Aldila RIP Tour Iron Shaft Mini Review

Thanks to direct feedback from markheardjr and Tobybear, along with other comments posted in the threads listed below, I bought an Aldila RIP Tour shaft from Golf Works to try in my Mizuno Fli-Hi 21* 3-iron and thought I'd post a quick review now that I've had a little more time with it. Mine is the "S" flex, the one with the silver/gray text. I play DG X100 in my irons currently, I've been through two fittings and was fit into these X1s and also KBS Tour in S flex hardstepped once. The shaft was installed to play 38.75" and swing weight came out to D1 with a midsize Lamkin REL 3Gen grip.

First impressions

Initial thoughts were are that it felt a little light in my hands, partly because of the midsize grip and partly because it is lighter in general. However, once I took a few swings with it I got used to it pretty quickly. I might add a little bid of lead to the head, but that's more fine tuning than it is correcting a significant SW issue. I got the club built at Golfsmith and so when I picked it up I jumped on their Foresight to hit a few balls with it. I was immediately surprised at how "easy" it felt to load and despite being not warmed up, the first few shots I hit were solid. Since they had an MP-H4 3-iron with DG S300 on the demo rack, I picked that up to get a baseline. I hit 5 shots with the H4 and then went back to the Fli-Hi, with which I pured the last 3 and decided to quit while I was ahead. :)

Shots 1-3 were with the RIP Tour

Shots 4-8 were with the H4-S300

Shots 9-11 were with the RIP Tour

Now I know that this is a very small sample (ashamedly, I was a statistics major in college), but looking at the two 94 mph swings and the two 95 mph swings, since each pair was done with both clubs and solid shots, the RIP Tour showed comparable launch and ball speed, but slightly less spin. And with much better feel than the S300, even though I know this is totally subjective. If these data are anything to go by, my spin is actually on the low side, and launch and apex on the high side, but since I want this club to be a reliable tee club with some versatility to hit long approaches with, I think it works. Anyway, this was just a first impression.

On the course

A few days after picking it up, I was able to play 18 with the 3-iron in cool, damp conditions and was equally impressed. On the course, I hit it off the tee a few times and off the fairway twice. Off the tee, it launched nicely and trajectory was very flat and dispersion was tight. Even when I tried to step on it and made less than perfect contact, it didn't stray too far off line. I missed both left and right (unintentionally) and it was more a matter of left edge of the fairway or right edge, as opposed to left or right rough/trees. I hit it more solid when I didn't try to overpower it, but that's also a factor of my being rusty. Off the deck, as seen with the Foresight data, it was easy to launch and was very straight. My highlight was a second shot to a par 5, from an uphill lie, uphill all the way to the hole, from 223 yards (15th hole at Westfields GC for anyone familiar). I hit a very solid shot that was nice and high and dead online that finished less than 10 yards short. Yeah, no fairy tale ending there. But considering it was more like an effective 230+ up the hill, it was a great result.

In terms of feel, comparing it to hybrid shafts, I'd put the RIP Tour close to a Diamana Thump - mid launch, smooth, stable. It doesn't quite have the smoothness of the DI-105, nor the tip heavy feel of the RIP 105, but somewhere in between. Comparing it to iron shafts, it is nothing like a DG or KBS Tour or C-Taper, more like a smoother PX or PXi. That's just me though. Combined with the softness of the old Cut Muscle Fli-Hi head, this felt much better than the H4 + S300 combo. The H4 head just felt dull and hollow in comparison.

Conclusion

So I tried the RIP Tour with the intent of playing it in a long iron, and am now considering putting one in a 20* hybrid. Especially since it is only $40. Those who know me know that I've been through many hybrid set ups and shafts, so this is saying quite a lot. If I wanted to reshaft all my irons with it, I have no doubt it would be a solid set, even in the short irons. However, I still like my DGs because it's a feel that I've been familiar with for a long time, and they pair well with my DPCs. But hey, this is WRX and how sweet would some J40 DPC with RIP Tours be? :D

I will update this thread periodically, but feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to answer them. I'm sure others more knowledgeable will be able to chime in too.

For background, here are some threads I used while I was doing my research on these, so credit goes to all those who contributed there.

