Graphite Design AD DI plays a half flex weak?

[JD3]

This is a tremendous piece of equipment that deserves all the accolades, but every one I've tried feels at least a half flex softer than advertised. That's why I had to go with the TP version in my driver and one flex up in AD DI in my fairway. 

Edited October 17, 2022 by JD3

[third-times-a-charm]

I wouldnt say 1/2 flex soft - but maybe just 'soft to flex'. And they arent actually softer, but I think people feel they are softer when they swing them due to how smooth they are and how much kick and load you can feel from that design. IMO if you are moving around between flexes it's because of the feel and while mixing S/X in the bag may seem like it's working, you may be doing yourself a disservice in launch/spin/feel - as you will always be giving up 2 of those 3 when playing a shaft "outside your flex" even if it seems to be working. Normally when someone says what you did in the OP about needing to move from S to X, they need a different shaft in the lineup as you also mentioned to keep their spin and launch in the right spot but also get the 3/3 to satisfy feel. YMMV.

[akap4surf]

I have found this to be the case in the lighter weight and hybrid shafts. Once they get heavier, they tend to get more stout. The AD-DI's are particularly soft IMO.

[Ripken08]

Try the WRX subforum

[JD3]

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

I wouldnt say 1/2 flex soft - but maybe just 'soft to flex'. And they arent actually softer, but I think people feel they are softer when they swing them due to how smooth they are and how much kick and load you can feel from that design. IMO if you are moving around between flexes it's because of the feel and while mixing S/X in the bag may seem like it's working, you may be doing yourself a disservice in launch/spin/feel - as you will always be giving up 2 of those 3 when playing a shaft "outside your flex" even if it seems to be working. Normally when someone says what you did in the OP about needing to move from S to X, they need a different shaft in the lineup as you also mentioned to keep their spin and launch in the right spot but also get the 3/3 to satisfy feel. YMMV.

well they're very soft in the butt, and I think the butt of club where the hands are placed has the greatest influence on "feel". I think maybe with that very stiff tip the butt should be less soft so at least there's a better translation to what the hands are feeling and what the head end of the club is doing. That's why I like the TP version in my driver, but it doesn't launch guite as high as the AD DI, so I went one flex up in the AD DI in the fairway and it seems fine.

[third-times-a-charm]

10 minutes ago, JD3 said:

well they're very soft in the butt, and I think the butt of club where the hands are placed has the greatest influence on "feel". I think maybe with that very stiff tip the butt should be less soft so at least there's a better translation to what the hands are feeling and what the head end of the club is doing. That's why I like the TP version in my driver, but it doesn't launch guite as high as the AD DI, so I went one flex up in the AD DI in the fairway and it seems fine.

Just goes to show you how different people feel things - because Tour AD shafts are all stiff-butt profiles like the classic blueboard stiff-soft-stiff profile with mid-soft characteristics. Yes the tips can be stiff like the DI and handle made to feel softer but they all follow that same profile and are nowhere near as handle soft as a Mitsubishi white profile for instance.

[JD3]

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

Just goes to show you how different people feel things - because Tour AD shafts are all stiff-butt profiles like the classic blueboard stiff-soft-stiff profile with mid-soft characteristics. Yes the tips can be stiff like the DI and handle made to feel softer but they all follow that same profile and are nowhere near as handle soft as a Mitsubishi white profile for instance.

GD describes the DI butt as "medium", and the tip as "stiff", link:

https://proschoicegolfshafts.com/tour-ad-di-wood-shafts/

[third-times-a-charm]

1 hour ago, JD3 said:

GD describes the DI butt as "medium", and the tip as "stiff", link:

https://proschoicegolfshafts.com/tour-ad-di-wood-shafts/

That’s only relative to their own shafts, not other companies. The handle is not soft at all compared to other companies.

[eric61]

I have a DI 8X in my 7 wood and I'd agree that they seem soft to flex. Swing speed-wise, I'm typically on the line between stiff and x-stiff. I mostly go x-stiff with shafts that seem to me to have a lot of feel and, like the DI, are arguably soft to flex, and find that it's a good spot for me.

[phizzy30]

DI just feels and plays soft to me.  Had the 7x a long time ago and it had to be tipped heavily to get it play the way I wanted it to. 

[phizzy30]

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

Just goes to show you how different people feel things - because Tour AD shafts are all stiff-butt profiles like the classic blueboard stiff-soft-stiff profile with mid-soft characteristics. Yes the tips can be stiff like the DI and handle made to feel softer but they all follow that same profile and are nowhere near as handle soft as a Mitsubishi white profile for instance.

XC is actually the only GD shaft that has a soft handle.  The rest are mid to stiff in that area. 

[third-times-a-charm]

26 minutes ago, phizzy30 said:

XC is actually the only GD shaft that has a soft handle.  The rest are mid to stiff in that area. 

Even then it’s nothing like a whiteboard just a soft stuff blue handle

 

[phizzy30]

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

Even then it’s nothing like a whiteboard just a soft stuff blue handle

 

I can agree to that. 

[So_Cal]

Is the DI a little softer?  Yes IMO.  Just went to 7x tipped 1” and hitting it straighter than ever.  Came from Ventus black 6 X untipped.  Still a great shaft after all these years 

[aswile]

My driver is Ventus Black 7x and my previous preferred driver and fairways are the OG Whiteboard 83x- ADDI 7x is a great driver shaft and the 8X is the best fairway I've played (I currently use a 7X in my Rogue LS 3 wood). "Not boardy" does not equate to "soft to flex", just that it feels better. I believe they just feel better to more players so they are considered to be "soft". 

