*Graphite Design Lovers Anonymous* Tour AD UB vs IZ vs XC and NOW vs TP! ...and HD....and VR

[kthomas]

Any GD shafts have a similar profile to the HZRDUS smoke black RDX?

 

Would love to try a GD shaft at some point. Seems like I need a low/low shaft in order to not hit moon balls with my Ping driver. 

[Hoyoymac]

17 hours ago, kthomas said:

Any GD shafts have a similar profile to the HZRDUS smoke black RDX?

 

Would love to try a GD shaft at some point. Seems like I need a low/low shaft in order to not hit moon balls with my Ping driver. 

Try the Tour AD M9003 and the Tour AD XC or GP.

[SwingBlues]

On 12/23/2022 at 1:41 PM, drscott266 said:

I feel same way. Went ok during fitting but on course I couldn’t trust it, and also launched super high for me. That tends to happen when a handle is too stiff for me and I try to hit up on it too much, the XC is just so so easy for me, and I don’t have to try to hit it high. I’m gonna go ahead sell UB at this point, no reason to move on from XC yet. Ventus TR blue seems comparable, but the GD feels so nice when you pure it. 

 

How does the BB compare to the XC, love to hear your thoughts? Been looking at the BB since they seem to be a good price as a backup shaft for my other heads.

[JamesG12]

I’m thinking of stepping down into the 50g weight class for my driver shaft even though I swing 102-105ish. UB is going too low in a 6s, though I really like it in the 7s in my 3 and 5. Im considering an IZ 5s and maybe an XC 5s since they should feel pretty different. Not sure if anyone has experience dropping down in weight. 

[drscott266]

15 hours ago, SwingBlues said:

 

How does the BB compare to the XC, love to hear your thoughts? Been looking at the BB since they seem to be a good price as a backup shaft for my other heads.

No clue on BB, but I believe the XC is a newer version of that profile.  That is not too say that it will perform or feel the same, as the newer versions of DI are totally different. 

[Insidious2]

Thinking about swapping out my Tensei White 1k 60x for something GD...

[ob1soccer]

On 12/26/2022 at 9:51 AM, GoTime said:

Thinking about swapping out my Tensei White 1k 60x for something GD...

currently doing the same thing, couldnt get along with tensei white, tensei blue or tensei orange.

So starting with AD DI and AD IZ, will report back

[tdub526]

On 12/25/2022 at 5:19 PM, JamesG12 said:

I’m thinking of stepping down into the 50g weight class for my driver shaft even though I swing 102-105ish. UB is going too low in a 6s, though I really like it in the 7s in my 3 and 5. Im considering an IZ 5s and maybe an XC 5s since they should feel pretty different. Not sure if anyone has experience dropping down in weight. 

 

I am getting ready to start a similar trial currently. My swing speed is 104 - 108 and currently playing the IZ 6S. I am going to trial the UB 5S and see what my results will be. I may need to try the IZ 5S as I really didn’t care for the kick in  a DI 6S, and I’ve read that the UB has a similar kick. What was your experience with the load of the UB?

If you find an IZ in 5S maybe we can swap if it doesn’t work out for either of us. What driver head are you using currently?

Edited December 29, 2022 by tdub526
Grammar

[JamesG12]

7 minutes ago, tdub526 said:

 

I am getting ready to start a similar trial currently. My swing speed is 104 - 108 and currently playing the IZ 6S. I am going to trial the UB 5S and see what my results will be. I may need to try the IZ 5S as I really didn’t care for the kick in  a DI 6S, and I’ve read that the UB has a similar kick. What was your experience with the load of the UB?

If you find an IZ in 5S maybe we can swap if it doesn’t work out for either of us. What driver head are you using currently?

TSR3 9.0

I have a Red TR 5s, XC 5s, TP 6s and an Accra FX 3.0 250 all on the way to try against my UB 6s. Random assortment, I know. I’ve fixed some of the height issues with a swing adjustment but still want to try a bunch of stuff. I can’t find the feel with the UB in my driver but it’s working great in a 7s in my TSR 2+ and TSR 5w

[Insidious2]

On 12/26/2022 at 9:51 AM, GoTime said:

Thinking about swapping out my Tensei White 1k 60x for something GD...

If I have a UB 8X in my 3w what should I play in driver? Swing 110-115 and would be looking for Medium/Low 

[gerger]

On 12/24/2022 at 5:38 PM, kthomas said:

Any GD shafts have a similar profile to the HZRDUS smoke black RDX?