WRX thread with in-hand pictures and various comments:

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/930244-aldila-rip-tour-graphite-irons-shafts-in-hand-photos/

markheardjr's thread:

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/752117-aldila-rip-prototype-iron-shafts-18-hole-review/

Discussion on weighting, flex, etc:

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/925411-aldila-rip-tour-iron-shafts/

solid thread w good references, well done PM
I know we've had a few PM's on a fwy shaft, but not this one
I remember you saying you bought one of these, so I figured id give one a go

I went w the AX for the CP 2.0 3w and ordered a RIP TOUR 115 for my 4i
did you go straight in, or did you tip this before install and butt trim?

Thanks, I'm hoping that it will add to the other helpful resources.

I got the S flex 3-iron shaft and installed it straight in, butt trim only. Since I did it without trying the shaft first I figured I might as well have a proper baseline as opposed to trying to hardstep/softstep. Seems to fit just fine for me though.

Btw, one more thing that I failed to mention was how consistent those launch and spin numbers were with the RIP Tour. Not relative to the S300, but just within the RIP Tour sample. Very often, the perception is that graphite iron shafts are not as consistent as steel, but in this case that doesn't seem to be true. Of course, this is based on my small sample. For what is is worth, based on my one round, they did seem really consistent in terms of launch and distance. Just a thought.

Great review! Made all the better that you were actually able to play a round. The snow up by me just finally melted enough to hit balls.

How does the Fli Hi compare to the DHy? I'm still in love with my Idea Pro/KBS Tour combo or I'd give that RIP Tour shaft a go. It sounds like I would like it.

[quote name='jokerusn' timestamp='1395667906' post='8937503']
Great review! Made all the better that you were actually able to play a round. The snow up by me just finally melted enough to hit balls.

How does the Fli Hi compare to the DHy? I'm still in love with my Idea Pro/KBS Tour combo or I'd give that RIP Tour shaft a go. It sounds like I would like it.
[/quote]

Because I love posting links back n forth to all my threads: [url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/848768-driving-irons-titleist-712u-mizuno-mp-h4-callaway-x-utility-adams-dhy/page__st__120#entry8937249"]http://www.golfwrx.c...20#entry8937249[/url]

The Fli-Hi feels really good, way better than the DHy, but definitely won't have the ball speed or off-center forgiveness. It is a really solid 3-iron replacement in its own right. I think feel is as good or better than the 712U. Typically Mizuno softness, at least, as soft as they can get it in a hollow construction head. Obviously, part of that was due to the shaft, which has much more shock absorption than steel. Knowing how you swing and what you use currently, if you were to try one of these, I think you'd probably need to hardstep the S or get the X flex and add lots of weight to the head. It's already bordering on too light for me. In terms of performance though, it is really stable and low spin for a graphite iron shaft, but as with everything you have to get the fit/flex right.

Update:

After a couple rounds with this shaft, I really like it. However, I'm starting to understand what some have said that it may not provide a lot of feel, but part of it is because you need to get heavy enough of a head. Even with some lead tape across the back of the Fli-Hi cavity, it still feels light. This is when a DHy might come in handy, because I have the weight kit to play around with. Anyway, I digress. My last round was on a really windy day, I'd say at least 20+ mph winds and the Fli-Hi + RIP Tour really shined into the wind, in a cross wind, everything. This is one of the straightest hitting clubs in the bag right now for me. I also have a new 2-iron length shaft from Golfworks that I'm trying to find a head for; either a DHy or the TEE Pro H utility iron. Heck, I might even softstep the 3-iron shaft into a 4-iron to space things out a little and for a little more spin.

I would have to agree. I have the RIP's 115 in my i25's and after about 5-6 rounds, Im really starting to like them. They dont give a lot of feedback, but with the results, I dont care. They feel like a graphite shaft, not sure what else to say about it. They are stupid straight, I mean stupid! You can still work a little draw or fade, but the just want to go straight. Also just like above, the launch and spin are the same every time.

I have the regulars straight in with a SW starting at D1 in 4 iron, going to D4 in the GW. All I can say is I realy like them. If you want something super consistant, get these. Also, as stated in other threads, if you normally play stiff, get the regular.

