AutoFlex Dream7 Driver Shafts - 2024 Forum Member Review

[GolfSpy_APH]

The world of premium golf shafts is extensive and complicated. As the emphasis on proper fittings in golf has grown, so has the arrival of more competitors. One such company is Autoflex.

Who Is Autoflex?

Established in 2009 in Korea, Autoflex now is available in more than 40 countries. They promote their Korea Hidden Technology made by Dumina Designs which includes their patented combination of high-quality carbon fiber and additional proprietary materials to create a lightweight shaft with less distortion. 

Autoflex bucks the concept of traditional flexes and goes with a system that is more based on driver clubhead speed with six different shafts to match a golfer's swing. 

Please welcome and congratulate our testers! 

@chisag 

@KC Golf 

@BallsLeon 

@Kenny B 

@ZMendle10 

@Jean D 

@nvizble1 

@Golfspy_CG2

[chisag]

Introduction

Since I have written several of these over the years I will keep it relatively brief.

I started playing sports as far back as I can remember and played QB in the 2nd grade. Played College football, high school baseball and basketball receiving an invitation to try out for the Carolina Cougars after going 10-13 with three pointers in a Robert McAdoo Summer League play off game. Started playing travel tennis and then discovered golf in my mid 30's. Nobody played golf in the 60's unless their Dad was a member at a Country Club. 

My professional career started as a freshman at East Carolina University when a hall mate talked me into doing a radio station shift at the college campus radio station WECU. I was instantly smitten and in several months I was working at the local radio station. WOOW (BIG WOW13) and started my journey up the ladder to bigger cities at prestigious stepping stone radio stations and finally ending up in Chicago, the #1 radio market in the US when WLS and WCFL were in their heyday. It was a loooooong way from Greenville NC. I was lucky to have had a career for the entire 1970's when rock n' roll was at its peak. 

 

At WEFM in Chicago, Interviewing a new theater company called Steppenwolf after watching John Malkovich and Gary Sinese in Mice And Men, I was blown away by their performance. I had seen dinner theater and High School musicals but the waaaaay over the top "acting" held no interest for me, but up close and personal dramatic theater was a first for me and in the interview they talked me into changing careers. So I did, starting over and working my way up to TV shows, Films and Commercials where the real money is for a working actor. My very first play, I received the Best Performance Award for Chicago Theater, was immediately signed by the Top Talent Agency and quit radio and embarked on my new career. You can see me in The Dark Knight as well as many TV shows filmed in Chicago and I have been the spokesperson for Humana the last 22 years. 




Which brings me to golf. I started in my mid 30's and took up the game with the same passion as everything else in my life. It didn't take long to learn not only was the game the most difficult athletic endeavor I had attempted, it was a game I could play for the rest of my life and unlike other sports it could be enjoyed by a scratch player and an 18 index playing together and enjoying each others company. The possibilities were endless. 

Like most forum members I have a fascination with equipment and started going to the PGA Show when Ari Techner the CEO of Scratch Golf gave me a pass and said I should review the best equipment I saw at the show. Having nothing but a sparking personality and a gift of jab, I talked my way into receiving equipment for review and soon had a reputation with OEM's. Meeting and talking with Marketing and Engineering was always a privilege and honor and I learned soooooo much. 

I love sharing what I know and hope my experience with the autoFlex Dream 7 helps you decide if it should be on your demo list:
 

 

I don’t apply for MGS testing very often because I am only interested in products I think genuinely have a chance of being better than what I am playing. I thought the Ventus Red Velocore and the standard Qi10 was as good as it gets but have always been intrigued by the autoFlex. I tried a Faux autoFlex version and it didn't work well for me at all. So once I heard autoFlex had come out with a new version in the Dream 7 I threw my big sun hat in the ring! 
 

First Impressions (5/10)

During the Cobra Challenge we had to play a round of miniature golf. Chris my 82 yr old pard and I chose an indoor 3D facility since the temps were 115* during the day.  There was a rope bridge with rickety wood slats on the floor between greens and the next tees and we were walking very gingerly with me in front and Chris right behind me. Keeping our balance was crucial. Then I took off my 3D glasses and it was just some paint on a level concrete floor.  Obviously we could just walk normally but with the 3D glasses on it looked and felt so very strange.




This is similar to how I would describe my initial impression with my autoFlex Dream 7. As others have stated the waggle is excessive and closer to a fly fishing rod than a golf shaft. OK that is a bit of an exaggeration but I am sure you get the point. It is just way more flexible than any shaft I have ever waggled. As I start my takeaway I can feel the shaft flexing as if the head is lagging behind. To be clear that feeling is real, not an illusion. So how it tightens up when moving faster through impact is right up there with The Loch Ness Monster and Stone Hinge. Pressing down just moderately on the butt end gives you an idea of the flexibility of the Dream 7 shaft. 
 

Like most better players with a repeatable swing, when testing a new shaft it is rare to swing one that doesn’t fit us more than 2 or 3 times because we will subconsciously change our swings to get the feel and trajectory we prefer. With a tip that is too stiff I will increase my AOA to get more height and attempt to swing a little faster to feel the shaft flex and if the tip is too soft I will add more shaft lean at impact to lower the flight and slow down just a hair so the shaft doesn't feel like it is flexing too much. Waggling the Dream 7 before my first swing sent all kinds of information to my subconscious and my first 3 swings produced some pretty poor results. A new experience for me and it confused me even further. I took 2 more swings and finally hit a decent drive and went to the first tee. I played 18 holes with it and never felt comfortable as my trajectory and dispersion was all over the place. If I were doing a serious on course demo I would have handed it back and never given it a 2nd thought.

But every round got better as I slowly began to break down the illusions the excessive waggle created in my subconscious and started to trust the Korean Hidden Technology would do its job and tighten up through impact. Describing the feel is pretty much impossible as I think everyone will have their own perspective, so the best I can do is say the entire shaft and head works together as one unit, with the feeling that the whole thing loads and unloads with juuuuust the right kick through impact. I can’t say where that kick comes from like every other shaft I have hit but it is there, somewhere. Once I got used to the very unique feel it became quite intoxicating.



What makes this hard to grade is my initial impression was: I hated the shaft. Hate is a very strong word and I don’t throw it out there recklessly but in this case, it is accurate.  I sent a couple of PM's to my forum confidant @bens197  to use as a sounding board because I was really struggling with my Dream 7 and was really disappointed and needed to vent a little. Then like magic, by my 3rd round I was really starting to like the shaft and by my 6th round I was completely won over by its performance.

Aesthetics (19/20) 

Here is another golf forum member confession. I am just not very concerned with aesthetics when it comes to golf equipment.   I think going to the PGA Show for 20 years and hitting everything on Demo Day cured me of caring about cosmetics or aesthetics, other than how it looks at address. I am much more concerned with how it affects my scorecard and can this club/shaft help me shoot my lowest scores. That said, I do appreciate the Dream 7's interesting graphics instead of just large lettering. This shaft is something you can look at and enjoy or ignore and just play it. I like that.




Years ago I read where a sports psychologist said shafts with color changes or graphics give you the feeling the shaft is shorter than one with the logo down and a clean look creating the illusion it is easier to control. The Dream 7 fits this description perfectly and it just looks really good at address. I do like the colors of mine and feel like I have a bit of old school black combined with the orange flowers and a modern color. Really nit picking, the multi colored autoFlex logo is a bit over the top for my tastes but again, I really don’t concern myself with cosmetics, especially those I can’t even see at address. 





The Numbers (20/20)

I am not one to use a LM or hit balls indoors, other than at a range during a demo to initially put me in the ball park for a club or shaft. I find that for me, standing in one spot and grooving a swing is radically different than plying 18 holes with it. Stating the obvious, there is a freedom of motion when you know that after a bad swing, you simply tee up another ball with zero consequences. On the course, that same bad swing can result in OB, water, bunkers, trees and in my case the desert. That can add tension and pressure you don’t experience hitting multiple balls with a LM.

I have an ideal trajectory and spin window that is easy to see on the course. Too much spin and my high trajectory drives balloon and lose yardage. Too little spin and my carry suffers with the knuckleball dropping out of the sky before my desired apex. I don’t need a LM to tell me these things because after years of experience, I can tell everything I need by ball flight and distance. The trajectory and spin is just about perfect for my swing with the Dream 7. 

5 years of playing my winter home course has produced my longest drives on every hole. Playing year round and 4 to 5 times a week that is hundreds of attempts to hit those longest drives. Once I dialed in my Ventus Red Velo with my Qi10, it took me quite a few rounds to hit my longest drives on every hole, but after several months it owned every record. The Dream 7 accomplished that same feat in 5 rounds. And some were demonstrably longer.

Distance without accuracy is a fools errand. Referring to the excessive waggle again, I just didn’t see how the Dream 7 could be very accurate. And again that would be an illusion because it is the most accurate shaft I have ever played in a driver. More distance combined with improved accuracy has allowed me to swing just a little faster because I have complete confidence in my Dream 7 Qi10 combo.


On The Course (20/20)

My last 2 rounds on my home course I shot 67-67 thanks in large part to my Dream 7 as I had eagle putts on 2 of the par 5's and birdied 3 of them. Obviously an all around game is needed to shoot that low but the Dream 7 put me in spots I have never been and the accuracy has been off the charts. I have always played a natural slight draw so I aim about 5-10 yds right of my target knowing the ball will either draw back about 5 yds or a straight ball will still leave me in the fairway. The Dream 7 has almost eliminated my draw and it really, really wants to just go straight. I will still hit a very soft draw on occasion but it is rare and I have not hit a big draw one single time, which was my previous miss with other shafts I have played.




The 17th at Aguila Golf Course is an uphill dogleg left par 4 guarded by a lake. It is about a 230yd carry and the lake is cut diagonally from right to left  so middle of the green to the left side the carry increases to 255. If I have a little wind at my back and I am swinging well that day I try and drive the right side of the green. No wind or wind in my face and it is a lay up hole. When I do try I am probably successful around 90% of the time. With my AF Dream 7, the last 2 times I played the hole I drove the ball just past pin high and over the green which has mounding at the rear and almost on the 8th green*. This is something I would not have never thought possible because the Dream 7 would just not be very accurate. And again that would be an illusion because it is the most accurate shaft I have ever played in a driver. More distance combined with improved accuracy has allowed me to swing a little faster because I have complete confidence in the Dream 7 Qi10 combo.

*If you look very closely, you can see my white hat over the back bunker near the 8th green. Not quite Rory McElroy but insanely long for me. 



On the par 4 324yd #6 hole I took as good a swing as I can make, had some wind at my back and landed on a downslope maybe 260 form the tee but it ended up in the green side bunker. Three twenty four. Just crazy distance. My carry distance with previous shafts has been right around 230/235yds with my best swings. I am carrying my Dream 7 around 245yds consistently and a little longer with a few.


The Good, the bad, the inbetween (10/10)

As much as I would like to be thorough in my evaluation and give you the bad and in-between, there just isn’t much there. I guess I would say the bad is the price (totally subjective) and the initial impressions. Had I hit the Dream 7 in a demo session, after 3 swings I would have handed it back thinking it was just a poor fit for my swing. And I would have lost out on the best performing shaft I have ever played. I really don’t know how to get around this other than stating for myself and better players with a repeatable swing, you simply have to trust your swing and make zero adjustments. I have a smooth transition so this works perfectly with the autoFlex and I have started swinging a little faster as that seems to work well too. However, I will not chase distance or at least not attempt to increase my tempo but I will trust I can swing as fast as I comfortably can and the Dream 7 will respond in a very positive way.

