Dynamic Gold X-Seven (X7) Initial Thoughts

Since there isn't a ton of information about the Dynamic Gold X-Seven out there due to its scarce or "very exotic" nature I figured I would post about my initial impressions after having gamed it for roughly 20 rounds over roughly the last 60 days.

**Quick Backstory: ** PX 6.5 X-Flex was the stiffest/heaviest the Titleist rep had at our Titleist Demo Day back in April and suggested I might look into trying the 7.0 or the X-Seven. Armed with that info, I contacted my clubfitter in Kansas City and told him I wanted to try the X-Seven as well as the Nippon Modus variants. The clubfitter knows me and my swing going back near 20 years so the first shaft I tried was X-Seven. I fell in love immediately but just to be sure, I tried the Modus in all of the various flexes and weights, and they all felt terrible in comparison.

**Previous Shafts:** KBS C-Taper S+ (half inch over standard length) in Titlest DCI 962, 3-9 irons

**Setup:** The X-Seven has been put in the following: Titleist T-MB 3i, CB 4-5 irons, MB 6-9 irons (half inch over standard length)

**6i Data:** Carry Distance: 192 yards Swing Speed: 99mph

**My Review through 60 days:** The X-Seven has been a game changer for me in terms of confidence as it has lowered the window on all of my iron shots to a much more respectable area. I still hit the ball insanely high and spin it a ton, but these shafts have significantly decreased both the height and spin from the C-Tapers I was playing before. I attribute almost all of the improved characteristics to the weight of the shaft rather than the stiffness, but both the weight and the stiffness of the X-Seven work incredibly well in tandem with _my golfswing_. The most noticeable difference from a "feel standpoint" from the C-Tapers is how much better the X7 feels in my downswing transition, meaning I can actually "feel" the shaft loading up how I want/need it to with the X7 whereas with the C-Tapers I felt very little of this sensation. Additionally, that feel or sensation of being able to feel the shaft loaded throughout the transition is virtually continued through impact, and to me this is the best part about these shafts in my golf swing. It's almost as if I can feel the energy of my shoulders arms and hips working "down" through the shaft to the ball on the downswing. Put another way, it's almost like being able to feel the force of the swing's lag at impact, so I really feel like I am just able to "explode" through each iron shot.

Through these first 20 rounds, I have seen the most benefit (lower spin and ball flight) in the shorter irons (7-8-9) which just seem to have this nice driving ball flight towards the (admittedly still high) apex, whereas with the C-Tapers, the ball flight would launch low, but the spin would cause it to "balloon" towards its apex on the shorter irons, even when I would purposefully try to decrease the dynamic loft of the clubs.

However, I would say the shafts in the longer irons (3-4-5) took several rounds for me to get 110% confident with, but I chalk that up due to the consistent performance and feel of the shafts over all being translated into the longer lengths of those irons. My length prohibits me from hitting a lot of drivers on my home course (especially in tournament play) and getting used to the feel of the shaft in the T-MB 3-iron took longer than I would have wanted, with the result being a push/block to the right (my natural ball flight is a nice 5-10 yard draw) but again, I attribute this to the heavier shaft over the longer length and finally realized that I needed to adjust my release point. Once I finally got it figured out, I get all the same positive "feels" that I described above, and the feeling of "explosion" when translated into long irons is just so incredible. I'm able to carry my 3 iron 250 with a ton of roll with these shafts, whereas with my 712u 2-iron that had the C-Taper I was only carrying it 240.

**Summary/Final Thoughts:** The Dynamic Gold X-Seven shaft is incredibly unique insofar as it doesn't have 1:1 competition, but it does exist in a relatively tiny, yet albeit competitive market. Thus, I would encourage any golfer who has a swing that requires a low-launch, low-spin shaft to make sure they test the X-Seven before pigeon-holing themselves with one of the X7s indirect competitors in the low-launch, low-spin market. More specifically, if you've been eyeing the X100, Nippon Modus, PX 7.0, C-Taper 130x, do not, and I mean, DO NOT, make a choice between those shafts without hitting the X-Seven as part of your testing/buying process. Obviously I cannot guarantee it's the best fit for everyone (even those browsing in this category) but you need to give the X7 a try to know for sure.

I just wanted to get a formal first-hand review of this shaft out there because most of the forum discussions internet-wide regarding the X-Seven has revolved around people who know about it but whom have never hit it, trying to compare it to shafts that it competes against despite there not being a 1:1 shaft on the market. Hopefully it helps!

Great review. I am currently gaming the KBS $ Taper, like them a lot. Looking for a tighter dispersion pattern and lower trajectory to manage my gapping a little more.