I just installed a full set of 4 iron to PW in Mizuno MX-300 heads. I have the 115 Stiff, having played PX 6.5 SS1x for the last 12 months. I love the PX, but I have been fighting tendinitis for the last 8 months and decided to make the change. The performance is right on par, like PM said, this feels like a smoother PX shaft. I was looking into Recoil 125 Protos and tried these because of the cost difference. Great shaft, only 2 rounds with them now, but very happy with them.

Thanks for the feedback, guys. How do you like them in the short irons in terms of spin - too much, too little? Every now and then I'm tempted to reshaft my entire set of irons with these because of how stable these are, surprisingly stable for graphite really. But I like my DGs and really don't need to be spending more money...

[quote name='Puppetmaster' timestamp='1399999842' post='9286933']
Thanks for the feedback, guys. How do you like them in the short irons in terms of spin - too much, too little? Every now and then I'm tempted to reshaft my entire set of irons with these because of how stable these are, surprisingly stable for graphite really. But I like my DGs and really don't need to be spending more money...
[/quote]

Given the light weight, I think you'd really regret having the heavier feeling short irons. Plus, do you really want less spin and more ballspeed with an 8 or 9 iron?

Great review! The numbers look pretty good on the comparison, that spin is definetly worth noting. If you are a higher spin guy who needs graphite for arhtritis/tendonitit issues you should take a look at these. Other graphite shafts to me can feel dead and muted. The RIP irons I have hit defiently have a nice umph through impact and feel great. Trap shots were excellent because you get an amazingly tight dispersion and control and swinging is effortless so you can really dial those in. The lower spin made getting to back pins on softer greens easier too.

[quote name='GooseHook' timestamp='1400003078' post='9287357']
[quote name='Puppetmaster' timestamp='1399999842' post='9286933']
Thanks for the feedback, guys. How do you like them in the short irons in terms of spin - too much, too little? Every now and then I'm tempted to reshaft my entire set of irons with these because of how stable these are, surprisingly stable for graphite really. But I like my DGs and really don't need to be spending more money...
[/quote]

Given the light weight, I think you'd really regret having the heavier feeling short irons. Plus, do you really want less spin and more ballspeed with an 8 or 9 iron?
[/quote]

I get your point, B. However as I get older, lighter yet ultra stable shafts with great feel are becoming more enticing. I don't think the spin reduction on the short irons will be that significant, but then again, I'd have to try it to really know.

[quote name='markheardjr' timestamp='1400004980' post='9287585']
Great review! The numbers look pretty good on the comparison, that spin is definetly worth noting. If you are a higher spin guy who needs graphite for arhtritis/tendonitit issues you should take a look at these. Other graphite shafts to me can feel dead and muted. The RIP irons I have hit defiently have a nice umph through impact and feel great. Trap shots were excellent because you get an amazingly tight dispersion and control and swinging is effortless so you can really dial those in. The lower spin made getting to back pins on softer greens easier too.
[/quote]

Thanks, Mark. Your feedback has been very helpful, and like you posted in your review, getting the right swing weights on these is key to making them work "right". Tight dispersion seems to be what many users of this shaft are finding, myself included.

Great review. Been looking for a cheaper shaft to throw in my Anser hybrid. After your experiment in your FliHi, think I will have to give it a go

[quote name='Cochese23' timestamp='1400027806' post='9290063']
Great review. Been looking for a cheaper shaft to throw in my Anser hybrid. After your experiment in your FliHi, think I will have to give it a go
[/quote]

Thanks. I actually briefly thought about putting my 2-iron length RIP Tour into something like an Adams XTD Ti or SLDR for kicks too. Might be a fun club to have.

Stuck this shaft in a TEE CB Proh 3-iron and loving every minute of it. I liked the TEE head because it was more forgiving and higher launch than the Fli Hi. The RIP Tour and TEE head combined launch nicely and like I had posted before, the shaft seems to want to help everything go straight. After putting this club together, I'm finally selling a lot of extra hybrid "experiments" on the BST, I like it that much.

Kinda wish I remembered to tell them to install the shaft logos down, but I can live with it, the etching is very subtle.

