I just did this last week with a S flex Apollo stepless and a 12 deg head. I get 1-2 fewer wild squirrel shots per round and it also puts a nicer tempo on my game.
Around 2003-2004 I made a driver and 3 wood with the X100 shaft because I saw Tiger playing that setup. I don't recall it being amazing but I also don't recall it being terrible. The one thing I do remember was both seemed to be consistent.
My HS driver (1999-2003) was steel, the face was an aluminum ceramic matrix, and the ball just exploded off of it. Those Top-Flite XL’s just don’t compare anymore.
Lighter, more club head speed more distance? I’ve had graphite and steel shafts. I hit the steel shorter but straighter. Never tried a steel shaft driver but always wanted to.
One of the best drivers I ever had was a Callway Big Bertha Warbird 2-wood with a steel shaft. It was a cannon. It got replaced by a Titleist 975J with an EI-70 graphite shaft. Drivers with steel shafts were shorter in length, which helped a lot of people with control. Longer, lighter graphite shafts with huge, light titanium heads are easier for more people to swing faster, but not necessarily straighter. Just my opinion but Tiger was a way better driver of the ball with a shorter steel shaft. And he still hit it 300+.
It is my belief, that we are all playing with clubs that are too light. I went back to an old set of irons I used in the late 80's and 90's that are each 30 gms heavier than the modern set I was using. My dispersion was way tighter than it has been for I don't know how long. Maybe 30 years !!! There is less chance of losing control of a heavier club. The swing becomes smoother, more stable and the shaft does not flex all over the place. If the mini Driver had a 80 gm shaft things would in my opinion, have been way better.
I replaced my mizuno MP-33 with a used set of cavity irons, Callaway Apex. Much lighter feel. I did not gain distance and my dispersion is worse. Harder to control. Back to MP-33s. More control.
I am an old duffer who prefers steel. I have much more control than graphite and haven't noticed a drop in distance. Regarding overall weight the club comes in at 420 grams (210g 8° clubhead, 130g TT steel shaft, and 80g non-tapered grip). As a pull-swing player, I like the weight.
I started playing in 1983 with a set of “Premiere” clubs by Browning, a brand not familiar with for golf equipment but the same company made shotguns and pistols. The 1W, 3W and 5W had very small (by todays standards) stainless steel heads and steel shafts, but back then the pros were still using Persimmon. It was the period when clubs and balls were evolving. PING had just introduced its PING EYE2 irons to replace the original PING marketed in 1963 and two-piece polymer balls introduced in the mid-70s by Topflight had largely replaced the rubber band wound Balata covered balls in the bags of most recreational golfers who didn’t try to shape shots. When carbon shafts and higher volume titanium heads started the replace Persimmon the marketing cited the fact that a carbon fiber shaft twists less when subjected to the torque of the club head mass trying to twist the shaft because of how it is attached at the heel and being able to tailor flex where on the shaft the flex occurs to the golfer’s swing speed and desired flight pattern. Starting in 2008 when I retired and went to work part time at a course for the perk of unlimited range and rounds I started buy old sets of irons and more modern Drivers like Callaway Big Bertha with different shafts and lofts to experiment with. As my swing speed increased with practice I found myself “out-swinging” R shaft drivers which would bend and twist the head uncontrollably. Changing to a S shaft better matched my swing speed. I found a Driver with an XS shaft and it felt like I was swinging a broom handle because I didn’t know how to generate enough downward momentum in the hands at the end of the backswing to reverse the club head mass and move its energy into the bent shaft and maintain the bend on the way down. Experimenting I learned the cause and effect of shaft bend. To maintain the bend and load in the shaft the golfer needs to keep the hands accelerating and pulling against club head inertia. The point where the velocity of the club head exceed the velocity of the hands in the downswing is the point where the bend created at the top is lost and with it the stored kinetic energy. The more desirable action in terms of physic and energy is to maintain the bend in the shaft deep into the swing until it starts to whip around the hands, at which point the club head mass accelerates so much it will start to bend the shaft forward to the point of snapping the head off at the hosel of the back foot doesn’t lift to get hips, shoulders, arms and hands moving again. I snapped the heads off of irons and Drivers experimenting with that cause and effect. The takeaway I got from it was that some degree of shaft bend back and forward increased club head speed. The bowing forward in react to it being held bent backwards adds acceleration to the club head mass a swing with an already straightened shaft or too stiff to bend club does. But too much bend in to flexible a shaft will result in torque induced twisting of the face open and closes which becomes an unpredictable variable in the swing, especially with short irons and wedges which are used with varying swing arcs and club head speeds.
