All4Golf

Thanks for posting. I still play XXIO fairway woods and like the looks of these a lot! It'd be great to do a side by side test with the launch monitor. Regards, Todd All4Golf

Thanks for the quick confirmation. I'm sure if something does come up and covers that angle, please do give me a PM for an exclusive summary post here on TSG. Todd All4Golf

What an article and am very impressed how they dedicated so much time and energy into a test. It will have a lot more reading by a broad audience than a 2-3 page short version that would show up in the US magazines. Great job translating things!! Are there any launch monitor numbers posted anywhere in the article? Regards, Todd All4Golf

Thanks for the reply and data. You make good points about headspeed feedback and achieving consistency. A golfer familiar with launch monitor feedback in addition to this unit will be able to bridge the gap of if my head speed is ___ , it translates into a ball speed of ____ . Is there a contact I can use to inquire further? Please PM me with the details. Regards, Todd All4Golf

Can I see the data from the .cvs file ? I'm curious what data is saved. Feel free to post some data as is in this thread! To confirm - does this unit capture ball speed, spin, and launch angle? Thanks, Todd All4Golf

It was interesting to discover how Tanaka already achieved this optimal set up with another driver. Ball speed was on the low end. Regards, Todd All4Golf

Using a simple average of Tanaka's results, Ball speed: 158.6 Mph Backspin = 2318 A launch between 13 and 15 would be ideal with spin around 2300-2400 rpm. This is robust enough for all ball speeds in this study. It would be best to have landing angle less than 40 degrees to maximize chances for additional roll. Too steep of a landing will minimize roll. If Tanaka wants to hit it harder, the extra distance will come easily. A shaft permitting him to hit it higher with lower spin is a bonus. Regards, Todd All4Golf

You're asking some good questions and it may be a couple of posts to answer what you're looking for. It is possible to entertain this scenario, however, keep in mind that we are dealing with a range of ball speeds (154.6-160.4) and spin (1,401 to 2,962) in this shoot out. I'd like gocchin or tourspecgolfer to comment how I should proceed and keep this thread on topic. Regards, Todd All4Golf

Thanks for your positive comments!! It depends on the player, the amount of ball speed he or she can generate, and the golf course played most often. I advocate a ball speed, then jointly look at launch angle with spin fitting strategy. The problem with more launch is most players will experience more spin (which may be a good thing for sub 130-140 ball speeds, but an undesireable for high ball speed player (ballooned shots). Regards, Todd

Here's a what if example of the Fujikura Rombax 6V05 shaft with 2 and 4 more degrees of loft. Does it win the against the other shafts? It does for carry at 15.1* launch but total distance will be shorter because of a steeper landing angle. What we learned here is that launching it high needs lower spin to keep a flatter and penetrating flight. Tanaka's 11.1* degree launch gave him the flexibility of working with more spin to keep the ball in the air. Regards, Todd

I'm going to post it today. Stay tuned! Todd

Siteseer2: Thanks for your postitve comments!! Tanaka's ball speed is at a level where he can realize some benefit from high launch and low spin. However, the full benefits of low spin will be realized more with much greater ball speeds (165MPH+). This weekend, I'll run a what if scenario with 2 more degrees of launch and 4 more degrees and post it here for review. If anyone wants a complimentary OptimalFlight report of their lm numbers, there's a form that can be completed at the bottom of the www.qualitygolfstats.com website page. Regards, Todd All4Golf

