Mitsubishi Diamana W-Series Third Generation White Board

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

The third generation Diamana White Board is a departure from previous designs. Like many shafts in the 2013-2014 season of super low launch head designs, it creates a higher launch tendency presentation of the head to the ball.

Three Generations of Diamana White Designs Compared

There was little change between the first generation Diamana White Board and the second generation ‘ahina. Torque was unchanged, weight went down slightly as the era of higher density materials began. A stiffer tip area required an adjustment to the mid section of the shaft and a quicker loss of stiffness in the mid-tip transition zone.

In the third generation Mitsubishi Diamana W Series we see a huge change in the EI profile of the shaft. The Tip to Butt ratio, a simple indicator of launch tendency is unchanged, but the path there is quite different. The signature profile of the White Board, and its cousin, the Mitsubishi Fubuki Alpha, a mid shaft bump in stiffness is gone. What we see now is a profile that is similar to many shafts, a consistent loss of stiffness from butt to tip. The signature mid shaft bump is still there, albeit lower and softer. And, unlike previous generations, there is a slight but significant change in profile as the Diamana W series gets heavier.

UltraLight vs 50 gram models

A 50 gram version has been added to the line.  The Diamana W series 50 gram model have higher torque, consistent with creating feel in a light weight shaft. The tips are softer, and in looks much like a stouter version of the ultralight Bassara W series. The line between ultra light shafts and light weight versions of standard Mitsubishi models is blurred with the introduction of 50 gram shafts in both the Diamana W and Diamana B shafts. The Bassara models extend down to 40 gram models, but the 50 gram Diamana’s bridge the gap between the 50 gram Bassara’s and the 60 gram Diamana’s.

Radial quality of all the review samples was excellent. The Diamana W series is suitable for rotating hosels without any regard for alignment. As you can see from the chart above, it does not get any better than this.

Mitsubishi KURO KAGE Silver with TiNi

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

The Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Silver has been updated in 2013 with the addition of 8 inches of Titanium Nickel Wire wrapped into the tip section of the shaft. The graphics are slightly different and the tip bears the TiNi logo used on Mitsubishi shafts with Titanium Nickel wire tip reinforcement. The KuroKage line was the first of the Mitsubishi products to use high density pregreg, The Kuro Kage shafts have this high density material added to the lower third of the shaft.

The EI Bend Profile Signature is similar to the Fubuki K. The Fubuki K and its predecessor, the Fubuki Tour continue to stiffen from 11″ to the tip, while the Kuro Kage Silver softens. Both have a slight mid zone stiffness bump, like the Diamana White Board with that bump occurring closer to the tip in the Kuro Kage Silver to promote a little higher launch.

While this is a mid priced shaft, $300 MSRP, in the Mitsubishi family of golf shafts you would not know that by looking at the radial quality. I cannot ever remember having 6 shafts in my hand that at most, varied by 1 CPM from hard to soft plane. Awesome. In a marketplace where every driver shaft has a rotating hosel, we should expect no less. And this shaft proves the manufacturing technology exists. What we do see in the Kuro Kage Silver TiNi is slightly higher torque in the R & S flex models than the Diamana and Fubuki series. Evidence of player profiling design, the players using the R & S will load the shaft less and get more feel from higher torque. Those using the X flex models need the control of low torque.

KURO KAGE SILVER Range Test

The difference between the previous version of the KUROKAGE Silver and the 2014 model is the addition of 8 inches of Titanium Nickel wire in the tip section. That gave us an opportunity to test the fiber by comparing the two shafts with a PGA tour quality ball striker, Mark Maness.
As you can see from this composite FlightScope report, the TiNi material did indeed add distance, reducing launch and spin with a slight increase in club head speed. Mark commented during the tests that the tip of the Kuro Kage with the TiNi felt more stable. That in a shaft with a softer tip than he has in his gamer. Its always nice to see that a technical improvement in a golf product actually results in improved performance and is not just more marketing hype.

 Mitsubishi Diamana B-Series Third Generation Blue Board

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

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.

 The third generation Diamana Blue takes the stiffness of the design up a notch.

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.