I played a 44 inch Haig Ultra 2 wood with a dynamic stiff shaft. Swing weight was C 9. Big difference! Average drive was over 300. Max was around 325 -331. Wonder if you could get a much lighter head?
Is this an X100 .335 shaft for woods? I have some steel shafted drivers from the era with more normal swing weights. I also have an x200 with D8. Why are you at D9?
Great video as usual. Results show it's all about dispersion and forgiveness. Don't need an auto flex or mini driver. We should all play the most forgiving driver head with 45 inch stock shaft.
I've gone back to a Titleist 983k and am hitting it 15yds further than my 2022 driver. The smaller head cuts through the air better than the modern balloons on a stick
I'd guess that comparing dispersion with a different style of club is a bit unfair, as it was clear that you weren't sure how to hit the mini driver and were comfortable with your gamer. I think the video makes the mini driver head look pretty good; as with most clubs, it just needs to be set up in the right specs for the player and they need to practice to get good with it.
AJ,,,,,you just built a Ben Hogan Spec driver,,,,,,,flex of Rebar,,,,and Heavy!!! I think the big head driver and the hopped up ball are really the only REAL advances in golf equipment since the advent of steel shafts......Juiced up Lofts and pretty heads are very expensive Non Actual Improvers of equipment.,,, give Dan Pohl,,,leading driver in the late 80's a Big Bertha Head and a Rock Flight and he is right there with today's boys.
Increases the static weight but lowers the swing weight. You now have a more counterbalanced club which could be better or not depending on the golfer.
When I was in high school back in the 80's I had a buddy drill out the persimmon wood under bottom plate and put a bunch of lead filling into the hole he carved out. The thing weighed as much as a ballpeen hammer. He hit that thing miles. Of course he was 6'4 and over 220 pounds at 16 years of age. He never played it in tournaments but if he had he probably would have gotten caught.
What you are describing may all be true. I would think that with less skill a conventional driver with benefit someone even more. The graphite shaft you are using is extra stiff. The average golfer needs higher launch and benefits from a lighter object with a larger face. What percentage of the golfing public is swinging over 105 mph?😊
I still use a taylor made steel 200 with a s300 shaft............... wouldn't change it for the world, I own another with a grafally blue stiff and it goes ffurther but not anywhere near as consistant.
I listened to a podcast with Butch Harmon. He stated that Tiger Woods used a 43.5-inch shaft in his driver so that he wouldn't "get it caught behind" in his swing. I'm not sure what that means, but I know that it is much easier for me to swing my 43-inch 3-wood than it is my 45.5-inch driver. How common is it for professional golfers to have shorter driver shafts? And, why do they benefit when most non-professional golfers simply lose swing speed and distance?
I put a 43.0 inch S300 in a Ping 425 swing weight D3. It is magic. It’s everything the mini driver wants to be only better.
i had a Great big Bertha 6deg with a 44 3/4" titanium shaft way back when... loved that thing
I just did this last week with a S flex Apollo stepless and a 12 deg head. I get 1-2 fewer wild squirrel shots per round and it also puts a nicer tempo on my game.
That's called golf in the early 90's, norman and tiger were monsters with that shaft! I remember early titanium shafts, premium shaft for $49
Your client is obviously an active member of GolfWrx.
🤣🤣🤣
Ventus Black 8X tipped 3 inches wasn’t cutting it
@@kakimotoK20😂
😂😂😂😂
By "Dave" he really meany Ace over at Fried Eggs.. "Tree fiddy WHOOP WHOOP!!"
LOL we always used steel shafts with wood (Persimmon) heads, hitting balls that were balata.
70 grams is 2.4 ounces
Around 2003-2004 I made a driver and 3 wood with the X100 shaft because I saw Tiger playing that setup. I don't recall it being amazing but I also don't recall it being terrible. The one thing I do remember was both seemed to be consistent.
Great for strong players who rush the down swing. Can help them slow the snatch move.
And that’s why Tiger can barely walk now.
Not exactly, lol
My HS driver (1999-2003) was steel, the face was an aluminum ceramic matrix, and the ball just exploded off of it. Those Top-Flite XL’s just don’t compare anymore.
@@bloatedsodium7301I thought that was because of his accident.
I found an old Titleist 975f driver with an X100 steel shaft. I love it. Why did we think graphite is better?
Lighter, more club head speed more distance? I’ve had graphite and steel shafts. I hit the steel shorter but straighter. Never tried a steel shaft driver but always wanted to.
One of the best drivers I ever had was a Callway Big Bertha Warbird 2-wood with a steel shaft. It was a cannon. It got replaced by a Titleist 975J with an EI-70 graphite shaft. Drivers with steel shafts were shorter in length, which helped a lot of people with control. Longer, lighter graphite shafts with huge, light titanium heads are easier for more people to swing faster, but not necessarily straighter.
