Breakthrough Golf Technology (CEO Barney Adams) Stability putter shafts

[Rrsclyde]

I have the shaft installed in a Bettinardi QB9 putter. I’ve played 15 or so rounds since installation, and spent considerable time on the practice green. Our club has great relatively quick greens.

 

I can respect the opinion that it is priced such that the cost-benefit analysis makes purchasing the shaft difficult to justify. It has not turned my putter into a magic wand nor me into Brad Faxon on the greens.

 

I can’t respect opinions of those that have not tried it yet spout volumes to justify their opinion that it makes no difference.

 

It’s expensive. I’m certainly glad I bit the bullet and have it in my favorite putter. If they were less expensive I’d have the shaft in a couple other putters I game from time to time. I’m holing more putts (even in the shorter 10’ range). Placebo? Mental? I’m not smart enough to know why (unlike those who know everything)—but it works for me.

[chip75]

The fact is its just not that simple to get traction for a new product on Tour no matter how good it is. Rules essentially prohibit reps from even talking to players about product unless the player expresses interest. I'd bet most of the Tour doesnt even know this shaft exists. We will see what happens with this shaft out on Tour with a little bit more time.

 

I think the tour tinkerers might try it, but for the rest it's a hard sell, tour pros have very little off-season practice time to get the feedback on a new putter shaft and during the season they might not want to split their practice time between the two, there's a reason why Dynamic Gold iron shafts are still so popular after decades and it's not performance. It's a case of better the devil you know.

[SwingMan]

Emailed them Sunday to ask about coming by their offices and dropping off the putter - it's in a Dallas suburb - 3 days, no response.

 

Okay - I called again and we did reach each other - see below.

[RedWings1]

SwingMan, Go to Club Champion fitter, They should have some on site or get it within a day or two and get it right back to you within a day or two depending on their fitting schedules.

 

Adam & Nick from Club Champion in Royal Oak Michigan got my putter done in 3 business days. These guys are great!

 

P.s. My long putting was always pretty good back in the day...Now I'm on my way back, I'm burning more edges of the hole on 25+ foot putts.

I've even made two 60 footers after installing the shaft I've also increased the amount of putts made in the 12' to 20' range.

I'm definitely sold on this tech. Purchase with confidence.

 

Now all I need to do is stop pushing my short putts and I might get my handicap down around a 2 again after two years of injuries and kids schedules but that's all on me.

[Z1ggy16]

I know this is slightly off topic, but I want to replicate the purpose and feel of this shaft without breaking the bank. I made a post in putter mod sub forum but nobody responded - but I'm thinking about sticking a C Taper 130x on my putter to replace the stock FST stepless. FST shaft weight is 127 at 37'', so I figure weight differences wouldn't effect static weight or swing weight. Anybody comment on this?

[RedWings1]

Z1ggy16,

I think your idea is sound and it might work. Note that the Stability Shaft has what feels like zero flex. It's definitely a different feel. I'd check out Club Champion near you. They should have a putter already mocked up for testing. Give that a try so you have an idea what the Stability Shaft feel is verse a standard putter shaft. If you already have an extra CTaper the experiment is no issue and that's why you and us are WRX'ers! Good Luck.

[Z1ggy16]

I'll have to call ahead to see if they have the shaft installed in a lefty head (or if they can quickly swap it). Otherwise, for $30 I can easily try this experiment out.

[TinkerGolfMan]

Too much words on the shaft.

[extrastiff]

So, serious question:

Why not work on your iron game to leave yourself putts that are closer? $200 seems like crazy money for a debatable performance increase on what I have to assume for most wrx'ers is a situation that happens 2x per round or less. For me personally, I don't notice any instability in my putter unless I'm out well past 20', and if I'm that far out, I had a crappy shot that left me there. More often than not I'm putting from well inside 20'.

 

Not sure what the average is today, but a few years back there weren't many (i.e none) tour players that averaged under 5% error with their irons. So from 150 yards they were averaging 22.5', 200 yards was 30 feet. So there's no amount of practice to stop you from getting longer putts. People are spending thousands on shafts for a few hundred RPMs (when they're strikes go up and down a few thousand RPMs), so a couple of hundred bucks for a putter shaft that might actually help isn't ridiculous.