I put one of these in my UDI, and I hated it. Just for the hell of it I put it in a MP32 3 iron and was absolutely mashing it. Shaft felt so much better. I got to check the head weight of the UDI and see what the difference is to the MP 32 head. I have been thinking about putting these in my MP 32's I am working on for my winter project.

[quote name='chch3' timestamp='1412708445' post='10250429']
I put one of these in my UDI, and I hated it. Just for the hell of it I put it in a MP32 3 iron and was absolutely mashing it. Shaft felt so much better. I got to check the head weight of the UDI and see what the difference is to the MP 32 head. I have been thinking about putting these in my MP 32's I am working on for my winter project.
[/quote]

The head weight matters a lot, so that might be the issue. I've heard from some here that the UDI is still a relatively light head. I liked the RIP in the Fli Hi head, but it was still on the light side, but in the TEE, I have a tip weight to get the SW to D1, and added a bit of lead tape to get it to the D2+ range and its great.

The head makes all the difference with these shafts. I had them in covert forged heads and I was getting a ballooning flight. Put them in nike forged pro combos and they are awesome. I've never seen such a difference, even the feel was different. So for me they just worked better with the solid forged heads.

[quote name='jdzeeb' timestamp='1412736929' post='10253039']
The head makes all the difference with these shafts. I had them in covert forged heads and I was getting a ballooning flight. Put them in nike forged pro combos and they are awesome. I've never seen such a difference, even the feel was different. So for me they just worked better with the solid forged heads.
[/quote]

Completely agree with this statement. I had 115s in a set of Amp Cell heads and liked them but the ball flight was a little high. Changed heads to a set of Razr X Forged and absolutely love them. Hitting the ball lower and hitting more greens!

I'm surprised these haven't caught on more here with the huge following of the recoils. But I will say weighting might be a little weird on these. I absolutely love the weighting on them but other people who have played with and hit my set finds it very different. It does seem the weight is spread out more even throughout the entire club and less around the head. I'll have to check what the SW is.

I am still gaming these and I have no plans on making a change from these shafts. 1 full season and the elbow pain is much less after a round.

Graphics look awesome

[quote name='Puppetmaster' timestamp='1412736229' post='10252969']
[quote name='chch3' timestamp='1412708445' post='10250429']
I put one of these in my UDI, and I hated it. Just for the hell of it I put it in a MP32 3 iron and was absolutely mashing it. Shaft felt so much better. I got to check the head weight of the UDI and see what the difference is to the MP 32 head. I have been thinking about putting these in my MP 32's I am working on for my winter project.
[/quote]

The head weight matters a lot, so that might be the issue. I've heard from some here that the UDI is still a relatively light head. I liked the RIP in the Fli Hi head, but it was still on the light side, but in the TEE, I have a tip weight to get the SW to D1, and added a bit of lead tape to get it to the D2+ range and its great.
[/quote]

The swingweight was the same in both, but I also softstepped it since my UDI is a 2 iron and I put it in a 3 Head. I just think that they are a little too stiff for my swing.

Stuck this shaft in a TEE CB Proh 3-iron and loving every minute of it. I liked the TEE head because it was more forgiving and higher launch than the Fli Hi. The RIP Tour and TEE head combined launch nicely and like I had posted before, the shaft seems to want to help everything go straight. After putting this club together, I'm finally selling a lot of extra hybrid "experiments" on the BST, I like it that much.

 

 

Kinda wish I remembered to tell them to install the shaft logos down, but I can live with it, the etching is very subtle.

Considering building a TEE ProH CB 18* + RIP Tour ...

Thanks to direct feedback from markheardjr and Tobybear, along with other comments posted in the threads listed below, I bought an Aldila RIP Tour shaft from Golf Works to try in my Mizuno Fli-Hi 21* 3-iron and thought I'd post a quick review now that I've had a little more time with it. Mine is the "S" flex, the one with the silver/gray text. I play DG X100 in my irons currently, I've been through two fittings and was fit into these X1s and also KBS Tour in S flex hardstepped once. The shaft was installed to play 38.75" and swing weight came out to D1 with a midsize Lamkin REL 3Gen grip.

