Equipment
Spotted: Nippon “Graphite On Steel Technology” hybrid prototype shafts
Steel vs. graphite shafts, which is better for your game? It’s a question as old as the invention of graphite shafts for golf clubs.
Well, it appears that Nippon is combining steel and graphite with its new hybrid prototype shaft, with technology called “Graphite On Steel.” Based on the nomenclature and the photos we captured at the 2018 AT&T Byron Nelson on Monday, it seems that there is a layer of graphite surrounding a steel hybrid shaft.
And for what purpose? GolfWRX Members are guessing that the design could be for reduced vibration, or for great stability, but we’re yet to know for sure.
We’ve reached out to Nippon representatives and will update this story with more information as it becomes available. For now, click here for more photos and discussion.
- LIKE58
- LEGIT7
- WOW8
- LOL5
- IDHT2
- FLOP6
- OB0
- SHANK16
Titleist has today introduced Pro V1, Pro V1x and Pro V1x Left Dash golf balls featuring enhanced alignment.
The new Enhanced Alignment aid is an extended alignment sidestamp designed for more precise aim and accuracy. The elongated sidestamp provides a built-in visual aid and measures over 65 percent longer than the standard Pro V1 sidestamp.
“Enhanced Alignment is designed for golfers who are seeking a more detailed, built-in alignment feature on their Pro V1, Pro V1x or Pro V1x Left Dash. We saw overwhelming interest in the single-colored line on Pro V1 Performance Alignment, and this is another alternative for players who prefer a slightly different look.” – Jeremy Stone, Vice President, Titleist Golf Ball Marketing
In addition to Enhanced Alignment, Titleist offers more than 40 different alignment aid designs on Pro V1’s fourth pole – opposite the sidestamp – through custom order on Titleist.com.
Pro V1, Pro V1x and Pro V1x Left Dash Enhanced Alignment golf balls are available to order through titleist.com and at authorized Titleist retailers beginning on May 17 in the United States only. Enhanced Alignment is available globally on July 1.
- LIKE3
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
Cobra released its first commercially available 3D-printed steel putter in 2020. Now, the company is bringing its first 3D-printed irons to retail with new LIMIT3D irons, which Cobra’s vice president of product architecture, Jose Miraflor, calls “the most significant technological advancement to happen to the category in the past 20 years” and “a look into the future of golf club design and performance.”
Cobra leveraged the expertise of computational design software firm nTop to create an ambitious design: a compact players blade that offers similar forgiveness as a larger, game-improvement style club and forged iron feel.
Speaking on the partnership, Mike Yagley, Vice President of Innovation & AI, Cobra Golf said, “nTop’s computational design tools integrated with 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, allowed us to create an incredible new design that looks and feels like a forged blade but performs like a larger, game-improvement iron. No one has done this before, and we’re excited to introduce these unique irons to the world.”
As Cobra explains, more forgiving irons are traditionally larger and sacrifice feel. Due to the limitations of casting and forging, creating a more compact, better-feeling iron that still delivers forgiveness was only possible with 3D printing. The resulting profile of Cobra’s LIMIT3D irons is smaller than Cobra’s King Tour irons.
LIMIT3D irons are 3D printed for 316L stainless steel with an internal lattice structure, which allowed engineers to position 33 percent of the iron’s overall weight to the exterior for greater MOI. 100 grams of tungsten is positioned in the heel and toe of each clubhead for low CG for ease of launch and high MOI for greater forgiveness.
Additionally, using nTop’s design software and additive manufacturing allowed for a substantially faster prototyping process, which enabled engineers to test more designs and mass placements for a superior finished product.
Cobra LIMIT3D irons: Pricing, specs, availability
- 350 individually numbered sets available in the U.S. and Canada (500 sets total worldwide)
- Available for custom order June 7
- Price: $3,000
- Set: 4-PW, RH only
- Full range of aftermarket shafts, grips
- LIKE9
- LEGIT3
- WOW6
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK5
Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/14/24): Mizuno Pro 241 Azalea Edition irons
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 set of Mizuno Pro 241 Azalea Edition irons.
From the seller: (@ayc25): “Brand new in box / plastic. 4-PW. Custom shaft bands, grips, ferrules. Dynamic Gold S200 Tour Issue. NO TRADES. Ships next day UPS Ground from Northern Virginia. $1695 shipped or best offer.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Mizuno Pro 241 Azalea Edition irons
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
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW1
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
Things got heated at the Houston Open between Tony Finau and Alejandro Tosti. Here’s why
Justin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
Tiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
‘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
Report: LIV Golf identifies latest star name they hope to sign to breakaway tour
Neal Shipley presser ends in awkward fashion after reporter claims Tiger handed him note on 8th fairway
What we know about Bryson DeChambeau’s 3D-printed Avoda irons
Michael Block WITB 2024 (May)
Michael Block what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 “Dot” (9 degrees @7.5) Shaft:...
