Graphite Design Tour AD Shafts - 2024 Forum Review

[NM01]

22 minutes ago, WaffleHouseTour said:

I'm finding the flex of the shaft is allowing/helping? me close the face more than I was with a stiffer flex.

Flex doesn’t have a standard in the industry so if you want from a a regular to a stiff on the label you could have have the same flex in both just a different label.

I don’t recall what you switched from but it could be the stiffness profile (not the same as flex) that’s helping you or possibly the weight.

Graphite design shafts are all based off the AD DI as their baseline which is based on the blueboard profile. So all the shard have your typical blueboard profile and then they tweak the stiffness in the but, middle and/or tip to change the profile of each of their releases.

 

[GolfSpy_BNG]

ok enough about industry standards. This review has nothing to do with it.  Let’s keep it on topic. If you wish to discuss further then use the private message board.  
 

16 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Flex doesn’t have a standard in the industry so if you want from a a regular to a stiff on the label you could have have the same flex in both just a different label.

I don’t recall what you switched from but it could be the stiffness profile (not the same as flex) that’s helping you or possibly the weight.

Graphite design shafts are all based off the AD DI as their baseline which is based on the blueboard profile. So all the shard have your typical blueboard profile and then they tweak the stiffness in the but, middle and/or tip to change the profile of each of their releases.

 

[pete1276]

Here's the readout from Arccos after my last 18 hole round with my Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 7-X (Izzy) this past Saturday.  It was the first round after lowering the loft on my Mizuno ST-X 230 driver head from the standard 9.5° to 8.5°  

My swing felt good that day and the stats and score reflected that.  

My one penalty was with my 3 wood on a hole where I was trying to avoid a fairway bunker.  Unfortunately, I can't pull out driver only stats on these summaries.  Don't you hate it when you try to play it safe and end up taking a penalty anyways?

Distance was solid, I hit driver on 9 out of 14 driving holes on this course due to the layout.  The driving stats for individual rounds are all par 4s and 5s regardless of club.  I wish Arccos had the ability to separate stats between driver and other, but that doesn't currently exist (I have requested them to add this feature).  I hit 4/9 fairways when I hit driver with the new loft on Izzy.  

 

Edited July 22 by pete1276

[kam89]

I played in a tournament in Hastings, MN on Saturday. My driver performed very well.

 

 

 

Most shots I had a predictable 15 to 20yrd fade. In using the GD tour ad di I have noticed I can swing much faster and keep the face square with swing path. I have realized I developed some bad habits trying to make up for the original shaft I was playing. I'm getting a far more consistent launch angle as well. I will say there is timing that it took me a while to get used to. The whip feeling I'm used to has gone away completely making for more consistent contact. The only thing the shaft promises I haven't gotten from it is lower back spin I'm usually around 2200 the Di shaft has a tendency to be around 2500 to 2700.

[pete1276]

6 minutes ago, kam89 said:

I played in a tournament in Hastings, MN on Saturday. My driver performed very well.

Nice, what course did you play?  How did you finish?

Edited July 22 by pete1276

[DukeStKing]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

Just saying this now. One of the points of our reviews are to test the claims of the OEM’s. Not to worry about industry standards or what a robot would do. 
 

I have see Duke with both the UB and VR. GD says the VR would be more left bias and that’s what he is seeing from what I gather.  That’s what I want to hear about. 
 

 

 

Alright now let’s get back on topic of the reviews. 

I find what @RickyBobby_PR is saying very interesting. And I think it is possible for what he’s saying and what Graphite Design says in its chart can be true also. Irregardless of the reason, the results are what matter. The fact that I’ve been working very hard to test the shaft on the course to see what it can really do in real world situations. I signed up to test the VR because of claims Graphite Design was making about trajectory and draw bias. Whatever the reason, the VR is putting a big smile on my face because it’s doing what I had hoped it would do for my game. And if that makes golf more fun, then isn’t that what it’s all about? 
 

