Soft Handle, High Balance Point

[bigdriveandy]

In a driver shaft - these two things are usually antithetical. Are there any examples that break the mold and offer a softer handle with a higher balance point? I prefer soft handled shafts but after switching to g430 I am sensing the swing weight has gone up when attempting to use my old shaft (Ventus Blue).

[CTgamer]

Off the top of my head, Tour AD BB (soft handle by GD standards, but not as soft as a true whiteboard profile) and Accra Concept CS1 are the only ones that come to mind…the latter has a soft handle, linear loss of stiffness down the rest of the shaft, mid launch propensity, and a balance point ~2” above center 
 

[Pepperturbo]

1 hour ago, bigdriveandy said:

In a driver shaft - these two things are usually antithetical. Are there any examples that break the mold and offer a softer handle with a higher balance point? I prefer soft handled shafts but after switching to g430 I am sensing the swing weight has gone up when attempting to use my old shaft (Ventus Blue).

Not that I've found. 

 

Softer handle may provide soft shaft feel, but depending on your mechanics, may not give you the best result down range.  I say that only because you talk about a higher balance point.

 

I have a fast tempo and transition, which gets along much better with high bend or very least mid-high bend shafts; that typically means very stiff handle.  To that point, and yours; I, too, played TR Blue in GT3 and current Rogue ST Max 10.5, from the time it was introduced. 

 

To make TR Blue work, I had to consciously adjust to accommodate the shaft's characteristics and didn't always get the longest possible.  I hit it well enough, but if my brain ever wandered the result wasn't the best.

 

Recently, while on MCA's website, I tripped over Diamana GT, ordered one a few months ago to see, with no expectations.  All I can say is, it's sweet and much easier to hit long.  Mitsubishi says it has THE stiffest handle of all shafts; thanks to it's super stiff handle, with mid+ mid, and mid+ tip. 

 

Last weekend 390+ Par 4, dog-leg left, using Rogue ST Max set at 11.5 with D. GT @D3 sw, cut the leg off for 270 = I am 74 yrs young.  All day I was finding fairway area that I hadn't reached with TR Blue.  Don't get me wrong, I hit some using TR Blue that were 250-260.  Only I've been hitting more consistently longer with this setup. 

 

What makes this shaft unique, Diamana shafts have always had a rep of being #1 when it comes to feel.  Many years back, when the Board series was popular, I played the Blueboard 83 x5ct.  IMO feels better than TR Blue.

Edited January 15 by Pepperturbo