Interesting. I've always been curious about that shaft but never had a chance to test it.

Love my X7's, can't find another shaft with this reduction in launch and spin (for me) that still feels this good.

I dont have the swing speed to game these really, but I did buy a 4i (S55) off the bay and it came with an X7. I immediately resigned to pulling it for something else, but I did hit it a few times, and I have to say, I was very impressed with the feel. I was able to launch it just fine but the weight felt a bit heavy for me... I expected a much stiffer, unplayable shaft, but it felt quite the opposite. I only swing 6i around 85 FWIW.

Is the only difference for the X7's the .610" butt diameter? Step pattern and tip length are the same as X100 and the weight is within 3 grams.

So is the X7 essentially it's a stiffer butt section X100?

Great review. I have posted on some other X7 posts but this shaft has truly been a game changer.

Subjectively, it even feels better than the regular TI X100 and more responsive.

> @rybo said:

> Is the only difference for the X7's the .610" butt diameter? Step pattern and tip length are the same as X100 and the weight is within 3 grams.

>

> So is the X7 essentially it's a stiffer butt section X100?

The tip section is the same as DG but from there the shaft diameter gets wider so it gets stiffer, so Butt and Mid section of the shaft are quite a bit stiffer than a normal X100

They Freq out about 1.5 flexes stiffer but for what they are they are actually pretty smooth if you have the speed/load to swing them.

6ft 3" - 30yrs old with X7s here. Went from standard S300 shafts growing up without knowing much about clubs/shafts, to x100s and that was big improvement. Got hooked on club building/tinkering and years ago was able to snag some X7s 3-PW (pre Tour Issue label) new for like $150. They were a game changer. Going from s300s to x100s really just tightened dispersion for me and it was the same from x100s to x7s. The ball flight is so piercing and flat without that ballooning feel I always hated. Hit PX 6.5s and liked the results but feel was weird for me. KBS would be my next option for feel as the load was incredible but id rather keep it simple with X7s. Wind was impossible to play in when they always floated forever in the air. I only know of Jason Day to be using the X7s on tour and surprised that more players aren't. They feel great and I'm using old Mizuno blades in them. If you can get them - buy them!

Most tour players need to create spin, not decrease it. X7 is too heavy and too stiff for most to be banging 1000 balls a day, they'd just get too fatigued. X100 does the job for most.

X7 is is in the category with PX 7.0, Modus 130X, Nippon Super Peening Blue X, TTTC X1, DG X300, CTaper 130X as the siffest of the stiff out there. I would caution people thinking X7 just straight lowers launch and spin that it may not apply to all golfers. I for one found X7 to launch higher and spin more, making shorter irons almost unplayable. There was very little feel. I think these shafts, and TTTC / CTaper 130X work better for the very fast early/mid releaser but for late release guys the PX or Nippon Tour130 is a better fit IMO. Which has probably more to do with balance point than flex or profile.

While everyone is different, I am very late release and the X7 are a perfect fit for me. Modus 130X on the other hand are unplayable. As usual people need to get fit and be willing to experiment a bit.

You sure you're late release? 130X was basically made for Sergio, the king of late release. It is slightly counter balanced which helps late releasers square the club.

i disagree with you on a few things here, and "feel" is very subjective, but also a question of where you burn off your power in the swing vs the shaft profile, and when we talk release timing, look at this player, he was one of my customers, his release cant be said to be "early or mid", its very late with that lag he build up (too much lag), and no other shafts than X7 worked for him. His PRO career was short, this video is from "The Open" in 2009, the player is Peter Krog Elleby. i dont have any videos of his iron swing, but its close to the same, extreme lag and very late and power full release. (102-103 mph #6 iron)

In the next post you make a connection between Shaft balance point and ability to square up the face, can you explain that? i cant see it, but most shafts i handled was rather "neutral" on BP, so my experience with high BP shafts is limited.

PS! im NOT sure of this (dont have all specs available here), but for me, it seems like the original X7 and the later X Seven is 2 different models. (i cant recall that X7 had a 0.610 butt like X Seven has)

All you really needed to say was, "X7 doesn't work for me, and Nippon does." I know you were responding to the earlier comment about Jason Day when referencing tour players, but like all other players, tour players are going to play only what works best after hours/weeks of testing.

