Equipment

The return of Loomis Golf shafts

Published

10 years ago

Jul 18, 2014

In 1992, Davis Love III installed Loomis Golf graphite shafts in his irons. The subsequent four wins on tour had competitors and aficionados scratching their heads and asking what exactly happened to DL3’s game? It turned out that those shafts were the offspring of a high-priced line of fishing rods, invented by Gary Loomis and predicated on flexible, balanced and dense graphite. Given recent events and announcements, Davis might want to re-examine his irons shafts as he prepares for the Champions Tour.

What events? Which announcements? Jeffrey and Robert Meyer, experienced men in the golf industry and owners of Meyer Performance Composites, have opened the factory doors in Wonka-like fashion and are producing the Loomis graphite iron shaft again. Jeffrey Meyer began designing golf shafts at Aldila in 1987. He worked as director of golf shaft development at Acushnet from 1996-2002 and then as director of metal wood development from 2002-2007. His brother, Robert, was an All-American golfer at BYU and played professional golf for about 10 years. Robert Meyer enjoyed success on the Canadian PGA and Golden State Tours. He then served as the PGA tour rep at Graphite Design from 1999-2008.

If you search the name, “Gary Loomis” on major engines, you’re more likely to find references to his fishing rod exploits. His unique carbon fiber construction techniques were honed in his days working on Lamiglass and Talon rods. Until Loomis arrived at the caravan, the world’s finest golf touring pros were hesitant to use graphite in anything other than metals and woods (yes, those were still around). They complained that graphite-shafted irons were too stiff and were rarely balanced through the set. After the major golf success of the 1990s, Loomis sold his company to Aldila or Shimano … or someone else, depending on the report you read. What is certain is that he left the business he had owned since 1973, even though the legendary name, G. Loomis, lived on.

From time to time, Loomis resurfaced, like a more frequent and human version of Brigadoon. In 2008, he spoke at the International Professional Association of ClubFitters exposition, where he maintained that the impact of the golf shaft on effective and efficient clubfitting was never in doubt and that the properties of each shaft had direct impact on the success of the fitting and use of the clubs.

The company’s mission statement discusses “highest modulus materials” and “densest laminates” as attributes. Jeffrey Meyer broke down in layman’s terms precisely what separates Loomis shafts from the competition.

“The Loomis iron shafts are known for their low torque, stability, superior vibration dampening with excellent feel similar to the fishing rods Gary Loomis produces. This is accomplished by utilizing tools with very small diameters, using better materials and taking extra steps in the manufacturing process to ensure that maximum laminate density is obtained. Better materials, better designs and better manufacturing processes result in superior products.”

Today, the Meyer brothers count on the unique quality of the Loomis shaft to be its principal selling point.

“With the assistance of the Mitsubishi Rayon Company, the EFP Tour and EFP 95 iron shafts are made with superior high modulus fibers (40 ton/57 msi tensile modulus) and resin systems combined with their world class manufacturing to produce consistent, high quality shafts,” Meyer said. “These designs also incorporate a proprietary titanium-nickel fiber that help to optimize the balance and feel of these shafts.”

To celebrate the return of the product, the Meyers brothers are focusing the marketing energy on the crossover between golf and collegiate sports. Loomis graphite irons shafts are available in the team colors of 31 major universities.

Given that tomorrow’s pros are today’s collegians, if Loomis shafts catch their eye, the next generation of touring professionals might opt in a dominant way for Loomis shafts, just as the generation of 1990 did.

Visit Loomis’ website for more information.

Your Reaction?

LIKE8
LEGIT1
WOW5
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB2
SHANK0

Equipment

Putter Roundup: 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Published

24 mins ago

Apr 25, 2024

Brian Knudson

We always get some great photos of some phenomenal putters at tour events and love to share them. Here are a few from the 2024 Zurich Classic that caught our eye and seemed interesting. (And as a reminder, you can check out all our photos from New Orleans here)

MJ Daffue’s Scotty Cameron T-11 Prototype

MJ is going with the new Scotty Cameron T-11 Prototype this week. The putter is a multi-piece mallet that puts an emphasis on stability with the wings on the back. Daffue’s putter does have a design that differs from retail with a monotone finish, which eliminates the black paint on the aluminum parts that we see at retail. He also has a half siteline milled into the top and an L-neck welded on for some additional toe hang. The face features a deeper milling that should offer a softer feel and slightly quieter sound.

Scotty Cameron T-7.5 Prototype

We spotted a few different Scotty Cameron Phantom models with modified rear flanges. It looks like the straight black flange was cut into a half circle for a little softer look at address. On this T-7.5, you can still see the raw aluminum from the back view, so this might have been a last-minute job to get them out on tour. The semi-circle also has a white line on it, maybe to frame the ball differently.

Alex Fitzpatrick’s Bettinardi SS16 DASS

Alex’s SS16 is made from Bettinardi’s famous D.A.S.S., or double-aged stainless steel, for a softer and more responsive feel. The face has a unique diamond pattern milling and features a logo that I feel like I have seen before, but can’t put a name to. The putter is a classic mid-mallet style with a simple, single white siteline on the top. The sole is clean with just the SS16, DASS, and a green triangle logo on it.

Steve Stricker’s Odyssey White Hot No. 2

This putter has made some amazing putts in its long career! Stricker’s White Hot No. 2 might be in the top 10 of most famous putters in golf. When you see all the dents and lead tape, you know the heel will be up and it will be sinking putts! The soft White Hot insert looks to be in good shape and has less wear on it than the rest of the putter. We don’t know how much lead tape is on the sole, but it has to be multiple layers compacted down over the years.

Doug Ghim’s Scotty Cameron T-7 Prototype

This T-7 should win the award for “best color finish” in this list with its deep chromatic bronze. It looks like Scotty added a cherry bomb dot to the heel of the deep-milled face and filled it with a very dark blue paint. The rest of the putter looks pretty stock with its single site line on the topline and twin site lines down the “fangs” of the putter. Twin 5-gram weights are installed in the sole and the putter is finished off with a gloss black double bend shaft with a fill shaft offset.

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic

Your Reaction?

LIKE0
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

Equipment

Spotted: Project X Denali hybrid shaft

Published

1 hour ago

Apr 25, 2024

Brian Knudson

Project X’s Denali wood shafts have been seen in more and more golf bags this year as we start off the season. As a refresher, Denali Blue is the mid-launch and mid-spin model while Denali Black is for players seeking lower launch and spin.

Denali combines great feel with stability and increased ball speed. Currently, Project X only offers Denali Blue and Black in wood shafts, but we spotted a hybrid shaft in Daniel Berger’s bag at the 2024 Zurich Classic.

Check out in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s full WITB here.

The shaft looks to be a Denali Blue 105G – HY in TX flex. No word on details from Project X yet but we can assume that this is a mid-launching shaft that weighs around 105 grams in Tour X-Stiff flex.

Berger has this shaft in his TaylorMade P770 3-iron, likely for some added launch and spin to hold the green from longer distances.

Hopefully, this means we will see some more shafts coming under the Denali name in the future, as I think many of us would like to try one in a hybrid or utility iron!

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic
Check out in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s full WITB here.

Your Reaction?

LIKE0
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

Whats in the Bag

Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)

Published

22 hours ago

Apr 24, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here.

Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.

6-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X Denali Blue 105 TX (3), Project X 6.5 (4-PW)

Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F), Callaway Jaws Raw (60-08C)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)