Tour AD XC vs Accra TZ5

[ScottHutch2]

Looking for some opinions/reviews here. I play the GD XC in 7x and was wondering if anyone who has hit or used both shafts could shed some light on the similarities/differences between the the XC and Accra TZ5? Feel, bending profile, etc. The XC seems to be more of a Mid/Low with soft handle and stiff tip, while the TZ5 is billed as a Low/Low, but I don't know much else about it. 

[eth4and]

4 hours ago, ScottHutch2 said:

Looking for some opinions/reviews here. I play the GD XC in 7x and was wondering if anyone who has hit or used both shafts could shed some light on the similarities/differences between the the XC and Accra TZ5? Feel, bending profile, etc. The XC seems to be more of a Mid/Low with soft handle and stiff tip, while the TZ5 is billed as a Low/Low, but I don't know much else about it. 

In terms of weight / overall stiffness (i.e. EI), the GD XC 7x is closest to the 75 M4 within the TZ5 profiles. The XC is slightly more counterbalanced (~1.0") which will enable you to have slightly more head weight and/or play a longer shaft. Relative to the TZ5, the XC also has a more linear EI profile; that linear-ness is often "felt" as smoothness relative to having any portion of the shaft give you that defined kick point sensation. The players I've worked with have "felt" a more pronounced kick point in the TZ5.  

 

Both shafts are very high quality. Which one would be the best fir for you is TBD based on your specific swing dynamics. 

[ScottHutch2]

Thank you for this! so if I am understanding this correctly, will the TZ5 have a lower balance point? 

[ScottHutch2]

Also, XC probably goes Soft/stiff/stiff in terms of handle/mid section/tip. would the TZ5 be considered stiff throughout comparatively?

[Valtiel]

On 2/18/2021 at 8:45 PM, ScottHutch2 said:

Also, XC probably goes Soft/stiff/stiff in terms of handle/mid section/tip. would the TZ5 be considered stiff throughout comparatively?

A quick note on this, Graphite Design's zone stiffness comparisons are meant to only be used in relation to their own shafts, not to the market at large. A vast majority of the AD lineup is the classic "Stiff/Soft/Stiff" blueboard style profile, and their zone descriptions basically treat that as "zero". Meaning, a shaft they describe as "Soft/Stiff/Stiff" is only that in relation to the aforementioned baseline; a blueboard style "Stiff/Soft/Stiff" that is a little softer in the butt section and a little stiffer in the middle, which is exactly what the XC and the BB are. To compare:



The Accra is in black. Their overall design for their more "high performance" shafts is this basic curve; an extremely stiff butt section that loses stiffness rapidly and then gains it back in the mid and tip section. A shaft that is designed to feel like it has some kick to it via the loss in stiffness towards the mid but with tons of stability in the mid and tip section to lower launch and spin. The XC by comparison is a much softer and smoother overall profile likely suited for a different type of swing. Notable Accra users would be Woodland and Finau, both with very compact motions and huge acceleration. The XC will suite a wider variety of golfers. 

Accra also achieves a much more neutral (lower) balance point by using very lightweight and strong materials to create such a stiff butt section without adding a ton of weight, and thus raise the balance point. The balance points between the XC and TZ5 are fairly similar though with the TZ5 only being a tiny bit lower. 

[SBH9458]

6 minutes ago, Valtiel said:

A quick note on this, Graphite Design's zone stiffness comparisons are meant to only be used in relation to their own shafts, not to the market at large. A vast majority of the AD lineup is the classic "Stiff/Soft/Stiff" blueboard style profile, and their zone descriptions basically treat that as "zero". Meaning, a shaft they describe as "Soft/Stiff/Stiff" is only that in relation to the aforementioned baseline; a blueboard style "Stiff/Soft/Stiff" that is a little softer in the butt section and a little stiffer in the middle, which is exactly what the XC and the BB are. To compare:



The Accra is in black. Their overall design for their more "high performance" shafts is this basic curve; an extremely stiff butt section that loses stiffness rapidly and then gains it back in the mid and tip section. A shaft that is designed to feel like it has some kick to it via the loss in stiffness towards the mid but with tons of stability in the mid and tip section to lower launch and spin. The XC by comparison is a much softer and smoother overall profile likely suited for a different type of swing. Notable Accra users would be Woodland and Finau, both with very compact motions and huge acceleration. The XC will suite a wider variety of golfers. 

Accra also achieves a much more neutral (lower) balance point by using very lightweight and strong materials to create such a stiff butt section without adding a ton of weight, and thus raise the balance point. The balance points between the XC and TZ5 are fairly similar though with the TZ5 only being a tiny bit lower. 

@ValtielGreat technical description. Well done. 

[ScottHutch2]

On 2/20/2021 at 5:44 AM, Valtiel said:

A quick note on this, Graphite Design's zone stiffness comparisons are meant to only be used in relation to their own shafts, not to the market at large. A vast majority of the AD lineup is the classic "Stiff/Soft/Stiff" blueboard style profile, and their zone descriptions basically treat that as "zero". Meaning, a shaft they describe as "Soft/Stiff/Stiff" is only that in relation to the aforementioned baseline; a blueboard style "Stiff/Soft/Stiff" that is a little softer in the butt section and a little stiffer in the middle, which is exactly what the XC and the BB are. To compare:



The Accra is in black. Their overall design for their more "high performance" shafts is this basic curve; an extremely stiff butt section that loses stiffness rapidly and then gains it back in the mid and tip section. A shaft that is designed to feel like it has some kick to it via the loss in stiffness towards the mid but with tons of stability in the mid and tip section to lower launch and spin. The XC by comparison is a much softer and smoother overall profile likely suited for a different type of swing. Notable Accra users would be Woodland and Finau, both with very compact motions and huge acceleration. The XC will suite a wider variety of golfers. 

Accra also achieves a much more neutral (lower) balance point by using very lightweight and strong materials to create such a stiff butt section without adding a ton of weight, and thus raise the balance point. The balance points between the XC and TZ5 are fairly similar though with the TZ5 only being a tiny bit lower. 

As always thank you for the very informative answer. Out of curiosity, where do you pull the graph with the two shaft bend profiles overlayed? That is exactly the kind of visual I was looking for 

[eth4and]

1 hour ago, ScottHutch2 said:

As always thank you for the very informative answer. Out of curiosity, where do you pull the graph with the two shaft bend profiles overlayed? That is exactly the kind of visual I was looking for 

That's an export from Russ Ryden's Fit2Score shaft database! It's a really quality database for fitters with a ton of data points on virtually any shaft out there. It's unfortunately not free though... I know they at least used to have a more inexpensive retail subscription version.