What I learned at the Pga Tour Superstore

One_Putt_Blunder · August 22, 2008

Good for the budget bad for the club ho in me

So took a little trip to the Pga Tour Superstore in Scottsdale tonight as the Callaway guys were going to be there. I desperately wanted to try out some new shafts in my Hyper X tour 8.5*. Because my inner club ho just needs new toys
1st on the list Matrix Xcon6. Best of the ones I hit. Good dispersion nice right to left flight for me good trajectory and the longest by about 4 yards. SS 104.3 launch angle 13.2 spin 3678 smash factor between 1.41 and 1.47. carry 241???? they said the Lm was off and I would like to believe with that swing speed and smash factor I would have more than 240 carry since I usually do on the gps at the course.
Next up Diamana Blueboard (No whiteboard on hand :) ) Too high of a ballflight and way to much spin for me only hit a few times just wouldnt work. SS 103.6 launch angle 15.1 spin 4211 smash 1.38 carry 234.
Next on the list the Epic shaft in 75g worst one of the bunch for me ridicoulsy high trajectory and spin launch angle 14.5 with a peak traj hight about 10 yards higher than the others. smash factor 1.39 carry 225 swing speed 101.9
Last but not least the stock Fuji Fit on E360: Swingspeed 104.6 Launch angle 12.9 carry distance 238 smash factor 1.44-1.48 spin 3821

My conclusion is that sometimes as much as I want to spend money on a shaft sometimes the companies get something right on(well at least for me in this case) and put out a good combo of head and shaft. Dont get me wrong If I was made of money the xcon-6 would be going in tonight, but for 2 yards, a little better feel, and an extra 300$ in the wallet I'll just roll with the stock fuji.

If you guys have anyother suggestions for shafts that I could try that would be great. Something that doesnt ballon and is low spin is what I am looking for

And a bonus for those of you who read this check out your local pgatoursuperstore as they are having manufacturers nights and giving away 20$ gift cards to be used on that manufacturers products for those that go and try out clubs. There goes my next 10 thursday nights and my hat collection will be expanding greatly.

TLUBulldogGolf · August 22, 2008

I used to play an E360 in a 905R which spun a lot for me and I switched to a Whiteboard. I would definitely give the WB a look as 3600 spin is very high thats probably why the carry was so low on the Xcon. If you could get under 3000 you would get a lot better carry and some roll.

One_Putt_Blunder · August 22, 2008

I used to play an E360 in a 905R which spun a lot for me and I switched to a Whiteboard. I would definitely give the WB a look as 3600 spin is very high thats probably why the carry was so low on the Xcon. If you could get under 3000 you would get a lot better carry and some roll.

Ya that is the problem I have always been a high spin player. My last driver the spin was around 4500-4900 so this is a big improvment and I get alot more roll now, I would really like to find something to reduce it even more. I just need to find a place that has the whiteboard on callaways optifit system. Its funny cause on the course with gps I am usually around 275 total distance and about 250-260 carry.

Dizz · August 22, 2008

If you're spinning it that much with those shafts then there isn't a shaft thats going to help you...including whiteboard. Obviously dont know your swing and dont know if the monitor was off but the guys said it was? Theres a swing issue creating that much spin with Xcon and Blueboard at your swing speed...typically 104 there is no reason to reccomend whiteboard. Hoepfully you can get on a trackman somewhere and see your real #'s.

brooksmax · August 22, 2008

How hard do you load the shaft? If you load it hard, you might benefit from stepping up to a X-stiff shaft. The stiffer shaft will help bring launch angle and spin rate down. But if you are a smooth swinger then it might be hard for you to turn it over. Could be worth the try.

One_Putt_Blunder · August 22, 2008

If you're spinning it that much with those shafts then there isn't a shaft thats going to help you...including whiteboard. Obviously dont know your swing and dont know if the monitor was off but the guys said it was? Theres a swing issue creating that much spin with Xcon and Blueboard at your swing speed...typically 104 there is no reason to reccomend whiteboard. Hoepfully you can get on a trackman somewhere and see your real #'s.

I am fairly comfortable that I know my swing, I am 6'2 and have a tendency for my approach to come in a bit steep and from the inside creating the high spin and the occasional pull. I have been messing around with tee hight and ball posistion to get better numbers, but nothing changes it all that much. I am really not concerened about distance on the worthless simulators since I know how my swing works on the course and I can play up to 7000 comfortably and not be hitting hybrids into every par 4. It really sounds like I need to get my swing on video and check my angle of attack and check to see how far inside I am swinging to get my spin down. I am confident that I make solid contact since I have pretty decent smash factor numbers..

How hard do you load the shaft? If you load it hard, you might benefit from stepping up to a X-stiff shaft. The stiffer shaft will help bring launch angle and spin rate down. But if you are a smooth swinger then it might be hard for you to turn it over. Could be worth the try.

