The Graphite Design Tour AD DJ was the second shaft released in the current Tour AD series. It followed the original Tour AD-DI and was designed to promote a lower launch by stiffening the tip. 
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The third generation of the Mitubishi Blue Board, the B-Series released in late 2012. The original graphics show on the bottom is sold in Asia. A revised graphic, the top image, toning down the floral pattern is sold elsewhere. Same shaft. The Blue Diamana was to my knowledge the first of the Diamana Family of shafts. My first encounter was in a Taylor Made TP driver. It was the beginning of a long lasting relationship. The Diamana Blue profile has been one of Mitsubishi’s best sellers. It is butt stiff / mid soft / tip stiff. The profile has been copied by most brands as one of their models. The second generation Diamana Blue was the Kai’li. It was the first of the Mitsubishi Diamana shafts to use a wrapping technique called Multi Dimensional Interlay. 
All the the second generation Diamana’s, the Kai’li, Ahina and ilima featured stiffer tip sections than the first generation designs which resulted in longer sections of uniform stiffness. The Kai’li refined the original Diamana Blue profile with a slightly stiffer butt and tip.
In all the Mitsubishi Shafts, weight and stiffness from shaft to shaft ascend uniformly. That means the 70 S shaft is stiffer than the 60 S as you can see in this illustration. This makes it easy for a fitter to move from weight to weight, knowing the bend profile of the shaft does not change. Not all brands follow this design choice. Some change profile with weight.
With the release of the KuroKage model in 2012, Mitsubishi introduced a high density prepreg using more fiber and less resin. The PR talked about adding strength by changing the proportion of fiber to resin. This technology is now being used in the third generation Diamana B-Series. . What I see is a 10 gram weight reduction. The 50 gram B-Series is the same as the 60 gram Kaili. Same stiffness, same bend profile, but 10 grams lighter. Look at the previous chart to understand this. Recall how the Mitsubishi shafts ascend in weight and stiffness. Now, just ratchet the profiles up a notch, lighter is now stiffer. And I am now fitting the player I would have put into the 60 gram Kai’li into the 50 gram Diamana B. The Diamana-B series in available in a wider weight range than former models. 50 gram R, S and X flex shafts are now available.
Where we do see a difference is in torque. The 50 gram shafts have 1/2 degree more torque than the 60 gram models. Still in an acceptable range, 3.0 tip, 4.2 butt in the 50 S. As shafts get lighter, they generally need more torque to transmit feel. With the mix of Kai’li and the B-Series in a fitting cart, the Mitsubishi fitter has an interesting range of options in the search for the perfect fit. The Blue Board design is the a perfect fit for the golfer with a quick tempo and aggressive transition. I view it as a neutral launch, not biased toward high or low. With the addition of a 50 gram model, the gap between the Ultra Lite driver shafts and the typical 60 gram shaft has been bridged.
The EXS line from Fujikura is an Economy line of shafts available from Fujikura Charter Dealers. It features High, Mid and Low launch versions.That is unusual in an economy shaft. When budget is an issue and a golfers fit indicates a particular shaft profile, the Fujikura EXS is available in a wide range of weight and flex.. The colors match the Fujikura Motore Speeder, also available in high, mid and low launch versions.
Having recently profiled the Motore Speeders, the Fujikura EXS line have a great deal in common with the Speeders. Not all weights and flexes match exactly, but I can find close matches with a little hunting. If the Speeder is a budget buster the EXS deserves a hard look.
Average radial consistency of the review samples was 99.2 with a 0.4% standard deviation
Average radial consistency of the review samples was 98.5 with a 0.7% standard deviation
Average radial consistency of the review samples was 98.6 with a 0.5% standard deviation
The UST ATTAS3 and ATTAS4u driver shafts are ultra premium models made from ultra-high modulus, low resin content materials. This is the trend in professional quality driver shafts. The material cost and the price of this class of golf shafts is well beyond the retail price of stock drivers. The MSRP on these shafts is $560, they are only available from UST TourSPX dealers. At this price, you would not want to invest in a shaft that had not been tested with your swing by a professional, launch monitor equipped fitter.
The model number, 5, 6, 7 & 8 accurately represent the weight of the shafts when cut to installed lengths. The balance points ranged from 24″ to 25″ not putting these into the category of counterweighted designs. Torques measured in the same range as the UST VTS Silver, marking this as a mid torque design. When I use that term, I am discussing torque in the range found in ultra premium golf shafts. That range is entirely different from what is typically found in off the rack golf clubs. Off the rack driver shafts start beyond what is found at the high end of the range of tour quality driver golf shafts.
The measurements of the ATTAS4u revealed two distinct profile patterns. The ultra-lite 5 is a different design than the rest of the models. This is not an uncommon practice. Ultra-lite shafts are used by a different swing speeds and styles. They should fit that style and the manufacturers are wise enough to model the designs to the player most likely to use them. This shaft features a stiff mid, found by UST research to control dispersion. Our testing found it to me a mid launching design with slightly lower spin than the companion ATTAS3.
