AutoFlex Dream7 Driver Shafts - 2024 Forum Member Review

[BallsLeon]

Unfortunately, no golf for me this weekend, but heading out of town to ride some bikes Might have a chance to hop on the sim again Sunday night, and update my review. 

Hope all my fellow autoFlex testers hit some bombs for me!

[ZMendle10]

4 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Nothing wrong with cutting to your preferred playing length once you absolutely establish it is the right length for your swing. That said, absolutely nothing wrong with continuing to choke up either. Some find the counter balance effect works for them when choking up and after cutting the shaft, it doesn't feel the same. 

Big time fan of the counterbalanced effect. Plus for me mentally something about knowing I'm closer to the ball makes it feel like its easier to hit a better shot. Most Par 3's I club up, choke down 1/2 in and play it as a knockdown shot and the left to right dispersion just goes away.

[Jean D]

Quick 9 holes after a brutal work week...not bombing it by any means, but pretty happy with my drives tonight!

Not sure why the drive didn't register on Hole 1, but that was a 278yd drive!  The shaft continues to perform well. Hoping to head to GolfTown tomorrow to hit the QI10 Standard and LS heads with this shaft and see how we do!

Edited May 11 by Jean D

[KC Golf]

Went for a Dream 7 shaft fitting today.  Really interesting stuff.  

The AF shaft has a draw bias for me, but the lighter shaft weight works better overall for my swing than the Tour AD DI - 6S.  The AF is approximately is 50 grams vs. The GD at 65 grams.

My swing speed with the AF is nominally faster.  My dispersion was much better and the carry distance improved by 10-12 yards on average.  Interestingly, my setting changed to B1 which is standard loft with a fade bias.  The AF at these settings seems to work well for me even on various mishits.

The key was looking at the head weight for the TSR3 driver.  By going 2 grams lighter from the standard 8 gram rear weight, the AF tip works more of its magic and I gain more club head speed.  As suggested by AF, the Dream 7 launches slightly lower, so hence the loft change back to standard on my TSR.  Will get some numbers out later, but it felt better with the lighter head weight.  One interesting point from todays session was that my tee height was slightly too high with the AF.  So adjusted that down.

One area that I need to work through is shaft length or choking down on it.  I am still not hitting the center of the face on a consistent basis, I chalk that up to a learning curve.  I only started swinging it this week, so I am still getting used to it.  AF is looking great on the GC Quad.

Edited May 11 by KC Golf

[chisag]

3 hours ago, BallsLeon said:

Unfortunately, no golf for me this weekend Hope all my fellow autoFlex testers hit some bombs for me!

 

... Haha I will be playing some golf but I don 't have my Autoflex Dream 7 yet and not sure when I will. Long story but I am patiently waiting and looking forward to those 's you described. Evidently the Ventus Red knows, just like all soon to be replaced equipment and it has been on its very best behavior. 

[HikingMike]

17 hours ago, ZMendle10 said:

Big time fan of the counterbalanced effect. Plus for me mentally something about knowing I'm closer to the ball makes it feel like it’s easier to hit a better shot. Most Par 3's I club up, choke down 1/2 in and play it as a knockdown shot and the left to right dispersion just goes away.

Really neat you say this because I feel like I need to do that. I came to the realization my full swing short irons were kind of all over on par 3s, and I could be so much better. I probably hit knock down shots and punch outs better than full short irons - easier to start on line, get between trees, whatever. Play “get it closer to the hole” rather than play “golf swing”. What would I do if I was a kid in the back yard? Knock it up there. I’ll work on that. 

[Golfspy_CG2]

So I got to my office late yesterday and my Dream 7 via Chisag was there 

I plugged it in the G430 10k.  Howevwr we had steady rain, 51 degree temps and a 13 mph head wind and rqmge balls. So not good course conditions.   But I went into our pavilion which is at least covered and hit a dozen balls onto the range which is like 60 yards from the pavilion. 
 