 

The proof is in the pudding, but as heavier putters become more and more common, they'll get to the point where the shaft's more hindrance than help.

 

lol at most wrx'ers have 2 or less 20 foot putts a round. . . i would be thrilled with 20 foot birdie tries on all 18 holes.

 

My heavy-as-a-brick 2 ball fang is currently being benched because of the shaft wobble from 17 ft +.

[SwingMan]

Emailed them Sunday to ask about coming by their offices and dropping off the putter - it's in a Dallas suburb - 3 days, no response.

 

Well, we talked.

 

I'll leave the DF and a grip with them on Friday morning, and pick it up after lunch on Fri afternoon.

 

Will let y'all know how it goes - maybe with pics.

[RedWings1]

The fact is its just not that simple to get traction for a new product on Tour no matter how good it is. Rules essentially prohibit reps from even talking to players about product unless the player expresses interest. I'd bet most of the Tour doesn't even know this shaft exists. We will see what happens with this shaft out on Tour with a little bit more time.

 

I think the tour tinkerers might try it, but for the rest it's a hard sell, tour pros have very little off-season practice time to get the feedback on a new putter shaft and during the season they might not want to split their practice time between the two, there's a reason why Dynamic Gold iron shafts are still so popular after decades and it's not performance. It's a case of better the devil you know.

 

After my two posts yesterday, I kept thinking of the several opposing Stability Shaft posts....There have been some good counter points.

 

After using mine for 6+ hours testing & 4 rounds I'm sold on the Tech but I couldn't figure out why the Tour Pro's aren't using it.

Some good points have come up.

 

I think it's possible that the Tour Pros are all using extremely stiff shafts in their putters that are not offered (not disclosed/advertised) to us?

If that is the case then they wouldn't need the Stability Shaft. I now Ryan Palmer has used a similar shaft for years, is he the only Stability Shaft player?

[osubuckeyes691]

I'm interested in trying this putter shaft but I'm wondering something.

 

I have two putters: One plumbers neck and and one double bend. Let's say I installed a straight bottom portion to install in the plumbers neck. If I wanted to try the shaft with a double bend neck, is it possible to pull the straight steel portion and install a double bend? Or once something is installed can I not pull it because the heat may ruin the graphite portion of the stability shaft?

 

Thanks

[RedWings1]

Too much words on the shaft.

 

The logo and writing/label is down after installation just like a grip label down. You don't see anything but the black shaft.

[jokerusn]

The fact is its just not that simple to get traction for a new product on Tour no matter how good it is. Rules essentially prohibit reps from even talking to players about product unless the player expresses interest. I'd bet most of the Tour doesn't even know this shaft exists. We will see what happens with this shaft out on Tour with a little bit more time.

 

I think the tour tinkerers might try it, but for the rest it's a hard sell, tour pros have very little off-season practice time to get the feedback on a new putter shaft and during the season they might not want to split their practice time between the two, there's a reason why Dynamic Gold iron shafts are still so popular after decades and it's not performance. It's a case of better the devil you know.

 

After my two posts yesterday, I kept thinking of the several opposing Stability Shaft posts....There have been some good counter points.

 

After using mine for 6+ hours testing & 4 rounds I'm sold on the Tech but I couldn't figure out why the Tour Pro's aren't using it.

Some good points have come up.

 

I think it's possible that the Tour Pros are all using extremely stiff shafts in their putters that are not offered (not disclosed/advertised) to us?

If that is the case then they wouldn't need the Stability Shaft. I now Ryan Palmer has used a similar shaft for years, is he the only Stability Shaft player?

 

Ryan Palmer's shaft was the frequency filter shaft and a different animal than the stability. There are a few on the web.com tour using the shaft but I think that with any new change/advancement in tech, unless there's some money behind the cause for change, it'll be a very slow process on tour. These are guys who hit the center of the face far more often than the average golfer so they probably don't want to mess with what is working.

[jokerusn]

Too much words on the shaft.

 

The logo and writing/label is down after installation just like a grip label down. You don't see anything but the black shaft.

 

Agree with both points actually. I would have loved to see it up towards the grip in a more shaft label size and placement but I don't notice it while I'm putting.

[RedWings1]

Check out the Wed #1 pic's from East Lake. The Stability Shaft is shown on various putters including double bends.

 

Great Pic's as always WRX!!