People need to go to the best Clubfitter they can possibly go to and get fitted for their swing, and then select the best shaft that performs and feels the best for THEIR swing. -- For me it was the X7. I couldn't tell you what class of "releaser" I am in, but I've got a 99mph swing speed with a 6 iron and the ball flies 205 yards in the air and while the apex is still on the high end for a 6 iron, the angle on which it travels get to the apex is majestic. Again, I couldn't tell you why it's the best shaft for me, other than that it performs the best for me and there isn't another shaft (outside of the PX7.0) that came close to the X7 in terms of performance and especially FEEL. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm also surprised more guys aren't playing it. I found a few others though. Cameron Champ and Kevin Tway are in X7. Bryson won the 2018 Northern Trust with it. Kyle Berkshire is not on tour but plays it and is faster than anyone else out there (he's probably scratch or better).

I wonder if the .610 butt isn't the reason more pros don't play the X7? They are very picky and sensitive to the slightest changes.

It does seem like the high swing speed guys could see some benefit with the shaft.

maybe if you also play undersize grips?

We talk 0.010 and 1 layer of Golf BU take builds 0.015, so if they are that picky, we simply stretch the length of the grip to make them 0.900 inch measured 2 inches down from the butt if STD size is target.

Both weight and feel of flex is triggers for how much power we use on the club, and professionals hardly ever "step on it" during play, its all about precision, so they should "need" this model to use it.

If feel is good, and its those 2 grams that bothers (for many it is), we can fix that. We go soft stepped once to loose 1.8 grams, then we tip trim all shafts 4/8" to get them back to the flex we came from. This way we can make a 130 gram X7 playing to the same flex as standard. This is quite common to do with S400 Tour Issue to get a better weight match and make S300 Tour Issue that TT officially dont offer.

Oh I think Jamie Sadlowski had them in the bag as well. I think pros may like to work the ball more or hit the ball higher and the X7s really limit that for me. Maybe X100s give slightly more backspin that they need. I hit my x7s almost half as high as an S300s. Pre Tour Issue labels they were seemingly impossible to read/see online but now you can get them with certain brands. Drooling for some 620MBs with x7s .... oooo

On 6/17/2020 at 1:27 AM, Thayneil said:

maybe if you also play undersize grips?

FWIW, I have JumboMax XL grips on my X7s...

I’ve been playing X7 in my T100•s and I’ve never had more control over a set of irons. I previously played Apex CF16 with C-Taper 130x. I played the C-Tapers in numerous heads since they were first released, but the X7 feel much better to me. The flight and spin is a perfect for me. Apex and C-Taper actually spun a bit more for me than the Titleist due even though the lofts were stronger, I’m playing the T100s 2* weak. 

Anyone here could share their experiences with Modus 130x as compared to X7. Just looking for any info at all. I know the modus has a soft tip, I have them in a set. Nice shaft just launches so high for me and I don't love the feel, except at impact with that soft tip lol. Would there (potentially)  be more loading feeling in the X7? I know these questions are a crapshoot, im on an island in the middle nowhere with no fitters or monitors (except a voice caddy sc300)

* thanks to Valtiel for sharing a EI profile in another thread, seems the x7 does have a softer mid which I might like* 

Those are probably my two favorite shafts. I never liked the dynamic gold profile so never would have tried X7 but got a deal on a set and love them. I was shocked how smooth but tight they played and I don’t bring golf wrx swing thunder.  I actually had modus 130S but have hit 130X.

Modus for me were more straight high shots and struggled a little with in between yardages or in wind. 

X7s are better for me with half shots and feel great. I do struggle with them in the long irons as they are stiff and went with a graphite shaft in 4 iron. I love the X7’s in wedges. 
 

7 hours ago, Mjsrp said:

Those are probably my two favorite shafts. I never liked the dynamic gold profile so never would have tried X7 but got a deal on a set and love them. I was shocked how smooth but tight they played and I don’t bring golf wrx swing thunder.  I actually had modus 130S but have hit 130X.

Modus for me were more straight high shots and struggled a little with in between yardages or in wind. 

X7s are better for me with half shots and feel great. I do struggle with them in the long irons as they are stiff and went with a graphite shaft in 4 iron. I love the X7’s in wedges. 
 

Excellent!! Sounds like I'll enjoy them. The modus 130x (in swing) barely loads but impact feels lovely. Ball comes off high for me but it's not terribly spinny, just real real high. But I've hit everything high but modus 130 actually made my trajectory higher. It's windy here basically all year, amd with the modus 130 I have 2 trajectories, real high and high lol, I cant really hit a knockdown with that shaft. I can do with the modus 120 though but that feels like a feather with the complete swing overhaul I've done the past 2 months. 

I'm excited to try the X7, sounds like the shaft I've been looking for.