I really really liked the high, straight, ball flight i saw.  Great dispersion.   Tough to tell a distance given the conditions.   But i think its just as long as the og AF from what I could tell   

should be able to get on the course Monday afternoon with the LM so we’ll see how it goes 

I will say this G430 driver has never felt so lightweight.  Like a completely different driver 

[chisag]

4 minutes ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

So I got to my office late yesterday and my Dream 7 via Chisag was there 

I will say this G430 driver has never felt so lightweight.

 

... Glad it arrived safe and sound. Here I am swinging my pretend Autoflex Dream 7.  You're right though, it is very light!  

[Jean D]

Quick update at the 1/2 way mark of my stated 1000 balls hit with the new driver…(2 weeks in!)

So far, I am seeing an average of 1.7 yds longer carry, 3.1 yds longer total distance, 4.4 mph faster ball speed and 4.7 mph faster club head speed on the Autoflex Dream 7 shaft vs my Tensei AV Blue Limited 65 R and C6 Blue 60 S shafts.  My lateral dispersion has shrunk by about 10 yards and I am getting much better clusters of shots than before.

I am hoping to be able to test the Autoflex SF405x shaft on the Qi10 Standard and LS heads before the end of the testing period and see if I can find a little more speed/power/distance as compared to the Qi10 Max I am currently using. Was hoping to do that today, but my local retailer was slammed with Mother’s Day sales volume, absolutely no way to get into one of their testing bays.  Will try again this week after work.

Interesting note: I have had to drop the loft back down to 9.0 degrees from my usual 10.5 degree setup to dial in my launch angle. At my usual setup, I was launching at 20+ degrees on a consistent basis.  

It has not been an easy transition, I have to be honest.  I’ve had to work HARD on my swing ( my transition in particular…) on the plus side, I feel I am much more consistent and smoother on my drives. There is extra power there , certainly.  I just haven’t tapped into its full potential yet. It is certainly starting to  make a strong case for itself to stay in my bag for the season.

Edited May 12 by Jean D

[chisag]

... Good news! I should finally have my Autoflex Dream 7 in hand Tuesday. 

[KC Golf]

Got in a few swings at the driving range.  Hit a few dead straight a few with a bit of fade. Misses were left  asked on overly fast swing tempo.  But not hitting as far with the current stock TSR head weight.  The less weight in the head appears to make a difference.   

Ordered the 6 gram weight but it looks like it may take a while to arrive.  Have asked if someone around here has one.  I did talk with my club fixer/ builder who seems perplexed by the swing weight effect from the reduction in head weight.  The CC guy says that AF does not take into account the grip weight above 50 grams into the analysis of swing weight guidance so hence the lighter weight while affecting overall swing weight beyond D0 is not above AF parameters.  

Once I get the two weights I will try this in real world conditions to see how the flight changes carry and overall distance.  I will update everyone on what I find.  But it’s interesting to see what works best for me.  Happy with the AF club head speed so far.

PS.  Let my son hit a few and at the age of 12 hit one 225 with roll.  His best ever drive.  With a big smile on his face, he thinks this AF is really light and really cool.  I had to agree!

[ZackS]

16 hours ago, Jean D said:

Interesting note: I have had to drop the loft back down to 9.0 degrees from my usual 10.5 degree setup to dial in my launch angle. At my usual setup, I was launching at 20+ degrees on a consistent basis.  

This makes sense, I would be willing to bet the AutoFlex deflects a good amount more adding loft. 

[chisag]

1 hour ago, KC Golf said:

Ordered the 6 gram weight but it looks like it may take a while to arrive.  Have asked if someone around here has one.  I did talk with my club fixer/ builder who seems perplexed by the swing weight effect from the reduction in head weight.  The CC guy says that AF does not take into account the grip weight above 50 grams into the analysis of swing weight guidance so hence the lighter weight while affecting overall swing weight beyond D0 is not above AF parameters.  