[Findog88]

Just went to get one of these installed in my TP Black Copper Mullen 2 and was told that it couldn’t be done. The outer diameter of the shaft below the last step was too narrrow to fit in the Stability shaft and they shaft above the last step was too wide. Frustrating.

[Pigems]

Just went to get one of these installed in my TP Black Copper Mullen 2 and was told that it couldn’t be done. The outer diameter of the shaft below the last step was too narrrow to fit in the Stability shaft and they shaft above the last step was too wide. Frustrating.

 

Wait, what? They cut off your old shaft and fit the new one over it? For $200?? And it’s suposed to be better?

[ry1808]

Just went to get one of these installed in my TP Black Copper Mullen 2 and was told that it couldn't be done. The outer diameter of the shaft below the last step was too narrrow to fit in the Stability shaft and they shaft above the last step was too wide. Frustrating.

 

Wait, what? They cut off your old shaft and fit the new one over it? For $200?? And it's suposed to be better?

 

If you have a flow neck then the cut down your shaft and install the stability shaft onto the end. Now I'm not sure if they are able to stiffen up the old shaft in some way or not but if that shaft is too narrow to fit the Stability shaft you're out of luck.

 

With a straight shaft they just swap out the whole thing.

[SubaruWRX]

Just went to get one of these installed in my TP Black Copper Mullen 2 and was told that it couldnt be done. The outer diameter of the shaft below the last step was too narrrow to fit in the Stability shaft and they shaft above the last step was too wide. Frustrating.

 

Wait, what? They cut off your old shaft and fit the new one over it? For $200?? And its suposed to be better?

So it’s glued together like a Shaft extension?!?

 

What does this do to weight and balance?

[SwingMan]

I called, arrived, and it was great to spend time at BGT getting the Directed Force shafted up.

 

Breakthrough Golf Technology is located just north of Dallas proper. Once I arrived, I met with the crew, who had easy smiles and invited me in as a friend. We talked shop and they explained that the shaft not only gets the face square and vertical at impact but it moves the balance point slightly downwards so you obtain more clubhead feel, which also helps those with lighter weight heads for feel. You might notice the shaft is larger diameter towards the top, and stiffened again about 9 inches before the head where a smaller diameter steel portion of the shaft attaches to the putterhead.

 

The crew spoke about feedback with players on Tour and they are adding players every week even if you don't see the BGT shafts in the bag, the pros may have the shafts as their backup until they play more with them.

 

As to some of those who are skeptical, they've given the shafts to older tour players (Tom Watson), and some of those players want to "feel the lag", believe it or not, in a putter. They found those players putted better with the BGT shaft even though they did not "feel the lag." The discussed tour players going back, forth, and then back to it as they grew to appreciate it. We discussed that it may not be for the long and flowing Crenshaw type stroke only due to the fact that they want some twisting (feel the lag), but for modern players, the stroke is shorter, and faster.

 

The data showed that regular steel shafts do twist - now remember, we're talking about getting a golf ball into a 4.25 inch diameter hole - how many of your putts are lipping or burning the edges? You hardly have any margin for error in putting. And as heads have gotten heavier over the years, the shaft has remained the same. I remember putting with 320g heads 20 yrs ago; those heads are now 340+ grams, and it's common for blades to come in at 350g and mallets at 360-420+grams. Putting is precision, and if you're off just a lip out, it's still another stroke.

 

The BGT shaft is not about affecting feel, but obtaining a square and vertical face at impact. Hope I said that right.

 

The installation was quick; I'd brought a grip and within 30 minutes or less, I could have been out the door. But I stayed for the quick tour and took a look at the Quintic - see the screen.

 

Results? The shaft did not affect feel, but the putter itself felt smoother through the ball - something was different. I performed a Blast Golf Sensor test afterwards and after about 20 putts - I looked at the data and my forward and back rotation were closer to equal (previous to the shaft, they were not close), the lie angle stayed more constant, and the loft change was negligible as compared to pre-BGT. My tempo was more consistent - about 1.8-2:1, and the stroke timing was better - faster and with less effort from .9-1 second.

 

And as soon as it stops raining, I'll have it on the course. If you are on the fence, give it a serious ponder. The guys are great, I even met Barney Adams again - I'd met him before Adams went big when I bought his first set of "almost" blades over 20 yrs ago.

