Joe's Shop top picks for 2014 up to today!

[joey3108]

I've been thinking of posting this by the second week of this month, Oh well, I don't think I'm way off on that :)

 

Base on experiences fitting people from tour level pro all the way to seniors and women golfers! Old and young!

 

Huge Consideration on consistency (performance and quality), sound, feel and look is a must in my book. Distances means nothing if you don't like the look at address. Bare in mind, Marketing and advertising play very little on me honestly! To me all of them are white lie after I can tested them and see the numbers match to how it plays. All these picked are also base on custom hand build to specs according to fittings.

 

Drivers:

 

Low MOI/Spins driver:

- Big Bertha Alpha

- Cobra BIO CELL +

- NIKE covert Tour

 

Mid MOI/Spins driver:

- PING I25

- Big Bertha

- Adams XTD

 

High MOI/Spins

- Ping G25

- X2 HOT

 

Fairway woods:

- X2HOT Pro

- I25

- G25

- BIG BERTHA

 

Hybrid wood:

- Adams Pro

- I25

- G25

- X2HOT

 

Driving/Hybrid Iron:

- Fourteen HI610 T.S. (Type7 coming soon, Check out my review at http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1039937-driving-iron-lover-minimal-offset-fourteen-golf-did-it-again/#entry9560211 )

- Mizuno MP H4

- Titleist 712U

- Ping Rapture DI

 

IRON ( I like to picked forged carbon steel, cause I can bend them precisely ):

 

Blade:

- EPON AF-tour

- Fourteen FH1000

- MP 4

 

Players Cavity:

- Epon AF 302

- Callaway X forged '13

- MP64 or Callaway APEX Pro

 

Cavity:

- Fourteen TC777

- MP54

- EPON AF 503

 

Game improvement cavity:

- Fourteen TC530

- NIKE VR-S Covert

- Callaway APEX

 

Wedges (no custom grind/Stock grind):

- Fourteen RM12

- Vokey SM5

- NIKE Tour VR Forged

- Callaway Mac Daddy 2

- Mizuno MP T4

 

I won't do putter at this time, because to me PUTTER is way to personal/individual taste.

 

Top 4-5 on Shaft pick!!!

 

Driver shaft:

high kick:

- Diamana W sereis

- Fujikura speeder vc .2 Tour Specs series

- Oban Devotion 7 and up

- Miyazaki Black

- PX Tour version

 

Mid high Kick Low spins:

- Kuro Kage Proto TiNi

- Speeder vc .2 non tour specs series

- Oban Kiyoshi Black

- Miyazaki Indigo

- Fubuki K

 

Mid Kick Low spin:

- Oban Kiyoshi Purple

- ATTAS elements proto by UST mamiya

- BASILEUS

- Tour AD DI (lots of them on tour are the proto Q10 painted like DI)

- Fubuki Alpha

 

Sub 50gr or lighter ( Not to many on this class):

- Kiyoshi purple 45

- PX 39

 

Fairway woods:

- FUBUKI K

- DIAMANA B series

- Speeder 757

- Attas elements by UST mamiya

- Speeder vc.3 series tour specs

 

Hybrid/driving iron (from High to mid kick , 80-90s class and above):

- Diamana D+ 92

- Aerotech steel fiber 95

- PX Tour

- MIYAZAKI 83 C kua

- Kuro Kage SILVER 83

- Oban Devotion

- Fubuki H400

 

IRON Steel:

HIgh kick and high kick low spin:

- KBS C taper

- Nippon Super pinning Blue

- The old good DG

 

Mid kick low spin:

- Shimada Tour

- Modus 3 tour 120

- KBS V tour

 

Below 110gr steel:

- Shimada tour Lite 110

- c taper lite

- Nippon 1050

- Shimada Constant 95

- XP95

 

Wedge shaft:

- DGS200/300/400 all time fav

- Shimada Tour Black

- Nippon WV 125

 

Iron Graphite shaft are not much, but I'm mostly work on steel fiber 95-110 and recoil proto.

