Is Your Driver Shaft Your Best Friend ?
When I find a product that I just love, it seems that it is only fair for me to share that discovery with all TheWedgeGuy.com readers. And I’ve got a great one for you this morning, but let me back up a bit.
As I’ve talked about here often, the shaft is said to be “the engine of the golf club”, and in no club is that more important than the driver. Think about it. You have the lightest head in the set, attached to the longest shaft, so by nature, this is a pretty critical match-up. You also are swinging it faster than any other club, so timing and performance characteristics are more critical. If the driver shaft has the least bit of wobble or oscillation in it, getting the clubhead back to the ball consistently is rather difficult.
The reality is that most driver heads on the market today are very darn good. All the major brands have awesome R&D departments, so there is very little chance that one of them can break away from the pack with measurably better technology in the head. But what makes any single driver great is the combination of that head and a shaft that fit YOU !!!!
Mass production is just not the way to get to that point . . . trust me. So, if you have a driver head you like, don’t think a whole new driver is the secret. It most likely is just finding the right shaft that optimizes that head for your swing.
So, that brings me to my recent find. I wrote recently about putting the UST Pro Force V2 Constant Weight shafts in my blades, with extraordinary results. I’m very happy. We’ve been working with UST for months now on some very exciting wedge shaft engineering, and I’ve known most of these guys for years – dating back to my days at Hogan. I have the highest respect for this company.
Anyway, they sent me their V2 ProForce 65 and 75 for my driver and 4-wood respectively – WOW ! I had an extra driver head to the one I play – Alpha RX400 (I just don’t like the big 460cc heads!), so I built a duplicate of my current driver, but with the 65-gram V2, tweaked to my exact frequency preference. The oscillation qualities were wonderful – it’s so stable it’s scary. I built it to 44-5/8” inches, as I know I can’t handle a 45” driver that well.
From the first test swing, I realized I had something special here. This shaft is awesome. It’s stable in the swing, is easy to control and has a feel that I can only define as “crisp” – not mushy like so much graphite. (I found that quality in the iron shafts as well.) Once I learned that my ideal hand position was about ½” down the grip, I began to rip this thing – extremely straight and measurably longer than my older shaft. In my rounds Friday and Sunday, my golf buddy’s only comment was “is that thing legal?” I hit a half dozen drives that were 15-20 yards longer than my best average on those holes – and dead straight !!!
When this 5’6” 56-year old hits it 275-295 (with roll of course), something is very darn right !
Needless to say, after Friday’s round, I took the plunge and re-shafted my Sonartec 4-wood with the 75 g V2 and had exactly the same results. I gained about 7-12 yards, and lost that hook tendency.
So there you have my product review on the Pro Force V2. I’m totally not surprised that Davis Love, Jim Furyk and so many others on tour are playing this shaft. If you are looking for a shot of juice to your driver, I strongly suggest that you visit a clubfitter/clubmaker and try this in a driver head you like. It’s a helluva lot less expensive than a whole new driver and you’re sure to be pleased.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Terry,
I notice you said you grip down a 1/2″ on a 44 5/8″ shaft. Does that mean your optimal length might have been 44 1/8″ for this particular head and shaft combo ? Or is that not an exact science thing ?
Mike, I’ve found that for me, I’m “optimum” with a driver at about 44″, sometimes even shorter. Golfsmith did some extensive live golfer testing some time back and found that almost all golfers, regardless of talent level, were longer and more accurate with drivers in the 43-1/2″ range! I can tell you that, even with the big drivers, hitting it in the exact center will deliver more distance than an extra few miles per hour of clubhead speed. In my case, that extra 1/2″ of control is priceless to me. Each golfer has to find his own preference, but I GUARANTEE you it will be an eye-opening experience if you will go out and hit your driver gripped down at least an inch, if not more. Experiment with it and see what happens — you’ll find YOUR OWN best length and begin hitting more fairways and longer drives.
I have the Pro Force shafts on my Driver and 3 Wood and agree 100%, the shafts are fantastic.
I’d love to try a set of irons with Pro Force shafts. How do they compare to the True Temper shafts in your opinion?
You asked for it, Duffy. I cannot in good conscience recommend to any golfer to play shafts in their irons that were engineered over 25 years ago! I will never go back to steel in anything I play. How’s that?
Well, hopefully I’ll get a chance to try them out on irons. However, I don’t think being “engineered 25 years ago” is a good reason to think something is good or bad. I can think of plenty of things that were engineered long ago that are far, far better than modern substitutes.
Duffy, on many subjects I would agree, but others, I can’t. There’s nothing wrong with WD-40, for example, and it’s been around for 50 years or more, and does its task well. Same could be said for many products and innovations. But you sure wouldn’t want to try to get your work done on a 25-year old computer, would you? In golf, we’ve advanced technology so far in just the past 10 years or so, I can’t see any “relic” of the past being able to optimize our performance (other than a favorite old putter!). That was my point.
[...] like I’m on a soapbox here, but this UST V2 shaft is continuing to impress me. I wrote about putting the 65 gram version in my driver, and then liking it so much I put the 75-gram version in my 4-wood, with equally exciting [...]
Hey Terry,
I played 18 last night and I remembered to grip down, so I could try it and offer some feedback.
Swing #1 - gripped down 1″ - didn’t hit the center of the clubface, but drive was servicable.
Swing #2 - gripped down 1/2″ - didn’t hit center again, but was in play.
Swing #3 - gripped down 3/4″ - nutted it 305, uphill on a 551 yard par 5. Hit a 245 yard 3 wood, uphill, to the front fringe, two putted for birdie and won $3 !
Okay, so I’m a believer. What else you got ?
Terry,
I have been experimenting with shafts recently and have discovered what I believe to be a great shaft. Kane Golf Products of Scotland in association with Harrison Shafts developed the Awesome Light 50g shaft.
Using their 9.5 degree Missile Launcher II head playing 46″ stiff I was getting great distance but not a great deal of control. Gripping down brought back the control and the light shaft kept the club head speed up.
I have since had the same shaft put in my previous favourite driver a 9 degree Titleist 983 (at 45″) with some great results.
My wife has these shafts throughout… driver, rescue and irons with a lady flex and has developed great distance since switching.
Awesome is right! Kanegolf.com I have not seen anything like it even on the Harrison website. Maybe it is available in the States.
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