Hoarding OG Grafalloy Blue!

[A.Princey]

Ok, I finally think I've found the perfect feeling shaft. A little late to the party given it's a decade+ old, but a tipped Graf Blue S and/or X is the most stable, only shaft I can go all out with and still hit fades. I've scoured eBay and now have like 6 Stiffs and 2 X-flex now, but finding them is not easy. The following clubs are the ones where you will most likely find them(still difficult though):

Ping Si3, Titleist 983K/E, TaylorMade R510,540,580, R7's, Mizuno Mp-001, Cleveland Launcher 400 & Launcher Comp.

Not a complete list, but this is what I've found that works. Not many left after my haul, however, lol!

 

[grm24]

You remind me of somebody I know well that has hoarded a stash of NOS GD Purple Ice shafts! I didn't like the original Grafalloy Blue shaft. However I bought a tour issue LH TM R580XD TP driver from some WRX member that had a more playable Grafalloy Blue "Tour" 75 S driver shaft in it. Smoother than the OG Grafalloy Blue. Of course I sold it LOL!

[A.Princey]

I think the only shaft like it now is the white Blue or the TX Smoke Green. I think I have enough in the stable now! Only 10 years more until the Smoke Green shaft is "obsolete" and cheap!

[jjschafe]

PM me if you're interested in another stiff flex, in a Mizuno MP-001

[SEP1006]

Love the OG Graffalloy Blues, easily the best shafts I have played in the woods. Played those for almost 13 years in my driver and fairway woods. Definitely don't have the swing speed for those anymore though.

[driveandputtmachine]

I had a major affinity for the GD Purple Ice. I miss that shaft.

[anythingfinite]

Dude! I agree. Playing one in an old Razr Fit Xtreme and love it. Have bought 2 newer drivers but the shafts are garbage.

Have you hit the updated version to see how it compares?

[Jagpilotohio]

Ok Princey.....now I know. You’re the A-hole I’m competing with on eBay!! Lolololo!!

 

I can’t Find Any shaft I prefer to the old original Blue Either. And I’ve tried EVERYTHING purported to be similar. The one problem with the shaft is the tips are not particularly strong and they Inevitably break after a ton of strikes. I’m on my third in 7 years. Getting so hard to find,....apparently because of you! The other tricky issue is finding them in .335 tip. Many, perhaps most of them, of them are .350.

 

I find the perfect fit for me at 113 mph is a stiff tipped one inch. Now I know who to message if I’m in a fix for one. I’m down to one back up. I’ll pay a nice premium of course. ; )

 

I do have high hopes for the Ventus black 6x though. Sounds similar. Next on my list to try.

[JStang]

This was my go to driver shaft in my 20's. I used to play it in the Callaway FT-9 and that was one of the longest setups I have ever played.

[Drivingrangehero]

Had an OG blue X flex in a Cleveland Launcher 400..... one of my all time favorite drivers.

[LoopySwing13]

Used to have an X flex OG Blue in a tour issue tour burner driver... and it was longggggg.

[cardoustie]

I find the new pro force v2 from UST to feel similarly stable

[cardoustie]

PS I fully support your hoarding habit

I have done the same with Fuji tour spec models .... 660TR, 869 and 952 ...

And in heads, a whole lot of TiSi fairways

[Ping Player]

So funny. I have at least 8 new PIs. Two 55s, two 65s, three 75s, and an 85. Well 7 new uncut. One is in my Epic Flash driver.

[Jagpilotohio]

I still have that club in my basement. One of very few older drivers I’ve hung on to.

[cw1209]

To those of you hoarding and still playing Grafalloy Blue, have you hit the Hzrdus T1100? I feel like that is the closest modern equivalent to the OG Blue.

[A.Princey]

I've not, but have you hit the 6.5TX Green Smoke? Seems as though Stenson's endorsement means a lot in that same regard.

[anythingfinite]

I've been trying to find an equivalent, so this is nice to read.

[A.Princey]

I don't even really have that much swing speed, but the feel and confidence the Blue gives me is outstanding. It's hard to describe the feeling, but it would seem I load the shaft multiple times during the swing, and my hands never lose sensation of the head, so I have an easier time trying to square the face since this shaft never kicks too early(if any at all!). If I ease up during the swing with other shafts, I end up turning it over at times to save what feels like a lost feeling. With the blue, the resistance/boardiness never really kicks through at any point, or at least not enough for me to lose that resistive force on the way down. In other words, my hands have a direct-connection feeling to head.