 

Phewwwww, That's a tough one! :)

 

I hope that will help some of you in equipments selection. Of course selection during fitting are more extensive and deeper conversation than just putting all these together. Honestly I have dificulties on quite a few choices. I'm sure not an easy one to answer why.

 

Opinions are mine and mine only!

 

Thanks!

 

Joe

[OUZO Power]

Joe we started this conversation on twitter. But there is more room for discussion here.

I see some OEM's didn't make your list. Did you try everything? Were any OEM's excluded from your fitting routine? Just to confirm these are your top 3 picks in each category correct?

[joey3108]

I've tried pretty much almost everything, but these are base on fitting for customers...either what they brought in or what they've tested and tried during fitting to get the best result. So it's not my own club to play fitting!

[rbilramz]

Not a single TM club made the list?

[kekoa]

Not much titleist either. Hmm

[chocolatte]

Thanks for the list Joe! Lots of insights as always.

Hard to see SLDR not on the low spin driver list tho, especially given how well it performs for a lot of people.

[joey3108]

Not on my list doesn't mean it's no good for you. Come too get fitted by me, then you'd understand the way I fit and what I have in my shop. Plus I can maximize anything out there, but that doesn't mean the best choice either.

Just my opinions!

Joe

[haager831]

what shafts are you seeing success with in the i25 for thee higher swing speed guys?

[joey3108]

[quote name='haager831' timestamp='1403627718' post='9566863']
what shafts are you seeing success with in the i25 for thee higher swing speed guys?
[/quote] it's case by case! Every golfer has their own flaws. Through the fitting session will show bad and good. This is why full fitting for less than 2hr is a waste of money imo. Plus we need to look at the swing skill and capabilities (strength and weakness) to build a realistic club with realistic goal. Distance only is usually receipt for bad dispersion, but yet isn't impossible if you got the right one in your hands.

Joe

[MadGolfer76]

[i]"Tour AD DI (lots of them on tour are the proto Q10 painted like DI)"[/i]

Wow, someone should post that in a dedicated thread so we can watch the world stop.

[rbhan12]

Joe I noticed you didn't address any low kick point high launching shafts. Is there a particular reason for that?

[joey3108]

[quote name='rbhan12' timestamp='1403630086' post='9567139']
Joe I noticed you didn't address any low kick point high launching shafts. Is there a particular reason for that?
[/quote] Picked the right loft first and then match it with a good shaft, that's the way to do it imo. That's why I rarely use a low kick point high launching shaft.

Joe

[rbhan12]

[quote name='joey3108' timestamp='1403630383' post='9567185']
[quote name='rbhan12' timestamp='1403630086' post='9567139']
Joe I noticed you didn't address any low kick point high launching shafts. Is there a particular reason for that?
[/quote] Picked the right loft first and then match it with a good shaft, that's the way to do it imo. That's why I rarely use a low kick point high launching shaft.

Joe
[/quote]

Joe,

Thanks for your reply. Interesting way of looking at it. I've particularly noticed that in my experiences in fittings (particularly with driver) I've had trouble feeling the shaft load with pretty much all high kick shafts and a fair amount of mid kick shafts (Kai'li for example was a mid shaft that felt great for my swing).

Have you found a noticeable difference in dispersion between mid and low kick shafts? I'm sure in your fittings you've come across golfers who get better feel from a high launch low kick shaft. How do you go about fitting those golfers?

[bladehunter]

great post OP....but with any such list seems to always be some bias..... hard to believe no Cleveland wedges on the list...even though the last set of real clevelands were made a couple yesrs ago , the badged Cleveland rotex, and 588 are ever bit as good as the vokey stuff....neithers marketing gimmicks are more or less than each other. ....and where are the PX iron shafts? cant tell me they don't make top 5 in anyones list....
that being said a lot of your picks are very solid ones....good read

[cardoustie]

Joe

So I love my original tour spec 757x in my driver. Trying to love 869x in a 4w .. but seems whippy and hooky at times

For those that love 757 and driver, what do you see a lot of guys picking for 3 and 4 woods if I may ask sir

[LONG&STR8]

[quote name='MadGolfer76' timestamp='1403629861' post='9567101']
[i]"Tour AD DI (lots of them on tour are the proto Q10 painted like DI)"[/i]

Wow, someone should post that in a dedicated thread so we can watch the world stop.
[/quote]

For me the world makes so much sense now. There is no way that wobbly noodle I played (6X tipped .5") is being played by some of the high SS and quick transition PGA Tour players.