[kam89]

1 minute ago, pete1276 said:

Nice, what course did you play?  How did you finish?

I played emerald hills silver course we came in 3rd place and shot 8 under my teammate was incredible. I was able to contribute with my driver which felt great. 

[pete1276]

Just now, kam89 said:

I played emerald hills silver course we came in 3rd place and shot 8 under my teammate was incredible. I was able to contribute with my driver which felt great. 

Congrats! I always love hearing success stories. Emerald Hills is a fun course, there are a lot of good ones in that area.

[kam89]

Just now, pete1276 said:

Congrats! I always love hearing success stories. Emerald Hills is a fun course, there are a lot of good ones in that area.

It was a great course lots of blind dog legs right which plays to my advantage. The Tom's island hole was a beautiful par 3. I have seen few that rival it so far. What is your favorite course in the area? I want to come back soon.

[pete1276]

1 minute ago, kam89 said:

What is your favorite course in the area? I want to come back soon.

Hastings Golf Club is a good one.  It used to be a private course, but they've opened it up to the public.  There's also River Oaks and Bellwood Oaks not too far from Hastings.  Both are fun to play and scorable (as long as you stay out of the trees).  They love their tree-lined, parkland layouts up here.  

[DukeStKing]

2 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

The science behind it is the new ball flight laws and it’s been measured by trackman.

The percentage of influence by the face goes down as the loft increases 

the difference between your ease for drawing with vr is due to it fitting your swing better. The shaft is just a timing device and has a role for weight and feel, it has an influence on dynamic loft.

https://www.golfwrx.com/275825/wishon-face-angle-is-crucial-for-a-proper-fitting/

https://www.thediygolfer.com/blog/trackman-golf-for-dummies
 

https://impactzonegolf.com/clubface-swing-path-ball-flight/

https://www.perfectgolfswingreview.net/ballflight.htm
 

The fact that it “fits my swing better” is confirming the claim that GD is making, no? At least for me- a guy with a pretty average swing speed. Stands to reason that their claim could work for other average joe’s like me? 

[NM01]

41 minutes ago, DukeStKing said:

The fact that it “fits my swing better” is confirming the claim that GD is making, no? At least for me- a guy with a pretty average swing speed. Stands to reason that their claim could work for other average joe’s like me? 

No because what GD states as far as things like launch, spin, or any type of bias towards draw or fade is just a general statement to describe the profile. You have to look at thing like face to path, path, face angle, contact point on the face, dynamic loft, launch and spin to see what’s changed and why one is working better. The timing from the weight and or profile makes it easier for you to achieve the shaft shape you want.

Nobody has the same swing so the UB or VR may or may not produce similar results for someone. There’s plenty of golfers both average and faster, good and bad that have been fit to GD shafts and as many that they haven’t worked for. The MT as an example should have fit me and it was terrible. 
 

These are reasons why I post what respected fitters have said about shafts and debunking all these notions golfers have about the importance of the shaft or that as shaft launch’s, spins or is responsible for a draw or fade bias so that people can read and learn what’s actually happening 

[TG8]

Interested in the full review of the VF.  I have it in the 5x and find it to be crazy similar to a ventus black. 

[GolfSpy_BNG]

1 hour ago, TG8 said:

Interested in the full review of the VF.  I have it in the 5x and find it to be crazy similar to a ventus black. 

It’s funny you mention the Ventus black. I was gaming the Aretera Alpha One Grey 65/4 shaft before this review and that shaft screams Ventus black but with better feel for me. 

[TG8]

54 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

It’s funny you mention the Ventus black. I was gaming the Aretera Alpha One Grey 65/4 shaft before this review and that shaft screams Ventus black but with better feel for me. 

Thats one of the very few shafts I havnt hit yet.  

[Alan Stewart]

Been under the weather with a summer cold for the last few days but I got out to the range for a short session today. I forgot my tripod in the car so could not grab any action video but I did get a great sunny day image of the Tour AD UB shaft. It is a nice looking shaft. 
 

