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Matrix Velox shafts optimize speed through curvature

Published

11 years ago

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Matrix’s new line of Velox shafts are designed to help golfers maximize clubhead speed, regardless of what type of driver setup they play.

In the past, better golfers gravitated toward drivers built to shorter lengths, which offered them more control and consistency than longer clubs. But the creation of larger, more forgiving club heads has led to the use of longer clubs by many golfers, as the wider arc that longer clubs create during the swing can help them generate additional club head speed and thus more distance.

Wider swing arcs have another possible benefit as well. They can help golfers improve their swing path, because wider arcs increase the chance that a golfer will swing the club on an in-to-out path, as well as with an upward angle of attack; a key ingredient to maximizing distance off the tee.

One of the problems with longer-length drivers, however, is that their extended length moves the balance point of the club closer to the club head. That issue is exacerbated by the fact that today’s adjustable driver heads are heavier than past models, tipping the balance point even farther toward the head. The movement of the balance point toward the head is called an increased “swing weight,” which makes the club feel heavier to a golfer.

For golfers who wish to take advantage of longer-length drivers but want to maintain a traditional swing weight, Matrix designed the Velox Sp shafts. The Sp shafts are counterbalanced, which means they have more weight in the butt section of the shaft to balance out the extra length, extra head weight, or both.

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The Velox shafts, which also come in a non-counterbalanced St model, were created with much more than proper weight distribution in mind, however.

Tom DeShiell, director of research and development at Matrix Shafts, said his team designed the Velox shafts to help golfers maximize the amount of energy they could transfer into the ball. They did so with deformation of energy (DE) analysis, a study of the curvature of a shaft during the swing and how it affects energy transfer.

“We wanted to optimize that curvature for golfers with different swing speeds,” DeShiell said.

Instead of the traditional R, S and X flexes, the Velox Sp and St shafts are categorized with numbers that relate to a golfer’s swing speed: 85, 95, 105 and 115. The 85 model will work best for golfers with a swing speed around 85 mph, the 95 will work best for golfers with a swing speed around 95 mph, and so on.

“Every different player has a different response to a shaft,” DeShiell said. “So, that’s where we tried to just concentrate on their swing speed.”

According to DeShiell, all golf shafts have a decrease in stiffness from the butt section to the tip section. But the rate at which that stiffness changes has to vary for golfers to get the most energy transfer from a shaft. For that reason, the Velox shafts for golfers with slower swing speeds have a rate of stiffness that decreases more rapidly, while the models for golfers with faster swing speeds decrease in stiffness more slowly.

The Velox shafts are currently being tested on the PGA Tour, and will be available at retail on Nov. 1. The Sp shafts (offered in weights of 50, 60, 70 and 80 grams) will retail for $275, while the St shafts (offered in weights of 60, 70 and 80 grams) will sell for $375.

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18 Comments

18 Comments

  1. Stan

    Jan 6, 2015 at 9:31 pm

    Does anyone have any know what the rated swing speed for volex t49 is?
    My swing speed for a driver is 88, will the volex 49 match up for me?

    Reply Report comment

  2. hoganman1

    Apr 28, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    I didn’t see any info about the Matrix Velox T 49. I know it weighs about 50 grams, but is it a high launch shaft? I’ve been using the Aldila NVS 55R. How does the T 49 compare with the NVS?

    Reply Report comment

  3. Joe Golfer

    Oct 14, 2013 at 1:22 am

    The swing speed idea sounds like a good one.
    Every company has a different idea of what an R flex is or an S flex is, and torque also plays a factor in how stiff a shaft feels.
    One company’s S flex actually feels like an S flex, while another company’s S flex may feel more like an R flex.
    That said, I agree with most of those who posted: $275 is too much to pay for a golf shaft. Even if the company has to pay for R&D, employee salaries, healthcare for employees, advertising, etc…, it is still way too expensive. It wasn’t that long ago that shafts cost way way less than that, and companies still had the same expenses as they do now. It just caters to those who think they have to have the very best, latest and greatest thing, and those people who equate cost with quality of fit to their game.

