The Journey To Scratch: WITB – Shafts

By far the most overlooked piece of golf equipment in the world today is the shaft that is in each and every club. The wrong shaft can lead to disastrous playing and the right one can produce the most epic ball flight you have ever seen. From shaft flex, to kick point and butt stiffness to tip flex, every shaft on the market has something that can help, or hurt, your swing. For me, it’s take an very long time to dial in my new equipment, but for the 2017 season, I’ll be using the following in my clubs.

Driver – Fujikura Speeder Evolution III 757 Tour Spec – X-Stiff Flex
The Fujikura has flat out beat everything else I have tried in my Wilson FG Tour F5 driver. From the penetrating ball flight to the weight of the shaft, it just feels perfect when swinging the head. The 757 features a higher kick point that many shafts out today, which produces a lower flight pattern than many drivers today. The 77g weight of the shaft allows me to really load up on it at the top of the swing and still feel that there is plenty of mass to keep it in check. The 2.6° of torque keeps the head completely stable on the downswing and the mid-launch characteristic of the shaft keeps the ball on that nice low flight pattern that I was looking for. Overall, the Speeder 757 Tour Spec is the perfect fit for my driver.

Driver – Backup - Aldila Rogue Black 60 – X-Stiff Flex.
The Rogue Black 60 is a 70g shaft that features 3.3° of torque. It tended to be a bit more ‘left’ off the tee than I was looking for and also offered a bit higher ball flight. I can control the flight of the F5 with the adjustable hosel, so having a higher hitting shaft off the bat wasn’t something that really made me happy. Still the Rogue Black is an amazing shaft which may find a home in my driver if the conditions stay this wet and I can’t get the carry I need out of the Speeder.

Irons – True Temper Dynamic Gold – S300 Flex
For as long as I can remember, my irons have all featured these shafts. What many consider to be the gold standard of golf shafts, True Temper Golf has revamped and grown the Dynamic Gold line over the years, but the S300’s are always my shaft of choice in my Wilson Blades. As a matter of fact, my ‘89 Fluid Feels have S300 shafts in them, the FG49 Tour Irons that I have feature the S400 shaft and my new Wilson FG Tour 100 irons are back with the S300 in them. The flight pattern that I get from the S300 is about as perfect as it can be. My irons fly high and land softly and have, what I consider to be, excellent distance. Each of the sets that I have had feature a tapered tip design, which is common with forged iron heads.

Wedges – KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 Wedge Shaft – Wedge Flex
These were a departure for me this year. I have never had a wedge that didn’t have a matching Dynamic Gold S300 shaft in them. Honestly, I’m not 100% sure how I feel about them, but they seem to get the job done nicely. I hit my 60° wedge in the neighborhood of 85 yards, my 56° wedge about 105 and the 51° wedge about 120. It’s a good gapping and the ball just falls from the sky on a straight arc. They also feature a mid-launch technology for a higher launch and quicker stop, which seems to work great from what I’ve experienced the first few rounds with them. Again, I’m pretty new to the KBS family having only had about 6 months with these wedges, but so far, I’m not really missing my Dynamic Gold shafts in these.

So there you have it, a bit more on the “What’s In The Bag” front for 2017. You may have noticed that I’ve left the 4 wood off this list. I’m not sure if I will be carrying that in the bag this year or not. I’ve never really had an amazing amount of luck with a fairway wood, nor have I played many courses that demanded that I use one. On average they only travel about 10 yards further than my 2/3 irons and they aren’t nearly as accurate. This leaves me one slot open in the bag, which I was hoping to fill with a Wilson V6 driving iron, but I’m not sure that is going to be in Wilson’s line up this year. If not, I may consider an F5 or D300 hybrid. I haven’t decided yet, but I have time before I have to have ‘that club’ in my bag.