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

[phizzy30]

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

Well here I am again.

 

 

I am a clown and I am again testing out more Tour AD shafts. In a couple of other threads I mentioned I found an HD 6 finally for driver (which I may have mentioned here that I wanted to try one) and I put it up against my TP. I also picked up an AD VR 8 to put against the TP 8. Oh, and I also picked up an AD VR 7 for driver with was a big failure.

 

Prior to this I did, in fact, make my TP shafts angry (joke from a few posts above) with wandering thoughts. So while on a bad ball striking streak I decided to test some new shafts out.

 

Story time. I think this is like 50 Shades for people who like shafts?

 

AD HD 6

I love(d) my AD TP but I used it when testing some Epic Speed TD heads (standard and DS) with known lofts (10* and 10.5*) and I was enjoying a D4-5 SW for a while so I tipped the TP 1/4". While mostly inconsequential that helped with the higher W and the spin. I still stand by the fact that I love the TP and it's staying in my 3 wood - but the AD HD is basically a TP with a softer tip. Again, as mentioned in the other thread, if you need a little more launch and tip feel the HD is your answer over the TP (or the DI). My current driver is an Epic Speed TC 9* but I havent had it spec checked yet and I'm pretty sure its around 8.7-9.2* in loft and a little open and flat from retail. This paired with the AD HD in the D setting gave me a super nice ball flight today with plenty of carry and roll. So, out goes the TP and in goes the HD into the bag.

 

AD VR 7 in Driver

Failure. I do not like the softer overall feel in driver nor the 70g class weight. It was mostly an experiment for that weight as I'd never really demo or played a 70g class shaft in driver outdoors so this was short lived. YMMV but it wasnt for me. I also didnt like the VR 6 in driver from a test months ago. BUT...

 

AD VR 8 vs AD TP 8 

I go 6-7-8 weights in my 1/3/7 woods which based on whatever loft I'm actually playing is kinda of like a 1/4/6 wood but who's keeping track. After spec checking my Mavrik 20* "7 wood" TC serial head it turns out loft is actually in the low 19's*. So....6 wood? The AD TP 8 was and is a phenomenal shaft but what do we want out of this club? We want to hold greens from ~215+yds out. The AD TP gave a very nice flat fairway wood flight but but off the fairway it wasnt quite holding greens if I didnt get steep and getting steep brings in problems when trying to do it artificially. The switch to the AD VR provided more spin and a visually higher flight. I honestly am not 100% sold on it as I've had so many bad experiments with the AD VR but so far it passes the eye test and given its in a bonded-hosel club and I'm lazy, it's going to stay there for a little bit while I do some on-course testing.

 

I could have kept on with the AD TP in all woods tbh, but the beauty of the Tour AD line is you can kind of move around a bit into different models and achieve different results with a similar feel - for the most part. I thought I needed a little more launch and spin here and there and found shafts that did just that. I dont know if they'll stick but so far so good. But lets be honest as soon as I change clubheads in these spots like next week, I'll need to test every shaft all over again and since I sold them I have to buy them again. Jokes on me 😂

 

You know you'll buy up the CQ 6, 7 and 8 next year just because..........🤪 

[phizzy30]

9 hours ago, hagimihale said:

 

I've hit many of the GD lineup.  XC, BB and MJ have been the best fit for my swing.  XC has a slightly stiffer mid and tip compared to BB.  Lower launch, a bit more stable and have to put more into it to get it to load correctly.  Not surprisingly, its also more anti-left.  XC-7X has been my gamer for a while, but I'm starting to experiment with a BB-7S

 

@third-times-a-charm, I'm jealous that TP works for you.  I was very excited to hit it, but less so after I saw the low/left pattern that resulted...

Same here with the TP.  Works great for my cousin though.  He's a low/low player and he initially had the Ventus Blue which launched too low and didn't spin enough for him.  Talked to @JustinDand he built a TP-6s for him.  He now hits a reliable cut that bleeds 10 to 20 yards 90% of the time. 

