Aldila RIP Alpha Hybrid Golf Shaft Review

Aldila RIP Alpha Hybrid

By Russ Ryden, A Golf Digest America’s 100 Best Clubfitter
Fit2Score, Dallas Fort Worth, Texas

This is not a new shaft from Aldila, it was released several years ago. It was the pioneering release of Reverse Interlaminar Placement in Aldila shafts. It has been used in all subsequent shafts. It has never been clear to me exactly what was done. Their illustrations show bias plies at both the inner and outer wraps of the shaft. Most premium shafts over the last few years have adapted to some variation of this layup design.

What brought the RIP to my attention was the release of the KBS Tour V and the Nippon Modus3 Tour 130 designs. Both have a long stable butt and mid with a rapid loss of stiffness toward the tip in the high tip section of the shaft. When working on my Hybrid fitting system I saw this pattern in the RIP Alpha Hybrid.

I secured a few more review samples from Aldila and took a hard look at the model. It has really low tip torque numbers and excellent radial consistency. If you are familiar with the table from other reviews you will notice that the format of the balance column has changed. It is now expressed in terms of the midpoint of the shaft. A positive number indicates the balance is above the midpoint, a negative number below the midpoint. This makes it easier to see the amount of counterbalance build into a shaft. What we see in the Alpha is a ‘balanced’ shaft.

In future reviews you will see deflection profiles The EI profiles I have been using may cause some confusion and consternation when looking at the charts. You can see unusual peaks and valleys is many designs. This is not how the shaft bends. That is how the designer tailored the stiffness of the shaft to create a bend profile. In this illustration you can see increasing and decreasing load applied to the EI numbers and watch how the shaft bends in response to loading and unloading.

The Aldila RIP Hybrid shaft profile, what one shaft company tour rep explained as convex vs concave when discussing two popular models, is seeing a lot of play recently. I found an example of two shafts with similar butt and tip stiffness and in my new bend modeling software applied increasing tip loads to the shafts to help me envision how these two extremes compare to each other.
This is new methodology, I am not aware of any other software implementation of load modeling based on EI profiles. What we clearly see here is the mid shaft stiffness creating a propensity for a lower launch. What you also see is the importance of matching the load you apply to a shaft. Shafts that are too stiff for you barely bend, giving you a boardy feeling. Shafts that are too soft, bend too much. As they recover from applied load during the reduced acceleration that happens just before impact, they add too much variation to head speed and orientation. That is why being properly fit into a shaft is a huge factor in shot dispersion.

When warm weather returns to Dallas we will get to reaction from the local golf professionals comparing the feel of these two designs.

Aldila Trinity Golf Shaft Review

ALDILA TRINITY

By Russ Ryden, A Golf Digest America’s 100 Best Clubfitter
Fit2Score, Dallas Fort Worth, Texas

The Aldila Trinity released in late 2012. It combines the three Aldila technologies. Micro Laminate, thin fiber was introduced with the Aldila NV. S-core, a corkscrew internal rib system was introduced with the Voodoo. Reverse Interlaminar Placement pioneered with the RIP. The Aldila Trinity combines all three of these in a single product.

Aldila has traditionally produced families of shafts with different profiles in different weight/flex versions of the model. The Trinity follows that philosophy. The R & S versions of the Trinity are designed to launch higher with more spin. The S & X versions, have stiffer mid and tip sections, to drop the launch and spin for the golfer that has the speed to load stiffer shafts. The Tour X version is what Aldila designs for tour grade players.

Aldila 44 Magnum Golf Shaft Review

ALDILA 44 MAGNUM

By Russ Ryden, A Golf Digest America’s 100 Best Clubfitter
Fit2Score, Dallas Fort Worth, Texas

The Aldila 44 Magnum is the first ultralite driver shaft from Aldila. Fitter take note, the R & S profiles are different from the X and Tour X. When I look at the specs on the R& S verions, I see a shaft I used to love, the Mitsubishi Bassara Hawk which was a light weight Diamana White Board. The Magnum 44 torque for the R & S is however 1.5 degrees more than the Hawk. You can expect a low launch when properly fit. If you like light weight shafts, and over power them, this will move to a boring mid launch trajectory. Those higher torque numbers are a concern if you over power these softer flex versions.

The X and Tour X versions have some additonal stiffness in the tip area, and butt torque at 4.8 and 4.3. With 3.3 and 3.1 tip torque, These are respectable numbers in a 49 gram shaft. I am planning some range testing on a stack of light weight shafts that have been accumulating. Radial quality is excellent, the shafts are suitable for rotating hosels.