Just my opinion but Tiger was a way better driver of the ball with a shorter steel shaft. And he still hit it 300+.
It is my belief, that we are all playing with clubs that are too light. I went back to an old set of irons I used in the late 80's and 90's that are each
30 gms heavier than the modern set I was using. My dispersion was way tighter than it has been for I don't know how long. Maybe 30 years !!!
There is less chance of losing control of a heavier club. The swing becomes smoother, more stable and the shaft does not flex all over the place. If the mini Driver had a 80 gm shaft things would in my opinion, have been way better.
I replaced my mizuno MP-33 with a used set of cavity irons, Callaway Apex. Much lighter feel.
I did not gain distance and my dispersion is worse. Harder to control. Back to MP-33s. More control.
Yes! But we have much better Marketing and Swing Stimulators Now! 😊
Seems like you’re trading consistency for speed, and speed of course relating to distance?
There is something to it. I had a Callaway steelhead 2, with a steal shaft. I almost could not miss a fairway.
I am an old duffer who prefers steel. I have much more control than graphite and haven't noticed a drop in distance. Regarding overall weight the club comes in at 420 grams (210g 8° clubhead, 130g TT steel shaft, and 80g non-tapered grip). As a pull-swing player, I like the weight.
I started playing in 1983 with a set of “Premiere” clubs by Browning, a brand not familiar with for golf equipment but the same company made shotguns and pistols. The 1W, 3W and 5W had very small (by todays standards) stainless steel heads and steel shafts, but back then the pros were still using Persimmon.
It was the period when clubs and balls were evolving. PING had just introduced its PING EYE2 irons to replace the original PING marketed in 1963 and two-piece polymer balls introduced in the mid-70s by Topflight had largely replaced the rubber band wound Balata covered balls in the bags of most recreational golfers who didn’t try to shape shots.
When carbon shafts and higher volume titanium heads started the replace Persimmon the marketing cited the fact that a carbon fiber shaft twists less when subjected to the torque of the club head mass trying to twist the shaft because of how it is attached at the heel and being able to tailor flex where on the shaft the flex occurs to the golfer’s swing speed and desired flight pattern.
Starting in 2008 when I retired and went to work part time at a course for the perk of unlimited range and rounds I started buy old sets of irons and more modern Drivers like Callaway Big Bertha with different shafts and lofts to experiment with. As my swing speed increased with practice I found myself “out-swinging” R shaft drivers which would bend and twist the head uncontrollably. Changing to a S shaft better matched my swing speed. I found a Driver with an XS shaft and it felt like I was swinging a broom handle because I didn’t know how to generate enough downward momentum in the hands at the end of the backswing to reverse the club head mass and move its energy into the bent shaft and maintain the bend on the way down.
Experimenting I learned the cause and effect of shaft bend. To maintain the bend and load in the shaft the golfer needs to keep the hands accelerating and pulling against club head inertia. The point where the velocity of the club head exceed the velocity of the hands in the downswing is the point where the bend created at the top is lost and with it the stored kinetic energy.
The more desirable action in terms of physic and energy is to maintain the bend in the shaft deep into the swing until it starts to whip around the hands, at which point the club head mass accelerates so much it will start to bend the shaft forward to the point of snapping the head off at the hosel of the back foot doesn’t lift to get hips, shoulders, arms and hands moving again. I snapped the heads off of irons and Drivers experimenting with that cause and effect.
The takeaway I got from it was that some degree of shaft bend back and forward increased club head speed. The bowing forward in react to it being held bent backwards adds acceleration to the club head mass a swing with an already straightened shaft or too stiff to bend club does. But too much bend in to flexible a shaft will result in torque induced twisting of the face open and closes which becomes an unpredictable variable in the swing, especially with short irons and wedges which are used with varying swing arcs and club head speeds.
I played a 44 inch Haig Ultra 2 wood with a dynamic stiff shaft.
Swing weight was C 9. Big difference! Average drive was over 300. Max was around 325 -331.
Wonder if you could get a much lighter head?
Could remove the screw weight from a driver to get the weight down.
If you get that set up dialed in, what a fairway finder for wayward drivers of the ball like myself.
Is this an X100 .335 shaft for woods? I have some steel shafted drivers from the era with more normal swing weights. I also have an x200 with D8. Why are you at D9?
Correct, X100 .335 tip. It came out heavy because of the length of the shaft vs the head weight in the mini driver.
Love the tinkering.
In 1999 I have seen Tiger Woods in St. Leon-Rot, Germany playing his Titleist Driver with a DG X100 Steel Shaft.
Played that head and shaft. Then bought a new **** driver graphite driver. Lost distance!
should roll back the shaft on drivers and woods.
