the pond.  I have tried mini drivers, lower lofts for spin reduction, high lofts to keep me in the air, the list goes on and on.

About 4 months ago I decided to purchase a Stealth+ 10.5* head with a GD IZ 6S shaft.  Hit it unbelievably well on the simulator and surprisingly that translated to the course.  Then, the inevitable happened.  I started missing left and right with this.  I told myself I am not playing around with the head, because the numbers were great.  13-13.5* launch and spin was between 2300-2500.  Perfect.  So I thought to myself it has to be the operator (NEVER SAY THIS, ITS ALWAYS THE CLUB).  I kept reading and watching videos about the Autoflex phenomena, how people rave about them.  I just had to see/try for myself.  Well the sticker shock was even more a put-off.   I even thought about going to club champion and wasting the $150 on a driver fitting to just see if I even could swing this shaft.  I was not going that route tho.  As a natural club/shaft changer-outer, I said screw it lets get on the forums/ebay and see what we can find.  I love bright colors and settled on a limited rainbow edition.  

Now this shaft being $400 better be worth it.  I was told it would play 46" in the head, it did not, it was an inch shorter.  I know from reading the whole premise behind this shaft is the longer the better creating a whip feel and making that ball travel farther with less resistance/work.  Well, I said screw it and lets see.

After 2.5 months with this shaft, I could not be happier.  My fairways in play has risen to an ungodly level of 71% hit.  More importantly I have taken away a double miss and really any miss at all.  When I swing it like a lazy idiot thats my own fault.  This shaft not only was worth the $400 on consistency alone, but also giving me the confidence to pull it out on tight fairways to get closer to the green when my playing buddies have to hit 3 wood or less.  Scramble events are just awesome!  I hit the fairway and my partner can do whatever they want.  My swing speed is consistent at 102-104.  I do not have a harsh transition, I am fairly smooth on everything.  This shaft has only made it more smooth.  Another huge point to be made is when I mishit the ball on the toe or the heel, the misses do not balloon left or right.  They actually stay straight.  I have never seen this before.  It cannot be me making corrections on the downswing because we all know that makes it much worse.  It has to be the shaft reacting to that mishit and giving it the correction needed.  

One thing I am really hesitant on doing is checking my numbers on a trackman.  I do not want to see what they are because I truly do not care.  I am beyond happy with all my results on the course, and that is where it counts.

 

I say all of this to basically tell anyone that is thinking about this purchase, JUST DO IT.  Especially if you try to go after the ball and always seem to end up in a bad spot.  This shaft allows you to swing easy and give you the same results if not better.  I know these shafts on the aftermarket are still $500, but if you can have the same results as myself, that cost more than makes up for you chasing the next shaft/head combo 6 months to a year later (hell even sooner in my case).  Cheers!

[GolfSpy_APH]

5 minutes ago, ashmore72 said:

Driver, well this club has always been an up and down experience each time I take to the links.  I have a love/hate relationship with this club.  One day everything works, and the next I might as well throw it in the pond.  I have tried mini drivers, lower lofts for spin reduction, high lofts to keep me in the air, the list goes on and on.

About 4 months ago I decided to purchase a Stealth+ 10.5* head with a GD IZ 6S shaft.  Hit it unbelievably well on the simulator and surprisingly that translated to the course.  Then, the inevitable happened.  I started missing left and right with this.  I told myself I am not playing around with the head, because the numbers were great.  13-13.5* launch and spin was between 2300-2500.  Perfect.  So I thought to myself it has to be the operator (NEVER SAY THIS, ITS ALWAYS THE CLUB).  I kept reading and watching videos about the Autoflex phenomena, how people rave about them.  I just had to see/try for myself.  Well the sticker shock was even more a put-off.   I even thought about going to club champion and wasting the $150 on a driver fitting to just see if I even could swing this shaft.  I was not going that route tho.  As a natural club/shaft changer-outer, I said screw it lets get on the forums/ebay and see what we can find.  I love bright colors and settled on a limited rainbow edition.  

Now this shaft being $400 better be worth it.  I was told it would play 46" in the head, it did not, it was an inch shorter.  I know from reading the whole premise behind this shaft is the longer the better creating a whip feel and making that ball travel farther with less resistance/work.  Well, I said screw it and lets see.

After 2.5 months with this shaft, I could not be happier.  My fairways in play has risen to an ungodly level of 71% hit.  More importantly I have taken away a double miss and really any miss at all.  When I swing it like a lazy idiot thats my own fault.  This shaft not only was worth the $400 on consistency alone, but also giving me the confidence to pull it out on tight fairways to get closer to the green when my playing buddies have to hit 3 wood or less.  Scramble events are just awesome!  I hit the fairway and my partner can do whatever they want.  My swing speed is consistent at 102-104.  I do not have a harsh transition, I am fairly smooth on everything.  This shaft has only made it more smooth.  Another huge point to be made is when I mishit the ball on the toe or the heel, the misses do not balloon left or right.  They actually stay straight.  I have never seen this before.  It cannot be me making corrections on the downswing because we all know that makes it much worse.  It has to be the shaft reacting to that mishit and giving it the correction needed.  

One thing I am really hesitant on doing is checking my numbers on a trackman.  I do not want to see what they are because I truly do not care.  I am beyond happy with all my results on the course, and that is where it counts.

 

I say all of this to basically tell anyone that is thinking about this purchase, JUST DO IT.  Especially if you try to go after the ball and always seem to end up in a bad spot.  This shaft allows you to swing easy and give you the same results if not better.  I know these shafts on the aftermarket are still $500, but if you can have the same results as myself, that cost more than makes up for you chasing the next shaft/head combo 6 months to a year later (hell even sooner in my case).  Cheers!

Good write up and glad you found something that works!

You should definitely also check out the Otto Phlex thread we have!

[pbclub]

My experience has been the same. Autoflex was a game changer for me. The shaft seems to get straighter the harder I swing it. Even a bad swing is far less punishing. I combine it @ 46 in with a GolF Pride CPX mid-size grip, and a G425 10.5 deg head with no weight taken off. As in stock. I use a ProV1 that has been spun on the Check-go which all together provides a straight, penetrating flight that looks like it was shot out of a cannon. ProV1 gives great rollout on our southern fairways. The shaft requires a patient transition. Then crank away! I added a consistent and accurate 35 yards with this combo.

Worth every penny (to me) but it was expensive to build. I would do it again though because it changed golf so dramatically for me, I could not imagine playing without it. 

The ability to get to or past the 150 in or about the fairway consistently makes the rest of the game so much easier. Don't get me wrong, you have to make a swing. In my experience the combination I am using has been rocket fast and straight, very consistently. 

I think the value of the shaft for slower swing speeds is immense. I highly recommend it. Faster players (over 110?) have been hit and miss from what I have read. I could be wrong about that so do not let that deter you from trying. 

[BrenkJ]

Thanks for these detailed reviews.   Have you had any trouble with consistency/performance/feel on your other clubs once you got used to the Autoflex in the driver?  I might be able to stomach $500 for a driver shaft, but I also carry and 3 wood and 4 hybrids (because I can't hit a long iron to save my life).   I'd be afraid that once I really dialed in the driver with the Autoflex, I'd lose any sort of "feel" for hitting those other 5 clubs - and there's no way I'm going to pony up for Autoflex shafts for those clubs as well.      Thanks.