Aldila RIP Phenom Golf Shaft Review

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ALDILA RIP PHENOM

By Russ Ryden, A Golf Digest America’s 100 Best Clubfitter
Fit2Score, Dallas Fort Worth, Texas

The Aldila Phenom is a smoother version of the RIP Alpha. Like the RIP Alpha, the light version 50 gram model has a different profile than the 70 gram version. The butt stiffness of the 70 gram version is much stiffer that the 50 gram model. The torque ranges from 6.8 in the 50R to 4.1 in the 50g TX model. While that R flex number may seem high, the raw 46″ shaft actually weighs 47.6 grams and will build out at around 45 grams. One must be careful when looking at shaft labels on light weight shafts. The labels often understate the actual weights of the shafts. That is not the case with the Aldila Phenom. The RIP Phenom 70S torque is 3.4 and the Tour X is 2.9. The radial profiles are very good, the shaft can be installed in any orientation.

The balance point of the Aldila RIP Phenom moves toward the butt as the weight increases. The 50g R is at 23″ and the 70g Tour X is at 25″. This appears to be intentional as most other shafts from Aldila hold a consistent balance through weights and models. This shafts is a mid-low launch design. The Tour X designation on this shaft is new for Aldila. That shaft is designed as the designation states, as a tour quality shaft. The butt torque is 2.9, tip torque 2.1. The EI profile is smoother, and by design, the butt is stiff. The profile of the 70 Tour X is not that far from a Mitsubishi ‘ahina with half degree higher torque. That small amount of torque difference will remove the sense of stiffness from this low launch design.

Aldila RIP Golf Shaft Review

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ALDILA RIP

By Russ Ryden, A Golf Digest America’s 100 Best Clubfitter
Fit2Score, Dallas Fort Worth, Texas

The Aldila RIP was introduced to the golf consumer in 2010. RIP stands for reverse interlaminar placement. Meaning, some of the bias plies that create torque were moved from the placement near the mandral to the outside of the shaft walls. The longitudinal plies, that create stiffness were sandwiched between the bias plies. This reconfiguration increased torque and hoop strength, creating a more stable shaft with a different feel.

The profile is a change from the Aldila NV, like many of today’s designs, it shows multiple hinge points. It is one of the few shafts that lose stiffness toward the tip will holding low torque. The 70g version is a good shaft for creating mid to high launch fairways.

With the introduction of the RIP line of shafts, Aldila began putting torque numbers on the label. With the 60 gram versions we found the torque numbers a little higher than our system, while the 70 gram versions we quite similar to our measurements. The radial profiles are very good, the shafts can be installed in any orientation.

The RIP comes in three versions. A Greek letter on the shaft indicates the version. The color of the eyes in the logo changes on each version.

Aldila RIP Alpha

The RIP Alpha, has red eyes. The Aldila RIP profiles are different in the 60g and the 70g models as shown. The radial profiles are very good, the shaft can be installed in any orientation. As you can see in the EI profiles, the shaft looses stiffness toward the tip. With shafts of this type, tipping will increase stiffness without changing the design intent of the shaft. When we see stiffness increases toward the tip, tipping can cut away some of the stiffest portion of the tip. That is not the case with the Aldila RIP design. We find the RIP to be mid launching shafts.

Aldila RIP Beta

This image shows the white version of the Aldila RIP. All of the Aldila RIP models are available in either white or black. In this photo, you can clearly see the Greek letter and the torque number in between the weight and stiffness. The Aldila RIP Beta, green eyes, has the same shaft geometry as the RIP Alpha from Butt to Mid. The tip is softer, yielding a higher launch and spin. In the heavier models, the Aldila RIP Beta is a great high launch low torque fairway shaft. The torque ranges from 4.9 in the 60R to 2.7 in the 70X Aldila RIP Beta, slightly higher than the Alpha. The profile does not change in the heavier models.

Aldila RIP Gamma

The Aldila RIP Gamma, yellow eyes, is a close match to the RIP Alpha. It is counterweighted. The balance point is about an inch and a half closer to the butt. This allows those that rely on swing weight to create a driver with a heavier head and still have a D2 swing weight. For those clubmakers that have moved on to MOI balancing this seems a bit archaic. It can be seen as a reminder of the weakness of the swing weight system. If you are looking for a counterweighted RIP Alpha, the RIP Gamma is just that. Or, you can do what Jack Nicklaus is reported to have done, and put a little lead tape under your grips. Many golf professionals have not been exposed to MOI balanced clubs and rely on a 90 year old scale design for club balance. Tradition runs strong in golf and the RIP Gamma caters to that tradition.

Aldila RIP Sigma

Aldila RIP Sigma is an OEM design. The samples tested were designed for Tour Exotic Fairways. The premium after market Adila RIP Alpha 70g X flex has a 2.6 torque while the ‘designed for’ version is 4.2. Based on limited samples the design is a hybrid of the Alpha and Beta. This is one more example of product compromises made to achieve price points that the golf consumer considers competitive and reasonable. In defense of the club companies, they simply deliver what the consumer is willing to pay for. Branded shafts in branded clubs, often sold for less than the price of the premium aftermarket shaft that gets played on tour, do not have the same manufacturing specs or tolerances as the tour quality shaft.