 

Would love to try a GD shaft at some point. Seems like I need a low/low shaft in order to not hit moon balls with my Ping driver. 

Not sure if this helps but the Mizuno Shaft Optimizer (based off a 7 iron) recommended the HZRDUS smoke black RDX as my top driver choice and the XC and DI shafts were top 10 as well. I currently use the DI and really like it but have never swung the HZRDUS black or the XC but apparently they would be good matches. It was spot on with my iron shaft recommendations. Check out the screenshots for the other driver recommendations it gave.
 

[third-times-a-charm]

Here is some Graphite Design Tour AD info some may find useful (or maybe from google searches) regarding the R2 flexes.

 

Backstory; I build my wife's clubs and its very difficult to find R2/senior/ladies flex information online. It's such a small underrepresented segment that doesnt get touched at all during youtube videos and reviews or etc. As per my usual I've been playing trial-and-error with building my wife's clubs but I wanted some definitive info.

 

Bill at Graphite Design - and Alvin the Aftermarket Sales Manager - spoke with me at length about these flexes and some general principles.

 

If you look at the GD website for each Tour AD profile you'll see that the 4 and 5 weight-class R2 flexes generally have different bend profile descriptions than their SR/R/S/X counterparts. Obviously different performance and characteristics - and not only different than the 'popular flexes' - but still tough to tell what is what when fitting someone into them.

 

Basically what we landed on as a rule of thumb is that the R2 flexes will play one spin and flex class softer than the 'popular flexes' and retain the same tip stiffness to keep the charted characteristics from their spin and launch charts. So if a shaft is mid/low it's high/mid or mid-high/mid when looking at their descriptions. If a shaft is a stiff tip like an AD GP, it will still have the same stiff tip and technologies as the other shafts; just softer and etc by about one level softer in descriptor overall.

 

The profile are not radically changed or anything even if their descriptors on the site differ, but they are meant to play softer but within respect to what the shaft was meant to do in ALL flexes.

 

This is the R2 flex tip flex listing that was provided to me by Bill, for reference from softest to stiffest:

Tour CQ

Tour AD VR

Tour AD TP

Tour AD IZ

Tour AD UB

Tour AD HD

Tour AD XC

Tour AD GP

 

Hope that helps someone down the road.

 

For me, in the end, my wife ended up in the AD GP 4R2 in driver and AD IZ 4R2 in fairways. The 5R2 models were just a touch too stiff for her going up in weight and with the 4R2 models being in the higher-end (46g for the AD IZ 4R2) it's not far off from a 50g class shaft she was using previously (which was a Helium Black 50 F1). She likes a closed-face in the driver and plays it lofted up, so the stiffer tip in the GP keeps the spin down and stable.

Edited December 30, 2022 by third-times-a-charm

[Insidious2]

The finish on the UB really sucks. I've already worn a hole through it on the top side of my 3W shaft, which means visible at address. Wears through and is black underneath the silver finish. Bad look.

 

Going to have to spray paint it or try a paint pen.

 

@Graphite Design Sales

Edited January 3, 2023 by GoTime

[third-times-a-charm]

1 hour ago, GoTime said:

The finish on the UB really sucks. I've already worn a hole through it on the top side of my 3W shaft, which means visible at address. Wears through and is black underneath the silver finish. Bad look.

 

Going to have to spray paint it or try a paint pen.

 

@Graphite Design Sales

Weird. Would have to be quite a bit of rubbing in the same spot or something hard to do that. 
 

The only tour ad shafts I’ve seen with paint issues we’re fakes.

[hagimihale]

On 12/25/2022 at 6:02 PM, SwingBlues said:

 

How does the BB compare to the XC, love to hear your thoughts? Been looking at the BB since they seem to be a good price as a backup shaft for my other heads.

 

I gamed XC for a few seasons, and have a BB in the garage as well. XC is just a hair stiffer in the mid, and both spin and launch are a bit lower for me.  Both are pretty anti-left.  I could put either one in my gamer and not miss a beat.

[hagimihale]

@GoTime, XC should be at the top of the list of GD shafts to try, assuming you like the Pro White 1K.  1K might be stiffer in the mid, but the profiles are similar. 

 

M9003 would be another option if you find the XC too soft in the mid - its the stoutest shaft in GD lineup.

