Graphite Design Tour AD shafts - any real difference?

[sfdoddsy]

I was recently fitted into a GD shaft. Researching them at Golfshaftreviews, the EI profiles of all their shafts appear to be very very similar.

 

So is there any real difference in performance between them?

[nfreda2211]

I’ve had the di, tp, iz, mt and gp. I thought they all felt and played different. 
 

which one were you fit in to? 

[Poolparty]

They're similar profiles but they're definitely not the same

[third-times-a-charm]

Same, but different.

 

Very confusing company/lineup.

[OspreyCI]

Played the AD DI, IZ, and VR. They were all

different. IZ is the one I am going back to. 

[Valtiel]

There are far more similarities between different shafts within their lineup than most other companies, but there are still differences. Often there will be material changes as well as balance point tweaks that will create a different feel and thus likely perform different. 

[Russ757]

9 hours ago, third-times-a-charm said:

Same, but different.

 

Very confusing company/lineup.

 

Not sure how it's confusing. They have a handy chart that specifically breaks out each shaft with its characteristic.. Ie soft, firm, stiff. 

 

Now, how an individuals swing correlates is a different discussion. 

 

 

[dbleag]

You can always pick the one you like by color.....?

[dwboston]

I've played the DI, BB, TP, and the AD HY hybrid shaft.  The DI in 7S, 8S, and 105S, the TP in 6S, the BB in 6S, and the HY in 95S.  They all feel and play a little different.  The BB is the smoothest feeling of the bunch to me.

 

Here is the link to the GD shaft comparison chart: https://proschoicegolfshafts.com/pdf-wood-comparison/

 

 

Edited August 28, 2020 by dwboston

[Vinsanity23]

5 hours ago, Russ757 said:

 

Not sure how it's confusing. They have a handy chart that specifically breaks out each shaft with its characteristic.. Ie soft, firm, stiff. 

 

Now, how an individuals swing correlates is a different discussion. 

 

 

This exactly. I have played the DI, and YS Nano Reloaded previously, and currently use an IZ in a fairway. All feel slightly different with an overarching theme of no "boardiness" at all. The chart they provide is fantastic as far as describing tip firmness, etc.

[nsxguy]

27 minutes ago, dwboston said:

I've played the DI, BB, TP, and the AD HY hybrid shaft.  The DI in 7S, 8S, and 105S, the TP in 6S, the BB in 6S, and the HY in 95S.  They all feel and and play a little different.  The BB is the smoothest feeling of the bunch to me.

 

Here is the link to the GD shaft comparison chart: https://proschoicegolfshafts.com/pdf-wood-comparison/

 

 

 

I've seen that chart before but frankly, while I'm an experienced player I have no idea what the 3 points of firmness mean to ME vis-a-vis picking a shaft,,,,,,,, so I lean towards the launch and spin. That part I'm at least somewhat familiar with. And I don't have the first clue as to whether my shafts are butt stiff (or soft) or tip stiff (although I assume stiffer tips = lower spin) or what mid-section stiffness tells me about how the shaft will FEEL.

 

And shafts play differently for different players. e.g. Although I don't have a high SS I do have a quick transition. I played a Hzrdus Black for a couple of seasons very successfully before I bought the Epic Flash SZ 18 months ago. Tried the Hzrdus Black in the new Epic and it did NOT work for me.

 

Tried the Hzrdus Yellow, purportedly for a smoother swinger with a more moderate tempo and it worked great for me.

 

Not sure why but I've always liked GD shafts. But they are too expensive to experiment with, even as used shafts. The better(?) Tour AD shafts (DI, TP, BB, among others) seem to hold their value extremely well as used shafts.

 

Net-net it's just really difficult to buy a shaft from specs; without being able to hit it. And that's not easy to do with these "exotic" shafts unless you find a Club Champion (or similar).

[mokedaddy]

I’ve played them all except the m9003.  They all feel a bit different and thus will each fit different players.

[sshadow2]

I have experience with two and I got them based on what the chart stated.

 

Got the XC for a lower launch in my driver (Had Atmos Blue TS), the DI in my 3w to get the ball launching higher with better flight characteristics (from regular Atmos Blue) .

 

Couldn't be happier.

[HiTrajLoSpin]

2 hours ago, nsxguy said:

Net-net it's just really difficult to buy a shaft from specs; without being able to hit it. And that's not easy to do with these "exotic" shafts unless you find a Club Champion (or similar).

 

Shaft Shack has demo shafts for 3- or 7-day rentals: https://www.shaftshack.com

 

They have a pretty large selection of popular shafts and adaptors for Titleist, TaylorMade, Callaway, PING, Cobra, and Mizuno.

 

I can't vouch for them, however, as I've never attempted to rent.

[aswile]

The GP plays MUCH stiffer feeling than the AD DI...I also have a few D03 103 gram shafts that play very smooth and stable. 

[dwboston]

3 hours ago, nsxguy said:

 

I've seen that chart before but frankly, while I'm an experienced player I have no idea what the 3 points of firmness mean to ME vis-a-vis picking a shaft,,,,,,,, so I lean towards the launch and spin. That part I'm at least somewhat familiar with. And I don't have the first clue as to whether my shafts are butt stiff (or soft) or tip stiff (although I assume stiffer tips = lower spin) or what mid-section stiffness tells me about how the shaft will FEEL.

 

And shafts play differently for different players. e.g. Although I don't have a high SS I do have a quick transition. I played a Hzrdus Black for a couple of seasons very successfully before I bought the Epic Flash SZ 18 months ago. Tried the Hzrdus Black in the new Epic and it did NOT work for me.

 

Tried the Hzrdus Yellow, purportedly for a smoother swinger with a more moderate tempo and it worked great for me.

 

Not sure why but I've always liked GD shafts. But they are too expensive to experiment with, even as used shafts. The better(?) Tour AD shafts (DI, TP, BB, among others) seem to hold their value extremely well as used shafts.

 

Net-net it's just really difficult to buy a shaft from specs; without being able to hit it. And that's not easy to do with these "exotic" shafts unless you find a Club Champion (or similar).

 

Go to a Titleist/TM demo day.  In my experience they both have several GD shafts in their fitting carts, and it's free to demo. That's where I hit the BB shaft.

 

 

Edited August 28, 2020 by dwboston

[sfdoddsy]

On 8/28/2020 at 10:48 AM, nfreda2211 said:

I’ve had the di, tp, iz, mt and gp. I thought they all felt and played different. 
 

which one were you fit in to? 

The VR. Being cheap I bought a used DI to try out.

[sfdoddsy]

I took the DI for it’s first run today.

 

I can’t say by the numbers whether the  VR would have been better, but I had my best driving round in ages (1 fairway missed) en route to my best score ever.

 

I was obviously hitting everything very well, but the DI/SIM Max performed beyond my most optimistic projection.