I do tend to load up fairly hard on the shaft, I have always been afraid of moving to an x flex for fear that I would just start swinging way to hard at since mentaly I know its an X flex, then my accuracy would suffer.

I guess the only good news on being high spin is that I can stop any club in my bag on a dime. It just sucks with the driver

Oh well the experiment shall continue, heading to the range tonight to work on swing path

Dizz · August 22, 2008

If you're spinning it that much with those shafts then there isn't a shaft thats going to help you...including whiteboard. Obviously dont know your swing and dont know if the monitor was off but the guys said it was? Theres a swing issue creating that much spin with Xcon and Blueboard at your swing speed...typically 104 there is no reason to reccomend whiteboard. Hoepfully you can get on a trackman somewhere and see your real #'s.
I am fairly comfortable that I know my swing, I am 6'2 and have a tendency for my approach to come in a bit steep and from the inside creating the high spin and the occasional pull. I have been messing around with tee hight and ball posistion to get better numbers, but nothing changes it all that much. I am really not concerened about distance on the worthless simulators since I know how my swing works on the course and I can play up to 7000 comfortably and not be hitting hybrids into every par 4. It really sounds like I need to get my swing on video and check my angle of attack and check to see how far inside I am swinging to get my spin down. I am confident that I make solid contact since I have pretty decent smash factor numbers..

How hard do you load the shaft? If you load it hard, you might benefit from stepping up to a X-stiff shaft. The stiffer shaft will help bring launch angle and spin rate down. But if you are a smooth swinger then it might be hard for you to turn it over. Could be worth the try.

I do tend to load up fairly hard on the shaft, I have always been afraid of moving to an x flex for fear that I would just start swinging way to hard at since mentaly I know its an X flex, then my accuracy would suffer.
I guess the only good news on being high spin is that I can stop any club in my bag on a dime. It just sucks with the driver

Oh well the experiment shall continue, heading to the range tonight to work on swing path

It was just on a simulator? Or an actual launch monitor? If you can get on a trackman then you'd be better suited to dialing in your #'s. Its really not that uncommon for me to get a decent ballstriker into 1.5 smash on a good strike. For example I have a buddy who swings 120+ but there isnt a shaft in the world that will bring his spin under 3000...hes a little steep and still hits it a ton. He doesn't spin whiteboard but 100 rpms less than blue because of his swing. Just from your numbers it seems that spin is insanely high for blueboard at that swing speed.

Definitely dont take it as I'm trying to criticize...I just mean its either a LM problem or a swing problem.

One_Putt_Blunder · August 22, 2008

I think it is a litle of both my swing and the system. I did neglet to ask whether it s a actual lm like the trackman or just a sim so if anyone knows what pgatour superstore uses in their fitting bays let me know,

I really just take the numbers distance wise with a grain of salt, however I pay attn to the launch angle, spin and smash factor, I have taken some strides between the new driver and some changes to my swing plane to get the spin down to the 3500-3700 range where it is now. On my really great drives I have seen spin as low as 3100 on the "device". So at least I know I have it in me to get the spin down,

I was just pretty shocked and somewhat happy($$$ wise) to see how well the stock shaft E360 was holding up against some pretty good and expensive shafts.

My next thought would be to try something a bit heavier maybe in the 75g like the speeder 757 thoughts on that????

TLUBulldogGolf · August 24, 2008

That could help you smooth it out, also you said you have a tendency to come at it a little steep. This doesn't mean you are too far inside expecially if you hit pulls. Too far inside on the downswing would cause pushes, hooks, and in my case, the occasional shank lol.

berkeleygiraffe · August 24, 2008

I do tend to load up fairly hard on the shaft, I have always been afraid of moving to an x flex for fear that I would just start swinging way to hard at since mentaly I know its an X flex, then my accuracy would suffer.

What about a soft stepped x flex first? Not sure where I heard this from but I was under the impression that a stiffer flex tends to be more accurate but you lose distance

One_Putt_Blunder · August 24, 2008

That could help you smooth it out, also you said you have a tendency to come at it a little steep. This doesn't mean you are too far inside expecially if you hit pulls. Too far inside on the downswing would cause pushes, hooks, and in my case, the occasional shank lol.

Hmmmmm, I think I will give the speeder 757 a shot next time and try both x and s flex, All though I had another great driving day today with the stock fuji shaft Hit 12/14 fairways with a 265 avg on gps with a long drive of 301. I just cant leave well enough alone :)

I do tend to load up fairly hard on the shaft, I have always been afraid of moving to an x flex for fear that I would just start swinging way to hard at since mentaly I know its an X flex, then my accuracy would suffer.

What about a soft stepped x flex first? Not sure where I heard this from but I was under the impression that a stiffer flex tends to be more accurate but you lose distance

Pretty hard to soft step a driver shaft