More shaft help needed!

It seems that we've got a lot of knowlegable shaft people contributing - this is great. I'll looking for comments from you equipment gurus.

I'm seriously thinking about changing my Hawkeye VFT stock Callaway 60 Firm shaft for a True Temper BiMatrx.

My goal is more control and lower ball flight. Current drives are long but ball flight is an extremely high with slight fade - balloon type ball flight resulting in very little roll. In fact wet fairways sometimes result in negative roll. Ball hits, pops up and spins back a yard!

Swing speed is 112-118 however TT shaft lab recommends regular flex. I believe stiffer with high kick will provide the control and ball flight I'm seeking. Also considering a shorter length - perhaps 44 inches.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Have you tried any of the UST Pro Force shafts? :fish

The Proforce 75 is a possibility if I can look past the purple/yellow colour scheme.

I guess the color is a little odd but it is a good shatft. I put the 65 Stiff in my Mizuno driver and love it! It is " tip stiff" which provides the low, noring ball flight. You should give it a try! You can do a little research at www.ustgolfshaft.com/!

The colour is bright, but i think it's the smartest thing a company has done, marketing wise...
I work in the golf retail business, and i have more people come up to me and say "i want to reshaft this with that yellow shaft"... They don't even know the name, but they know it's good.

THe best thing to do is try these shafts...CB has tons of demos and used clubs with high end shafts in them. Take em out, give em a whack...You'd still be able to tell no matter what the head is.

Look around for a shaft with a stiff tip and high flex point. Graffaloy Prolite 35 is good, I use one in a 10* GBB. The prolite elite is a softer tip and won't help you as much. Check an online catalogue like www.golfworks.com and check the specs. You can order in Canadian, shipped right from Ottawa!

Thanks Michaeld. I have the golfworks catalog and the Prolite 35 specs seem to suit what I'm looking for but I'm still leaning towards the BiMatrix. Golfworks rates the Prolite as a "D" distance shaft and the BiMatrx as a "B" for both distance and control.

I don't think I want to tackle this job myself. I have built several drivers but I have no experience reshafting bore-thrus and the VFT complicates things with it's special shaft sleeve (also in the catalog).

I'm also concerned about my warranty. I checked with Callaway - they want $150 to reshaft with a BiMatrx. Don't know what they would charge for a Grafalloy. I've already returned on VFT to Callaway with a hairline crack in the face so I'm leary about voiding my warranty.

Just a note on the Bi matrix. The shaft is very stiff. So make sure you are ready for it. I'v tried every shaft going(almost) and found the bi matrix a bad feel. Of course everyone is different and I'm sure you've tried it out already. As far as warranty it is void if you change the shaft. However I work at a proshop and Callaway has on occasion given warantys for the heads of reshafted clubs. They have very good customer service.
P.s. I'v never seen a bimatrix in a Callaway head so you might want to find out if the specs. match up Good luck

Have you ever given any thought to a Shaft from Phoenixx Golf ?
The Thermo Force BT30 is specially designed for bore-through drivers. The shaft provides a mid/high flex point for a more boring trajectory and a stiffer tip for more control and max. dsitance. It was specially designed for the Titleist 975 series woods but is just as effective for your needs. The BT 40 is X flex and torque 3.5 for swing speeds 100 - 115 mph. . The tip range is 6 inches. weight 70 grams. (Color - Charcoal) There is quite a difference in the process Phoenixx TPC uses to make their shafts. They use an advanced high performance thermoplastic resin rather then a standard thermoset resin. This process allows the shaft to have a metallic feel without the harshness associated with coventional graphite or steel.
This unique process causes the shaft to stiffen under dynamic loading. This is know as visco-elasticity and it not only causes the shaft to play stiffer the harder you swing but it provides incredible feel and feedback. Testing has also shown that these shafts compared to conventional graphite reduce spin rate, providing forgiveness off the club face as well as providing a more boring and flatter ball flight.
You can contact me if you need more info - 721-4053

I went ahead with the Bimatrx stiff and if early rounds are an indication it was definitely the right choice - that shaft is mint.

Mission accomplished - better ball flight, much improved accuracy - I can actually pick a target from the tee block and hit my ball to it - what a concept. :P

No noticable loss of distance if anything the lower ball flight is giving me more roll and longer drives. Normally in spring conditions my drives would plug.

Hey 4jag...

That's good to hear about your experience with the Bimatrix! I bought a used TM 320 9.5* with the factory shaft and I'm hitting the ball high. I would like to lower the ball flight and was wondering if anyone had tried the Bimatrix shaft.

What was your ball fight like before switching shafts??

Chris,

I'm not an expert, but I'd look a little bit deeper first. I understand that the size of the clubhead for the TM 320/360 accounts for some of the loft. In other words, the TM 320/360 hits high with nearly all shafts.

My recommendation is to try it out with different shafts first, before you commit. There's a possiblity that you won't get a shaft that hits it as low as you used to. This is one of the reasons that the Ping TIsi Tec has changed it's labelling to 'effective loft' rather than 'nominal loft' of the clubface.

I appreciate your recommendation; however the store that I know that has this club for demo only has it with the factory shaft. So it looks like I can't get first hand experience at demoing the shaft and clubhead match.

I suppose I would need to consult someone knowledgable on both components to see if the match will lower my ball flight without sacraficing roll/distance. I know Taylor Made offers the BiMatrix shaft in their custom shaft selection for the 320, but there is no comparative analysis between the trajectory of their stocked graphite shaft and the BiMatrix or the Grafalloy Prolite.

Thanks