 

Play it or Trade it? (21/20)

That’s right, channeling Spinal Tap and their Amps that go to 11 not just 10, I gave the Dream 7 a 21. I was on the cusp of which shaft to get. SF405 at 80-95mph or SF405x at 90-105. Since I am around 95 consistently and 71 yrs old, I probably wont be increasing my swing speed in the years to come so I went with the softer flex. I am glad I did as it seems to fit me perfectly. Even my fastest swings that approach 100 mph. I really thought my Ventus Red Velocore Qi10 combo couldn’t be beat. My AD-IZ could be longer by a little than the Red, but the Ventus was consistently more accurate and I was driving the ball better than anytime in my life. As much as I love the extra distance from my Dream 7, it is the accuracy that really sets this shaft apart from any other shaft I have played. And I wasn't expecting that. 



Because of the unique features of the Dream 7 I can’t really say what kind of player this shaft would be an ideal fit. Although it does seem smoother transitions like the Pro’s that played an autoFlex including Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Adam Scott, Michelle Wie and Louis Oosthuizen were perfect candidates but of course they also all have very powerful swings. So not just for slow swingers. 

I am also not gonna tell someone else how much is a fair price to pay because $880 is pretty insane and previously I would have never paid more than $299 for any shaft. Until I got comfortable with my Dream 7. At this point in my life and if I had the opportunity to play it 4 rounds before making a decision, I would certainly take advantage of the $100 off the Dream 7 for Fathers Day. Much to consider but like a really nice meal in a really fine dining restaurant with a family of 4 including alcohol, it could be $500 or more. So a Dream 7 on sale at $780 for a shaft that will last years isn’t so crazy. And the minimum total for Pebble Beach is a whopping $2,465 — that covers two nights at the resort’s lowest price-point and the the green fee alone. $780 doesn't sound so bad.

Conclusion (95/100)

I do think I was a perfect candidate of the autoFlex Dream 7. I have a repeatable swing and a smooth transition. I am not getting younger so another 10-20 yards with improved accuracy and the confidence those two combined produce has been a game changer for me. That just doesn’t happen very often. The unique nature of this shaft takes some getting used to, but once I realized all I needed to do was trust my natural swing without any adjustments it really blew me away. I hope to provide some updates in the future where it is even longer when needed as I think there might be just a few more rpm's in the tank. I honestly don’t think there is any honeymoon with this shaft. It is what it is and I am so happy I was chosen by Michael, autoFlex and MGS for this testing opportunity. 

 

 

Edited June 13 by chisag

[KC Golf]

Introduction:

Thank you to the MGS Forum Mods for picking me for this awesome driver shaft test.  It’s an honour to provide my third official review.  Needless to say, I am really excited about this opportunity.

Ever since the pandemic, I have spent a lot of time practicing and getting lessons to improve my game, but like many golfers my game suffers from a lack of consistency.  My index is currently 7.8, but it have ranged from 6.8 to 9.5 over the last 2 years.  I play mostly in Western Canada, so our season is pretty short.  My course has not opened up yet this year.  But I expect it to be open by next week.  Our range recently opened, but I have spent this Winter playing mostly sim golf on a GC Quad.  

I have played golf for a long time, but I started taking it more seriously in the last 7-8 years.  My Dad took me to the range a lot when I was 6 or 7 and we played a lot of publics and muni’s growing up. We were both very average at best and my Dad read a lot of golf books and magazines all the time, but we loved going out together and having fun.  We did a lot of father / son golf vacations over the years, but he hung it up about 20 years ago, after getting frustrated by forced carries.  We also did a lot of fishing and skiing growing up too.  We like watching golf, so my Dad took me to a few tournaments when I was younger, and I have been fortunate to go to a few majors  over the years as well.

i get to travel a lot for work, so I have been lucky to have played some golf in some interesting places in the world.  Lately, I have been playing golf in Asia.  I am looking forward to a trip to Scotland in August.

I am trying to get my 12 year old son to love golf as well, so we play alternating shot a lot for 9 holes and he has been getting group lessons for the last 5 years: however, he still likes swimming, rugby and milkshakes more than playing golf. He says watching golf is really boring.  He likes driving the ball and putting, so he has one of my old Titleist drivers and a nice TaylorMade Mallet putter. We manage to have a ton of fun while we play 9 holes. 

Our most important family member is Cooper who likes retrieving golf shoes more than golf balls. It’s too bad we can't take him onto the course.  He loves running around and getting pets from strangers.

My game is probably typical for mid handicappers on MGS.  I am natural fader of the ball.  My misses with driver are usually slices (caused by coming over the top) and sometimes heal strikes (usually standing to close to the ball and swinging fast) which go low left.  My swing tempo has always been pretty good. I have been getting more orthodox with my grip and swing, but I still have swing issues.  My major recurring problem is coming over the top which leads to an open face and a slice.  I also release my hands too early (prior to impact, so I add loft at impact instead of having my hands more forward at impact.  I am working on it and its getting better.  

I am currently focused on trying to make my misses more playable with my driver vs out of bounds or in jail.  Will see if that happens this year.  Like every Spring, I am optimistic.  Who knows may be this year will be the year when I can get to a 5 index.  I got to play a round with a pro recently, and it was a bit eye opening day for me on what I am doing or not doing under pressure trying to make a specific shot.   

As a former Arccos tester for MGS, I am still using it to get all of my stats.  Arccos is great.  Linked with an Apple Watch, I think it’s hard to beat.  For this test, I believe Arccos will be important.  I will be able to provide some independent data on how far the new Dream 7 and how much better / worse the dispersion will be compared to my current gamer.  I also have access to a GC Quad.

Here is some of the data on my existing TSR3 driver with the GD shaft:

Arccos Data:  Please note that I play at altitude, so I have 7-10 yards of additional carry distance than if I were playing at sea level. 

The driver I currently game is a TSR3 9 deg with a Graphite Design Tour AD - DI 6S.  It is set to C2.  Which is what my fitter suggested after we worked on various settings during the fitting session.  Its been in my bag since early last Summer.  I upgraded from a stock TSi3 with a Tensei AV White 60 Stiff.  I tried the TM Stealth 2, Callaway Paradym and the Ping G430 Max and found the TSR worked best for me.  Not the longest but still very far and very playable.  I really like the feel and sound of the TSR3, its a great driver and I find its pretty forgiving on mis-hits too.

Here is the current what’s in my bag.  Woods: Titleist TSR3 9 deg. – Graphite Design Tour AD - DI 6S set to C2,  Titleist TSi3 FW 15 deg. Graphite Design Tour AD - DI 6S set to A1, Driving Iron: Ping 2 Crossover Driving Iron (G425) - NS Pro 950 GH Neo S, Titleist TS Hybrid 21 deg - Tensei Blue Reg.  Irons: Takoma 101T - KBR Tour Lite  Wedges: Vokey SM9s 46F - 10, 52F - 12, SM Forged 56M - 10, TM MG3 60 - 12.  Putter: Scotty Cameron – Special Select Squareback 2.0.  I was an Takomo 101T tester and these irons are still my gamers in the bag.  These Takomos are awesome!  It’s in my view hard to beat for the price players distance iron.

Needless to say, this test is going to be a ton of fun!  My current driver swing speed is around 98-101, so I picked the 405x in the black with green accents. The Dream 7 shaft selection is based purely on swing speed. It looks really sweet.  I will be working with a Club Champion fitter to get the length and swing weight adjusted to my swing / preferences.  

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to me or the other testers.  

Initial Impressions: (10 out of 10)

The Autoflex Dream 7 was just introduced earlier this year and so there were very few reviews online, so I was genuinely excited and curious to try it out.  I have seen the original Autoflex on a couple of people’s drivers but it was not really something I had tried on a driver fitting.  When I got fitted for my Titleist TSR3 gamer, the Graphite Design Tour AD DI 6S was the shaft I really liked.  During testing, I tried a couple of other shafts including the LA Golf DJ and the Accra TZ6 55.  I thought about going lighter than the DI - 6S, but I liked the feel of the 60 gram shaft, so I stuck with it.  I like the GD shaft so much I also have the exact same one in my FW.

The Dream 7 shaft weight and the KHT (Korean Hidden Technology) tip with a new tour level tip was really interesting.  I was excited to see if it would work for me.  Unlike other premium upcharge shafts, the Dream 7 is fit totally based on swing speed range.  So you can’t buy a heavier or lighter shaft with a specific flex.  Also, the key is that you are not supposed to tip it in any way. You fit the OEM brand tip on the end without tipping it.

The key issues to consider is that Autoflex recommends a C9 / D0 swing weight for a 405x.  My existing gamer is D3 in my driver.  So the feel of the C9 / D0.5 is definitely different. The other is shaft length.  Again it come uncut, so you can go longer but I opted for a stock Titleist shaft length of 45.5”, so I had it trimmed and set to the recommended SW.

The initial impression out of the gate was the tip felt very flexible, on a typical wiggle test / impression, the tip seems to wiggle a lot.  Almost uncomfortably so, but for me, I quickly realizes that it works well for me.  I can’t tell you why except the tip definitely does add club head speed, but doesn’t hamper my ability to control it.  It felt great and the boost in ball speed was very nice. 

First Swings: Initially I tried to swing smooth with a more relaxed / less speed on my swing. I was thinking it might be uncontrollable if I took a  good cut at it.  But I found it was actually not necessary. I just needed to swing like my old driver shaft and not think about the tip of the shaft.  On center strike hits it’s feels great and flies at a lower launch than my GD gamer and has better carry distance and more roll.  If I get quick with it in transition I have problems getting a center strike.  Usually it’s a heel mis-hit.

My driver flight trajectory is usually fade biased and has mid launch and flight. My misses are usually heel strikes left or slices if I come over the top.  Out of the gate, the Autoflex is straighter and flies lower.  The Dream 7 is draw biased for me, enough so that I had to adjust my Surefit from C2 draw bias to a B1 fade bias setting to get it to fly straighter with the right spin numbers.

Initial Thoughts: I find from the get go the Dream 7 goes straighter than my GD shaft.  Even on my heel mis-hits, I find it goes straighter and less off line to the left.  If I hit a mis-hit slice I find the miss is less pronounced with the Autoflex.  I can’t tell you why, but I believe the KHT tip must have something to do with it.

Here are some pics of the shaft.  It looks even better in person.  Sorry, my picture taking skills with my iPhone are not great.

Aesthetics (20 out of 20)

From the premium shaft colours and the look, out of the box it looks great. I chose the black shaft with green accents. The black is a matte black with some nice mostly green and multi colour accents. I also received the shaft in a nice Autoflex sleeve similar to a high end fishing rod and a nice Autoflex cap.  While Autoflex is known for its pink shafts, this new Dream 7 looks really sharp in black and coloured accents.  For those who are yearning to stand out from the crowd, some of the MGS testers chose other colours.  

The Dream 7 in this black colour scheme is very subtle. Most of the guys I play with never noticed it was an Autoflex.  I actually like it that way. Especially when my straight drive goes pass their ball. Plus pink is not really my colour!   The hat does look great though.