Edited October 22, 2022 by phizzy30

[drscott266]

2 hours ago, GoTime said:

Hit the TSR2 15* today with UB 8X. It absolutely plays at least a half flex soft (from other OEMs i have played, not necessarily within the GD lineup), to me it felt like I was swing a softish Stiff model. Prob would have opted for the TX if they made one. Dont think I would want to tip it to mess with launch conditions though. Still feels great and dont think it'll hurt me once I figure out the timing of it given the softness.

 

How is the feel, profile, performance of the AD DI vs the UB? Seems like the ADDI 80TX would be my next best option if I did want to try TX.

 

For reference I swing driver around 112-115

DI vs UB is totally different feels, if not opposite to me. The DI has major kick while the UB feels very linear and one piece. It will kick when struck well, but the handle is night and day different in firmness so I had a ton of trouble timing it. I hit it all over the face and had no feel. I’m always surprised when a fitting shows a clear winner but in play it doesn’t work… happens now and then to me. I honestly saw little to no gain on the TSR vs TSI in driver in woods, but ended up wirh a better combo in my 3 wood. I think once I get the driver sorted out, I’m going to switch to the same loft and model I have in TSI and should see slightly higher launch and slightly less spin which will help me. 

[third-times-a-charm]

3 hours ago, drscott266 said:

DI vs UB is totally different feels, if not opposite to me. The DI has major kick while the UB feels very linear and one piece. It will kick when struck well, but the handle is night and day different in firmness so I had a ton of trouble timing it. I hit it all over the face and had no feel. I’m always surprised when a fitting shows a clear winner but in play it doesn’t work… happens now and then to me. I honestly saw little to no gain on the TSR vs TSI in driver in woods, but ended up wirh a better combo in my 3 wood. I think once I get the driver sorted out, I’m going to switch to the same loft and model I have in TSI and should see slightly higher launch and slightly less spin which will help me. 

Same feels for me in the UB. Linear with a very stiff handle that even when you felt the shaft load in the upper mid it still felt boardy in the handle. Very Tensei-pro-esque with the dupont kevlar in that handle section.

[Insidious2]

58 minutes ago, third-times-a-charm said:

Same feels for me in the UB. Linear with a very stiff handle that even when you felt the shaft load in the upper mid it still felt boardy in the handle. Very Tensei-pro-esque with the dupont kevlar in that handle section.

 

Wow I didnt feel that at all, and I play the pro white 1k in my driver. Have previously played ventus black, accra tz6 and similar. This feels markedly softer and more kicky than all of them to me. It felt so soft that I had a buddy of mine hit it too because I was worried the shaft had been damaged in shipping it felt so soft. I think linear is one of the last words i would use to describe it.

[larciel]

This is my kind of thread 😆🤣

 

I've been collecting tour ad shafts for a long time. I just grab them whenever I can get my hands on.

 

Used DI on 1w for a long time but can't get used to it on a Fairway.

 

MJ was a surprise. It was smooth and launch was good.

 

TP was not a match but last time I tried was like 6yrs ago when it launched. 

 

UB is a phenomenal. Looks awesome.

 

HD was so stiff for me.

 

Waiting to try CQ. It is the highest launch on GD chart. I'm very excited.

[cw1209]

Tour AD TP is fantastic and definitely still relevant. I currently have 6TX in driver and 8X in my 4 wood. I will rotate the driver shaft with RDX Blue. I plan on testing the Ventus Black TR in the spring. 

[mokedaddy]

The vr 8 is a special fairway shaft.  If you stick with the hd, tp, and vr that is the same setup I’ve used for the last couple years.

[third-times-a-charm]

23 minutes ago, mokedaddy said:

The vr 8 is a special fairway shaft.  If you stick with the hd, tp, and vr that is the same setup I’ve used for the last couple years.

Funny you found the same combo. It does work pretty well.

 

BUT

 

I just took the VR out and put the TP 8 back in 😂 the epoxy is drying as I type this.

 

While the VR did give me the flight and spin that I think I wanted, it's just too uncontrollable for my swing. The VR 6/7 didnt work well for me in driver/fairway but the VR 8 showed promise in my 7 wood as I mentioned in the longer post above - but after some on-course testing and a few dozen more balls I've just give up on the VR as it always has the worst dispersion for me. When it was good it was great, though.

 

So now I'm back to HD-TP-TP

[mokedaddy]

2 minutes ago, third-times-a-charm said:

Funny you found the same combo. It does work pretty well.

