Equipment
Breakthrough Golf Technology’s new Stability putter shafts, from CEO Barney Adams
The new wave of putters have trended larger and heavier in order to create more forgiveness and stability of the putter head at impact. But what about the putter shaft?
According to Breakthrough Golf Technology (BGT) — founded by golf equipment legend and former GolfWRX contributor Barney Adams — the current steel putter shafts are not stable or strong enough to keep the heavier putter heads from oscillating or twisting at impact. BGT also says the strongest part of most steel putter shafts is just below the hands, “…where it does the least good.”
BGT’s new “Stability” shaft uses multi-material designs and geometries in order to create a more solid feel and reduce the “wobble,” as Barney Adams puts it, throughout the stroke.
Related: We first spotted Stability shafts on K.J. Choi’s putter at the Valero
“When I first learned about the product I knew that it could be significant,” Adams said in a press release. “It’s a step forward in golf equipment technology. What has been rewarding for me is that the Stability Shaft works better for amateurs. Pros are great putters and while the shaft does help them, it’s the inconsistency of the amateur that it corrects most.”
The Stability shafts have four main technological components, according to the company.
- Eight layers of high-modulus carbon fiber with a no-taper design in order to reduce torque
- A 22-gram aluminum insert for reinforcement
- A 7075 aluminum “connector” allows attachment to any tip diameter regardless of bend profile
- The stainless steel tips are made to have “extremely consistent wall thickness,” for greater strength, and they have a “smoke PVD finish to add protection from corrosion and rusting”
The shafts are designed to deliver the face more squarely than putters with standard steel putter shafts, and a “lower launch for a predictable roll, resulting in better distance control,” according to the company.
Here’s how it works, according to BGT:
The Stability Shaft is currently available for $199.99 at golf retailers in the U.S. and Canada.
See what GolfWRX members are saying about the Stability putter shafts
From the desk of Barney Adams:
In 2011, Adams Golf acquired YES putters. The employee who came with the acquisition was Blair Philip. Although I had no functional affiliation with Adams Golf, I stopped in periodically to visit.
During one of my stops, I was introduced to Blair. I wasted no time in telling him that my putter experience went back to the early 70’s and my association with Dave Pelz. It was fodder for some good-natured ribbing and that was the extent of our relationship.
About 5-years later, Adams Golf had been acquired by TaylorMade and when I saw Blair he said he passed on the opportunity to be involved in the acquisition.
Rather, he wanted to start his own putter business. He went on to tell me that his putter line was unique in that his research had uncovered a basic flaw in steel shafts. He described the flaw as the excessive weights of heads vs. shafts. Specifically, that they responded with oscillation during the stroke. Because of this ‘wobble’ the head didn’t return to the ball in a perfectly square position and the ability to achieve a consistent roll.
His improved shaft was heavier, stiffer and wider in the tip. He thought it was a success; he had eliminated the “wobble.” I told him essentially “nice try” but no chance. The adjustment errors caused by a much heavier shaft with a wider OD exceeded the initial problem he was trying to fix. The only way he stood a chance was to come up with a shaft that fixed the oscillation problem and required absolutely no adjustment by the player. Today, I’ve been playing with a prototype for a while and I can honestly say, that although the shaft isn’t magic, I have been putting remarkably well. What I especially like that in every instance the feedback was pristine.
Blair and I have formalized our love of the game and have become partners in what is now Breakthrough Golf and the Stability shaft for putters. And now you know how it all started.
See what GolfWRX members are saying about the Stability putter shafts
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- 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
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)
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)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini DB
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy PistolLock 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.
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What are the driver and shaft combinations of the best golfers in the world? For gearheads, it’s an endlessly interesting question — even if we can only ever aspire to play LS heads and 7 TX shafts.
At this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, GolfWRX got in-hand looks at the driver setups of a wealth of players.
Check out some of the most interesting combos below, then head to the GolfWRX forums for the rest, as well as the rest of our galleries from New Orleans.
Rory McIlroy
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alex Fitzpatrick
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Daniel Berger
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees @9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Rasmus Hojgaard
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alejandro Tosti
Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees @10.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride MCC Plus4
James Nicholas
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (8 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Kevin Streelman
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Sang-moon Bae
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (9+ @8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Russ Cochran
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke (9 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD TP 6 X
Grip: Golf pride MCC Align 
MJ Daffue
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (10.5 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX 65 TX
Grip: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord Align
Check our more photos from the Zurich Classic here.
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- Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Prototype (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Utility: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 85 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro (3), Callaway X Forged (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 130
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S, 56-10S, 60-06C)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled Eight T DB
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Hojgaard in the forums.
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Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
John Daly stuns fans into silence with brutal opening tee shot on PGA Tour Champions
Things got heated at the Houston Open between Tony Finau and Alejandro Tosti. Here’s why
Tiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
Justin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
Report: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters
Two star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters
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Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)
Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here. Driver:...
Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)
Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)...
Rory McIlroy WITB 2024 (April)
Rory McIlroy what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus...