I put on my typical MCC Plus 4 mid size grip and my green Arccos sensor on it.  I think for even better style points, I would replace my MCC Plus 4 with the Masters or Green collegiate colour scheme.  May be when this grip wears out.

The Numbers (16 out of 20)

Here is the data comparing the TSR3 using my gamer shaft GD Tour AD Di 6S (Titleist fitter set up) vs AF Dream 7 405x (TXG CC Set up) vs. AF Dream 7 (with AF recommended Swing weight).  Note, I did not take out outliers.  So some are short and offline.  It does screw up the data, but it shows you what a high single index guy might hit with a AF shaft.  

Shaft weight difference is 65 grams vs 50 grams based on OEM data.  The AF is appreciably lighter.

Graphite Design (C2 draw bias Surefit setting with -1 deg loft, so 8 deg)

AF SF 405x 50 gram shaft with 6 gram TSR weight (-2 grams) set to B1 (slight fade bias) at stock 9 degrees.  Ignore the 2W label, just used it for the different colour.  Note ball speed pick up, but slightly higher spin.

Dispersion comparison: Blue dots GD vs Yellow dots AF. As you can see the fade bias is real on the AF.

Separate day did the same AF settings, but with the regular 8 gram weight which enables the proper AF recommended swing weight of C9 - D0.5.  This is the set up I like on the course so far.  I like the feel of the driver head during the swing and at impact.  Note: 10 shots no deletion of outliers.

Note Dispersion in blue dots.  The other colours were just warm ups with other clubs.

At some point I will try adjusting loft down 1 deg to see if distance and dispersion improves.  I was not hitting it well as I can hit it, but it’s probably an average day for me on both sessions.

The one thing these charts don’t show is that my shot shape seems straighter across the board with the AF even on misses.  Interestingly as CC testing noted, the lighter weight in the head increases ball speed due to the KHT tip.  I think more experience needed with the 6 gram weight.  Somehow I will need to reduce the spin in the CC recommended setting. I am hoping to do an outdoor fitting with Titleist in a week or so.

I hope this is helpful.  It’s a lot of data to analyze.  Since I didn't sort and eliminate mishits, the data is a little inconclusive, but on a better driving day, I find the Dream 7 performs at the C9 / D0.5 swing weight.

On the Course (20 out of 20)

The AF remains a great fairway finder. The AF was really performing well for me overall. On this day, I ended up shooting 85, but that was more an issue with long irons.  Putted pretty well in the end.  Only one birdie.

With the AF, I found the center of the face most of the round.  Amazingly 11 out of 14 FIR.  Quite a few 270+ yard drives. The longest was 277 yds.  The drives were straighter with the AF and I found it predictable which for me is rare.  I did hit a couple of FW off the tee so my overall driving average is not indicative of the AF drives.

A couple of highlight shots with the AF during testing outdoors (remember this is at altitude, so the ball carries 7-10 yards longer than at sea level), but it is colder so the ball does travel less at these colder early season rounds:

 

The Good, the Bad, and the In between:      (9/10)

We didn’t get fit prior to ordering our Dream 7 shafts.  I still think fitting is essential.  

In this case.it would have been ideal if we could try out with the same driver we are using.  What length and what swing weight would create the ideal driving conditions.  In my case I went to TXG / CC to get it optimized.  But I haven’t really had the time to just try this optimized setting.  Since I really liked the Autoflex deemed swing weight and the feel of the club head with the stock club head weight.  

I will definitely take some more time to tryout the lighter head weight.  Also I have decided to see my Titleist fitter to do an outdoor fitting with both weights and to see if he can dial me in or tell me what setting would work best for me, etc.  that will be in a both a week and a half, so I will report back.

The good is that this driver shaft performs for me.  My smooth swing seems to mesh well with the Dream 7.  The shaft is a fairway finder and the draw bias works really well for me.  Hard to fault this shaft in any way.

The bad is that it is an ultra premium offering, so it’s at a price point that few will have the budget for.  That being said.i think this driver shaft will be in my next driver and may be the driver after that. I don’t think I will find a better shaft for my future gamers. So it’s hard on the wallet, but it’s a great shaft. I wish more people could try it out and buy one.  

Here is the improvement in my driving with the Dream 7

Play It or Trade It:      (20 out of 20)

This is definitely staying in my bag.  I can’t see this Autoflex Dream 7 shaft not being in the bag for a while.  It just a great fairway finder and I love the trajectory.  It’s hard to see me not gaming it.  I will tinker on the margins though, I still think a lighter weight in the head has potential and so I may go to a lighter grip to get the swing weight more closer to Autoflex spec.  Needless to say this is a fun shaft to test and a game changer for me.  Lots more testing will need to be done and I am looking forward to it.  I will post more as the Summer season progresses.
 

Final Total: 95 out of 100

Yup. The Autoflex Dream 7 knocks it out of the park for me!

Conclusion: (TLDR):

The Autoflex is a great shaft, but it’s an ultra premium shaft offering, so I can only stress that you definitely need to get fit for it.  I think it’s geared for a person with a smooth swing (in particular a smooth transition) and is looking for more of a draw bias shaft.   Compared to my gamer the Graphite Design Tour AD DI, the Autoflex Dream 7 launches slightly lower, but it consistently seems to fly farther with a controllable spin from my driver. Its a definite fairway finder and feels different from most premium shafts on the tip end.  Yes the price is very high, but I think its worth trying it at your next driver fitting.  For me its hard to argue with the results.

Thank you MGS Forum for making this test happen for us.  It was a real eye opener.

 

Edited June 10 by KC Golf
Final Review

[BallsLeon]

autoFlex Dream 7 Driver Shaft (SF405x) - Official MGS Forum Review by BallsLeon (TJ)

Intro
Hey everyone! I’m thrilled to be one of the lucky testers chosen for the autoFlex Dream 7 driver shaft review. My name’s TJ, hailing from Overland Park, Kansas. As of last year golf has taken over my life, I grew up playing as a child but over the past year have been practicing and playing more than ever trying to improve my game.



As a casual/competitive golfer, with a GHIN handicap of 20.4 (and a Trackman handicap of 15.2), I haven't played any formal tournaments, but I’m obsessed with all things golf and working on improving my game. My biggest struggle? Driving the ball. Those OB shots and lost balls add up fast, and what I've found after being fit for irons this winter is that finding the right equipment could be a game-changer.

So when the opportunity to test the autoFlex Dream 7 driver shaft came up, I jumped at it. Full disclosure: I didn’t know much about autoFlex before this. The price tag always turned me off, but the chance to put it to the test is too good to pass up. From what I’ve read, the shafts are known for being lightweight and a more active flex profile, but a lot of that is shrouded in mystery due to the Korea Hidden Technology (KHT).

I’ve selected the 405x model based on my swing speed, which falls between 90-105mph. I’ll be working with my local fitter at GolfMD to ensure the autoFlex Dream 7 driver shaft is dialed in for my swing (included a video below of a young Garrett Clark being fit there). With access to Trackman technology at an indoor practice facility (GolfTRK), I’ll be conducting thorough comparisons between shafts and drivers. Additionally, I’ll be hitting the links weekly to assess real-game performance.

What am I hoping to achieve with this test? Simple: improvement. Currently, my fairway percentage sits at 38% according to Trackman, while my GHIN records show a similar trend at 32%. Per Trackman, my average drive length is approximately 209.3 yards (with my longest recorded at 265.6 yards). I want to see my fairway percentage increase to 39% or higher, with a noticeable boost in average drive distance. It’s a tall order, but if the autoFlex Dream 7 driver shaft can deliver, it’ll earn a permanent spot in my bag.

I’ll be spending considerable time both on the range and on the course, tracking performance metrics with Trackman. Launch monitor data will be compared between different shafts and drivers, while on-course rounds will provide real-world insights into how the autoFlex Dream 7 driver shaft holds up in the real world under pressure.

In conclusion, I’m honored to have the opportunity to test the autoFlex Dream 7 driver shaft and provide valuable feedback to fellow golfers. I want to offer insights from the perspective of a high-handicap golfer who struggles off the tee, helping others make informed decisions about their equipment choices. Stay tuned as I share my experiences testing the autoFlex Dream 7 driver shaft!

First Impressions (10 out of 10)
First impressions, "Holy crap, this shaft has it's own freaking bag!" but seriously, I did not know that was a thing. Shortly followed by how awesome the shaft looks, but I'll get more into that in the next section. A couple days later I got the shaft gripped at the almost 47" length, and finally got to swing it for the first time... this thing is an absolute noodle! I filmed a short video below to give you an idea of what the "Korea Hidden Technology" looks like. also, to be fair, at almost 47" the swingweight was too high causing additional deflection.

Swingweight be damned however because I saw immediate gains with the shaft on my first session compared to the old shaft:
Before/After

• Club Speed: +4.9mph
• Ball Speed: +11mph
• Carry: +27.1yds
• Total: +28yds

There is definitely something here... no complaints, 10 out of 10!

Aesthetics (20 out of 20)
Like I mentioned in my first impressions, this shaft is a looker. The color alone is stunning, they have it labeled as green but I'd probably call it teal... no wait, maybe aqua? Either way, whatever it is it's awesome. Then you get to the graphics which are equally awesome, with flower petals, rainbow logo, and cats I definitely see the dream-like motif they were going for. I actually like the design so much, that I ended up having a headcover made to match the shaft! Featuring the cats in my life: Benjamin (grey) and Hank (black), and the neighborhood cat Callie (brown). Shout out to Brenda at Geau Golf who worked with me, seriously check her out she does awesome work! Easy 20 out of 20.

The Numbers (18 out of 20)
In every Trackman session I've had since receiving the autoFlex it has dominated my previous shafts in every measured metric. I am seeing more carry, more distance, more club speed, more ball speed, less spin, and etc. Seeing those numbers translate to my Trackman rounds as well as my average driving distance and fairway hit percentages have ticked up (note: driving average also includes all non-par 3 tee shots not taken with driver). However, I will concede that the Tensei White (stiff flex) shaft did result in the tightest dispersion in the head to head test and for that reason I will deduct two points from the autoFlex score.


Head to Head link

On the Course (20 out of 20)
Playing with the Dream7 driver shaft has instilled a new level in confidence in me off the tee-box. With my previous shafts, I felt like I had to work really hard to get the ball to go anywhere which resulted in me hitting A LOT of bad shots. Whether it's going OB constantly or hitting that low-runner that doesn't even reach the fairway, struggling off the tee-box is a sure-fire way to have a tough round. I've even gone so far as completely removing driver from my bag, and that's how I played half my rounds last year. In juxtaposition, now that I have the Dream7 shaft I am looking for any excuse to pull driver, which might be a problem in it's own right. However, it's more than just a feeling, and I am seeing it translate to better scoring rounds and more fairways hit. Since I've received the shaft my handicap has gone from 20.4 to 18.9, and my fairway hit percentage has gone up from 32% to 38%. No points deducted, 20 out of 20.

The Good, the Bad, the Inbetween (9 out of 10)
First, I'd like to address the elephant in the room, this shaft is enormously expensive. I am beyond thrilled and thankful to have been selected for this opportunity because likely I would never had the occasion to try this shaft otherwise. Even the very good/reputable fitter I went to who has a relationship with autoFlex does not carry shafts in stock to demo due to the price. However, now that I have used the autoFlex... I am not sure there is any going back, and that prospect fills my bank account with dread. I am docking a point for the price, but at this point if god forbid something happens to the shaft I would go out and purchase another. It's probably also worth noting that this shaft has not fixed my slice, that can absolutely still happen, but still less right than my Tensei Blue (regular flex).

