Aldila Rogue 130MSI White Golf Shaft Review

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Aldila Rogue 130MSI White 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 Aldila Rogue driver shafts have now all been reissued with 130 MSI prepreg. The Aldila website informs us that Mitsubishi Chemical fiber and prepreg is used exclusively in the shaft. Mitsubishi acquired Aldila several years ago. Aldila and Mitsubishi are one of the few brands, perhaps the only brand, in the business to produce the materials their shafts are made with. Lets look at the EI profiles.

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Russ

Mitsubishi Bassara Phoenix UltraLite Driver Shaft

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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

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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.

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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 

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Russ

True Temper Wedge Shafts

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Wedge Golf Shafts – True Temper

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

TT_Wedges_Ei.fwNo set of golf wedge shaft reviews would be complete with covering the golf wedge shafts from True Temper. Most wedges come with a True Temper Dynamic Gold shaft. Shown here is the EI profile of the Dyanamic Gold S300. The S200 is used is some shafts because of its slightly different weight, but the profiles are not different enough that you could tell much difference.

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Russ

Nippon Wedge Shafts

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Wedge Golf Shafts – Nippon WV Shaft

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

Nippon WV ImageNippon makes a great dedicated wedge shaft, the N.S Pro WV. It was introduced in 2009 and has been one of my custom fitted wedge shafts since that time. It is one of the higher launch, therefore higher spin wedge shafts available. It is offered in three weights which correspond to increasing stiffness. Those weight options align well with the weights of the N.S Pro line of iron shafts. Using the wedge shaft that is just slightly higher than the weight of the iron shafts have proved to be a good fit.

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

Nunchuck Golf Shafts Review

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

KBS Wedge Golf Shafts

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Wedge Golf Shafts – KBS Tour, KBS Hi-Rev, KBS CTaper, KBS Tour V

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

Golf wedge shafts, unlike driver shafts, do not get updated every year. When some prototypes arrived recently I realized I had not looked at wedge profiles in several years. Nothing had changed during that time. This year, the KBS Tour V and the Modus3 Tour 130 brought an entirely new profile to iron shafts. This profile is very interesting as a stand alone wedge shaft. Before we get to it, lets look at the KBS golf wedge shafts.

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The KBS Tour was the first shaft introduced by Kim Braly. The wedge shaft from that model is offered as a stand alone wedge shaft. It is a mid high launch design. The KBS tour is available in 5 weights, R, R+, S, S+ and X. starting at 110 grams and ascending in 5 gram increments. When the new groove rule was introduced, Kim introduced the KBS Hi-Rev wedge shaft to get back some of the spin lost from the softening of the wedge edges.

The KBS Tour C Taper came next. It is modeled on the Project X which Kim Braly designed at Royal Precision. It is stepless and is designed to create a lower launch lower spin ball flight. While not offered as a stand alone wedge shaft product, the wedge shaft in the sets is a great choice for someone looking to lower wedge ball flight. Like the KBS Tour, the KBS Tour C Taper is available in 5 weights.

KBS Tour Wedge EI ProgressionKBS Tour shafts have consistent bend profiles from flex to flex. The R is the same design as the S, just a little heavier and a little stiffer. With 5 flex/weight combinations, I fine tune flight and feel by moving up or down between weights. This illustration shows the KBS Tour wedge stiffness progressions. The same relationships are true for all KBS iron golf shafts. The KBS Tour 90 is a lighter weight version of the KBS Tour, adding two more weight options. Likewise, the KBS Tour C Taper Lite adds 3 additional weigh options to the C Taper design.

KBS Tour HiRevvsX8iMany years ago I learned in Royal Precision Rifle Shaft Certification class how to create the Rifle Spinner Wedge Shaft. The formula was simple, go up a flex and use the 8 iron. The Rifle Golf Shaft has a parallel tip, designed to be trimmed by the club maker. I now use constant weight taper shafts exclusively. But, that lesson prompted me to look at closely at the design of the KBS Tour Hi-Rev Wedge shaft when it was introduced. And I found the designer of the Rifle product, Kim Braly, used the same principle in constant weight shafts. Knowing this, I have built countless ‘Spinner’ wedges in sets applying the same principle with all of the KBS shafts, C Tapers and C Taper Lite’s included. The feedback from my customers is universal, they love the feel of the wedge shafts on partial shots.

KBS Tour V Wedge Shaft

KBS Tour V Wedge EiGjTbIn 2014 the KBS Tour V design was introduced. The KBS Tour V is available in three weights, 110, 115 120. There are also two professional club maker, only KBS Tour V Tour weight/flex models, 125 and 130 grams. This chart shows the 130 gram V X flex and the two Tour flex models. This is a unique design. When Mark Maness tested the Tour V design his immediate reaction was to change his release because he did not like the height of the ball flight. The Tour V design is a high launch, high spin shaft. It promotes a drop and stop ball flight. That makes it an interesting wedge shaft choice.

KBS TourV Deflection Here is a look at the deflection profiles derived from the EI profiles of the KBS Tour, KBS Hi-Rev and the KBS Tour V wedge shafts of similar weight and flex. There is not a lot of difference between the KBS Tour and the KBS Hi-Rev. But, the Tour V deflects significantly more. Based on our experience, the KBS Tour V creates a higher flight. With higher flight come more spin. That combination creates the drop and stop shot we look for from our wedges. If you are looking to add trajectory and spin to your wedges, the KBS Tour V shaft will deliver.