Once I get the two weights I will try this in real world conditions to see how the flight changes carry and overall distance.  I will update everyone on what I find.  But it’s interesting to see what works best for me.  Happy with the AF club head speed so far.

 

... This should be interesting. I don't want to say swing weight is completely arbitrary, but it kinda is. A heavier grip simply fools the swing weight scale but normally it does not change the performance of the shaft and head. It simply increases the total weight of the entire club. Some will find a difference, some will not. If possible, I would add lead tape to the head one strip at a time and see how or if that changes anything for you. It would be pretty cool if adding exactly 6 gms works or if keeping it at the current head weight works as well or better.

... This is based on years of experience with conventional shafts. Since the AF is based on a much lighter over all weight and substantionally more flex, the unique properties of the Autoflex with a suggested C9 to D1 is a starting point, but I am assuming a heavier head might change the performance more than a conventional shaft since it flexes more. Or not. I could see where too much head weight might cause a difference in spin and trajectory, where going from C9 to D1 with most conventional shafts will have zero influence on anything other than a change in feel. A 65-75gm shaft with much less flex just isn't effected by a small swing weight change. As an experiment, hold 25 coins in your hand and feel the heft. Then remove one or two dimes and see if you can feel a difference. A dime is basically 1 swing weight point.

... But again due to the unique properties of the AF, I can't say anything with complete certainty until I get mine and do some experimenting. My review will probably be a little different than most as I will only be using on course performance. For me, that is all that counts and have gone through too many fittings where what worked on a LM after grooving my swing with shots that don't count. If I hit a bad shot, I simply tee up another and correct it. Obviously I don't have that option on the course where every shot counts and adds an element of tension that is missing on the range or an indoor fitting.  

... We are all different so again, I will be interested in hearing how all this tinkering works best for you and your swing with the Dream 7. 

[Jean D]

A good range session today with the AF SF405x on my Qi10Max head.  Speeds are creeping up, carry and total distances as well . With the head now at 9 degrees of loft, I am slicing a whole lot... have to work on that next.  The shaft continues to impress me with the gains...but as I've said earlier, it hasn't been an easy or quick transition to this new shaft...but I am seeing the benefits each time I go out.

Some data points:

Slowest club head speed: 95mph (which used to be my average)

Highest club head speed: 100mph (which was exceedingly rare for me)

Highest ball speed: 149.2 mph (only 40mph slower than Rory!  I'm catching up LOL)

Edited May 13 by Jean D

[Autoflexusa]

On 5/9/2024 at 2:16 PM, Parshooter36 said:

@Autoflexusa I was looking on the Autoflex site and saw there is a new Joy 365 shaft as well. Any insight on the difference between the two?

Hey guys, been out of the loop for a few days. Spent the last 4 days in Scottsdale with the owners of Autoflex..they asked me to pass along their appreciation to all of you for the testing and all the data.

As far as the Joy, it was more specific to the Junior, Senior and beginner golfer. If you think the Dream has wiggle..watch out for the Joy..lol

[ZMendle10]

No course this weekend but took the Dream 7 to Golf Cave to experiment with backswing length. Overall I felt like the Dream 7 was allowing me to take to big of a backswing (something I have a tendency for) without realizing it and could be causing some inconsistency. I was checking the recorded video throughout the session and my hunch of to long of a backing was correct.

Standard Swing

"Shortened" Swing

Both of these swings were right before the transition into the downswing and were the best shots from each grouping. I'm also not trying to lift my front heel here it is just a very natural movement for me and I don't even notice or feel that I do it until I watch my swing on video. 

After 17 shots with my standard swing and what felt like a 3/4 swing there was a clear winner in the dispersion race. 

Smash factor took a huge jump forward and just overall consistency across the board increased. The "shorter" swing just gave me a much larger feeling of control for the clubhead and allowed me to let the Dream7 do all the work. 