 

Will give you more feedback as the weeks pass on the course. But in the pics, you see part of the workbench, the shaft with logo down, the shaft as you'd see it at address, a couple of shafts getting ready for new homes, and the Quintic screen for data collection.

[ctmason_98]

The shilling is knee deep in this thread.

 

And to those who just feel the skeptics are being ridiculous and need to try it before “spouting,” in what universe is that the way it works?

 

The company is making a claim, they should prove it, or their full of s—-

 

Sure takes a number of months to get that positive data from SAM or QUINTEC out there.

[SwingMan]

The shilling is knee deep in this thread.

 

And to those who just feel the skeptics are being ridiculous and need to try it before "spouting," in what universe is that the way it works?

 

The company is making a claim, they should prove it, or their full of s—-

 

Sure takes a number of months to get that positive data from SAM or QUINTEC out there.

 

Someone pee in your Cheerios?

 

lol.

[Peoples Golf]

We tested these this year and were very pleased with them. We will be carrying them on TPC and TSP, if your interested in discussing one please email me, [email protected].

[Peoples Golf]

Not sure if this has been shared or not yet but check out this list of players who have tried or are trying these shafts, its definitely an impressive list and I would imagine it will grow some more this offseason.

In Play - Various Tours

Henrik Norlander

Josh Teater

Jimmy Gunn

Mark Anderson

Brandon Mathews

Dan McCarthy

Brian Biggley

Chris Baker

Justin Hicks

Steve Alker

Daniel Mazziotta

Andy Svoboda

Ken Duke

Jason Bohn

Dylan Meyer

Matt Every

Ricky Barnes

Scott Stallings

DJ Trahan

Kyle Thompson

Bobby Diaz

KJ Choi

Tom Watson

Built and currently testing

Brian Stuard

Carl Peterson

Ryan Palmer

Steve Stricker

Chez Reavie

Billy Hurley

Daniel Summerhays

Justin Rose

Charlie Hoffman

Vaughan Taylor

Will McGirt

Mark Wilson

Ethan Tracy

Fabian Gomez

Bronson Burgon

Scott Brown

Emiliano Grillo

Jon Rahm

Expressed interest in having a putter built up, but havent received the putter yet

Brenden Steel

Chad Campbell

Ricky Fowler

Paul Dunne

Charl Schwartzel

Louis Oostheisen

Alex Noren

Rory McIlroy

Tommy Fleetwood

Zach Johnson

Charles Howell III

[unrepentant 60s kid]

Three of my favorite putters have hickory shafts.

 

I'm at the crossroads.

 

Does one say, "Nothing has helped up to now, so why bother?

Or does one say, "At this point, I'll try anything."

[Findog88]

Three of my favorite putters have hickory shafts.

 

I'm at the crossroads.

 

Does one say, "Nothing has helped up to now, so why bother?

Or does one say, "At this point, I'll try anything."

 

At this point, I’ll try anything.

[SwingMan]

Three of my favorite putters have hickory shafts.

 

I'm at the crossroads.

 

Does one say, "Nothing has helped up to now, so why bother?

Or does one say, "At this point, I'll try anything."

 

At this point, I'll try anything.

 

Sounds as if you need the SAM lab or Quintic fitting for a new putter and this shaft. Get fit for aim first, then everything else.

[chip75]

Just went to get one of these installed in my TP Black Copper Mullen 2 and was told that it couldn't be done. The outer diameter of the shaft below the last step was too narrrow to fit in the Stability shaft and they shaft above the last step was too wide. Frustrating.

 

You might be able to replace the Taylor Made's original shaft with another and see if that fits. I'd pull the shaft you have (so you can always use it again), and get a club fitter to insert a shaft that works with the Stability Shaft. You just have to find a comparable shaft to the Taylor Made (or one you like the look of).

[SwingMan]

Just went to get one of these installed in my TP Black Copper Mullen 2 and was told that it couldn't be done. The outer diameter of the shaft below the last step was too narrrow to fit in the Stability shaft and they shaft above the last step was too wide. Frustrating.

 

You might call BGT on Monday and see what they say - but it seems that one could do almost anything, make changes, to get it done. It may take a couple of days - but call them - don't email. Ask for Trevor.