Great video as usual.
Results show it's all about dispersion and forgiveness.
Don't need an auto flex or mini driver.
We should all play the most forgiving driver head with 45 inch stock shaft.
I've gone back to a Titleist 983k and am hitting it 15yds further than my 2022 driver. The smaller head cuts through the air better than the modern balloons on a stick
The most consistent i ever hit a driver was with a steel shaft
Maybe the golf revolution you are after for woods is super light steel shaft for driver at around 43.5 to 44. :)
Great lab experiment AJ! You should wear a white lab coat for stuff like this! haha Very interesting.
Ahh still so good 😊
Great work! If memory serves me, wasn’t Tiger playing King Cobra in those days?
That's what I recall the driver was.
King Cobra deep face driver, both Tiger and Greg Norman.
I'd guess that comparing dispersion with a different style of club is a bit unfair, as it was clear that you weren't sure how to hit the mini driver and were comfortable with your gamer. I think the video makes the mini driver head look pretty good; as with most clubs, it just needs to be set up in the right specs for the player and they need to practice to get good with it.
Was having difficulty hitting my ping with GRAPHITE SENIOR SHAFT FELT TO LONG CHANGED IT WITH FIVE WOOD SENIOR SHAFT AND IT FEELS MUCH BETTER
I still have(don’t play it)a Callaway Big Bertha w/a 6.5 Rifle shaft 130g
tiger was playing steel shaft drivers until 2004. 😁
You think most would see any performance difference between S400 wedge shafts and S200 wedge shafts with some lead tape added to the shaft?
Only 4g of difference probably won't change much.
AJ,,,,,you just built a Ben Hogan Spec driver,,,,,,,flex of Rebar,,,,and Heavy!!! I think the big head driver and the hopped up ball are really the only REAL advances in golf equipment since the advent of steel shafts......Juiced up Lofts and pretty heads are very expensive Non Actual Improvers of equipment.,,, give Dan Pohl,,,leading driver in the late 80's a Big Bertha Head and a Rock Flight and he is right there with today's boys.
What effect does adding a lot of weight to the grip do?
Increases the static weight but lowers the swing weight. You now have a more counterbalanced club which could be better or not depending on the golfer.
When I was in high school back in the 80's I had a buddy drill out the persimmon wood under bottom plate and put a bunch of lead filling into the hole he carved out. The thing weighed as much as a ballpeen hammer. He hit that thing miles. Of course he was 6'4 and over 220 pounds at 16 years of age. He never played it in tournaments but if he had he probably would have gotten caught.
not sure weight makes it nonconforming.
Hey how do you measure the shaft length when it's on head to give you playing shaft length?
From the heel side base of the sole, measure up to the end of the grip.
@@EFGMC thank you
That club is more like a training aid.
It is the old same story, play heavier clubs to get more consistency and less dispersion. Just forget more distance plans.
What you are describing may all be true. I would think that with less skill a conventional driver with benefit someone even more. The graphite shaft you are using is extra stiff. The average golfer needs higher launch and benefits from a lighter object with a larger face. What percentage of the golfing public is swinging over 105 mph?😊
I still use a taylor made steel 200 with a s300 shaft............... wouldn't change it for the world, I own another with a grafally blue stiff and it goes ffurther but not anywhere near as consistant.
I would add that 460cc clubs are pants, they should be banned
D9? Me thinks you need to shorten the shaft to get that swing-weight down.
I listened to a podcast with Butch Harmon. He stated that Tiger Woods used a 43.5-inch shaft in his driver so that he wouldn't "get it caught behind" in his swing. I'm not sure what that means, but I know that it is much easier for me to swing my 43-inch 3-wood than it is my 45.5-inch driver. How common is it for professional golfers to have shorter driver shafts? And, why do they benefit when most non-professional golfers simply lose swing speed and distance?
I wonder what would happen if you were to put a 20g counter weight on that club… 🤔
Which mini driver head did you use?
300
The shorter driver gave improved accuracy
I don’t understand why you kept the X100 shaft at 43 3/4’s.
Client wanted it there so that's where it was for the test. I understand 43 inch might have been better for me at least.
@@EFGMC Fair enough, 43” would make more sense. It’s an interesting test though, I miss steel shafts at the top end of the bag.
You are great👍
Has anyone ever designed a driver that didn’t care about conforming but just how far a driver could go with no restrictions? I’d love to see that
Yes, you can find a number of non conforming drivers, either with head sizes, shapes, or hotter faces.
I’m open to test this in the real world
You're familiar with your own equipment. I would expect better dispersion
I was hoping to revolutionize the golf industry with this. Oh well!
Should have been 43.5 @ D4.