[joey3108]

[quote name='rbhan12' timestamp='1403630771' post='9567227']
[quote name='joey3108' timestamp='1403630383' post='9567185']
[quote name='rbhan12' timestamp='1403630086' post='9567139']
Joe I noticed you didn't address any low kick point high launching shafts. Is there a particular reason for that?
[/quote] Picked the right loft first and then match it with a good shaft, that's the way to do it imo. That's why I rarely use a low kick point high launching shaft.

Joe
[/quote]

Joe,

Thanks for your reply. Interesting way of looking at it. I've particularly noticed that in my experiences in fittings (particularly with driver) I've had trouble feeling the shaft load with pretty much all high kick shafts and a fair amount of mid kick shafts (Kai'li for example was a mid shaft that felt great for my swing).

Have you found a noticeable difference in dispersion between mid and low kick shafts? I'm sure in your fittings you've come across golfers who get better feel from a high launch low kick shaft. How do you go about fitting those golfers?
[/quote] of course I have, but again it's all case by case. Most people will understand after fitting and thorough explanation on why, what, how, etc. Lots of technical factor to on putting it together to specs.
[quote name='bladehunter' timestamp='1403632240' post='9567417']
great post OP....but with any such list seems to always be some bias..... hard to believe no Cleveland wedges on the list...even though the last set of real clevelands were made a couple yesrs ago , the badged Cleveland rotex, and 588 are ever bit as good as the vokey stuff....neithers marketing gimmicks are more or less than each other. ....and where are the PX iron shafts? cant tell me they don't make top 5 in anyones list....
that being said a lot of your picks are very solid ones....good read
[/quote] Again, it's all base on what customers want, what I have and what I can do with them to get it to specs during build.
[quote name='cardoustie' timestamp='1403632527' post='9567475']
Joe

So I love my original tour spec 757x in my driver. Trying to love 869x in a 4w .. but seems whippy and hooky at times

For those that love 757 and driver, what do you see a lot of guys picking for 3 and 4 woods if I may ask sir
[/quote] case by case again! What I can say, 757 is a low torque shaft...so try Lew torque shaft too at first and go from there.

[jmoore22]

No tmag....

[GoIrish17]

Regardless of whether or not everyone agrees with your opinions shared here, I know I for one certainly respect them! Thank you for taking the time to post this, Joe. Certainly gives a lot of substance for some good natured conversation here. I know I for one would love to hear more about the AD-DI/ Proto Q10 comment. I'm not the most informed guy here on shafts, but this is the first I have heard that. Certainly has the potential to be a whole other conversation.

[cphrey]

very cool, thanks for stopping in Joe!

[joey3108]

[quote name='GoIrish17' timestamp='1403642336' post='9568805']
Regardless of whether or not everyone agrees with your opinions shared here, I know I for one certainly respect them! Thank you for taking the time to post this, Joe. Certainly gives a lot of substance for some good natured conversation here. I know I for one would love to hear more about the AD-DI/ Proto Q10 comment. I'm not the most informed guy here on shafts, but this is the first I have heard that. Certainly has the potential to be a whole other conversation.
[/quote] Thanks bro!

Bias is subjective to individual. I have my preference that I'm comfortable working with, but not stuck to what I want or like only.

I've seen, hold and hit a few shots but not enough for me to really know the shaft and comments. I know for sure el tigre played it before.

Being me and my job, a no brainer that I will understand more the stuff that I got access with as low cost as possible or free if possible. After all who gained the most over my reviews in the most popular site?

My 2 cents!