 

Little side note too, the trend in mid soft graphite today is probably a contributing factor in why some guys are always on with their irons and not their fw's/driver, or vice versa, due to the more linear nature of most steel shafts.

[anythingfinite]

100% agree with all of that ^

[cw1209]

 

Smoke green will have a firmer butt section. These are the shafts that have the closest EI match to Grafalloy Blue. The Blue shaft was unique because it had a ultra stiff midsection. If you guys like Grafalloy Blue in the driver, you should try out Modus 130 or KBS Tour V in your irons.

[Valtiel]

The OG Grafalloy Blue is really the ultimate original "linear" shaft. It has a little softness under the grip and is just rebar everywhere else, especially in the mid section. Most other shafts that have similar qualities just don't maintain that amount of mid stiffness. The HZRDUS line has the closest matches really, but even they still have their little soft spots that the Grafalloy does not. I think maybe the TX version of the Smoke Black might be the closest, and I think if you were to heavily tip either of the HZRDUS Reds you could get somewhat close as well. The HZRDUS Hulk has some similar DNA but is just way less linear. The T1100 would need to be softened in the butt and stiffened in the mid to be a good match.

[A.Princey]

They could so easily replicate that profile too, just make the middle of the shaft a larger diameter before tapering into the .335 parallel section, like the OG. No tech involved, ha! This is the profile that best works for my "steer" type motion. I've always said, my hand speed at impact probably rivals LD guys, but my lag at 2' prior to impact is almost non-existent, and here's where my biggest fault causes me to get handsy with mid-soft profiles.

[Howard_Jones]

If you have the EI profile for Grafalloy ProLaunch Platinum, try to add it as compare to the original BLUE

[cw1209]

 

ProLaunch Platinum isn't available, but I have added ProLaunch Red and Blue for comparison. Neither have the same midsection stiffness as the original Blue.

[Howard_Jones]

Thats to bad, and i dont have Tom Wishons software on this computer, but have saved a Grafalloy compare i made from it some years ago, but without the Platinum who is MID launch like the BLUE is...

The shaft in the bottom is 75 X, the other is 65 series when we talk the BLUE, and for those who liked the 65S, the closest option is AXIS RED, but its stiffer in the handle than the BLUE

I have tried to sort them "softest to stiffest" so AXIS S is closest to BLUE 65 S, and RED X and TOUR X is on each side of BLUE 65 X

When we compare them we DONT do it "number by number" but as a difference in % for each zone, so to see what they actually is,. we need to plot the numbers in Excel to be able to judge the differences correct. Its no problem to find a Grafalloy option that is just as stiff in the MID section, but BLUE has a softer handle (41")

[cw1209]

Right. And the original Grafalloy Blue didn't have an overly stiff tip either. Most of the people that love this shaft gravitate towards a profile with a moderate handle and tip, with a very stiff midsection. Unique for sure.

[Howard_Jones]

I still suggest players who came from the Original BLUE 65x to try AXIS RED X, its a very good option to the BLUE, and i play AXIS RED myself, and its made using more "modern" materials with 15 different layers of carbon fibers so its as stable a shaft can be in this profile. The model is discontinued years ago, so you will find it at bargain prices.https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Grafalloy+prolaunch+axis+red&_sacat=0

 

[BenjaminP]

Sorry to rehash an old thread, but wouldn’t tensei pro orange be similar to OG grafalloy blue? Very linear with stiff mid section.

[Valtiel]

7 hours ago, BenjaminP said:

Sorry to rehash an old thread, but wouldn’t tensei pro orange be similar to OG grafalloy blue? Very linear with stiff mid section.

Similar ideas, yes. The Grafalloy Blue is just more extreme; softer in the handle and in the tip while being slightly stiffer in the middle:



And for reference, here is the Tensei Pro Blue added in as an example of a classically stiff handled shaft:




https://www.golfshaftreviews.info/mitsubishi-tensei-pro-orange-golf-shaft-review/
https://www.golfshaftreviews.info/mitsubishi-tensi-ck-pro-blue-golf-shaft-review/
https://www.golfshaftreviews.info/grafalloy-prolaunch-golf-shaft-review/