Mitsubishi KuroKage Driver Golf Shaft Review

Mitsubishi KuroKage Driver Golf Shafts

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

The Mitsubishi Kuro Kage (Black Shadow) shipped to dealers in Mid March, 2012. The pregreg has less resin and more fiber, making a design that was not possible in the past. This was the first of the Mitsubishi shafts to use high density prepreg. High density prepreg was later used in the third generation Diamana B.

The Kuro Kage TiNi is a tour quality shaft Mitsubishi. It exhibits the extremely smooth profile and low torque one would expect in a $400 product. The KuroKage Black and Silver are budget priced $175 shafts from Mitsubishi. Like the second brand of a vineyard, a great shaft, but not quite the tight torque typical on the premium models.

All of the KuroKage’s measured had excellent radial consistency.

KuroKage Proto TiNi

The KuroKage Proto TiNi is available only through selected Mitsubishi dealers. The profile is very similiar the the ilima, launching just a little lower and spinning a little less. A special stiffer version of this shaft is now in the bag of the #1 player on the PGA tour. His shaft is panted to look like a KuroKage Silver. A full review of the KuroKage TourEdition aka Proto is now available.

KuroKage Black

The KuroKage Black has the same profile as the KuroKage TiNi, until it gets to the tip. There is where we can see the difference. The stiffness humps slightly at 12 inches, then turns softer. Tip torque ranges from 5.0 in the 50A to 2.2 in the 70X. Butt torque ranges from 5.2 in the 50A to 2.9 in the 70X. The 70 gram shaft is the stock shaft in the Adams Golf 2013 Super S fairway. The low tip torque numbers of the 70 gram versions indicate a low dispersion shaft in a fairway head I regard as one of the best in the business.

KuroKage Silver

The KuroKage Silver release a few months after the KuroKage Black. Its profile is a close match to the original Diamana White Board. It is a low launch design, differing from the Diamana White board in torque. The KuroKage 60S tip torque is 3.1 compared to the original White Board at 2.0. In late 2013 TiNi wire was added to the tip. A full review of the upgraded KuroKage Silver TiNi is now available.

Mitsubishi KuroKage Hybrid Golf Shaft Review

2 Replies

Mitsubishi KuroKage Hybrid Golf Shafts

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

The Mitsubishi KuroKage is a 2012 mid season design targeted at a mid price range. The specs on the shaft are in keeping with Mitsubishi Rayon’s tradition of maintaining high quality on any shaft that bears their name. The torque ranges from 3.2 on the 80R to 2.3 on the Proto 100 X. Radial quality is excellent.

The long stiff tip with torques ranging from 2.3 to 1.9 indicate a shaft capable of delivering tight dispersion and distance control. The KuroKage family of Mitsubishi Rayon Golf Shafts is available to club builders. The street price of the Hybrids is $80. The KuroKage Black profile, shown below, resembles the Diamana Blue design.

Mitsubishi Fubuki Ax Hybrid Golf Shaft Review

Mitsubishi Fubuki Ax Hybrid Golf Shafts

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

The Fubuki Hybrid Ax was redesigned in 2011 to be slightly softer than the previous model. It fits in to the stiffness and weight gap between the Bassara UltraLight and the Diamana Thump. The stiffness of the shaft is a perfect match to the other Fubuki Alpha driver and the Fubuki AX fairway shafts. Weights range from 70 to 80 grams, putting it in a unique range for a low torque hybrid. The tip torque is 2.1 and the butt torque, 2.9. Radial consistency is excellent, with several of the shafts measuring at 100%.

Around 13″ from the tip, the stiffness of this shaft turns up. This has become a popular design, it adds a degree or two of launch without sacrificing dispersion control. This shaft was stock in the Adams Golf Super XTD Hybrid in 2012. That club gives the golfer the experience of a truly great aftermarket shaft in a hybrid golf club costing not much more than the shaft itself.

Mitsubishi Diamana D+ & S+ Hybrid Golf Shaft Review

Mitsubishi Diamana D+ & S+ Hybrid Golf Shafts

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

The Mitsubishi Diamana plus series introduced in late 2012. We will no longer be seeing the designation ‘made for …’ on stock golf shafts. The + series is the new ‘made for’ design. The profiles shown are bumpy because a single shaft of each model was measured. In the S+ blue shaft we are seeing a higher launch than the D+ gray shaft.

The familiar Diamana logo is there, but we are looking at they typical high torque, lower quality shaft we have seen in the ‘made for… ‘ shafts in the past. That said, the torque of these hybrids was respectable, tips at 2.4 and 1.9, butts at 3.2 and 2.6 on the blue and white respectively.

Mitsubishi Diamana Thump Hybrid Golf Shaft Review

2 Replies

Mitsubishi Diamana Thump Hybrid Golf Shafts

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

The Diamana Thump hybrid golf shaft is the most exotic hybrid golf shaft I have experienced. The price is more than most stock hybrid golf clubs. It is appropriately named, thump, for the feel in your hands as you watch your ball scream towards a distant green. If this review sounds biased, it is, I play this shaft in Miura hybrids. The control is worth every bit of the $200 hybrid shaft.

The butt torque is 2.3 in the 93 gram S and 2.2 in the 103 gram X, making it close to steel. Tip torque is 1.7 in both models, akin to light weight steel. Dispersion control is excellent. If you get tired of hooking your hybrids when you go after a shot, and don’t want to play steel, this shaft is the cure. Radial quality is as good as it gets, making shaft orientation a non issue. It is a low-mid launch design.

In 2012 Mitsubishi announced this shaft would be custom order only and not stocked in the US. It is still available through Mitsubishi dealers, however it is no longer shown in the current brochures. Caveat Emptor, the feel is addicting, Thump, interesting choice of words for a hybrid golf shaft model.