Play it or Trade it? (20 out of 20)
Absolutely play it! I am going to try to hold on to this shaft as long as possible! I think I would be a fool to leave ~20yds on the table, and more fairways. Like I mentioned in the last section, there is definite sticker-shock to these shafts, but now that I have experienced it I am all on board for the autoFlex experience (even if I had to hide that receipt from my wife). As for who would benefit the most from this shaft... I feel like the golfer that struggles for distance or getting off the tee-box would absolutely love this. That being said, there are golfers far better than me in this testing that are getting a long very well with this shaft, so I think it could suit just about anybody willing to try this pricey experiment.

Conclusion (97 out of 100)
"Nothing happens unless first we dream." Carl Sandburg
Have to agree with Carl here, I had to get ahold of the Dream7 to change my driving game for the better!

Edited June 11 by BallsLeon

[Kenny B]

 

Kenny B’s Review of the Autoflex Dream 7 Driver Shaft

Introduction

I would like to thank AutoflexUSA for providing MyGolfSpy Forum with the Dream 7 driver shaft for review, and I am honored to be selected by the Forum moderators to conduct this review.  I am looking forward to testing this shaft and hope to provide information valuable to the slower swingers reading the Forum.  I will be testing the SF 305X shaft which has a recommended swing speed range of 70-85mph.

 

So, who am I?

Kenny B has been a member of the MyGolfSpy Forum for over 10 years.  

I am a soon-to-be 77-year old lover of golf that started playing late in life.  I was always average in all sports that I tried, and golf was no exception.  Golf was not a sport that I tried when I was young, since there was only one golf course in town and it was private.  I moved from the wet Willamette Valley of Oregon to the dry desert of SE Washington in 1970 as a nuclear chemist working at the Hanford Nuclear Site.  I eventually became an inspector for the US Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  I developed nuclear safeguards policy and trained U.S. personnel, as well as Russian, Chinese, Pakistani, and Israeli nuclear experts.

For some reason I got into racing sports cars; Datsun 240Z, but that got expensive very quickly!  During that time I also got into two softball leagues; slo-pitch and fast pitch, as well as a volleyball league.  Our volleyball team traveled for matches in western Washington and Victoria BC.  I also became a State-rated volleyball official for local high schools and colleges.  Oh yeah, I bought this…

While on a business trip in 1990 to Livermore CA, our inspection team decided to play golf on the Sunday of our two-week trip.  Never played golf before, but it seemed like something that would take the place of softball and volleyball for this aging body.  It wasn’t until 1992 at age 45 that I started playing seriously.  Joined our company 9-hole league and couldn’t break 62 until I played in a 3-club tournament and shot 47.  That started a journey to “not suck” at this game.  I joined a club and played in their gangsome and club events as much as I could with some very good players.  Thinking back on it, I wish that I had taken lessons early instead of trying to pick up the game on my own.  Lessons eventually came, and they made a huge difference… still need more!

I eventually met the love of my life on the 1st tee one day, and she played with us guys for several years before we got married on the same 1st tee.  Meet Martha...

Since then, we have traveled extensively playing golf at some rather nice courses here in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Utah, Arizona, Florida, and Hawaii.  Golf is what we do, to the exclusion of just about everything else.  Some of the places we have played golf…

Jug Mountain Ranch - McCall, Idaho

Maui

Bandon Dunes

TPC Scottsdale

World Golf Hall of Fame - St. Augustine, Florida

Wine Valley - Walla Walla, Washington

Black Butte Ranch - Sisters, Oregon

Palm Springs, California

St. George, Utah

She will always be Tweety and of course… that makes me Sylvester...

At the end of May, we will be traveling to Williamsburg, Virginia to play golf at the 2024 MyGolfSpy Outing at the Kingsmill Resort.  Testing of the Autoflex Dream 7 golf shaft will continue there.

Current Drivers

I am currently using the Callaway Epic Max and Epic Max LS driver heads with Project X Cypher Fifty 5.0 and HZRDUS Smoke iM10 5.5 shafts… off the shelf stuff.  My wife is using the Callaway Epic Speed driver head with Project X Cypher Forty 4.0 shaft.  Sorry, no current drivers available to test, but I’ve been happy with the performance of the Callaway Epic line.

I am about a 10 index, and my swing speed is near the higher end of the Autoflex Dream 7 SF 305X shaft.  My wife has been playing golf since she was 8 years old and is about a 20 index.   Her swing speed is near the low end of the SF 305X shaft, and she will be providing her input on the shaft which I will add to mine.

Expectations

I am probably the shortest hitter of the golf ball for this test (well, actually my wife is), and we are both not sure what to expect from the Autoflex Dream 7 shaft.  Both of us hit the ball fairly straight (she’s consistently straighter than I am), but I typically hit 75-90% of the fairways and misses are not bad.  Course conditions are firm and fast fairways, and it’s usually windy when we play.  Any driver I play will have to be solid into the wind and produce shots that run out for max distance.  Most off-the-shelf drivers I’ve tested are similar in distance, but the differences are in how they feel to me.  Of course, I would love to have a few extra yards off the tee.  My weakness is approach shots, and if I get closer to the green off the tee, then my scores go down.  The course I play seems to have fairways with upslopes where my ball typically lands, so extra yards might get me to the downslope!

The Autoflex Dream 7 golf shaft arrives tomorrow… UPS willing.  Then the fun begins… stay tuned!

Unboxing

UPS arrived at 6pm Thursday May 2...

Eagerly, I opened the box to find a shaft in it's own colorful sleeve...

Wait a minute!!  I didn't order PINK; I might have though, if it was an option. #bubbawatson

This Autoflex Dream 7 SF 305X shaft is absolutely gorgeous!

It came uncut with the Callaway adapter attached and the standard Golf Pride Tour Velvet black grip unattached as requested.  Too late to do anything with it, but in the morning I butt-trimmed the shaft to the same 46" playing length as my Project X Cypher and HZRDUS Smoke iM10 shafts.  The swingweight with my Pure Pro Midsize grip is C9; my two other Callaway driver head/shaft combos are D1.  My MacGregor irons are D0, so we are in the same ballpark.  Dang!  This driver shaft is whippy!  My swing has a fairly smooth tempo, so it shouldn't take long to get used to the feel.

Thank you Mike @Autoflexusa for this great opportunity

 

Testing Protocol

For the rest of the review I will be referring to the Autoflex Dream 7 SF 305X shaft as AF Dream 7.  My test compared the performance of this shaft in my Callaway Epic Max to the Project X Cyper shaft and the HZRDUS Smoke IM10 shaft in the same head.

My driver setup used for all test shots is shown below.

 

An initial swing test showed that my tendency with the AF Dream 7 driver was to hit the ball a little toward the toe.

A little setup adjustment remedied that.

I chose not to run through a bunch of launch monitor swings because, honestly, at my low swing speed I don’t find it very useful.  What I want to know is how far the ball will travel on my usual turf conditions.  Yes, carry distance is important, but if I know I will likely come close to not carrying a required distance… I’m laying up anyway!

My test involved multiple drives off our #11 tee ground over 3 separate days.  I chose this fairway because I can see the #10 tee.  I can only conduct this test after 6:30pm which is about the time the last players will be past this hole.  If I see someone teeing off on #10, I let them play through on #11, then continue the test.  The #11 fairway is straightaway with the trees shown in this photo not really in play for me.

 

The fairway is mostly level with a slight upslope where my ball usually lands, and it slopes slightly to the right.  I used two sleeves of new Maxfli Tour S balls.  Distance was measured using my Garmin S62 GPS watch.  After hitting the six balls I drove a cart to each ball and recorded the distance to the center of the green.  That number was subtracted from the distance to the center of the green from the tee giving me the distance of the drive.  Not the most accurate numbers, but relative to each set, it’s good enough for me.  I can tell immediately after a tee shot based on feel if the distance is one of the shorter or longer ones.

I made 6 drives with the AF Dream 7, then made 6 drives with each of the other two shafts in the same head.

            AF Dream 7               Project X Cypher         HZRDUS Smoke IM10

Day 1        208                                197                                200
                 219                                 209                               198
                 206                                202                                206
                 195                                 207                                212
                 208                                194                                 192
                 222                                203                                205

Day 2      198                                  207                                 208
                207                                 202                                 201
                196                                 198                                  205
                218                                 203                                 196
                210                                 200                                 202
                217                                 210                                  205

Day 3      194                                 193                                  198
                208                                199                                  208
                199                                 206                                 200
                218                                 205                                 205
                212                                 209                                 199
                220                                201                                  205

Average  209                                      202                                        202
Longest  222                                       210                                        212

I did have a few obvious mishits that were not counted.  When that happened, I teed another ball.  All recorded drives landed in the fairway; some rolled out into the rough both left and right, but they are counted.

First Impressions (9  out of 10)

The AF Dream 7 shaft is whippy, and I was concerned that the shaft would not produce reliable, repeatable results.  That is certainly not the case.  This shaft loves a full swing; don’t baby it.  In fact, less than full swings can produce unwanted results… more on that later.

I did not have much time to use this shaft prior to leaving on a road trip across the country to Virginia and the 2024 MyGolfSpy Outing at Kingsmill Resort.  I was also sick with severe sinus infection the week before the trip.  However, learning to play this driver was easy and I used it for all four rounds at Kingsmill.  One round of testing was conducted before Kingsmill and two rounds were conducted after I returned.

Aesthetics  (10 out of 10)

I’m not really sure how to rate a golf shaft for aesthetics.  It’s a shaft; people tend to look at the head to determine what club you are playing and the shaft spends most of its time in the bag unseen.  However, the design and color is eye-catching when you hold it.  Since it is so whippy, I get comments when waggling and when making a swing.  It’s easy to notice and the results speak for themselves.

The Numbers  (20 out of 20)

Looking at the data from my test drives, the AF Dream 7 clearly outperforms my Cypher and HZRDUS shafts; not by a lot but with my low 80’s swing speed, a 7 yard average gain makes a difference.  What is most notable from the data is the AF Dream 7 longest drives are 10-12 yards longer than the best drives of the other shafts.  That’s huge on my course; the On Course assessment tells why…

On Course  (18 out of 20)

Those 10-12 yards, or even just an average 7 yard gain, gets me past many upslopes in the fairway where I usually land.  The difference can translate into a gain of 20-25 yards.  I have been in parts of fairways that I never got to see (unless I mishit my second shot  ).

I normally hit a straight ball off the tee with maybe a little fade.  I do not slice, and I don’t hit draws unless I have to.  I can push a shot to the right and I can pull a shot to the left.  The AF Dream 7 has a straighter ball flight than the other shafts.  I can basically take the left side of the hole out of play and not worry about going too far left… such a great feeling.

This shaft is definitely dependent on a good, smooth swing tempo.  Most days I have it, but if my tempo is off a little, this shaft can produce a bad shot here and there.  Swing transition must be smooth and not rushed.  A typical bad shot is a snap hook.  I have frequently used what I call a “punch driver” shot; some might call it Tiger’s stinger.  It’s a shot I use in the wind as a fairway finder.  Let’s just say that if I continue to use this shot, I will need much practice; this shaft doesn’t react well to my swing motion for that shot.  However, as well as I hit this shaft with a normal swing, I may not need that shot anymore!