Taking the Dream 7 out to the course today to implement these changes and see how they take shape out on the course but I have come back to it a few times since this session and the results have been pretty similar to what is shown here.

[nvizble1]

27 minutes ago, ZMendle10 said:

No course this weekend but took the Dream 7 to Golf Cave to experiment with backswing length. Overall I felt like the Dream 7 was allowing me to take to big of a backswing (something I have a tendency for) without realizing it and could be causing some inconsistency. I was checking the recorded video throughout the session and my hunch of to long of a backing was correct.

Standard Swing

"Shortened" Swing

Both of these swings were right before the transition into the downswing and were the best shots from each grouping. I'm also not trying to lift my front heel here it is just a very natural movement for me and I don't even notice or feel that I do it until I watch my swing on video. 

After 17 shots with my standard swing and what felt like a 3/4 swing there was a clear winner in the dispersion race. 

Smash factor took a huge jump forward and just overall consistency across the board increased. The "shorter" swing just gave me a much larger feeling of control for the clubhead and allowed me to let the Dream7 do all the work. 

Taking the Dream 7 out to the course today to implement these changes and see how they take shape out on the course but I have come back to it a few times since this session and the results have been pretty similar to what is shown here.

Awesome analysis. Thanks for your input. 

[KC Golf]

On 5/12/2024 at 8:41 AM, chisag said:

 

... This should be interesting. I don't want to say swing weight is completely arbitrary, but it kinda is. A heavier grip simply fools the swing weight scale but normally it does not change the performance of the shaft and head. It simply increases the total weight of the entire club. Some will find a difference, some will not. If possible, I would add lead tape to the head one strip at a time and see how or if that changes anything for you. It would be pretty cool if adding exactly 6 gms works or if keeping it at the current head weight works as well or better.

... This is based on years of experience with conventional shafts. Since the AF is based on a much lighter over all weight and substantionally more flex, the unique properties of the Autoflex with a suggested C9 to D1 is a starting point, but I am assuming a heavier head might change the performance more than a conventional shaft since it flexes more. Or not. I could see where too much head weight might cause a difference in spin and trajectory, where going from C9 to D1 with most conventional shafts will have zero influence on anything other than a change in feel. A 65-75gm shaft with much less flex just isn't effected by a small swing weight change. As an experiment, hold 25 coins in your hand and feel the heft. Then remove one or two dimes and see if you can feel a difference. A dime is basically 1 swing weight point.

... But again due to the unique properties of the AF, I can't say anything with complete certainty until I get mine and do some experimenting. My review will probably be a little different than most as I will only be using on course performance. For me, that is all that counts and have gone through too many fittings where what worked on a LM after grooving my swing with shots that don't count. If I hit a bad shot, I simply tee up another and correct it. Obviously I don't have that option on the course where every shot counts and adds an element of tension that is missing on the range or an indoor fitting.  

... We are all different so again, I will be interested in hearing how all this tinkering works best for you and your swing with the Dream 7. 

Took your advise and will just play the Dream 7 on the course this week. Still don’t have the 6 gram weight, and not sure when I might get it.   If anyone has a TSR3 6 gram (-2) gram) weight kicking around, please let me know.  

I am still amazed how much kick the tip has and the added speed it creates.  I really like the feel of the Dream 7.  The lighter weight shaft is taking a bit of getting used to and it loads a little differently as well, but it’s been great so far.

[HikingMike]

3 hours ago, ZMendle10 said:

No course this weekend but took the Dream 7 to Golf Cave to experiment with backswing length. Overall I felt like the Dream 7 was allowing me to take to big of a backswing (something I have a tendency for) without realizing it and could be causing some inconsistency. I was checking the recorded video throughout the session and my hunch of to long of a backing was correct.

