ACCRA Concept CS1 Golf Driver Shaft Review

ACCRA Concept CS1 Driver Shaft

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

ACCRAconceptCS!_ImagePremium Golf Management evolved from a Canadian distributor of golf shafts to a producer of the ACCRA brand of golf shafts. They have long term business relationships with most of the professional golf club fitter / builders in the world. The golf fitters that attend the annual PGA merchandise show in Florida all arrive a day early for ACCRA day. A day of golf hosted by ACCRA  gives them all a chance to renew relationships and exchange ideas.
ACCRAconceptCS!_S3Summary
The 2014 Concept CS1 is another step in the evolution of ACCRA. Shown to the right is a shaft summary document that comes wrapped around every Concept golf shaft.

Several years ago PGMC, purchased one of the Fit2Score shaft measuring instruments. It brought manufacturing consistency into focus as it has now for the several shaft companies that own the instrument. Through a partnership with Mark Timmes a fully automatic shaft measuring instrument was invented.

To continue reading this section of the review, you must be registered at a higher level membership.
Russ


The ACCRA Concept CS1 is on the cutting edge of shaft design. Find an ACCRA fitting partner and take one for a test drive.

---

Mitsubishi Bassara Phoenix UltraLite Driver Shaft

Mitsubishi Bassara P UltraLite Driver Shaft

By Russ Ryden, Fit2Score, A Dallas Fort Worth Club Fitter & Club Maker
The Golf Center at the Highlands, Carrollton Texas

Bassara_Phoenix_Image

In 2013, Mitsubishi Rayon began the introduction of shafts that are available only from Authorized Mitsubishi ClubFitters. The UltraLight Bassara Phoenix released in 2014, is the third such shaft.. The color is dramatic, a burnt orange with a clear coat finish. The bend profile is a perfect match to the KuroKage Proto TINI, the first of the fitter only shafts. That profile is one of my favorites for a well trained swing. TINI stands for Titanium Nickel Wire. It was first use in the Ultralight Bassara “G” series shafts. It is now being added to many shafts. It is a high elastic material that can stretch and immediately regain its original shape. In addition to storing and releasing energy, it stabilizes the shaft tip.

TINI_illustrationTip stability results in tight dispersion. A consistent loss of stiffness makes this profile easy to load and many find it adds dramatic distance to their drives. The KuroKage Proto TINI is only available in 5 models ranging from 60S to 70XX. The Bassara Phoenix completes the range, starting with a  30 gram L flex and ascending to a 59 gram TS flex.

Bassara_Phoenix_EiGjTb

The radial consistency is excellent, averaging 99.4% with a 0.3% standard deviation. If we look for similar designs in iron shafts, the KBS Tour is the closest bend profile design. Both have a consistent loss of stiffness from butt to tip, Near the tip, the stiffness increases to stablize the head during impact. With such designs, tipping will actually remove some of the tip stiffness. With the Bassara Phoenix, if you want more stiffness, get a heavier, stiffer shaft. Tipping is not recommended for this shaft. Alignment of the Phoenix is not necessary nor will it be beneficial. The radial consistency of the Phoenix makes it excellent for rotating hosels.
Bassaras_EiGjA comparison of the current Bassara UltraLight models shows the Phoenix and the Wyvern to be quite similar. The Phoenix profile indicates a little more launch. The Phoenix is modeled after the ilima profile. In fitting after fitting, I put more ilima’s into fairways metals than all other shafts combined. The 53TS Bassara Phoenix is a great shaft if you are looking to build an ultralight fairway.

This shaft is available at shop.golfshaft.reviews 

To continue reading this section of the review, you must be registered at a higher level membership.
Russ

Nunchuck Golf Shafts Review

Nventix Nunchuck Driver, Nunchuck Hybrid, Nunchuck Iron

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

Nunchuck Driver Shaft

The Nventix folks are Dallas based as am I. The CEO, Mike McCall lives less than a mile from me. I have known about this shaft since its early days. The design idea comes from Bruce Devlin, a nine-time PGA Tour/PGA Senior Tour winner. Create a shaft with a stiff handle and tip, focusing all the flex in the middle of the shaft. An extensive discussion of the science is presented on the Nventix web site with a detailed explanation of the concept in the frequently asked questions tab.

NunchuckDriver_EITBTb
The stiff tip facilitates less shaft related head movement as you approach impact. That is a good thing. A 103 gram driver shaft raises my eyebrows. But, for many, adding a counter weight to a shaft is going to accomplish much the same from a total weight perspective. And I and fellow fitters have put a great many players into counterweights.

NunchuckDriverImage
Radial consistency is 99.4%, orientation in rotating hosels is a non issue. Before you look at the profile and wonder how such a severe change in stiffness will even be playable, look at this next image. This is the translation of EI into deflection.