Brooks Koepka WITB 2024 (May)
Brooks Koepka what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 “Dot” (10.5 degrees @9.75) Shaft:...
Rory McIlroy’s winning WITB: 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25) Buy here. Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Buy here. Shaft:...
Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)
Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver:...
-
19th Hole3 weeks agoLET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you
-
19th Hole7 days agoReport: LIV star turns down PGA Championship invite due to ‘personal commitments’
-
19th Hole2 weeks agoGary Player claims this is what ‘completely ruined’ Tiger Woods’ career
-
Equipment6 days agoDetails on Justin Thomas’ driver switch at the Wells Fargo Championship
-
Whats in the Bag2 weeks agoTeam McIlowry (Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry) winning WITBs: 2024 Zurich Classic
-
Whats in the Bag7 days agoKeegan Bradley WITB 2024 (May)
-
Equipment2 weeks agoGolf fans left surprised by LIV’s choice of course for its 2024 individual championship event
-
Equipment2 weeks agoWhy Wesley Bryan is playing two 4-irons this week
Dave Bryce
May 19, 2018 at 1:52 pm
In the 90s I reshafted the bimatrix shaft for many customers. That shaft incorporated the same principles and proved to be more hype then substance! With that shaft I found the swingweights to be too high!
KenW
May 16, 2018 at 9:56 pm
I too have a set of the Aerotech SteelFiber shafts which have steel thread wrapped around a graphite core and they were great, but a couple years ago I put Fujikura’s Metal Composite shafts (MCI) on my Calloway Apex irons and Wow! they are terrific shafts. Like the Nippon shafts, they have a graphite sleeve over a steel core shaft. Don’t know there’s a ton of difference but the Fujikura seem to have the perfect Flex and torque for my swing.
~j~
May 16, 2018 at 12:43 pm
A side from perhaps the steelfibers (never tried), has anyone even had much success intertwining steel and graphite?? Would think the extra labor/technology involved would largely go unnoticed by many and likely to be not worth the production cost.
Buck Futter
May 16, 2018 at 12:22 pm
Graphite Hybrid On Steel Technology or GHOST for short
Should make them in white
Really Big Mike
May 16, 2018 at 12:00 pm
This technology looks to be very similar to Aerotech Steelfiber, who advertises that their shafts are longer and straighter with less effort and they avoid injury or aggravating previous injury.
cinch bugs
May 15, 2018 at 8:34 am
Don’t knock it till you’e tried it…. just kidding knock away!
Deadpool
May 15, 2018 at 2:21 am
Lets just go back to hickory. I like wood. My wood is good.
steve
May 15, 2018 at 3:53 pm
so yer regressing back to woodies and abandoning stiff steel and floppy graphite?
steve
May 14, 2018 at 6:08 pm
SteelFiber shafts have filament-wound steel fibers over and internal graphite shaft… and now Nippon is putting the graphite over the steel shafting. Why are they doing this expensive solution to compensate for the failings of plain graphite shafts with floppy soggy tips with a sloppy dynamic response going through final release and impact?
For SteelFiber: https://aerotechgolfshafts.com/
steve
May 14, 2018 at 6:15 pm
Furthermore.. most graphite shafts are oven-cured to harden the epoxy mix holding the graphite fibers. Not with Seven Dreamers graphite shafts which are autoclave cured that sucks out the excess epoxy plastic that causes the tip instability of other graphite shafts.
Seven Dreamers: http://www.golfwrx.com/489200/a-qa-with-seven-dreamers-about-its-1200-shafts/
Deadpool
May 15, 2018 at 2:22 am
Yeah I am so intelligent and knowledgeable too, that Google lets me know everything too, steve
steve
May 15, 2018 at 3:50 pm
go back to the main WRX forum with all the gearheadbaters…
steve
May 15, 2018 at 10:01 pm
Yer the Google gearheadbater who can only tap twitter-sized blurts from yer shrunken brainlet.. so sooo obvious …. ????
Dan
May 15, 2018 at 3:59 pm
Does this guy just copy paste this app the time?
steve
May 15, 2018 at 10:00 pm
I remember all that scientific stuff because my smart brain is not ruined with a twitter blurting mentality…. just go to the main WRX forum and look at the juvenile comments in less than 140 characters… sooo pa thetic…
Not Steve
May 15, 2018 at 11:14 pm
Your smart brain and scientist stuff is on the wrong site for that you will incurred a stroke penalty and another for slow play
Josh
May 14, 2018 at 11:29 pm
Steelfiber convert here… I agree why put the graphite on top of the steel? Doesn’t make as much sense as the steel-fiber-weave wrapped around a traditional graphite shaft…