[tomg1969]

Everyone seems to forget about the GP. To me, it is most similar to Ventus Blue TR with better feel. Tip is very stiff, and the mid is a touch softer than the handle 

[JamesG12]

The LPGA just posted a video of Nelly Korda with AD-UB in her driver. I think she was in IZ forever before a brief stint in the new Diamana shaft. Interesting. 

[Jim53]

Put a 7s UB in the 3 wood and love it, had a BB7s in it as an experiment and it was fine but the UB is better launch and seems easier to get along with.

 

I played the BB6x in the driver for a couple of years and figured it was worth a try since I am not getting any younger.

 

Now on the hunt for a 8s for the 5 wood. 

[third-times-a-charm]

16 hours ago, JamesG12 said:

The LPGA just posted a video of Nelly Korda with AD-UB in her driver. I think she was in IZ forever before a brief stint in the new Diamana shaft. Interesting. 

Would love to see her stick with a Tour AD after she played an AD IZ for so long, but someone also just posted a pic from a charity event she was in this weekend with her new Taylormade clubs and she was in a Ventus Red.

[third-times-a-charm]

Well I think I'm on the last Tour AD model I havent hit in driver, yet. I have an AD GP 6 coming to test. My AD IZ isnt really in danger because it's awesome - but the AD GP is working so well in 3 wood even on days when driver is 'acting up' that I wanted to see if I liked it in driver.

 

Should be testing that this weekend.

[JamesG12]

3 hours ago, third-times-a-charm said:

Would love to see her stick with a Tour AD after she played an AD IZ for so long, but someone also just posted a pic from a charity event she was in this weekend with her new Taylormade clubs and she was in a Ventus Red.

Is it confirmed that she switched to TM?

[third-times-a-charm]

Just now, JamesG12 said:

Is it confirmed that she switched to TM?

No, but she had almost a full TM bag under the QCells headcovers. Maybe still testing before the TOC so not sure.

[larciel]

4 hours ago, third-times-a-charm said:

Well I think I'm on the last Tour AD model I havent hit in driver, yet. I have an AD GP 6 coming to test. My AD IZ isnt really in danger because it's awesome - but the AD GP is working so well in 3 wood even on days when driver is 'acting up' that I wanted to see if I liked it in driver.

 

Should be testing that this weekend.

After reading this , I might cut down my GP 7s driver and use it in my wood.

[Rpete33]

Need some help. No place to test any of those shafts in my state. Currently have a tour ad IZ 8tx in driver but I’m going to tip it and move it to my 3 wood. Fantastic shaft, launches high but in South Dakota wind it’s too high. I want similar feel and spin to the IZ but want lower mid launch. Can y’all help me out. Driver is 120ish. 

[hagimihale]

19 minutes ago, Rpete33 said:

Need some help. No place to test any of those shafts in my state. Currently have a tour ad IZ 8tx in driver but I’m going to tip it and move it to my 3 wood. Fantastic shaft, launches high but in South Dakota wind it’s too high. I want similar feel and spin to the IZ but want lower mid launch. Can y’all help me out. Driver is 120ish. 

 

The below graph is from Golfshaftreviews.info.   I highly recommend a subscription, given your limited access to demoing shafts. 

 

TP, VR and IZ are very similar profiles.  Notice that the TP has the stiffest tip, and the bottom of the hinge is farthest away from the tip. Hence it should launch lower than the other two.  IZ's tip is slightly softer than VR, so in theory it should launch the highest among these three.

 

Hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[WeritoK2]

How would you guys compare the IZ vs HD in 6 and 7X for Driver (TSR2 9 degrees)???

[ob1soccer]

just got a AD-HD and AD-UB to demo vs the AD-DI, will keep u posted

[Rpete33]

11 hours ago, hagimihale said:

 

The below graph is from Golfshaftreviews.info.   I highly recommend a subscription, given your limited access to demoing shafts. 

 

TP, VR and IZ are very similar profiles.  Notice that the TP has the stiffest tip, and the bottom of the hinge is farthest away from the tip. Hence it should launch lower than the other two.  IZ's tip is slightly softer than VR, so in theory it should launch the highest among these three.

 

Hope this helps, and good luck!

 

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How does the UB compared to the TP?

[third-times-a-charm]

1 hour ago, Rpete33 said:

How does the UB compared to the TP?

Stiffer butt section.