Variations of this EI profile are seen in a few other shafts. Not exactly, but much closer than I had thought. What is rarely seen is the weight in a driver shaft. And that is something you will have to try for yourself. The butt stiffness is off the charts. That illustrates the inherent flaw in using butt stiffness to rate shafts. Feel comes from many factors. The rate and amount of loss of stiffness down the shaft as well as torque combine to produce feel.

It is fairly well known among radar equipped fitters that shaft stiffness reduces dispersion. To the degree that stiffness does not change your swing, it is a good thing. The Nunchuck driver shaft is stiff by all measurements, deflection, load, frequency. It has an EI profile that we are new seeing in a number of iron shaft designs. A rapid loss of stiffness in the middle of the shaft followed by a long stable tip. If you can handle the weight, it is now becoming a popular design.

Nunchuck Hybrid Shaft

The Nventix Nunchuck Hybrid shaft came along a year to two after the introduction of the driver shaft. The design is similar. The automatically enhanced graphic below does a bit of injustice to the actual design, but is comparable to the rest of the images on this site.

NunchuckHybridImage

NunchuckHybrid_EITBTbRadial consistency is 99.7%, outstanding, orientation in rotating hosels is a non issue. Once again, remember, EI profiles show the sitffness of the 36 ‘springs’ we measure that constitute a golf shaft. When these springs are interconnected, the deflection profile is smooth. On this shaft, I see a weight range that is without question acceptable in many bags. The stiffness is in the range of many shafts I fit strong players into. The unique design is one of the lowest launch propensities I know of.

Nunchuck Iron Shaft

NunchuckIronImage

 

NunchuckIron_EITBTb

Like all the Nventix shafts, the radial consistency of the iron shaft is exceptional, 98.9%. It is an unusual design with a unique trim pattern. The typical shaft of this style, a single shaft often called parallel blanks get trimmed from the tip, creating increasing stiffness as the shafts get shorter in response to the heads getting heavier. The Nunchuck is a taper tip design, and a single shaft is used to create the set, trimmed from the butt. That is an unusual approach but I have build a few of these on request for some good ball strikers.

Matrix VLCT Driver Golf Shaft Review

Driver Golf Shaft – Matrix VLCT SP & Matrix VLCT ST

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

The VLCT model is the 2014 driver shaft from Matrix Golf Shafts. It is available in two versions, Sp and St. The stiffness on the shaft is shown as a speed rating. A = +75, R = +85, S = +95 and X = +105. My review samples were the original graphic. The name on the shaft is VELOX, that is changing. If you see a shaft labeled Matrix Velox, it is the same shaft, different graphics. The ST version has a stiffer tip to promote a lower launch. 

Matrix uses the term CFI, Circumferential Flexural Integrity for what I call radial consistency. They define it perfectly as ” an innovative layup method devised to insure a shaft’s flexing properties are consistent around the 360 degree circumference”. I checked a total of 18 shafts and found the radial consistency at 99.0% with a 0.7% standard deviation. Those numbers translate into a shaft that can be installed in any orientation. The shaft is suitable for rotating hosels. Alignment will add nothing of value to the performance of the Matrix VLCT shafts.

The technical discussion, measurements and testing results are available only to registered readers

I had a chance to talk to Tom DeShiell, Director of R&D at Matrix Golf Shafts at the 2014 PGA Merchandise show. He discussed all the 2014 models.

 The Velox 60 gram ST shaft is stock in the 2014 TaylorMade JetSpeed TP driver. At $400 retail for the driver, that is a great bargain, considering the retail price of the shaft alone is $375. 

UST Proforce V5 Golf Shaft Review

Driver Golf Shaft – UST Proforce V5

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

USTProforceV5_ImageThe UST Mamiya Proforce V5 is a 2014 update of the ever popular Proforce V2. I have never had much experience with this shaft so my comments will be limited to observations of the numbers. Comparing it to the single Proforce V2 that was in the shop, the Proforce V5 torque is about a half degree lower. That creates a more stable tip for the larger heavier driver heads that we now see loaded with bling.

USTProforceV5__EiGjTb

Radial consistency is excellent, the average was 99.8 with a standard deviation of 0.3%. None of the review sample exceeded my 2 cpm threshold, all were excellent. At this price point, that is notable. It reflects a trend in the shaft business to produce quality shafts that work consistently in any orientation in rotating hosels. The graphics of the Proforce V5 reflect that, wrapping uniformly around the shaft.

If you were familiar with the UST AXIVCORE Tour Green you will find the Proforce V5 to be quite similar. Compared to the AXIVCORE which integrates 4 axis material int he tip, the Proforce V5 has about a half degree more torque. You can expect a mid launch ball flight