 

 

 

First impressions

 

Initial thoughts were are that it felt a little light in my hands, partly because of the midsize grip and partly because it is lighter in general. However, once I took a few swings with it I got used to it pretty quickly. I might add a little bid of lead to the head, but that's more fine tuning than it is correcting a significant SW issue. I got the club built at Golfsmith and so when I picked it up I jumped on their Foresight to hit a few balls with it. I was immediately surprised at how "easy" it felt to load and despite being not warmed up, the first few shots I hit were solid. Since they had an MP-H4 3-iron with DG S300 on the demo rack, I picked that up to get a baseline. I hit 5 shots with the H4 and then went back to the Fli-Hi, with which I pured the last 3 and decided to quit while I was ahead. :)

 

Shots 1-3 were with the RIP Tour

Shots 4-8 were with the H4-S300

Shots 9-11 were with the RIP Tour

 

 

Now I know that this is a very small sample (ashamedly, I was a statistics major in college), but looking at the two 94 mph swings and the two 95 mph swings, since each pair was done with both clubs and solid shots, the RIP Tour showed comparable launch and ball speed, but slightly less spin. And with much better feel than the S300, even though I know this is totally subjective. If these data are anything to go by, my spin is actually on the low side, and launch and apex on the high side, but since I want this club to be a reliable tee club with some versatility to hit long approaches with, I think it works. Anyway, this was just a first impression.

 

On the course

 

A few days after picking it up, I was able to play 18 with the 3-iron in cool, damp conditions and was equally impressed. On the course, I hit it off the tee a few times and off the fairway twice. Off the tee, it launched nicely and trajectory was very flat and dispersion was tight. Even when I tried to step on it and made less than perfect contact, it didn't stray too far off line. I missed both left and right (unintentionally) and it was more a matter of left edge of the fairway or right edge, as opposed to left or right rough/trees. I hit it more solid when I didn't try to overpower it, but that's also a factor of my being rusty. Off the deck, as seen with the Foresight data, it was easy to launch and was very straight. My highlight was a second shot to a par 5, from an uphill lie, uphill all the way to the hole, from 223 yards (15th hole at Westfields GC for anyone familiar). I hit a very solid shot that was nice and high and dead online that finished less than 10 yards short. Yeah, no fairy tale ending there. But considering it was more like an effective 230+ up the hill, it was a great result.

 

In terms of feel, comparing it to hybrid shafts, I'd put the RIP Tour close to a Diamana Thump - mid launch, smooth, stable. It doesn't quite have the smoothness of the DI-105, nor the tip heavy feel of the RIP 105, but somewhere in between. Comparing it to iron shafts, it is nothing like a DG or KBS Tour or C-Taper, more like a smoother PX or PXi. That's just me though. Combined with the softness of the old Cut Muscle Fli-Hi head, this felt much better than the H4 + S300 combo. The H4 head just felt dull and hollow in comparison.

 

Conclusion

 

So I tried the RIP Tour with the intent of playing it in a long iron, and am now considering putting one in a 20* hybrid. Especially since it is only $40. Those who know me know that I've been through many hybrid set ups and shafts, so this is saying quite a lot. If I wanted to reshaft all my irons with it, I have no doubt it would be a solid set, even in the short irons. However, I still like my DGs because it's a feel that I've been familiar with for a long time, and they pair well with my DPCs. But hey, this is WRX and how sweet would some J40 DPC with RIP Tours be? :D

 

I will update this thread periodically, but feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to answer them. I'm sure others more knowledgeable will be able to chime in too.

 

 

For background, here are some threads I used while I was doing my research on these, so credit goes to all those who contributed there.

 

WRX thread with in-hand pictures and various comments:

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...in-hand-photos/

 

markheardjr's thread:

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...18-hole-review/

 

Discussion on weighting, flex, etc:

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...ur-iron-shafts/

great review!

Bump. I've picked up both a UDI 18* and a cb pro h 18* and have a rip 115 s on the way. Wondering if anyone is still using these clubs?
I'm looking to maybe replace my dhy that seem to fly just a little too high even though i have matrix hm3 in them.

I still have my CB ProH 3-iron with the RIP 115 in it. I also have a 2-iron length RIP for my 18* UDI, but I'm hitting that so well with the stock C-Taper Lite that I'm not reshafting that anytime soon.

I'm playing RIP Tours 90 in my irons and 115 in my wedges. Best graphite iron shafts out there for me.