Speaking of wind… we get our share!  I have always used the HZRDUS Smoke IM10 shaft on windy days.  It’s a little heavier and stiffer; the result is a better ball flight than the Project X Cypher shaft.  I was going to continue using it, because I thought the AF Dream 7 would not be a great wind club.  The more I use it, the better it gets.

The Good/The Bad/The In-Between  (18 out of 20)

The Good -  I’m not sure what the “Korean Hidden Technology” is but I’m pretty sure that the company has an agenda… maybe it’s a hidden agenda?!   Whatever it is, it works.  It seems like the shaft works best when you put less effort into the swing.  It certainly is not a driver that you can muscle, or at least I can’t.  It’s a fairway finder for me, and it’s long, again… for me!

Certainly, the Bad is the price.  You have to decide what the investment is worth to your game.  Maybe not Bad, but it seems like this shaft is made for golfers with a smooth transition to the downswing… lucky for me!  Probably not a fit for the young Tiger, but possibly for the current Tiger. 

The In-Between for me is the difficulty of playing shots that I have been accustomed to playing over the years.  I’d like to think that my Punch Driver shot will work without a duck hook.  I haven’t spent the time on the range with this shaft; only on course play and testing so far other than warm ups prior to rounds.  However, I feel like I can adapt; it’s such a great feeling shaft.

Play It or Trade It  (20 out of 20)

I am definitely playing the AF Dream 7 shaft.  I feel like I am still getting used to it, and I like the potential it has for even more distance as I become more familiar with it’s feel.

My wife did not get a chance to play this shaft in her Callaway Epic Speed driver, but as the golf season nears the end and her tournaments are over, I’m sure she will give it a spin.  In my opinion, her swing is made for a shaft like this.  Unfortunately, it may cost me!  I hope she doesn’t like it… I hope she doesn’t like it… there is potential for this shaft to be the difference between me winning… or not!! 

Conclusion

The AF Dream 7 is a great shaft.  It’s also an expensive shaft.  Would I buy this shaft?  On my retired person limited budget I probably would have said No Way two months ago.  The cost of an off-the-shelf driver has more than doubled since I took up this game.  A shaft that is a 50% add-on to the price of a driver is difficult to justify.  It’s definitely not for the casual golfer unless they have money to throw around.  For the golf fanatic obsessed with making improvements each time you play, there are certainly worse things on which to spend money.

As my club speed dwindles each and every year, this shaft may be a way for me to compete against the course for a few more years.  Is it worth my investment after using it for the past month… heck yeah!!

Final Score  (95 /100)

I certainly am honored and lucky to be picked to test the AF Dream 7 shaft and I expect this shaft to be in my driver for a long time.  Again, I would like to thank Mike @Autoflexusa for the opportunity to test and review this shaft.  You have a winner!!

Edited Wednesday at 03:50 PM by Kenny B

[ZMendle10]

AutoFlex Dream 7 505X Shaft Review: A Dream Turned Reality or Too Good to be True?

Introduction:

Before I go on and on about myself and my game, we need to acknowledge this opportunity provided by both AutoFlex and My Golf Spy. Thank you to both for providing eight everyday golfers this incredible opportunity as well as a platform where we can all connect and share our experiences. AutoFlex has been as big of a mystery as it has been viral and for them to provide their newest driver shaft the Dream 7 for eight forum members to test and review is insanely exciting. This is the first time I am fortunate enough to test a driver shaft and what a driver shaft this is to test.

About Me:

Quick info on me is I live in Somerset County, New Jersey with my fiancé and our two dogs.

 

I’m a 29-year-old engineer who is slowly getting into club building. My fiancé completely understands my obsession with this game and fully supports it on the conditions that my tee times go on our shared google calendar and I get housework done prior. So those tik-toks of guys cleaning frantically in order to go play 18 is me.  Our two dogs are Tucker and Hudson where Tucker is a chihuahua mix that’s 10 years old  and Hudson is our 3.5 year old black lab mix. 

Aside from golf I love to cook, travel, snowboard, and play poker with some friends every now and then.

  

Prior AutoFlex Knowledge:

The first time I heard about AutoFlex was when it made its first appearance on the former TXG YouTube channel (now Club Champion) with Ian Fraser and Matt Blois 3 years ago. Back then all they knew about it was that it utilized Korean Hidden Technology and that’s still pretty much all I know about it to this day. Unlike a lot of other shaft companies boast about their materials and technology such as Ventus and Velocore, Mitsubishi and 1K carbon fiber, or HZRDUS and Hex Tow AutoFlex shrouds itself in mystery. To me that is the biggest allure of this shaft especially considering I have never personally seen this shaft used or know of anyone who has used it.

Me and My Golf:

Being in Somerset County I tend to stick to the county courses in my area with my favorite being Quail Brook with the occasional round at Neshanic Valley when I want to treat myself. My handicap hovers around a 12 with my best career round being an 80 at spooky brook earlier this year. For those of you looking for a review on the 505X model I am your guy with a Swing Speed of about 115+ on trackman 505X is my best option for this shaft. While I do swing hard at the ball I know I'm not swinging as hard as I can because I have found that doesn't give me any extra output other than being more exhausted. 

   

My current gamer is a TSR3 with an RDX Blue PVD shaft in TX Flex which I really do love and has been a great addition to the bag. I go into the why and how this shaft got into the bag in my  Unofficial TSR3 Review and yes Titleist did replace my cracked driver face with no issues. As a fun farewell for now to the RDX Blue I did a longest drive test on Trackman and man oh man did this combo know it was on its way out the bag. 

 

I took a video of the session and didn't even get to the 5th shot since time ran out but all four of those shots were basically on top of one another. I will try to upload the video but so far it doesn't seem to be cooperating.

 

. 

The specs of my driver are as follows. Length: 45 5/8”, Swing Weight: D3.5ish, and Club Head Weight 199g. To get the most out of AutoFlex some of these might change so it will be interesting to see what and by how much.

 

  

What’s being Tested

During testing I usually like to focus on direct comparisons between club A and Club B. For example when testing my TAIII wedges from Sub 70 I was able to compare to my SM8’s but with this one and the builds themselves being so different I am not too sure if that is the best route until I have the shaft in hand. I was able to do a nice session on Trackman to get a really solid baseline for my current setup of good to great to ugly. The full report for anyone to view is here but below are some snapshots of that session. 

The big questions that I will be looking to answer are the following:

Do I gain speed with it in the driver? If so can I break 180mph for a new personal best

How does it hold up for quicker club head speeds over the recommended 115mph.

What happens if there is an incorrect swing weight that’s too high or to low?

Can this improve my on course driving for me  from a strokes gained perspective?

If it does go in the bag is the price worth justifying if properly fit?

Using Arccos can I improve upon my driving from a strokes gained perspective?

 

I will also be measuring ball and clubhead speed on the course with my PRGR launch monitor that I use for speed training.

So with all the pleasantries out of the way lets get the testing started and this dream of a testing opportunity underway.

First Impressions: Score TBD

Unboxing and Building

Around 2:00 on Wednesday May 1st UPS arrived at my doorstep with the AutoFlex Dream 7 box in hand and on my doorstep gently waiting for me to retrieve it. The box itself had zero exterior damage and was aggressively taped around so I was eager to open it up and get the build process started. Upon my eagerness I didn’t take any pictures of the unboxing however I did allow for Hudson to see if it passes the sniff test. For those who have seen my other reviews this is one of the more important tests that takes place.

Inside I find the shaft sleeve, P.O., and an envelope that I briskly take into my basement workshop for further unboxing and photos. The note from @Autoflexusa was also a very nice touch however there was no $5 to be found. 

Every shaft I have purchased has come in a circular tube with some brown paper at both ends and maybe some bubble wrap on the tip section. Not AutoFlex though. While the box itself had this packaging the shaft was covered in a shaft sleeve that read autoflex on one side and netting on the other side in their iconic hot pink colorway.

 To me this was a very nice touch because of the price point of this shaft.  

The shaft itself is littered with details from the striking teal colorway to the flowers themselves this shaft is like an ispy picture book. The more you look at it the more there is to see. There are even Tigers on the graphics for those to notice if they look hard enough.

 

The Build Process:

With a fitting scheduled for 10:30 the next day it was time to get the shaft into a playable shape so I attached my TSR3 head and got it measured up coming in at 46.75in without a grip.

Cut the shaft down to play at 46in and then I threw on a Golf Pride CPX standard size as my grip of choice. This measured out to a playing length of 46 1/8in which for now is fine as we can always remove more if need be. Swing weight got dialed in by changing out the 10g TSR3 weight for a 3g weight to put us just about D2 and we were ready get fit the next morning.

Yes that is an old paint tray because I'm not fancy and I work with What I got.

First Swings:

The next morning I went to an indoor golf facility (Golfcave) where I work part time to hit some balls and get an idea of what to expect. The waggle test that I am sure the other testers are experiencing is substantial and there is a ton of movement even at the “stiffest” flex they offer. I was effortlessly seeing 119 club head speed but surprisingly nowhere near as efficient as my RDX Blue. One thing tht I also noted was that my club path shifted severely out to in and I had to really try and work towards neutralizing this. I didn’t do too much hear as I wanted to just get the first swings out of the way before the fitting and have an idea of what to expect.

The Fitting:

To get the Dream 7 dialed we went to Club Champion in Hackensack where I have been working with the same fitter for the past 3 years at this point. Once warmed up I was seeing the same things that I saw earlier in the morning. Severely out to in path and a big lack of efficiency. We were also fitting with the Pro V1x RCT ball so all the spin numbers were accurate and they were high. The misses were very weak fades with 4000+rpm’s of backspin and the best ones were hanging out at lowest 2500 but closer to 2800. We concluded that the low efficiency and high spin is most likely a path issue and while cutting the length could help it would make sense to try and fix the issue at hand and get used to the shaft first before resorting to that option.

 

On the plus side we saw effortless speed increases and once I was in a groove I was cruising at 121 mph club head speed and 174mph ball speed with peaks of about 178mph ball and 126mph club. Knowing that there is a ton of potential in this club and its up to me to find it to get the most out of it.

On the Course:

A few hours later I took the Dream 7 out to the course with two guys from the from Golfcave who are both great players. One plays golf in college at Drew University and the other plays off of about 2 or 3. Both long hitters but hit the ball low and Royce Brook was pretty baked out so the fairways were running. While they had low chasing drives that would run out to 300+ and taking advantage of the conditions the Dream 7 allowed me to take the high road. The ball flight was way up in the air and still penetrating for the most part. I was getting nowhere near the rollout they were seeing but was keeping pace with them each time I struck one well. Two times I out drove them both with my ball finishing in the rough.

  

 

The bad shots were that same weak floaty fade that I was seeing during the fitting and they were rolling out to anywhere from 260 to 285 which is nothing to complain about. There were misses that I should not have gotten away with the result that I did and the stability of this shaft was put to the test. I did have two penalty shots on the same hole but falls solely on me for user error as for some reason this tee shot always gives me trouble and I have no idea why.