 

BUT

 

I just took the VR out and put the TP 8 back in 😂 the epoxy is drying as I type this.

 

While the VR did give me the flight and spin that I think I wanted, it's just too uncontrollable for my swing. The VR 6/7 didnt work well for me in driver/fairway but the VR 8 showed promise in my 7 wood as I mentioned in the longer post above - but after some on-course testing and a few dozen more balls I've just give up on the VR as it always has the worst dispersion for me. When it was good it was great, though.

 

So now I'm back to HD-TP-TP

Yeah I have it in a 5 wood for a nice high landing but I can see why the tp would work better in a 7 wood.

[OspreyCI]

Long time GD shaft guy and my TP sees my cheating eyes all week in its thread. She knows I want to cheat on her, and then every Sunday she shows her true colors and I hit longest straightest drives of my life with her. I guess PXG and Callaway know what they are doing with both companies fit me into her 😳

Edited October 24, 2022 by OspreyCI
Spelling

[WeritoK2]

Has anyone compared Ventus Blue TR to AD DI both in 6X? 

[third-times-a-charm]

14 hours ago, WeritoK2 said:

Has anyone compared Ventus Blue TR to AD DI both in 6X? 

I think most will agree that the AD DI plays slightly soft to flex and has a much more pronounced kick to it than the Ventus Blue and especially the TR (being slightly stiffer) does.

[third-times-a-charm]

Well it looks like my AD VR 8 will have one more chance at life as I found a tour issue Rogue ST Max 5 wood head that I THINK is higher lofted around 19* to battle for my 6 wood spot against the Mavrik/TP combo.

 

I'm thinking the AD VR in a Max head will spin a bit more than the AD TP in a Sub Zero head (weight back) so if the gapping is good it'll be a fun test.

Edited October 27, 2022 by third-times-a-charm

[ChristopherMcDonald]

I've been enjoying a the PX Smoke RDX Black 70g 6.5 in my driver. Trying to find something with a little more feel in the around 80g range for my fairways. Where would you look first in terms of Graphite Design?

[ChristopherMcDonald]

Also, is proclubs on ebay legit? They have some pretty attractive prices on some graphite design shafts, just want to ensure it's not too good to be true

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=proclubs&store_name=proclubs&_oac=1&_nkw=8+stiff&store_cat=11940484

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334592248458?hash=item4de7408a8a:g:IP0AAOSw8AJjSG3e

[third-times-a-charm]

1 hour ago, ChristopherMcDonald said:

Also, is proclubs on ebay legit? They have some pretty attractive prices on some graphite design shafts, just want to ensure it's not too good to be true

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=proclubs&store_name=proclubs&_oac=1&_nkw=8+stiff&store_cat=11940484

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334592248458?hash=item4de7408a8a:g:IP0AAOSw8AJjSG3e

Yep. Super legit.

[Rpete33]

8 hours ago, ChristopherMcDonald said:

Also, is proclubs on ebay legit? They have some pretty attractive prices on some graphite design shafts, just want to ensure it's not too good to be true

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=proclubs&store_name=proclubs&_oac=1&_nkw=8+stiff&store_cat=11940484

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334592248458?hash=item4de7408a8a:g:IP0AAOSw8AJjSG3e

I just got a ad Iz 80tx from them, installed it into my zx7 driver, getting it out this weekend. 

[third-times-a-charm]

41 minutes ago, Rpete33 said:

I just got a ad Iz 80tx from them, installed it into my zx7 driver, getting it out this weekend. 

80TX in driver? Bryson is that you?

[Valtiel]

9 hours ago, ChristopherMcDonald said:

Also, is proclubs on ebay legit? They have some pretty attractive prices on some graphite design shafts, just want to ensure it's not too good to be true

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=proclubs&store_name=proclubs&_oac=1&_nkw=8+stiff&store_cat=11940484

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334592248458?hash=item4de7408a8a:g:IP0AAOSw8AJjSG3e

Proclubs has been bulletproof in my experience and gets a lot of great inventory, including the occasional rare tour only piece and prototypes etc. Often VERY well priced too. 

[Rpete33]

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

80TX in driver? Bryson is that you?

