Aldila Ascent Driver Shaft Review

Aldila Ascent Driver Shaft Review

By Russ Ryden, Fit2Score, A Dallas Fort Worth Club Fitter & Club Maker
The Highlands Performance Golf Center, Carrollton Texas 
Golf Digest Certified America’s 100 Best Club Fitter

The 2021 Aldila Ascent is a reminder that Mitsubishi Chemical purchased Aldila several years ago. The design is reminiscent of several very successful Mitsubishi models in the past. Albeit with the latest prepreg and fibers.

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Russ

Aldila Rogue Elite Golf Driver Shaft Review

Aldila Rogue Elite Shaft Review, Green, Blue & Orange

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

The Aldila Rogue Elite Golf Shaft is a fitting series only available through Aldila Authorized Club Guilders. They are much the same design and material as the Aldila Rogue shafts. The difference is that each of the three shafts was designed for a specific launch propensity. The Aldila Tru-Fit System is a matrix of 18 shafts, 2 weights, 3 flexes and 3 launch designs.

Aldila offers a precision fitting guide with the system discussing each zone of the shaft as follows:
Tip Section = Launch   Stiffer = Higher Launch  –  Softer = Lower Launch
Mid Section = Spin   Stiffer = Lower Spin  –  Softer = Higher Spin
Butt Section = Feel  Stiffer = Stiffer Feel –  Softer = Softer Feel

Below each image are the zone stiffness numbers provided by Aldila

rogue-elite-green-imageAldila Rogue Elite Green   –   Low Launch Tip 9 – Mid 9 – Butt 5

rogue-elite-blue-imageAldila Rogue Elite Blue   –   Mid Launch Tip 8 – Mid 5 – Butt 9

rogue-elite-orange-image Aldila Rogue Elite Orange   –   Mid Launch Tip 7 – Mid 7 – Butt 7

Lets take a look at the EI profiles of these shafts and see how the Fit2Score measurements align with the Aldila numbers. 

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Russ

This is a great way for a shaft company to participate in the golf gear market that now focuses on fitting. There is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the intent and design of driver shafts. It is good to have a shaft manufacturer guide the fitter and provide a designed fitting matrix. Nice work Aldila, thank you.

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Fujikura Evolution Golf Shaft Review

Evolution of the Fujikura Speeder Evolution

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

The third generation of the Fujikura Speeder Evolution has been released. I have not yet been given access to the full set of the second and third generation shafts. The first generation Speeder Evolution had been reviewed earlier. This overview of the three generations is based on the S flex of the 569, 661 and 757. The Speeder Evolution II is the stock shaft in the 2017 Mizuno Driver and Fairway. I confirmed by measuring both pullouts from several Mizuno clubs and review samples from Fujikura that the shaft in the Mizuno’s is indeed the made in Japan Speeder Evolution II.

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Russ

 

Nippon Modus3 105 Review

Nippon Modus3 Tour 105

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

NipponM3T_105Image

The N.S Pro Modus3 Tour105 was released to the US public in August 2015. I had seen a set of these earlier in the year, labeled Prototype ST. The Modus3 Tour 105 is the same shaft that has been available on tour for several months. The word Prototype has been replaced with Modus3. I have been told it was put in play by a number of players. Lighter weight iron shafts are gaining broader acceptance in the tour community.

I am revisiting this review with a new look at the charts and numbers. As I prepared graphics for a speech to European club fitters I saw something in the charts that got my attention. A close look at the shafts confirmed what I saw in the graphics.

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Russ

Project X LZ Tour Graphite Iron Shaft Review

Project X LZ Tour Graphite Iron Shaft Review

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

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The Project X Loading Zone steel shaft is getting a lot of tour play. Our tester with a 117 mph driver speed has made the Project X LZ 6.5 his gamer in his irons. Now the same brand name is on a 90 gram carbon fiber shaft for those of us with more modest swing speeds. I first noticed the shaft when my 2017 Mizuno fitting cart update arrived. This year’s 90g shaft from Mizuno is the Project X Tour LZ in a 5.0 and 6.0 flex.

What really got my attention was the FlexLoc torsional bands in the mid section of the shaft. These are the same bands used in the Project X LZ driver shafts. In the driver shaft, these band maintain stable torque and hoop strength through a section of the shaft with reduced wall thickness that created the soft midsection loading zone. 

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

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

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ACCRA Concept Series 400 Driver Shaft Review

ACCRA Concept Series 400 Driver Shaft

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

accraconceptcs4image

The ACCRA Concept Series started in 2014 with the ACCRA Concept CS1 which is now called the Concept Series 300. The Concept CS1 was the first shaft I can recall from ACCRA  that was produced in a Japanese foundry. With it ACCRA shafts deliver the ultra premium shaft quality seen in high end Japanese golf shafts. The ACCRA Concept Series 400 is a variation of the Series 300 design aimed at reducing launch and spin.

This discussion of ACCRA shafts was shot at the 2016 PGA Merchandise show.

Lets take a look at the shaft measurements.

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Russ

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