 

 

Overall this shaft is delivering on the fronts of club head speed which is delivering on ball speed as well as the stability that is promised. It is not by any means a magic bullet that will always make you hit long straight drives but it doesn’t hurt the cause. It takes some time to get used to and some work needs to be put in but it can be an absolute weapon if needed.

Aesthetics (18 out of 20) 

The biggest surprise to me were the aesthetics of this shaft. I loved the matte black base layer of it and the blueish-green just pops off the shaft. For me the beauty is in the details and it starts with the flower pattern.

     

From a distance you see the general shape of the flowers and color but the more you look the more there is to see. There are tinier flowers inside each petal with specs of yellow to keep it interesting but not overwhelming. Then as you read the AutoFlex label each letter is not only colored differently but the pattern continues. There are also a bunch of cats on the AutoFlex letters which was a fun surprise.

 

The one thing that I noticed about the graphics though is that you can see the outline of the artwork when you get up close.

To me it just cheapens the look ever so slightly since it is not such a smooth transition. Aside from that this is one of the more fun and intricate shafts I have seen and the artwork and detailing is fantastic. 

The Numbers (17 out of 20)

Being fortunate enough to have access to a Trackman facility for no charge I was able to do all of my “range sessions” on Trackman. Looking at the most recent report (full report here) we can get a great idea of how the Dream 7 performs as there is plenty of data as well as it is consistent with what I have been seeing from all other sessions. 

Autoflex Dream 7 On it’s Own:

Analyzing the Dream 7 at a length of 45 5/8in this shaft still allows me to swing plenty fast. An average of 118.mph for club head speed is something that even on my fastest of days I have trouble seeing so to average it is special. Ball speed averaging just shy of 172 is great as well but the smash factor being an average of 1.45 isn’t great.  While the dispersion has a left bias this is more due to a pull than a shut club face.

 My face to path on average was very square  with a few more to the right getting caused by my own swing flaw of a shut club face. Spin and dynamic loft were on the high side for this shaft as well and I believe that the high dynamic loft was partly causing the higher spin as well as the lower smash factor.

Using the Optimizer feature we can see the potential for the Dream 7 based off of club head speed, attack angle, and possibly a few other inputs that I’m unaware of. I for sure have hit these carry and total numbers throughout my session but never on a consistent basis.

AutoFlex Dream 7 vs GD U7X vs HZRDUS RDX Blue TX:

Dispersion: Overall they are pretty much the same. The Dream 7 had the most shots hit with it but if given enough time the three would have a very similar pattern. Potentially the UB 7X would have less frequent misses and maybe not as drastic. 

Data: Club head speed was lower for the RDX Blue and UB7X when compared to the Dream 7. Ball speed was also lower understandably but the Smash Factor for the other two shafts was much higher and more consistent. Launch, spin, and peak height for the RDX BLue and UB 7X were  essentially the same as well for each other and lower on all accounts compared to the Dream 7 and were also tighter in terms of standard deviation. Lastly the dynamic loft for the Dream 7 was higher than the other two shafts. The Dream 7 in my opinion felt like it was bending more at impact than the other two which added more launch, spin, dynamic loft, and everything else that accompanied it. 

On The Course (13 out of 20):

The course data was interesting because I got to compare 2 different lengths of the Dream 7 to the UB 7X. As promised in the intro I collected both club head speed and ball speed with the PRGR launch monitor as well as Arccos for total distance. The ball flight was consistently high with the shape being a consistent fade. Whether that fade missed to the left or right of the fairway was a different story. No matter the length the ball flight was higher and visibly spinney but nothing that was concerning. The trackman data of having it average about 3000rpm’s I would say is consistent with what I saw on the course. Not that I can see rpm’s but it's floaty but not stalling is how I would Describe it.  

On Course Data AutoFlex Dream 7 46 1/8in

The additional length of the Dream 7 proved to be very difficult for me to handle. My club head speed averaged at 115.8 mph and I maxed it out at 120 on the course which was crazy to me. I also was seeing ball speeds I only thought I could hit in the simulator while I was about 50 balls into a session.  Immediately I was seeing quicker club speed and ball speed to go along with it maxing out at 120 mph club head and 177 mph ball speed. Both of these were fantastic and I loved seeing it but I was by no means consistent with my accuracy. I only hit the Fairway 10% of the time and was missing left or right either way despite seeing a consistent shape of a fade. It was very frustrating so I decided to go shorter to give the Dream 7 a more fighting chance. 

On Course Data AutoFlex Dream 7 45 5/8in

After a couple sessions at this shorter length I was seeing a more consistent strike pattern and what felt like a more controlled swing. I was able to trust the shaft more when I took it to the course and let it work its magic. After 32 drives I saw my on course club head speed dip slightly with the average being 114.6mph which was only 1.2mph less than at 46 1/8in but average ball speed dropped 3mph which wasn’t ideal. While I felt like I had more control I still was missing a lot of fairways but at least this time I had a much more predictable miss to the right. Fairway hit percentage increased from 10% to 21.88% and my misses left decreased a bit as well. 

On Course Data Graphite Design UB 7X 45 3/8in

The UB proved why it was going to be the shaft to beat out on the course. I didn’t collect a ton of data on this shaft as I wanted most of my testing to be focused on the Dream 7 and what it can do rather than what everything in my arsenal can do against the Dream 7. This was tested just to see what the Dream 7 would have to compete with to work its way into my bag. While the clubhead speed was lower than the dream 7 ball speed was higher than the Dream 7 at 45 5/8in and lower than the Dream 7 at 46 1/8in which was expected. Efficiency for the UB was also better or equal to the Dream 7 at both lengths with the real kicker being the accuracy of the UB. Over 40% of fairways hit is very nice and the average distance was competitive with the Dream 7 at both lengths. Yes the Dream 7 for sure had the long ball under the right conditions but I would argue the same for the UB based on past experiences. 

 

The Good, the Bad, the In-Between (8 out of 10)

The Good:

You will see gains in club head speed, height, and ball speed. There is no way around it. The peaks of your swing will be much higher with less effort while the valleys will remain relatively the same. For me it achieved higher launch, spin, and height through additional dynamic loft.

The Bad:

There is for sure a learning curve with the Dream 7 and for some (myself included) and I can see this being a negative for most golfers. If you have a smoother swing this adjustment period will be quicker though. I think this is due to the lighter swingweight where even for the SF505X a D0.5-D1.5 swingweight is very light, especially at a longer length. 

The In-Between:

This is extremely nitpicky and probably only happened to me but at some point I noticed some epoxy around the adapter at the D2 setting on my Dream 7. This by no means affected performance and it's incredibly hard to notice unless you are looking for it but it is there. 

  

Play it or Trade it? (14 out of 20)

Trade it. One thing I want to make abundantly clear is the Dream 7 does what it is billed as. This is a higher launching shaft that you will swing faster, get more ball speed, and be more stable. For me personally despite gaining all of those things I still can’t put it in the bag because it simply is not meant for me. Along with the extra club head speed and ball speed I am seeing extra spin as well. The ball flight for me is far too high of a window that I like to see on the golf course. Yes this 100% produces some extra carry but it robs me of total distance as well. 

I have also noticed that I tend to perform better with a heavier shaft in general. This stems all the way back to when I was fit into DG120’s with my ZX7’s in 2021 by far the heaviest shaft I tried. Then in 2022 when I went to a TSR demo day I was again fit into a heavier build with the TSR3 and Graphite Design UB 7X. It’s something that has worked for me and testing the Dream 7 has given me the opportunity to test both ends of the weight spectrum to come to this conclusion. Overall my Arccos data confirms what I know that overall I lost strokes gained off the tee with the Dream 7 in the bag compared to previously.

  

 

Again while the Dream 7 isn’t for me and didn’t make it into my bag it does not mean that this is a bad product. It is a fantastic product that does exactly what it is billed as and for the right person it can be an absolute game changer. I think for someone who is a smooth swinging golfer in that 112mph-115 mph range looking for additional swing speed, height, and carry this shaft can do wonders for them. The biggest key that I have found is you have to be able not slow down your swing but smooth out your swing. 

Conclusion

This shaft does exactly what it is billed as. When built and fitted correctly this shaft can be an absolute powerhouse by increasing club head speed, ball speed, and for those that like it a very responsive feel. I saw some of my fastest ball speeds with this shaft as well as my fastest club head speeds when I found a groove (126 in my fitting session!!!). The attention to detail in the artwork is fantastic and always something to look at every time you're waiting on the tee box for the group in front to pick up the pace. If you are a smooth swinging golfer who is looking for a bit more height off the tee and everything else that comes with it this shaft should be on your list. While I don’t fit this category of golfer it was blatantly obvious that the tech is working and the times where I could get it to work the ball flew. The good ones were so consistent it was scary at times but I just had a hard time with the length and lighter overall weight. For those reasons this shaft wasn’t for me but that doesn’t mean it isn’t for you. Get fit, try it out, and be patient as there is for sure an adjustment period. For me this shaft was a knife edge. Let it do its thing with some trust and you will be rewarded but try and fight it or overpower it and you will fail to see the benefits of it at all. This is a great product that works as it is supposed to and for the right golfer this can be a total game changer for them because you will see more speed in all accounts.

Final Score (70 out of 100)

Edited June 9 by ZMendle10
Final Review

[Jean D]

AutoFlex Dream7 Driver Shaft (405x) - Official MGS Forum Review by JeanD

Introduction:

Hello everyone!  My name is Jean Dorais, I’m a 57-year-old golfer and father of a competitive curler from Ottawa, Canada.  I was incredibly fortunate to have been picked as one of the testers out of 2600+ entries for the Autoflex Dream 7 shaft review.  I must start with a great big thank you to MGS and Autoflex USA for the opportunity to review this shaft!

A little about me: I’m a senior IT Manager in the public sector and commercial photographer (weddings, portraits, senior portraits etc…) who started golfing some 25 years ago and then took a 17 year break to raise a family and do the ‘work thing’.  I’ve only started golfing again last year with my best friend and fellow golf fanatic (it's all his fault!) I have been absolutely hooked ever since! I am a recreational golfer with a handicap of 15-19…depending on the week. My golf swing has been described by various instructors and my current fitter as “how on earth do you hit the ball?” to “well, that’s certainly unique!” It’s different, but it works for me! I have fairly steady tempo - more Tommy Fleetwood, less John Daly... without the finesse, style or distance of either. I've slowly been working on my game, where my driver is my "best" club, but still struggle a lot in the >100yd range.  All that to say, I make "average Joe's" look good!!

I started with a set of 'previously-enjoyed' clubs that someone gave me, moved on to my first set of "real" clubs (Founder's Edge Original, with a Callaway Diablo 3 and 4 hybrids and a very whippy TM Burner) and played those before my break from the game.  On my return, I upgraded significantly to Cleveland Halo Launcher XL clubs (Driver, 3/4 hybrid, irons...) and played those all last season and loved them.  This January, I went for my first ever fitting and wound up with the TM Qi 10 Max (originally with a Tensei AV Limited Blue 65R, that I have since upgraded to a C6 Blue 60S shaft) & Qi irons (with Ventus TR 6R graphite shafts). The fitting was eye-opening and humbling at the same time...kind of like taking your car to the mechanic and saying "It's making a weird noise!" and the noise disappearing as soon as they look at it.  I kept telling my fitter: "honest, I can hit a ball!!!".  They were very patient with me and I now have some amazing clubs that are properly fit to my 6'4" frame for the first time ever!