After hitting 30-40 wedges and a few slightly off-sync 7 irons, I grabbed the LTDx and let fly for approx. a dozen shots. First 3 were pull hooks which is unusual for me these days but matched some of my off-sync iron swings. Then I stopped trying to control my swing and just let muscle memory take over. I started seeing the same consistent fades I had on course last week. Very predictable shaft that is encouraging me to swing. 

I am getting more comfortable and confident with the new shaft.  The with VCT mid-season tournament and another couple of solo tournaments coming up in the next couple of weeks, I will have a chance to put that to the test.  

Edited July 23 by Alan Stewart

[WaffleHouseTour]

So.... this happened - not sure when, but I noticed it this morning when I went to warm up.  The picture on the left if from this morning - the picture on the right is from Friday...

 

The shaft turned a quarter turn in the head adapter.  I don't know if it was all the shots I hit Sunday.  If it was from sitting in the trunk of the car.  Who knows.  But the club is back at Austad's to have the shaft pulled out of the adapter and then re-epoxied and reinserted.  

I still went to the course this morning.  I hit some in my back yard and didn't notice or feel anything, and didn't see any more turning.  I tried turning it with my hand and it wouldn't move.  So I went to the course.   When I went to Austads the guys at the store didn't believe it.  "You sure you didn't just change the setting? Or did the grip turn?"  No, and no...But when they really tried and it rotated it back around.  Then they believed me.  Hence the re-gluing. 

Anyway - today's round I struggled on the front with a bunch of leftward drives that either went off the planet or ended up in some deep rough.  But on the back nine I think I hit all but one fairway. Don't like to see that little red down arrow...  So I'm blaming the epoxy... Its clearly not me... 

   

[Josh Parker]

7 minutes ago, WaffleHouseTour said:

So.... this happened - not sure when, but I noticed it this morning when I went to warm up.  The picture on the left if from this morning - the picture on the right is from Friday...

 

The shaft turned a quarter turn in the head adapter.  I don't know if it was all the shots I hit Sunday.  If it was from sitting in the trunk of the car.  Who knows.  But the club is back at Austad's to have the shaft pulled out of the adapter and then re-epoxied and reinserted.  

I still went to the course this morning.  I hit some in my back yard and didn't notice or feel anything, and didn't see any more turning.  I tried turning it with my hand and it wouldn't move.  So I went to the course.   When I went to Austads the guys at the store didn't believe it.  "You sure you didn't just change the setting? Or did the grip turn?"  No, and no...But when they really tried and it rotated it back around.  Then they believed me.  Hence the re-gluing. 

Anyway - today's round I struggled on the front with a bunch of leftward drives that either went off the planet or ended up in some deep rough.  But on the back nine I think I hit all but one fairway. Don't like to see that little red down arrow...  So I'm blaming the epoxy... Its clearly not me... 

   

Hate when that happens!  I have one now that has done that, that needs to go to the store to get redone. 

[Erin B]

2 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

Hate when that happens!  I have one now that has done that, that needs to go to the store to get redone. 

Hopefully the shaft is ok. I hate keeping my clubs in a car all day. I usually put them in the back seat of my truck if they're sitting for any extended time because the bed cover is black and the truck bed gets so hot.

[pete1276]

31 minutes ago, WaffleHouseTour said:

The shaft turned a quarter turn in the head adapter.  I don't know if it was all the shots I hit Sunday.  If it was from sitting in the trunk of the car.

If it's been hot where you are, it could be the epoxy loosened in the heat and may need to be re-glued.  You may want to hold off hitting it again or the head could go flying off. 

I wish I could say that hasn't happened to me, but alas, I cannot.  I had to do the walk of shame 100 yards onto the driving range to grab my driver head that flew off. 

Watch out for those heat waves! They can be devastating on your equipment if you leave it in your car.

