AXE XCaliber Tour 7+ TS

[JMiller]

It's been awhile since I have written a review but someone recently convened me to give a different shaft a try a shaft I would call a "value shaft". This is not a full out full review just a mini review of something I gave a try.

 

The AXE XCaliber Tour 7+ TS, maybe you have heard of this line of shaft before maybe you haven't, MGS Matt wrote a review on the Tour 6+ awhile back that can be found in the blog here >> http://www.mygolfspy.com/arthur-xtreme-engineering-xcaliber-shaft-review/

 

I on the other hand tested the 7 series shaft where Matt tested the 6 series shaft, I'm a 70g Driver shaft kind of guy, have been for years but I haven't found a 75g type shaft that really has matched the feel and performance of the original white board i played in college. For the low price of $54.99 I figured the shaft was worth a gamble based on talking to MGS Matt and talking to another builder in my area that had a little experience in the shafts and recommended it in the first place. You can find this shaft here in the case you are interested in it >> http://www.golfworks.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_AS0024

 

SHAFT SPECS

The shaft has a length of 47" raw, 76g raw and 2.7 torque.

>> I had some interesting things happen with the build and performance of the shaft. As you tip the shaft the swing weight gets lighter instead of heavier. You would think that tipping would move the balance point more towards the head, in this case it seemed to move it more towards the butt, I just found that a little strange.

>> I started with 4g of lead tape on the head at D4 un-tipped at 44.50", When it got tipped 1/4" and extended 1/4" The swing weight reduced to D2 with 4g of lead tape on the head.

 

LOOKS / APPEAL

I actually like the looks of the shaft. I personally think the all black with the dark dray and silver graphics is slick. I think you all know me by now that looks doesn't mean it will stay in my bag, I'm not a parking lot pro.

 

FEEL

I was REALLY impressed with the over all feel of the shaft. The shaft to me felt pretty smooth, I enjoyed the feel in the load of the transition and into the release. It was different then a lot of other 70g shafts I have tried in that it had a little character to it and not just a board feel. The Transition and load was great, smooth but stable, it didn't feel like I was swinging a rope or anything like that.

 

PERFORMANCE

As I noted in the specs I found one major problem in the shaft for me, the head flipped over into impact when trying to hit a cut and would hit mostly draws or hooks on me. With tipping actually reducing swing weight I realized that I was going to have to add more weight to the head putting more strain on the shaft at the tip causing the head to keep flipping as much or worse.

 

If you are not a heavy swing weight guy like myself and can hit something in the D2 range then this shaft actually performed really well at that swing weight. My issue at a D2 driver is that my timing and control of the shot is a hair off. I don't look for more distance in my driver I am okay with losing 3-5 yards off the tee to hit more fairways personally.

 

 

My Thoughts

I think the shaft is a great shaft for the price of $55 plus shipping, unfortunately for me it just didn't work for my swing with the tip characteristics and design that it has, i just needed to heavy of a swing weight for the shaft to perform properly, it over loaded the tip. If you are looking for a smooth shaft that won't break the bank and you don't mind a lighter swing weight, I would suggest that you give this shaft a try. Hell if it doesn't work the price is so cheap that it's not going to make you upset in the first place.

 

I is not a bad shaft at all, it just happened not to work for me at the swing weight that I wanted to play it at. The thing seemed to work fine at the D2 swing weight when I tried it there, less load on the tip via weight. I just couldn't time it at D2 to play it with the control that I wanted.