I was also fortunate enough to have been able to setup a home indoor simulator in early April and have been getting the setup tweaked – just in time for this testing opportunity! It's still missing a few things, but I'm able to hit on it and get data. Yay me!

What I am getting:

The manufacturer’s design philosophy is certainly interesting.  They do not work with fixed flex types like pretty much every other manufacturer out there. Instead, they are focused on club head speeds to determine the best shaft for you.  In my case, I’ll be testing the SF405x 50g shaft for swing speeds of 90-105mph in Orange. I’ve heard the original shafts described as “whippy” and “noodle-soft”, but as I’ve never held one or even seen one out on the course before, I will reserve judgement on those characterizations. 

I want to see if this self-proclaimed "Experience the ultimate in power and stability" shaft will help me get:

* More distance.

* Higher club head speed.

* Higher ball speed

* Lower spin.

* Tighter dispersion.

*And ultimately, lower scores on the course.

Testing Methodology:

* Qi10 Max (currently playing at 46.25" ) set at 10.5 degrees 

* TM TP5x balls on course and the Titleist Pro V1 RCT balls on the simulator (R10) and Callaway RPT balls (MLM2 Pro) to get accurate readings. 

* Garmin R10 and Rapsodo MLM2 Pro launch monitors both indoor and at the range.

* Data -both baseline with current shafts and SF405X- will be posted, no editing or removing the really bad shots (as embarrassing as they may be!). 

* Will be alternating between the shafts every 10 shots to eliminate bias as much as possible on the sim and range, and every round on the course.

* I am aiming to hit 1000+  balls during the testing period.

* I will be listing my impressions on feel (back swing, down swing, impact, follow-through).

* I will be comparing the SF405x to my Tensei AV Limited Blue 65 Regular Flex and C6 Blue 60 Stiff shafts.

Based on both the manufacturer's claims to "Experience the ultimate in power and stability" and the cost, I am expecting a fairly significant increase in performance over my current shafts. To be perfectly honest, this is not a shaft that I would have even considered at my fitting- it's simply out of my price range (in CAD $, this is equivalent to my driver and hybrids). I hope my review as well as those from the other testers will help you make a decision on whether this shaft series should potentially be in your bag for the 2024 season!

 

Unboxing:

I received the Autoflex Dream 7 405x today (Thursday May 2nd) and it is absolutely gorgeous.  I do believe I am the first in Canada to receive it  (Sorry @KC Golf, I couldn't resist!) The box was well packed with kraft paper throughout to keep the shaft safe within and arrived without any mishaps or scratches.  The shaft itself comes in a unique sleeve to protect it even further with the Dumina logo at the opening flap and a very nicely embroidered "Autoflex" logo in the middle. 

 

The shaft itself is a glorious and vibrant orange and arrived with my chosen TaylorMade adaptor + a GolfPride TourVelvet 360 grip (which I will be changing to a GolfPride CP2 Wrap Jumbo to fit my big mitts ). My golf partner may not speak to me for a while after he sees the golf shaft come out of the bag: it is bold and beautiful and certainly not subtle.  Exactly what I wanted! One really nice added touch: a personal letter from Mike at Autoflex USA congratulating me on being chosen by MGS to do a test and review on their Dream 7 driver shaft. Mike, I really appreciate you taking the time to add this to our packages! As a first-time tester, this really was a "dang, this is really real" moment when I read the letter.  Thank you again!

The Tensei AV Blue Limited 65R and the C6 Blue 60S managed to play nice with their new sibling and even agreed to pose for some family photos: 

I will be heading to my fitter tomorrow to get the new shaft prepped and ready for the testing to begin.  I may be a little bold, but this is the shaft I will be using on Sunday for my first official on-course round of the year.  More updates to follow with hard data in the thread.

First Impressions and Fitting:

The shaft is very , very different in profile than either of my two other shafts (C6 Blue 60S and Tensei 65R) and flexes a LOT.  I am not saying it is whippy, but it certainly bends throughout the swing more than I am used to.  It is also much lighter by 14 grams than my other shaft (C6 Blue) and feels almost too light in my hands, but 11g heavier than my Tensei AV Limited Blue... which I find very surprising.  I can see the benefits over a round to having a lighter shaft, but it is certainly causing me some 'growing-pains' in learning how to hit.

The weights: shaft + TM adaptor + GolfPride CP2 Wrap Jumbo single tape. 

NO TM Qi10Max head

 

I went to GolfTown Gatineau and my fitter and I went through the process of getting this shaft properly setup for my swing (which isn't pretty- remember earlier when I said that I "made average Joe's look good"?  I meant it!)

We measured the shaft and it came in at 46" which we cut down to 45.75" and added a GolfPride CP2 Jumbo to fit my big hands.  When we put it on the scale, it came out right on D1 which is right in the center of the recommended swing weight range (D0- D2).  I apologize that I don't have any images to share for this portion- I was simply too excited and completely forgot to take some!!!

I went into one of their Foresight GC Hawk bays and started warming up.  This shaft flexes in a completely different way than anything else I have ever hit and it has so far been a real struggle to get my transition smooth enough to take advantage of the shaft.  I am very much rushing the transition and it results in a very pronounced OUT to IN path causing me to heel a lot of my shots.  That's on me, not the shaft. I have been working on it since the fitting and it is slowly starting to make sense (right until I switch shafts for the review...). I have had 8 simulator sessions so far and data below including a short video of what happens when I manage to hit it center! This shaft has tons of potential, I just have to keep working on getting it working for me! My swing seems to like a heavier shaft combo, but with a pause at the top of my backswing, I seem to be getting the hang of hitting with the Autoflex shaft.

Club head speed has certainly increased as has ball speed but due to my poor hitting face location, it has so far not translated to longer distances. Again, that's on me and not the shaft.  Heading out to the course tomorrow and hoping I can make something happen.  

 

 

autoFlex SF 405x Dream 7 FINAL REVIEW JUNE 08, 2024

 

First Impressions (6/10),

When I first received my SF405x shaft, it looked like it was glowing in its stunning bright orange paint and colourful name stencil. Absolutely stunning!

Feel: The shaft feels truly premium in the hand but surprisingly it was not the lightest shaft of my current trio. It was 11g heavier than the Tensei but 30g lighter than my C6 Blue shaft. IT feels very , very 'whippy' when you give it the wiggle test and I never fully got over that "pause at the top " feeling I had to put in my swing.

First Swing: My first swing was a hot mess. The club was still loading when I started my transition and things went downhill from there, but did improve as my testing went on. As you can see below, the shaft has a LOT of flex to it, and I had to pause at the top of my transition to have any hopes of actually hitting the ball.

Aesthetics (10/10),

It is bold, it is bright, it is premium, and it screams: “Hey! Look at ME!”  Which is exactly why I chose that colour scheme! My golf partner kept asking me to put gaffer tape on the gorgeous orange paint so he would not be blinded every time I pulled it out to hit a drive

The Numbers (20/20)

I *may* have gone a little overboard in my testing…  I hit a total of 1237 drives in the 5-week testing period: 737 drives on the SF405x , 250 drives on the Tensei AV Limited Blue 65R and 250 drives on my gamer C6 Blue 60S. The summary of all my drives is below, including the mind-blowing gains over the stock Tensei shaft on my Qi10Max head. I went over all the data I collected multiple times to make certain I did not mess something up, and the data is accurate! This is the summary chart...this shaft is an absolute beast when it comes to speed and distance gains.  Again, assuming you can adapt your swing to match it's unique properties.

FYI: The Rapsodo MLM2 Pro requires the reference dots on the ball to register spin, impossible on the range and impractical on the course.  I did not include spin in my final data, but the numbers were high (high 2600's-2900's) for me.  

FYI: I am happy to share the RAW data file (.xlsx) with anyone who wants it, regrettably I am unable to upload it in my review- it's not a file type the system accepts.  PM me if you really want to data dive into the 3 shafts.

When I compare it to the stock Tensei shaft on my Qi10Max, I was simply shocked at the results:

Average of 29.6mph Ball Speed gained

Average of 4.5mph Club Head Speed gained

Average of 53.5yds carry distance gained

Average of 54.5yds total distance gained  No typo’s- those are the actual real-world gains by a less-than-stellar golfer!

The above is from the home sim, using the Qi10Max head and a 2024 TM TP5x ball (with dots added) and the C6 shaft.  Spin numbers were 1450-1800 LOWER on average than on the SF405x.

On Course (15/20),  My first round with the  shaft was a little daunting, I am not going to lie! The bright orange shaft drew attention from fellow golfers, marshals and the starter of our round. No pressure to hit a good first drive with all those folks looking on…My drives were powerful and longer than I had experienced with the Tensei shaft. It is also a much higher-launching and spinning shaft than I was expecting which I am not a fan of personally. I like a mid flight, low spin profile which is what my gamer C6 gives me. I tried an Qi10 LS head to try and tame the spin, and it worked to a certain degree but I lost a lot of control. Another interesting item:  I had much better results with the Bridgestone e12 Contact than my gamer TaylorMade TP5x in terms of distance, speed and accuracy.

The Good/The Bad/The In-between (12/20)

The Good:  When compared to my stock Tensei AV Limited Blue 60R shaft, this thing could be considered an illegal cheat !  As I stated above, the numbers simply do not lie .  This thing is an absolute monster of power, speed and distance.

The Bad:  There is just no way of getting around it, the price is simply eye-watering. Here in Canada, the Dream 7 retails for $1240 (CAD)…that is the price of my Qi10 iron set... 1.5 premium drivers or a premium driver and a premium fairway wood. Inexpensive is simply not going to be in your vocabulary when talking about this shaft. But autoFlex isn't going for the bargain- hunting golfers.  They are a premium brand and they don't shy away from their pricing for a premium product.  By comparison , my C6 shaft was $150 (CAD) and the numbers I obtained during my testing were statistically identical. It also took me a good 100+ drives with the shaft to get used to it to the point where I was comfortable taking it out on the course.

Play It or Trade It (10/20), For me: Trade it.  While the SF405x proved to be an exceptional shaft when compared to my stock Tensei shaft, it simply was not the shaft for me. My swing and transition are no where near smooth enough to fully take advantage of the power in this shaft and the high spin/ high launch didn’t work for my particular swing either. If I only had the stock shaft for my driver, it would absolutely be staying in the bag, but with the C6 Blue 60S already giving me fantastic gains over the Tensei, it sadly will not be staying in the bag for this tester.

Conclusion (TLDR)

The autoFlex SF405x Dream 7 shaft is an absolute beast of driver shaft… if you can tame it. It truly favours and rewards a very smooth stroke and transition.  But at 8 times the price of my C6 Blue shaft for nearly identical numbers, it simply was not the shaft for me. I do not know if many retailers in the US and the rest of world carry the autoFlex shafts for you to try out, but here in Canada they are incredibly rare. I think the shaft has fantastic potential to help you gain more club and ball speed and ultimately more distance, but you have to be truly smooth to take advantage of that potential. If you can find a retailer that carries them, do yourself a favour and try one ...just be ready for an adjustment period!!