[mokedaddy]

Some people say they play soft to flex.  In comparison to some shafts they probably do.  But they also get stiffer as they get heavier which not all shafts do.

And some models also have the tx flex which is about a flex stiffer than the regular x so you should be able to find something that works.

Edited October 18, 2022 by mokedaddy

[thecraw]

I have one in my 4 wood and soft to flex/smooth is how I would describe it - however I love it. I have no access to shaft comparison charts or anything but to me the AD DI feels very much like the Oban Devotion shaft. From memory my old devotion was a similar sort of feeling/experience. (I'm sure someone will come along and tell me that they are nothing like each other!)

[Valtiel]

10 hours ago, JD3 said:

GD describes the DI butt as "medium", and the tip as "stiff", link:

https://proschoicegolfshafts.com/tour-ad-di-wood-shafts/

 

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

That’s only relative to their own shafts, not other companies. The handle is not soft at all compared to other companies.

That ^^

Graphite Design's own zone descriptions of their shafts are useless in a vacuum. They do not compare to the market at large, just their own lineup. With minimal exception they are all based on the same basic blueprint with tweaks here and there, like the Fujikura Speeder Evolution lineup. 

As for "soft to flex", that just shows the lack of a fixed definition in what any given "flex" is supposed to be and the flaw in using it alone. Overall bend profiles are a significant modifier placed on top of a flex designation, an extra dimension to how they will feel to the point that there will be a lot of overlap in feel between softer profiles in stiffer flexes and stiffer profile in softer flexes. @getitdaily and many others can likely attest to being able to play a mid-soft profile like the AD-DI or Ventus Blue in an X-flex but a very mid-stiff profile like the Ventus Black in an S. So shafts like the AD-DI don't play "soft to flex", they are a profile designed to feel more flexible and will play similarly to other profiles of the same flex. A stiffer, lower launching profile should not be judged against it with regards to flex "accuracy". 

[dwboston]

20 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

XC is actually the only GD shaft that has a soft handle.  The rest are mid to stiff in that area. 

 

AD BB  and XC have the softest handles in the GD line-up.

 

Have played the AD DI for years.  At a TM demo day several years ago (I think it was the M5 era) the fitter put me in the BB on a whim.  I thought it was lower launch than the DI, but I launched it the same with lower dispersion, and it still felt smooth to me.  Fast forward a few years and I now play the BB in my driver and 4w.  The BB (especially in the 6S) feels a little tighter than the DI 6S, while retaining that smooth GD feel.

 

AD DI in the lower weights needs to be tipped a bit, IMO.  DI 7 and up do not, beyond the OEM recommendations.

Edited October 18, 2022 by dwboston

[chisag]

9 hours ago, Valtiel said:

As for "soft to flex", that just shows the lack of a fixed definition in what any given "flex" is supposed to be and the flaw in using it alone. Overall bend profiles are a significant modifier placed on top of a flex designation, an extra dimension to how they will feel to the point that there will be a lot of overlap in feel between softer profiles in stiffer flexes and stiffer profile in softer flexes. @getitdaily and many others can likely attest to being able to play a mid-soft profile like the AD-DI or Ventus Blue in an X-flex but a very mid-stiff profile like the Ventus Black in an S. So shafts like the AD-DI don't play "soft to flex", they are a profile designed to feel more flexible and will play similarly to other profiles of the same flex. A stiffer, lower launching profile should not be judged against it with regards to flex "accuracy".

 

 

... Always interesting to discuss shafts on a golf forum but especially WRX because many have aggressive, high swing speeds. Of course how you swing is much more important than how fast you swing and asking a stranger about "flex" is almost useless. I have a smooth swing with a deliberate transition and a late release measured pretty consistently around 97mph my last fitting. AD-IZ in stiff feels pretty strong to me and I am playing the S/R flex. My playing pard has a similar swing speed at 99mph his last fitting with a few just over 100 but a quick, short aggressive transition and finds the AD-IZ in stiff feels very "whippy". He plays a BB in x flex. 

... Two scratch golfers with a very similar swing speeds that experience a completely different feel from the same shafts. 

[CKaneb]

I don't think the flex is weak I just think the bend profile is much smoother than other shaft OEM's (which is kinda GD's main selling point)

[LoopySwing13]

As others have said, it “feels” softer than it plays, but I found going up in weight helped, I.e 70 on driver and 80 in fairways. To be honest, I prefer a bit more “one piece feel” and the TP series gave me that. Slightly more mid flight with lower spin and no “soft feel.” 
 

The DI line is terrific no doubt, but many who swing more aggressive think “hi/low” will be their savior for driver, but the shaft never fits their swing. 

[Bye]

For some reason I just can't get on with any of the Graphite Design shafts. I was fit for an AD DI in my hybrid, it was great in the simulator but on the course not so much. 

[ob1soccer]

On 10/19/2022 at 8:51 AM, CKaneb said:

I don't think the flex is weak I just think the bend profile is much smoother than other shaft OEM's (which is kinda GD's main selling point)

New to the Graphite Design line and have been previously using Oban, MCA and Aldila. Is Smooth what these shafts are all about?

[CKaneb]

On 12/8/2022 at 4:55 PM, ob1soccer said:

New to the Graphite Design line and have been previously using Oban, MCA and Aldila. Is Smooth what these shafts are all about?

Indeed

[JD3]

On 12/8/2022 at 4:55 PM, ob1soccer said:

New to the Graphite Design line and have been previously using Oban, MCA and Aldila. Is Smooth what these shafts are all about?

smooth but not the tip, which is very stiff.

[ob1soccer]

2 hours ago, JD3 said:

smooth but not the tip, which is very stiff.

IZ will fly higher with a tip not as stiff?