Joe

[GoIrish17]

[quote name='joey3108' timestamp='1403643247' post='9568897']
[quote name='GoIrish17' timestamp='1403642336' post='9568805']
Regardless of whether or not everyone agrees with your opinions shared here, I know I for one certainly respect them! Thank you for taking the time to post this, Joe. Certainly gives a lot of substance for some good natured conversation here. I know I for one would love to hear more about the AD-DI/ Proto Q10 comment. I'm not the most informed guy here on shafts, but this is the first I have heard that. Certainly has the potential to be a whole other conversation.
[/quote] Thanks bro!

Bias is subjective to individual. I have my preference that I'm comfortable working with, but not stuck to what I want or like only.

I've seen, hold and hit a few shots but not enough for me to really know the shaft and comments. I know for sure el tigre played it before.

Being me and my job, a no brainer that I will understand more the stuff that I got access with as low cost as possible or free if possible. After all who gained the most over my reviews in the most popular site?

My 2 cents!

Joe
[/quote]

I know you said your experience was limited with it, but what did you think the differences were? Torque differences? Firmer profile? Completely different shaft all together, or just a slight tweak for the tour guys packaged in the very recognizable DI graphics?

[joey3108]

[quote name='GoIrish17' timestamp='1403646081' post='9569203']
[quote name='joey3108' timestamp='1403643247' post='9568897']
[quote name='GoIrish17' timestamp='1403642336' post='9568805']
Regardless of whether or not everyone agrees with your opinions shared here, I know I for one certainly respect them! Thank you for taking the time to post this, Joe. Certainly gives a lot of substance for some good natured conversation here. I know I for one would love to hear more about the AD-DI/ Proto Q10 comment. I'm not the most informed guy here on shafts, but this is the first I have heard that. Certainly has the potential to be a whole other conversation.
[/quote] Thanks bro!

Bias is subjective to individual. I have my preference that I'm comfortable working with, but not stuck to what I want or like only.

I've seen, hold and hit a few shots but not enough for me to really know the shaft and comments. I know for sure el tigre played it before.

Being me and my job, a no brainer that I will understand more the stuff that I got access with as low cost as possible or free if possible. After all who gained the most over my reviews in the most popular site?

My 2 cents!

Joe
[/quote]

I know you said your experience was limited with it, but what did you think the differences were? Torque differences? Firmer profile? Completely different shaft all together, or just a slight tweak for the tour guys packaged in the very recognizable DI graphics?
[/quote] Can't remember much of it. I know for sure a lot stiffer tip due obvious extra wrap of graphite by the tip area. I didn't hit it out side, so I can't talk about the real ball flight.

[Golfdaddy44]

What is a BASILEUS?

[joey3108]

A small boutique shaft company from Japan.

[Skeeter]

Joe trying to get some info on Shimada shafts. I currently play Nippon 1050 R flex and have heard the Shimadas feel even better than Nippon.

Does Shimada have a shaft like the 1050?
Maybe with a bit higher launch?

[joey3108]

[quote name='Skeeter' timestamp='1403668178' post='9571797']
Joe trying to get some info on Shimada shafts. I currently play Nippon 1050 R flex and have heard the Shimadas feel even better than Nippon.

Does Shimada have a shaft like the 1050?
Maybe with a bit higher launch?
[/quote] Tour lite!

Launch about the same but the Shimada most likely lower spins.

Shimada products consistent gave my customers a better ball speed, it has phenomenal kick/snap feel at impact with smooth feel.

Joe

[Skeeter]

Have much history with the constant from Shimada? they seem to be lighter but higher launching. Just curious if they were slightly higher or moon ball launch.

[OUZO Power]

[quote name='joey3108' timestamp='1403647254' post='9569335']
A small boutique shaft company from Japan.
[/quote]and how much do those run for Joe?

[joey3108]

[quote name='OUZO Power' timestamp='1403670530' post='9571971']
[quote name='joey3108' timestamp='1403647254' post='9569335']
A small boutique shaft company from Japan.
[/quote]and how much do those run for Joe?
[/quote]www.basileusgolf.com....start from $600 and up installed to your requested/fitted specs.