Final Score (73/100)

 

Edited June 13 by Jean D

[nvizble1]

AutoFlex Dream 7 Review

Intro:

Hi everybody, my name is Mike and I am a lifelong hacker and golf enthusiast, and this is my first review, so please bear with me.  I greatly appreciate the opportunity to try out the AutoFlex SF 305x Dr, test it and give my opinions. Thanks very much to MGS and JD Golf for this chance.

While I don't play as much as I used to, golf is still a big part of my life and my workout/activity routine. Living in South FL, I get a lot of chances to spend time outdoors. Last year I upgraded my driver to a Callaway Paradym and also got a new Odyssey Ai One putter. This was all predicated on the excuse of teaching the game to my grandson--that always plays well with the Wife!

My Paradym has a HZRDUS shaft currently, but I struggle with distance off the tee and consistency.  I have never been "fitted" for a shaft, so I am hoping for some noticeable results. In fact, I don't even know the swing weight of my current set up 

I have to admit I was wowwed when I received the AF 305x shaft.....just look at this beauty!

I'll be going to the PGA Store today to get it loaded and ready for play next week.

I just started a new job, so if nothing else, I 'll be able to get a few indoor sessions in with it over the coming week or so.

More to come.....let's see if a technology upgrade can help the likes of me!

First Impressions

Got my local shop to do the setup and installation on the spot for me. That was very helpful and gave me more time to arrange some swings before hitting the practice range.

My old driver setup weighed in at D2; probably a little bit heavier than I needed. When we put the driver with the newly installed AutoFlex on the scale, it came in at C9 and had some flexion from the weight of the Paradym head.

Another beautiful South FL day today, so I took it to the range during lunch.  While warming up, it is easy to see and feel the extreme wiggliness and flexibility in this shaft.  I hit some wedges and short irons to get ready, and then hit about 25 drives.  I had to consciously slow down my swing but the performance was noticeable. There is no monitor or tech at this range, nor do I own any, but I could feel the clean impact and the drives all went to spots further than I have hit them before, even with the decreased swing effort. Several slices, but that is just user error and will take me some time to work out.

So far, I'd have to say I am impressed!

After following a lot of the comments made here and two weeks of business travel  , I made it back out to the range on Memorial Day to work with the driver again. I am prone to overswinging, so it is hard for me to remember not to take the club back so far or swing so hard. This shaft definitely reinforces that for me, because I sliced every shot I tried to crush. The slow swings produced less dispersion, a few more yards and much more roll out. I don't expect much to change in the next week, but weather permitting, I will take it out for some more testing. 

FINAL REVIEW (6/8/24):

First, let me once again thank MGS and  for this unique and awesome opportunity, as well as my fellow "testing teammates" for their input and support along the way! This was a great experience and an interesting process.

I love all things tech and trying to catch up to new advancements in the golf world, but I do not own any fancy golf tech (no launch monitors, swing analyzers, DeWiz devices, etc.) so all of my opinions are based on my "feel" and playing time.  I was using the 305x which fits my swing speed of about 85mph. As I have mentioned previously, this shaft seems to perform best when using a slow, smooth swing and not trying to swing with everything you've got! To those who can harness that urge, this is a true fairway finder, minimizing spin and resultant slicing. To me, the biggest gains were seen in the rollout after carry, although my carry improved noticeably, about 10 yards. 

In my opinion, the biggest challenge players will face is the unique feel, the wiggle we have all noticed, and others will have to do their own cost/benefit analysis.  I can definitely say that challenges and uniqueness aside, I will keep playing this shaft for a while to see if I can master the stroke necessary to gain consistent positive results.

Overall, I would give this a 93/100 for someone like me who can't hit the ball over 240 yds and can't produce a full turn and swing. These ratings and reviews are based on my opinions and my set of results, of course, and may not apply to others.  But, I would encourage anyone who has similar issues and needs to check this one out.

Thanks to all for reading this and for the support of MGS in giving us these opportunities.  Enjoy your summer of golf!!

Edited June 8 by nvizble1
Final Review submission

[Golfspy_CG2]

Autoflex Dream 7  SF405 Shaft Testing- Can It Live Up to the Hype

Intro April 30, 2024

I’m guessing many of you already know as much about me as you care to.   But for the newcomer, I’ll try not to bore you too much.

My name is Rob, the CG2 name is a shortened version of CarolinaGolfer2, which was my screen name before becoming a staff member.  

I'm 64 and probably one of the shortest hitters on the forum, and definitely the shortest hitter of the MOD team.   But they still let me hang out with them, a pretty cool bunch.  A bit about my actual driving game.

Here's a screen shot from a drive on my favorite hole at my course Compass Pointe Golf Course.  It's a 584 yard par 5 from the whites, with a 160 yard carry over the ravine  between the trees on the left and the ever present big one on the right.  The screen shot taken from my MLM2 is a bit off I think it says carry of 179, but based on where it landed and knowing the carry distance of the ravine, it was about 195 to 200 yard carry.   

My normal "good" drive will be about 210 yards, my average according to what I see on my FSK is usually around 185 carry and 202 total.   But I will be tracking the Dream 7 with the Shotscope X5 watch I just got in. 

So here is the screen shot from GHIN of where my ball landed.  You will see that the Dream 7 has it's work cut out for it to beat it's predecessor, which beat my previous Graphite Design DI by about 10 to 15 yards. 

I live in the Baltimore/Annapolis/Washington DC area, kind of in the middle of all three. I live with my Fiancé Michelle we been tighter for 29 years but don’t have any kids.

 By default, I am a Washington football fan, still have a hard time calling them the Commanders, and Nationals and I’m a mild Capitals fan. It’s a great area for golf, we get to play 12 months of the year, even though we may run into a few of snow closings in January or February. 

 By day, I’m the Tournament Sales Director at a 36-hole course in Maryland.  I run over 150 outing a year and it keeps me very busy.  But somehow, I have managed to play a fair amount of golf, and demo a few clubs here and there   In the past year, I have become a certified PING Fitter and am working towards full Titleist fitter status. 

I keep telling my boss, I need a bigger office, he says less clubs....crazy talk! 

 

I may be the only person anyone knows that when I go out to play a few holes solo, I have two bags on the back of the cart! 

My current Ghost  WITB as it stands, the PING will replace the Callaway Ai Smoke, but it has the original AF in it, so it may get some head to head on course battles.

My experience in the industry has allowed me to take some fantastic trips to most of the major OEM’s and attend the PGA Show just about every year (pre covid) and meet some incredibly smart and wonderful industry people.  Including Big Al, who I first met 6  or 7 years ago as he was just starting out.  We have stayed in touch through the years.  What an incredibly funny and most importantly truly nice guy he is.   Even if he hits his 7 iron farther than my driver

 

I found the site in a bit different way than others who found it searching reviews of clubs. in 2016, I came across a rather “spirited” twitter exchange between Adam and someone.  I found Adam’s points very strong but very accurate and seemed to make sense to me. Prior to that I had only heard of MyGolfSpy as being a rogue site that specialized in putting out leaked or unauthorized photos of new equipment.  Just goes to show, you certainly can’t believe everything you read on the internet, especially when it’s a competing website/forum.

So, I looked at the article in question, can’t recall what it was now, but it was typical MGS style, making you not take for granted what the industry has always said.  I noticed the forum tab and jumped over there.  I found it to be very friendly, but also very lacking in participation. I mean I read pretty much 4 months’ worth of posts within the first couple hours, and a couple days in, I had read pretty much everything back for several years.  You could go an entire day on the forum and see maybe 40 or 50 posts in the entire forum.  

My how things have grown and changed—large part due to the new leadership with @GolfSpy_APH and the solid group of MODS we now have, who are so invested in making this a great place to be.   But mainly the credit goes to all the great members here, both long term ones and ones that have just recently found the site.

I was lucky enough to be picked for a test after about two weeks of being a member, I was shocked.  It was for the Precision Pro Golf Band.  An early version of a GPS watch, although it was more of a Fit Bit style than watch.  About 6 months later I was one of the original EVNROLL Testers which was a great experience, and really confirmed to me what a great community this was.

I first became a staff member in 2017, I believe and a year later became Co Director of the Forum with Golfspy_Studque.   Two years ago, I stepped back from the role due to the workload at my day job and became more of a as needed on call Moderator.   I have stayed on to help with things like the Major Contests or any other special contests/projects.

I organized the first two official MGS National Outings in 2022 in Maryland and had a lot of help from @Berg Ryman and @MDGolfHacker keeping things under control in a house of 20 when I wasn't able to attend.    Then in 2023 mostly the same group with a few new faces descended upon the Pinehurst area.   This year with the help of @GolfSpy AFGand  @GolfSpy_BEN we have a group of 22 headed to Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va.  Almost doubled from the first outing of 12 two years ago. 

I have said many times over and over, the members here are the best asset we have.  They require very little moderation and allow the staff time to focus on things they want to do to try and make it the best forum in the industry. I have met many members and made several friends here, I travelled to Ohio to join a small group there for a round of golf and some incredible pizza!  

I currently play to a 17.1 handicap, but it fluctuates between a 16 and 19, and I continue to chase my ever elusive goal of a solid 12, thus the play number on my ProV's.  So I stare at the number for every shot. 

 

As I mentioned before, I have tested many clubs for MGS since that first Precision Pro review.  To say I’m excited about the AutoFlex Dream 7 is a huge understatement.  If you have followed my 2024 Driver shootout thread, you will see that I have had some really good results with the OG Autoflex shaft.  If this is better, well then look out for that goal of a 12 index! 

#dreamon Look for me to use this hashtag a lot in this testing, it just so happened to be the class song of my High School graduating class.  Damn, I just gave away my age. 

 

 

 

[Shapotomous]

Congrats to rhe testers!!  Cant wait to see if the shaft adds some yards!!

[Josh Parker]

Congrats!  Great group of testers for this one. 

[Northern Monkey]

Congratulations. Interested to see how this performs compared to the cost

[sirchunksalot]

Congratulations everyone!

[RohanVster]

Congratulations testers, would be an interesting test this, watched a video about these shafts and would like to hear your takes on them.

[bens197]

Congrats fellas!  Hope you all do well with this one. Looking at you @chisag…will this be as good as that red?  It’ll be fun to watch. 

[ParFore74x]

Great group of testers! Congratulations to everyone, looking forward to your thoughts! 

[IndyBonzo]

Heck yeah. Fascinating test. Great group. Congrats!

[ejgaudette]

Congrats testers should be a fun one to watch. Everyone loves the long ball so hopefully there are plenty in this test.

[Josh Ross]

Congrats everyone!

[Rob Person]

What a great group!  Look forward to learning alot through this post!!!

[MattF]

Congratulations all.

[rkj427]

Congratulations to this great group.

Looking forward to seeing the comments and reviews of how this shaft may improve your game.

[Bad Golfer]

Congratulations Testers! Looking forward to seeing if they are worth the money. 

[jbern]

Congrats everyone! You must feel like you’re in a dream! (See what I did there)!

[ajnord]

Congrats 

[Preeway]

Congrats fellas. I’m very intrigued by this test and yes, just a tad jealous. Going to be a lot of fun to follow along with your process as well as the results. 

[Mike10487]

Congratulations guys!!!! Will be following this one closely!

[GolfSpy_KFT]

Congrats testers! Great group here and excited to see how you get along with the Dream 7!

[ZJeb67]

Congrats to all on this excellent opportunity!

[TJ Hall]

Congratulations testers!