It’s a bit of experimental. I’m hoping the extra weight helps my chill my tempo a little bit. I also rock Ventus black 9x and 10x in my 3 and 5 wood currently and really enjoy them

[ChristopherMcDonald]

man I would love to try out maybe the MJ 8s in my woods but have no way to test. Don't want to end up with two shafts that are too boardy for me... Anyone running that shaft?

[Warrick]

Just jumped in this year, have the AD DI 7s in my 3/5/7w, absolutely love them, have a 6s waiting, will try in TSR4 driver.

[hagimihale]

On 10/23/2022 at 12:21 AM, larciel said:

I've been collecting tour ad shafts for a long time. I just grab them whenever I can get my hands on.

 

MJ was a surprise. It was smooth and launch was good.

 

@larciel, my brother from another mother...  I have countless GD shafts in my garage right now:  XC, BB, GP, MJ, MT, GP and QT.  Plus, I gave DI to a friend, and sold the TP and VR last year...

 

Agree on the MJ.  I put a 7S in my 4W - very smooth, good launch (tee and off the turf) and not too spinny.  

[Hoyoymac]

About a month ago I replaced the Mitsubishi AV Raw White 75 Stiff that I was fit into for a Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7S in my Cobra LTDX 15 deg. 3 wood lofted to 16.5.  It is by far the best 3 wood I’ve ever owned!

 

Great off the tee and especially good off the turf.  Produces a nice baby draw for me and really took away the occasional hook miss that I was having with the AV Raw White.

 

The combo was so good that I felt that I had to try the AD DI 6S in my Cobra LTDx driver.  With driver I am now getting a slight fade which is very different for me.  

 

Been trying to get used to a left to right ball flight but it just doesn’t feel comfortable.

 

Have a few EBay shaft purchases coming this week to see if I can change the  ball flight.  An AD IZ 6S, an AD MT 6S and an AD VR 6S are all on the way.  I’ll put Cobra adapters on them and then test them against the AD DI 6S.  

 

Will update the thread with my observations and results.

[third-times-a-charm]

On 10/28/2022 at 11:35 AM, ChristopherMcDonald said:

man I would love to try out maybe the MJ 8s in my woods but have no way to test. Don't want to end up with two shafts that are too boardy for me... Anyone running that shaft?

I had an MJ 8 in my 7 wood and Apex UW experiments back in late 2021. High flight and quite a soft shaft. Boardy is not a feeling you'll get from it at all. I think it's the highest launching shaft GD has ever made.

[ChristopherMcDonald]

Just now, third-times-a-charm said:

I had an MJ 8 in my 7 wood and Apex UW experiments back in late 2021. High flight and quite a soft shaft. Boardy is not a feeling you'll get from it at all. I think it's the highest launching shaft GD has ever made.

Thansk man appreciate it. Sounds like it might pair nicely with my cobra heads that are maybe a little too low launch/spin for me currently.

[third-times-a-charm]

On 10/27/2022 at 11:13 PM, Valtiel said:

Proclubs has been bulletproof in my experience and gets a lot of great inventory, including the occasional rare tour only piece and prototypes etc. Often VERY well priced too. 

Speaking of proclubs, they have a ways to go in the customer service and sales department.

 

They had a 20% off sale this weekend and wont honor it anymore because 'they dont do that and its only like once a month that happens'. 

 

Guess thats why I shop at CPO 99% of the time, I think they've ruined me and I'm spoiled now 🤣

Edited November 1, 2022 by third-times-a-charm

[ChristopherMcDonald]

2 minutes ago, third-times-a-charm said:

Speaking of proclubs, they have a ways to go in the customer service and sales department.

 

They had a 20% off sale this weekend and wont honor it anymore because 'they dont do that and its only like once a month that happens'. 

 

Guess thats why I shop at CPO 99% of the time.

This is good to know

[third-times-a-charm]

11 minutes ago, ChristopherMcDonald said:

This is good to know

Not saying they dont have lots of inventory, good items, or etc - they do. But if I call and ask something like that and it's just a flat "No. Okay, bye." on an item thats been sitting for 4 weeks and they dont even try...idk, again, CPO probably ruined my expectations for what I feel is a sizeable operation.