[GolfSpy_BNG]

Yeah the trunk is the worst place for clubs when it’s hot out.  When we get a heat wave here I won’t even keep my clubs in my cart in the shed. They come to my air conditioned Golf room lol

[TJ Hall]

12 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

Yeah the trunk is the worst place for clubs when it’s hot out.  When we get a heat wave here I won’t even keep my clubs in my cart in the shed. They come to my air conditioned Golf room lol

You have a golf room???  I have so much to learn my friend!

My wife has most of the house and the rest goes to the kids!

[GolfSpy_BNG]

1 hour ago, TJ Hall said:

You have a golf room???  I have so much to learn my friend!

My wife has most of the house and the rest goes to the kids!

It’s basically the mechanical room that I put all my golf stuff in so it isn’t seen!  Nothing super special but it is air conditioned lol. Got a small putting mat and a bench to work in my clubs. Once I get my garage sim done I’m gonna have some shelves and whatnot out there for my golf stuff.   Do it up right. 

[TJ Hall]

7 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

It’s basically the mechanical room that I put all my golf stuff in so it isn’t seen!  Nothing super special but it is air conditioned lol. Got a small putting mat and a bench to work in my clubs. Once I get my garage sim done I’m gonna have some shelves and whatnot out there for my golf stuff.   Do it up right. 

Awesome!

Interested to see what your sim set-up looks like when you get done with it.  Super jealous of the ones I’ve seen so far!

[GolfSpy AFG]

Twilight 9 with my son tonight, and a chance to put the GD UB in action.

Data to come, but there's no question the UB is an obvious improvement over the stock shaft. That said, I can't say I'm getting along with it all that great at the moment. That could be as much the head & shaft combination as the shaft itself, but for comparison's sake I brought my old gamer with me and hit some drives with that one too. (Relax, nobody behind us.) The results were...interesting.  More to follow.

[DukeStKing]

Another round with the Graphite Design AD VR 6S and this thing is really starting to show its true colors (and that matte blue is beautiful… have I mentioned that? ). As I’m grooving the feel and getting used to the profile, I would characterize it as smooth and powerful feeling. It continues to do what I ask it to now that I have it at the right setting for me: the small + (11.5). My swing speed is 98-101, so I think this is getting me at a more desirable launch (I’ll have to get on a LM again to confirm, but the height seems great with no ballooning). I played my home course, which is very hilly, so some of the bombs (for me) have to be taken with a grain of salt. Here’s a sample of my drives from this past round:

Hole # 3 (flat fairway) Nice draw. 

Hole # 4 (flat fairway) High fade - I got a little armsy.

Ended up fine with the fade, just lost a little distance with a strike off the heel. Thank you PING for the forgiveness. 

Now this one was one where the shaft/head/me did exactly what I needed the ball to do. This is a big downhill hole and everything bounces way right, so if you don’t hit a draw, you’re dead. I normally hit an iron or my trusty Callaway UW 21*. But I’m not testing those clubs, so I figured what the heck, right? I hit the perfect high draw: 

An unnecessary driver, but wow- just perfect. And to watch it sail from an elevated tee with the Ramapo mountains in the background- mmmmmmm! 

Number 9 has slightly elevated tee to a flat fairway until you reach the crest of a hill and then you’re off to the races. But of course you need to reach the crest of the hill, which is a 245-250 carry. Well, I reached the crest of the hill with a nice high draw:

To reach the green, there’s a downhill shot, so the 7 iron (which I usually hit 170) went 187- everything kicks forward and the green is hard to hold as it runs away from you. This used to be a par 4 that was a real bear, but they moved the tee back and made it a par 5, which if you can get a 250 carry consistently, makes it a real birdie opportunity- not so for me though as I hit a really poor chip. 

Hole 11 is a steady (not steep like #7) downhill and I hit another nice high draw:

I hit a nice 5 iron draw around a tree to the front of the green, which is two tiered. Three putt par… so it goes. 

Next example was a steep uphill where I got zero roll. This one was off the heel and turned into a slight fade that luckily stayed in play in play on edge of some junk and not in the bunker. 