Sam Burns WITB 2024 (April)
Sam Burns’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond S (9 degrees...
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19th Hole2 weeks agoDave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
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19th Hole2 weeks agoTiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
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19th Hole2 days agoJustin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
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19th Hole2 days ago‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
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19th Hole3 weeks agoReport: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters
-
19th Hole1 week agoTwo star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters
-
19th Hole1 week agoReport: LIV Golf identifies latest star name they hope to sign to breakaway tour
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19th Hole1 week agoNeal Shipley presser ends in awkward fashion after reporter claims Tiger handed him note on 8th fairway
Pingback: Club Junkie: Review of Breakthrough Golf Technology’s ZNE wedge shaft – GolfWRX
Darrell
Aug 25, 2018 at 4:46 pm
Do these guys still have a website? All the ones I see are no longer used.
ogo
May 14, 2018 at 7:15 pm
WOTTA BUNCH OF LIES FOR THE NEUROTIC GOLPER !!
Gary
May 19, 2018 at 7:22 pm
Hear today that Tom Watson had one in the Masters par 3 tournament and had 8 putts in 9 holes and won.
DJ Morris
May 4, 2018 at 6:21 am
This looks very similar to the UST shaft, BUT 7 times the price… WTF?!?! https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ust-Mamiya-Frequency-Filtered-Straight-370-Tip-Putter-Shaft-Part-13474/202236936308
Someone
May 4, 2018 at 2:32 pm
my thoughts exactly. there’s gotta be some type of patent or copyright infringement going on.
Michael
May 4, 2018 at 4:21 am
Dear Mr. Adams,
what’s the difference between your new design and the UST Frequency Filtered Putter shafts?
Cheers,
Michael
Barney Adams
May 4, 2018 at 8:00 pm
I had to look that shaft up. Basically no similarity although some visual. Our shaft is specifically designed to House an internal spacer at the point where the oscillation occutrrs ( thanks to a loan of a special camera operating at 100,000 frames per sec.) ( that’s not a misprint ) This stops face wobble and guarantees a face square to the intended line UST does not reference shaft oscillation and the mitigation process. We are very familiar with the shafts mentioned in Wrx comments and literally dozens more: tested all of them against our specs. Took 3+ years to develop the product just introduced. Yes it’s a shaft but a VERY complex product
steve
May 14, 2018 at 7:11 pm
So now we must consider putter shaft oscillations that appear at 100,000 fpm ??!!! 😮
Face wobble only occurs on bad miss-hits and misaligned putter head path due to bad putting form. So you’re telling us that your shaft can self-correct to save bad golfers?
steve
May 14, 2018 at 7:12 pm
ooops … that’s “100,000 cps” …. 😀
Barney Adams
May 3, 2018 at 10:48 pm
I think one of the great values the shaft provides is in practice. Your feedback is 100% pristine.
kourt
May 3, 2018 at 5:06 pm
Haha first you needed a bigger grip on your putter, then you needed a high moi mallet putter head, then you needed the revolutionary sight lines, now you need to top it off with a $200 putter shaft because the shaft wobbles too much? marketing at its finest.
Barney Adams
May 3, 2018 at 4:48 pm
There was no bigger skeptic than me early on. But you can’t refute data and by that I mean thousands of putts. Also in the back of my mind a stat I never understood; the significant difference in make percent outside 3-4’ on Tour. As for the $199 price, I’d love it to be $49 but Technology isn’t cheap.
ViagrGolfer
May 3, 2018 at 12:17 pm
My Scotty feels so inadequate impotent now that I know it’s cause it’s got a wobbly steel shaft. I’m gonna get one of these fantastic Stability shafts which I know will stiffen my putter and get the most out of my Scotty head. 😀
acew/7iron
May 3, 2018 at 10:21 am
Johnjohn is right…I looked up the HOG putters on Ebay and there it was:
“This putter has the upgraded HOG Graphite FAT Shaft”
So like all things under the Sun…This is not a new idea
john33nink
May 3, 2018 at 12:53 am
continuously i used to read smaller content which also clear their motive, and that is also happening with this paragraph which I am reading at this time.
ned
May 2, 2018 at 11:55 pm
Soooo …. putter head design is in confusion and now the putter shaft is dubious!!!
It’s a wonder anybody can putt with those $399 phony anser ripoff boutique design putters…. which shows that golffers are suckers for new toys.
Johnjohn
May 2, 2018 at 9:57 pm
Look at the old HOG putters, they were promoting the thicker, more stable shafts them. Had one in their putter. Which btw was made by machine putters, beautiful milling
cinch bugs
May 2, 2018 at 2:21 pm
Tipping instructions for the big dogs at WRX who will need to make it more stout due to SS…
Johnny Penso
May 4, 2018 at 11:12 am
Comment of the day right there…lol.
alexdub
May 2, 2018 at 2:10 pm
If they want the GolfWRX crowd interested, they better offer it in X flex.
DB
May 3, 2018 at 1:45 pm
Look at the torque numbers – 1.0, it’s basically an XX.
GolfWRX is sold.