UST Mamiya ATTAS3
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The UST Mamiya ATTAS3 looks like a sibling of the ATTAS4u, the graphics are identical, only the color changed. Torque values are about one half a degree higher through the model when compared to the ATTAS4u. We see multiple designs in the different weights. The ATTAS3 4 model is the first from UST in a premium ultra-lite driver shaft. The raw shafts weighted 48 grams, putting them around 45 grams installed. In this weight range, tip and butt torques of 3.1 and 5.1 set a new standard. This can only be accomplished with high modulus graphite fiber.
Balance points are the same as the ATTAS4u. It should be noted that the radial quality of these shafts is outstanding. Several of the review samples showed NO difference between hard and soft plane stiffness. At this price, one would expect no less. These shafts ooze quality.
We took the 7X versions to the range for testing by Mark Maness, Mark will be one of our shaft testers in future reviews. Mark was a PGA Tour member in 1988 competing in 28 events including the US Open. He is the Director of Golf Instruction at the Golden Bear Golf Center in Carrollton, Texas. Mark is a PGA Class A instructor and active in the North Texas PGA chapter.
We use Markit spray on the golf club face to document the impact pattern. High and low strikes will influence the launch and loft of the ball flight. A driver face rolls from top to bottom, changing loft as it does so. Most testing is done with a robot to get consistent ball strikes on the center of the club face. Mark Maness is every bit as good as a golf robot. He has the additional advantage of being able to describe the feel, balance and responsiveness of the golf shaft he is testing. The image shown above documents his 7 strikes with the UST Mamiya ATTAS3 7x. As you can see, one was a little high, one was a little low, but the other 5 were dead center. Mark Maness, our own living and breathing ‘iron byron’.
A review of the best 5 of 7 strikes using range balls with a 45 degree left to right cross wind, coming into Mark’s face shows a slightly lower launch lower spin from the ATTAS4u compared to the ATTAS3. This is consistent with what I was told to expect from the UST Mamiya fitter/tester at their Fort Worth US Headquarters. Mark’s comments:
ATTAS4u “I feel a soft tip, my rhythm is too quick for this shaft, it would be a great shaft for a slower tempo swing”
ATTAS3 “I like the feeling I am getting from the tip. The weight of the club feels centered, that is how I sense the shaft loading. I can feel it load from the center”
Remember when looking at these results, this is one golfers fit. Everyone interacts differently to these profiles and the only way to find the right shaft for your swing is with a professional fitter that understands golf shafts and is equipped with a wide range of shaft fitting options.
The UST ATTAS elements released in 2012. It is available in three versions, MK, DK and RK in the original green Asian version and Earth, Wind and Fire in the 2013 American graphics. Offering different launch options in a single model is quickly becoming an industry standard.
The elements is the latest generation design based on the UST research that ranked shaft performance order of importance as tip stiffness, mid stiffness, torque and butt stiffness. Their field testing is reflected in the higher torque design of the Earth, the lower launching version. The low launch version, the elements Earth has slightly higher torque than the mid and high launch elements Fire and Wind.The UST Mamiya elements profiles are consistent from weight to weight and flex to flex. The radial profiles are exceptional, every shaft measured less that 0.5% difference in flex from stiff to soft side. This means the shaft can be installed in any orientation in a rotating hosel driver. The FLO was oriented to the label on every shaft I measured.
I personally like the return to the familiar mustard and black color scheme that has long been a hallmark of UST Mamiya on the PGA Tour. The finish is multilayer spray paint I saw during a visit to the Fort Worth Texas US headquarters. It took several passes/days through the finishing operation to apply the colors, silk screen graphics and clear finish coat. You do not truly understand what is involved in making a golf shaft until you get to see it happen. When you realize how much of the operation is done by hand, you have respect for a product like the UST Mamiya elements that is so very consistent from shaft to shaft.
The numbers:
Earth: Tip torque, 60g = 3.0, 70g = 2.6 – Butt torque, 60g = 4.3, 70g = 3.7
Wind: Tip torque, 60g = 2.4, 70g = 2.0 – Butt torque, 60g = 3.3, 70g = 2.9
Fire: Tip torque, 60g = 2.3, 70g = 2.0 – Butt torque, 60g = 3.4, 70g = 3.0
Balance points were 25 to 25.5 inches from the tip putting this in the category one might refer to as counter weighted. Raw shaft weight was generally indicated by the shaft number, 6=68g, 7=77g
When the UST Mamiya first appeared last year on Tour, I spent some time with Michael Guerrette, VP, Product Research & Tour Development, discussing the element, here is what he had to say.
During a recent visit to the UST facility in Fort Worth, Michael made an interesting point. He said most everything we know about shaft design and shaft performance comes from observation. “We have yet to develop the technology to get inside the tornado and truly understand what is happening. But were working on developing the technologies that will get us there.” UST Mamiya has taken some bold steps in the shaft business lately, first with the VTS line of shafts that gave their TourSPX certified fitters torque options and now with the elements offering flighting options.