It would be great to see what OptimalFlight can do with your data. The program has validated data from all kinds of launch monitor systems and real world data. (Vector, Vector Pro, Zelocity, Swing Dynamics, Achiever, and radar based systems such as Flightscope, AboutGolf, and Trackman) The more consistent the player striking the ball creates more opportunity to understand what happens at impact and how the shaft can affect launch conditions for ball speed, spin, and launch angle. If set up as a series of controlled experiments, the shaft effects can be further quantified and discover what it takes to fully unleash the the energy of the shaft and produce a desireable distance result. It is possible there is a shaft that a player of Tanaka's skill will have trouble being consistent with (for reasons of weight, flex, or bend profile, or simply how the club was set up). In this case, more variation will exist in the launch conditions and distance results. This is why I recommend selecting the most similar 3 or 4 shots from a set of shots for final data analysis and be able to learn how well the player is able to reproduce results. Normally, we would expect to lot more variation when dealing with different handicap or skill levels. Some players have the whole package and is successful in their long, short and putting game. What I've learned is grouping data by handicap doesn't offer a real clear picture because there are golfers who are great drivers of the ball off the tee and have a weak spot in their short game. OptimalFlight has the capability to let the person to play around with the launch conditions to learn what kinds of distance results they can get for various ball speed, launch and spin values. Shaft characteristics brings into a whole new set of variables for consideration. The more data we can gather on the players swing (how the ball is hit (downward attack, upward attack), smooth swinger, aggressive swinger?), it will help narrow down the shaft options to properly release it's energy (due to bend profiles, weight, flex) to maximize the ball speed. Do you have such data in this manner? What may work well for Tanaka may not work well for me simply because of how the club is swung. Regards, Todd All4Golf

Thanks for sharing the results of the Six shaft shoot out. It is a refreshing study and demonstrates the value of launch monitor feedback in finding a driver/shaft combination that works for you. I would like to complement the report with a closer look at all shafts ordered by total distance with OptimalFlight. The following presentation is broken down into two parts, one covering the top 4 total distance results and the other covering the bottom 4 for total distance. Shafts Graphite Design Tour AD PT-6 and Mizuno Quad 6Butt Standard are in both reports because they represent the middle 2 results. Part 1: Flight A: Daiwa Roddio W6BA Flight B: Fujikura Rombax 6V05 Flight C: Graphite Design Tour AD PT-6 Flight D: Mizuno Quad 6Butt Standard Part 2: Flight A: Graphite Design Tour AD PT-6 Flight B: Mizuno Quad 6Butt Standard Flight C: Mamiya Op Axiv V 6070 Flight D: Mitsubishi Diamana D63 Here is a basic summary of the top 4 results. All numbers from the Vector launch monitor appear to be reasonable and valid (as indicated by the green bell shaped curve). OptimalFlight's roll calibration was set at 68% to better match Vector's results for total distance. The ball flight picture shows the Daiwa Roddio W6BA shaft to be launching higher and at low spin. All 4 shafts contribute to a slightly different flight. Due to near similar launch angles, Flights B, C, D have similar optimal carry profiles. The Fujikura Rombax 6V05 shaft produced a near optimal flight path with spin only 54 rpm away from optimal spin to maximize carry and distance. However, the Daiwa Roddio W6BA's higher launch and lower spin combination produced more distance. These graphs summarize results for total distance and landing angle. All 4 drives here had desirable landing angles between 35 and 40 degrees. The Daiwa Roddio W6BA shaft can actually benefit with a little more spin. These graphs present the flight conditions and results in graph form. Part 2: Flight A: Graphite Design Tour AD PT-6 Flight B: Mizuno Quad 6Butt Standard Flight C: Mamiya Op Axiv V 6070 Flight D: Mitsubishi Diamana D63 Here is a basic summary of the bottom 4 results for total distance. All numbers from the Vector launch monitor appear to be reasonable and valid (as indicated by the green bell shaped curve). We start to see some differences due to changes in launch conditions (1600 rpm range in spin and nearly 5mph range in ball speed). The next closest drive to optimal flight is the Mamiya Op Axiv V 6070, being only 174 rpm higher than optimal spin. One shaft fell out of the Optimal Distance Zone. It was the Mitsubishi Diamana D63 because it had ultra low spin (1406 rpm) and affected carry results to be shorter than expected. The best results overall were with the Daiwa Roddio W6BA. Kenji Tanaka benefited from a high launch low spin combination to gain an additional 8 yards (5-6 yards in carry and 2-3 more yards of roll) over the Fujikura Rombax 6V05. The article concluded well with the conclusion that "Finding a shaft that fits your game is not easy. There are many factors to take into account including your swing speed, swing style, your level of ability, the type of head it's matched to. Hopefully some launch monitor data like this can help you find your way. All these shafts are great performers, you just have to find the right one that matches your swing." What's right for Kenji Tanaka may not be right for you. Launch monitor feedback and the opportunity to work with an experienced clubfitter can make a real difference in making sense of the shaft options to work with your favorite driver. Regards, Todd All4Golf

Old news... The Tiger & Miura connection is from the Titleist days.