Standard Swing

"Shortened" Swing

Both of these swings were right before the transition into the downswing and were the best shots from each grouping. I'm also not trying to lift my front heel here it is just a very natural movement for me and I don't even notice or feel that I do it until I watch my swing on video. 

After 17 shots with my standard swing and what felt like a 3/4 swing there was a clear winner in the dispersion race. 

Smash factor took a huge jump forward and just overall consistency across the board increased. The "shorter" swing just gave me a much larger feeling of control for the clubhead and allowed me to let the Dream7 do all the work. 

Taking the Dream 7 out to the course today to implement these changes and see how they take shape out on the course but I have come back to it a few times since this session and the results have been pretty similar to what is shown here.

"Short swing"? More like "normal" swing vs "long drive" swing

Yeah your shorter swing has 2.5 mph more ball speed as well. Definitely improved distance consistency and actually improved consistency across the full board. For some reason that red ellipse shows a bigger left-right dispersion than the blue, but the actual red dots show barely and more left-right than the blue dots.

Great stuff!

[KC Golf]

I did get out briefly last night. According to Arccos, I hit my opening drive 270 and the 3rd hole drive 264.  Both on the proper side of the fairway.  Which is very rare for me.  The rest of the holes were not that memorable.  I did hit another one into the wind 252.  A smooth swing seems to work best with the AF.  Liking the new sleeve setting of B1 on the TSR.

I would say my misses left are pretty straight but left.  I would say that my misses right seem straighter than my Tour AD DI.  So my right misses were generally playable.  This may be due to the AF having a more draw bias for me while the GD has a clear fade bias.

The sound hitting it flush is pretty sweet.

[chisag]

15 hours ago, Autoflexusa said:

Hey guys, been out of the loop for a few days. Spent the last 4 days in Scottsdale with the owners of Autoflex..they asked me to pass along their appreciation to all of you for the testing and all the data.

 

... My Dream 7 shaft arrived about 30 minutes ago (thanks for the quick ship) and the adaptor is drying after I pulled it and re-installed it. I will measure and cut to length, install a grip and should be good to go for my round tomorrow! 

[Jean D]

Just now, chisag said:

 

... My Dream 7 shaft arrived about 30 minutes ago (thanks for the quick ship) and the adaptor is drying after I pulled it and re-installed it. I will measure and cut to length, install a grip and should be good to go for my round tomorrow! 

Fantastic news Sam!!!!! One of us, one of us!!!

 

[bens197]

7 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... My Dream 7 shaft arrived about 30 minutes ago (thanks for the quick ship) and the adaptor is drying after I pulled it and re-installed it. I will measure and cut to length, install a grip and should be good to go for my round tomorrow! 

Glad it arrived safe and sound!  Now the fun begins. 

[ZMendle10]

Played 18 yesterday at Fox Hollow Golf Club and I I was seeing still a very high ball flight with the Dream 7. Swing didn't feel in top form at all yesterday but the Dream 7 still delivered. I was still able to reasonably hit my targets with only a few misses but none that caused me any penalties. The big miss i would say with this shaft for me anyway is a very high and spinny ball flight. It doesn't slice but just a very weak fade. 

[Harry Pearson]

On 5/11/2024 at 1:54 PM, Jean D said:

Quick update at the 1/2 way mark of my stated 1000 balls hit with the new driver…(2 weeks in!)

So far, I am seeing an average of 1.7 yds longer carry, 3.1 yds longer total distance, 4.4 mph faster ball speed and 4.7 mph faster club head speed on the Autoflex Dream 7 shaft vs my Tensei AV Blue Limited 65 R and C6 Blue 60 S shafts.  My lateral dispersion has shrunk by about 10 yards and I am getting much better clusters of shots than before.

I am hoping to be able to test the Autoflex SF405x shaft on the Qi10 Standard and LS heads before the end of the testing period and see if I can find a little more speed/power/distance as compared to the Qi10 Max I am currently using. Was hoping to do that today, but my local retailer was slammed with Mother’s Day sales volume, absolutely no way to get into one of their testing bays.  Will try again this week after work.

