Aldila Shaft Mystery - NV 15th Anniversary & Tour Green

BCott · January 17, 2022

Hello all,

This is my first post, my sincere apologies if I have found the incorrect channel/thread.

I have been dealing with a shaft mystery of late and I was hoping some shaft/equipment junkies on here could help me out. First off a bit of background, I have played a decent stretch of competitive golf in over the years (College and plenty of European/US Am stuff.) I am a right hander, swing it at around 130mph and tend to hit up on it around 5 deg. Natural flight is a slight fade and I cannot stand to see it move left. A hook has always been my nemesis and slides in on the occasion. The modern equipment has given me new life as in my competitive days (mid 2000's) I had a huge spin problem and resulted to pegging a 2 iron up on most occasions (waste of speed I know) just to get it in play.

Several years ago I got fitted into a Aldila RIP Alpha TX and started to see improvements in spin rates coupled with low spin heads (SLDR 430 at the time.) Since then I have been fitted for PX 8A4 7.0, Aldila Rip’d NV TX 2.8 both of which I tipped 2" and had some great success with. I have been using an M5 tour set to 7* and both shafts have been good flight and anti-left. Unfortunately the Px snapped under the grip and the Rip'd is chipping at the adapter. As a result I have been searching for a replacement.

I went for a fitting recently and got fit for a Aldila Tour Green 75 TX 2.8 and strongly recommended (did not have one to hit) the Aldila NV 15th Anniversary 75 TX 3.0. The two shafts had such similar specs I thought either would work well. I purchased the 15th Ann (as I played the Rip'd NV for so long), tipped it 2” and put it in play with an M1 460 (best head I have ever used). I have used the 15th Ann for 6/7 rounds and cannot do anything but hit it left, starting left and going further left.

After a few more range sessions I have given up on the 15th Ann!

Last week I purchased the Tour Green, tipped it 2” and threw it in the M1 460. I have found heaven on earth! The flight is exactly what I have been looking for. I have hit around 100 balls with it on both the range and the golf course and have not seen one move left.

My question is, why? The two shafts are so similar in specs? The 15th Ann is also a far more expensive product? What happened? Did I just get a bad one?

Thanks for your thoughts and replies if you feel so inclined. Hoping someone has a similar experience and can shed some light.

hagimihale · January 18, 2022

I gamed a Tour Green 60X for a few years with good results. I could turn it over (my default shape is a draw) but it wasn't a hook machine.

I added a 15th Anniversary NV in 60TX when one popped up on the 'bay. I like it. It seems more stable than the Tour Green (to be expected given its TX vs X), and I don't think I've ever lost one left with it.

I have since moved on to other shafts, but I could go back to the 15th Anniv if needed. In theory it should be more stable than the Tour Green, given similar weights and flexes. Since it sounds as though both were tipped equally, I suspect there is something off about your 15th.

However, there is one alternate theory to consider. The 15th is very stout. On a number of threads, I've read comments by very informed WRXers - like @Howard_Jones, @Valtiel, @Stuart_G - that suggest that playing a shaft that is too heavy or stiff = your body unconsciously forcing the swing, which can become steep and left in path. I think this is more appropriate for golfers at my handicap level vs yours, since you were competitive, but I'm throwing it out there.

Stuart_G · January 18, 2022

On 1/17/2022 at 10:34 AM, BCott said:

My question is, why? The two shafts are so similar in specs? The 15th Ann is also a far more expensive product? What happened? Did I just get a bad one?

Sorry - but I don't know the difference between the two. You'd probably have to contact Aldila to get more details on that.

However, performance is always going to be a function of fit, not price. Actually price has very little to do with performance. Price might expand the potential range of stiffness profiles achievable but it's still up to the designer to pick the final profile. And whether that profile happens to be a better or worse fit will depend on the relationship of the profile to your swing and preferences, not the cost. So more then likely it just has a slightly different profile that just happens not to be as good a fit as the less expensive green.

It's also possible there might have been something else about the build that caused problems. Swing weight - butt size and therefore grip size, etc... not really enough details to come to any definite conclusions.

18 minutes ago, hagimihale said:

However, there is one alternate theory to consider. The 15th is very stout. On a number of threads, I've read comments by very informed WRXers - like @Howard_Jones, @Valtiel, @Stuart_G - that suggest that playing a shaft that is too heavy or stiff = your body unconsciously forcing the swing.

True but lots of the other shafts he's been fit into and have played successfully are pretty stout as well.