Disappointed after driver fitting-Need shaft information and ideas

ihocky2 · June 23, 2021

I spent a few weeks trying different drivers and settled on the Sim 2 in 9 degree, love the feel and hit it well. I ordered just the head since I didn't want to waste money on a shaft I would replace anyway. During testing I tried several different shafts and hit them better and liked them more than the factory. Currently hitting a XR16 with an Aldila Tour Green ATX 65 gram stiff flex. I love the feel of that shaft with that head. I have a high ball flight and with some shafts a high ball spin so I need low launch-low spin shafts. XR16 is 10.5 degree kicked down to 9 degree. My shot tends to be a fade, with bad hits turning into a slice. Occasionally I pull a shot hard, but I think that is more a brain fart in my swing.

Went for a fitting today and determined the best length at least. During testing I was hitting around 110-115mph, but today was more 100-105 with a few dipping just into the 90's. I started with X stiff shafts in 60 grams, hit the Hzrdus RDX Blue the best, but didn't love it. Golf Galaxy didn't really have a huge selection on hand in stiff and x-stiff. Smoke green felt like a board in 60 and 70 gram stiff flex. I was hoping to try the Smoke Yellow but they didn't have it. Not sure which Ventus they put in, but didn't hit it well. Just didn't fall in love with any of the shafts. The RDX Blue had the best dispersion and spin down around 2000-2200. The others were 2800-3200 spin.

So now I am really torn, for the cost of a fitting at GolfTec who may or may not have more shafts to try I can buy two or three and rent time on a monitor. I like the Tour Green and am thinking of getting another one, not sure if I should try the stiff or x-stiff. Swing speed says stiff, but during fitting the x-stiff helped the ball spin a lot. Sticking with Aldila I like the look of the Rogue Elite Green which is marketed as low launch-low spin, but has a lot higher torque than I would expect from a low-low shaft.

Can anyone make a recommendation on other shafts to look at? Should I be looking stiff or x-stiff? How much should I let torque values influence my decisions. Should I spend the money and go to GolfTec, maybe asking to see what their shaft selection looks like first?

mcounci2 · June 23, 2021

How were all these speeds measured? 90's to 115 is an enormous spread of speeds

Jeff58 · June 24, 2021

I used several shafts in my M6 at a ss of 100-102mph. Easily the best was the Aldila Tour Green 65 S. If I were to buy another M or SIM series, I’d get another Tour Green without further consideration. They’re also significantly less expensive than the current flavors of the day.

Poolparty · June 24, 2021

Well the RDX blue and tour green look fairly similar on Ryden's site. They're both stout, lower launching options, with a hint of mid stiffness. The RDX is a little more extreme, stiffer, and more counter balanced. I'd say stick w the Tour Green or a similar type of shaft. Rogue Silver 110/125/130, EF T1100, Atmos Black, Fuji Pro 2.0 TS all come to mind

phizzy30 · June 24, 2021

Would go with with the RDX blue since it gave you the best numbers. It also comes standard with the SIM 2 if I remember correctly. Save you some money as well.

ihocky2 · June 24, 2021

1 hour ago, mcounci2 said:

How were all these speeds measured? 90's to 115 is an enormous spread of speeds

The 110-115 were over the last few weeks during trying different clubs, the 110-115 was with the Sim 2 during trials. Today during the fitting session was mostly 100-105 which is my average with the XR16 too. Occasionally dips to 98 or 99 if not warmed up or tired. Not sure why I was swinging it faster during the previous sessions. Might have just been tired overall today.

8 minutes ago, Jeff58 said:

I used several shafts in my M6 at a ss of 100-102mph. Easily the best was the Aldila Tour Green 65 S. If I were to buy another M or SIM series, I’d get another Tour Green without further consideration. They’re also significantly less expensive than the current flavors of the day.

That is promising to hear. I really like the feel of that shaft. Every know and then it feels a little too whippy so I may try it in the x-stiff and see how I hit it. The Rogue Elite Green sounded good and I can even find cheaper, but the higher torque numbers concern me.

ihocky2 · June 24, 2021

5 minutes ago, Poolparty said:

Well the RDX blue and tour green look fairly similar on Ryden's site. They're both stout, lower launching options, with a hint of mid stiffness. The RDX is a little more extreme, stiffer, and more counter balanced. I'd say stick w the Tour Green or a similar type of shaft. Rogue Silver 110/125/130, EF T1100, Atmos Black, Fuji Pro 2.0 TS all come to mind

Thanks, really leaning towards trying another tour green since I like it so much already and definitely liked the feel of all of the lighter shafts I've tried. The RDX Blue gave me good numbers and felt the best of the 3 I tried, but there was just never that choir of angels and light moment that said it was the right shaft. For the price I can still buy another shaft and be cheaper than some of the flavor of the month shafts right now.