Lucky shot on lucky 13! Hit a good 9 iron up the rest of the steep hill- my GPS gives me the plays like number- so I know that this shot plays more like 145.

This is a nice flat fairway with no elevation, so this drive gives you a good sense of how I’m hitting the AD VR. Another nice high draw:

I nailed the 7 wood and it took a crazy kick forward, which left me with a difficult chip. I hit another bad chip, but putted it in from the rough- 0 putts to on that hole according to the stats.

17 is one of my favorite holes- just gorgeous looking. The tee shot is not elevated and the fairway is flat. The tee was back, but I decided to challenge the bunkers instead of playing it safe to the left. (I’m not a smart man). 

“Stupid is that stupid does…” I guess it worked out for me. This was another high draw. Hit a good approach that was below the hole on one of the most difficult greens on the course. 
 

Finally, the shot I was most proud of and represents one of my furthest shots on the difficult all uphill 18th. This was a bomb - another high draw that ran uphill. This tells me I am definitely using the right setting on my driver head, because the descent angle must be good to get this sort of run. 

263 on this hole is an all time best for me. So it’s looking as the Kai Li White is not safe- the reason I played the Kai Li was for the added distance it gave me over the AD UB. Of course I have to hit the Kai Li some more in the +1 setting to confirm this conclusion. But both AD shafts had better dispersion in the 10.5 setting, so it will be a tall task for the Kai Li to supplant what I’m experiencing with the AD VR. Stay tuned. 

Edited July 24 by DukeStKing

[Josh Parker]

Question for the testers now that everyone has had the shafts for a bit.

Without an in person fitting and without an "online" fitting tool, how does everyone feel they did with their selections?  

Did it make choosing more difficult?

[DukeStKing]

1 hour ago, Josh Parker said:

Question for the testers now that everyone has had the shafts for a bit.

Without an in person fitting and without an "online" fitting tool, how does everyone feel they did with their selections?  

Did it make choosing more difficult?

I just re-edited my post above to include more samples of my most recent round. To answer your question: I made my decision based on having the AD UB and basing my decision on the GD chart. The chart says the UB is fade biased and the VR is draw. This is turning out to be true for me because I feel like I have it tuned in perfectly after going on a launch monitor at the beginning of this process. I’m a complete DIY golfer- self taught, self fitting and I assembled my shaft myself. I really enjoy the challenge of fitting myself, based on all the reading I do and having access to my friend’s launch monitor when I really need it. 

Edited July 24 by DukeStKing

[GolfSpy_BNG]

51 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

Question for the testers now that everyone has had the shafts for a bit.

Without an in person fitting and without an "online" fitting tool, how does everyone feel they did with their selections?  

Did it make choosing more difficult?

It does make it more difficult for sure. I have played plenty of their shafts and know my swing pretty well so that helped me. It has been pointed out plenty but the key is to understand that all GD shafts are based off the DI(blue board profile). So when you see their charts about launch/spin/bias/butt,middle,tip stiffness, it’s actually off the DI.  
 

This is part of the reason I have mentioned the Aretera a couple times when someone brings up the VF and Ventus Black. For me their feel is no where near the same even with my VF tipped 1.75” and the Ventus black I tried being untipped.  The Aretera Alpha One Grey is very much similar to the black for me. 

[Nick_D]

1 hour ago, Josh Parker said:

Question for the testers now that everyone has had the shafts for a bit.

Without an in person fitting and without an "online" fitting tool, how does everyone feel they did with their selections?  

Did it make choosing more difficult?

I still have some work to do with my swing to see the results I’m hoping for, but overall I think I picked one of the best tour ad shafts for me. I’ve been fit for driver shafts several times before and know what I like. I had spent some time on their website and reading some reviews to help decide. So yes it made choosing more difficult than getting fit because I had to do some more work.

I think I can speak for everyone that getting fit is important and if I were thinking about buying a Tour AD shaft I would absolutely be getting fit for it or at least take some swings with it before buying!