Interesting note: I have had to drop the loft back down to 9.0 degrees from my usual 10.5 degree setup to dial in my launch angle. At my usual setup, I was launching at 20+ degrees on a consistent basis.  

It has not been an easy transition, I have to be honest.  I’ve had to work HARD on my swing ( my transition in particular…) on the plus side, I feel I am much more consistent and smoother on my drives. There is extra power there , certainly.  I just haven’t tapped into its full potential yet. It is certainly starting to  make a strong case for itself to stay in my bag for the season.

Thanks for the update Jean. Very interested in how you all do with this shaft. I would think with that much increase in ball & club speed you can get more distance than you're getting. March on.

[Jean D]

6 hours ago, Harry Pearson said:

Thanks for the update Jean. Very interested in how you all do with this shaft. I would think with that much increase in ball & club speed you can get more distance than you're getting. March on.

I was hoping it would... but so far, not so much.  I do have a Qi10 LS head making its way to me to test with- arriving next Wednesday according to FedEx.  Hopefully with the lower spin, I'll be able to gain some more yardage.  I'm never going to get distances like some of the testers , but if I can get my average TOTAL (NOT Carry as I originally wrote!!!) up to 250-260yds, I'd be very happy with that. 

As @ZMendle10 stated, this is proving to be a very high-spinning shaft, even on a low-spin ball like the 2024 TM TP5x that I play.

I am heading to the range after work today for more fun (data posted when I get back) and then a triple-header on the weekend (Sat/Sun/Mon) for Victoria Day long weekend  I am going to be a tad sore for work on Tuesday LOL.

JD

 

Edited May 15 by Jean D
TOTAL not Carry...ooooops!!!

[nvizble1]

I had a very rushed session today, hitting a few short irons first before taking the driver out.

Indoors at the PGASS sim practice bay, I didn't get the distance I was looking for, but my dispersion was far tighter than I had seen before.

Unfortunately, the computer system did not email me the table of results I was trying to send myself (it used to, though!), so I lost all that data. On a positive note, I did figure out how to create my own custom report on their system tracking the stats I want, so once I get the email thing fixed, I will be good to go.

Lesson tomorrow, so we might take the Paradym out of the bag and fire away with some supervision and FullSwing tracking.

[chisag]

24 minutes ago, Jean D said:

  I'm never going to get distances like some of the testers , but if I can get my average carry up to 250-260yds, I'd be very happy with that. 

 

... Don't believe the hype. This is TOTAL driving distance and 69% hit their driver less than 250yds. Carrying your driver 260 yds puts you in very rare company. That said, I certainly hope you get there. 

"Driving distances, where do you rank? Do you hit it further than an average amateur golfer? These days there is so much emphasis on distance off the tee, more so in the professional game, but is it really all it's made out to be? Standard amateur golfers have little information or statistics available to see how far a typical amateur golfer hits the ball. Shot Scope have a database of over 200 million shots around the world and have produced statistics on the average driving distances, for amateur golfers. You might be surprised at this"

Edited May 15 by chisag

[skraeling]

4 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... Don't believe the hype. This is TOTAL driving distance and 69% hit their driver less than 250yds. Carrying your driver 260 yds puts you in very rare company. That said, I certainly hope you get there. 

"Driving distances, where do you rank? Do you hit it further than an average amateur golfer? These days there is so much emphasis on distance off the tee, more so in the professional game, but is it really all it's made out to be? Standard amateur golfers have little information or statistics available to see how far a typical amateur golfer hits the ball. Shot Scope have a database of over 200 million shots around the world and have produced statistics on the average driving distances, for amateur golfers. You might be surprised at this"

male amateur average is about 220yds total give or take.  also there is a correlation between handicap and driving distance

[skraeling]

Some days you have it….

Some days you don’t lol