    Reply Report comment

  4. Don jan

    Oct 10, 2013 at 2:24 pm

    Graphite shafts only cost 5.00 / 8.00 to produce per shaft, yes it’s a rip, thank you

    Reply Report comment

    • Anser

      Oct 10, 2013 at 2:43 pm

      Don,

      Do you know per shaft cost?

      Do you have any idea how things like R&D, advertising, shipping, health insurance, and countless many other things all go into the cost?

      Reply Report comment

      • Xreb

        Oct 11, 2013 at 2:56 pm

        Are you saying these costs don’t apply to a high end electronic item which ends up costing up costing than a Matrix TP6HD ? Surely you are not going to say the chip manufacturing technology involves less R&D !!

        Reply Report comment

        • Hacked90

          Oct 14, 2013 at 3:37 pm

          The difference is volume; and therefore, the economies of scale of the business. These shafts might sell in the thousands, whereas iPads, and many “chips” for high end electronic items sell in the multi-millions. $100k in R&D may be $10 per shaft or the equivalent of $100MM in R&D for an iPad.

          Reply Report comment

          • Xreb

            Oct 19, 2013 at 12:07 pm

            A well thought out response and you pretty much summed it up, which only goes to prove the case that there isn’t the dollar value worth of technology in these shafts that manufacturers claim there is. The price is simply a reflection of the low volume of sales.

            Reply Report comment

      • TJ

        Oct 14, 2013 at 1:25 pm

        I work for a manufacture in a different field and its not the raw material that makes the product cost a lot of money. R&D is a huge expense at least it is in my field as well as the expenses of running a profitable business.

        Reply Report comment

  5. Don jan

    Oct 10, 2013 at 2:23 pm

    Graphite shafts only cost 5.00 / 8.00 to produce per shaft, yes a

    Reply Report comment

  6. Andy

    Oct 10, 2013 at 2:34 am

    Cause an iPad is so much harder to fit into a club head?

    Reply Report comment

  7. J

    Oct 9, 2013 at 9:07 pm

    Overpriced.

    Reply Report comment

    • Xreb

      Oct 10, 2013 at 1:46 am

      So is every shaft on the market. I would like someone to explain how any of these premium shafts cost more than an ipad ?

      Reply Report comment

  8. Mark

    Oct 9, 2013 at 3:29 pm

    couldn’t a golfer just put in a tour lock weight in the butt to achieve a very similar result?

    Reply Report comment

  9. Bama68

    Oct 9, 2013 at 11:57 am

    What will the total raw shaft length be for these shafts.

    Reply Report comment

  10. Big_5_Hole

    Oct 9, 2013 at 11:02 am

    “Instead of the traditional R, S and X flexes, the Velox Sp and St shafts are categorized with numbers that relate to a golfer’s swing speed: 85, 95, 105 and 155.:

    Is 155 supposed to read 115 or 125? Or is that last one made of re-bar and only for use as a chin-up bar?

    Reply Report comment

    • Zak Kozuchowski

      Oct 9, 2013 at 11:56 am

      Thanks for the catch. It has been corrected to say 115. And you’re right. If it were 155, it would be one heck of a chin-up bar.

      – Zak

      Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head

Published

12 hours ago

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Apr 19, 2024

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head

From the seller: (@lasallen): “For sale is a BRNR mini 11.5 deg head only in brand new condition.  $325 shipped.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head 

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

Published

1 day ago

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Apr 18, 2024

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.

From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.

Specs/ Additional Details

-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)

-Original Anser Design

-PING PP58 Grip

-Putter is built to standard specs.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Inside Collin Morikawa’s recent golf ball, driver, 3-wood, and “Proto” iron changes

Published

1 day ago

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Apr 18, 2024

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As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.

The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.

On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.

Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.

At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.

“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.

Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.

“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.

“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.” 

In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.

On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.

According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.

“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.” 

See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here. 

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