So, I have this recurring nightmare; I smoke one down the par 5 18th hole at my home course. Get to the ball and laser; 222 front, 227 pin. Perfect hybrid distance. I pull off the head cover, do my pre-shot routine and the ball takes off relatively straight. Then, it starts to curve left. Then it’s not just a curve, but a huge hook… and then SPLASH! In the pond short left.

Fed up with this dream, which is all-too-realistic based on my real game, I finally sought out answers while at a recent PGA Tour event. “Hey Kim! How are you sir?” I said.

“Brendan, how are you sir?” responded Kim Braly, my buddy and Director of R&D and Tour Operations at KBS Shafts.

“Well, not very good. As you know I love to play golf but have been struggling with my hybrid; I just seem to have the problem of duck hooking it at the worst times. Drives me crazy!” I responded.

“Look, next week at the Tour stop, why don’t you come spend time with me. It will be great to catch up and I think I might be able to help give you some insight into your problem” said Kim.

Day in the Tour Van? No snap hooks? Sold.

Arriving early, I was greeted at the Tour Van by Kim Braly and John Weber of KBS. “Welcome! Welcome, Brendan! Great to see you,” said Kim as I made my way up the stairs and entered the van. As we shook hands and greeted everyone, I handed Kim my hybrid for his thoughts and inspection. He quickly set it aside and said, “Brendan, what you have is a widespread problem with graphite because of the process of making the shaft. Unlike steel, which is a consistent material and easy to work with, graphite is complex. Graphite shafts are made through a process, which usually involves two or three sheets being cut and then woven together electronically to fit manufactures specifications. Although we have consistently gotten better at the process, graphite has limitations and it is very hard to make it stiff, light and consistent.”

I nodded and stopped, “Why is it so hard?” I questioned.

“When working with steel, you have almost perfect consistency and durability but have few options with weight (that’s why the lightest steel shafts are approximately 95 grams). With graphite you have greater problems with consistency; people want lighter, but it becomes hard to make stiff. As a result, many graphite hybrid shafts have large windows of frequency and they tend to be weak or soft. The result? Often that miss left you are struggling with!” explained Kim.

“So, does that mean that I need to change to steel? I will do anything to stop those quakers!” I responded.

“No. Most graphite companies are used to making wood shafts, not iron shafts. We have a ton of data to understand what players need in a hybrid shaft,” said Kim as he picked up my hybrid and walked towards the work bench. “The shaft we are going to test is our KBS Tour Hybrid Proto. It has very close to the same stiffness profile as our KBS Tour, which is what you play in your irons.”

“Oh, awesome! I love my iron shafts and honestly a lot of times I choose to hit 4-iron instead of my hybrid because I have a lot more confidence it will not go left!” I responded.

With meticulous precision, Kim worked on my hybrid. First, he applied heat and removed the head. He then cleaned the inside of the head and started the process of re-shafting the club. “We are going to ‘Pure’ this hybrid shaft, using this machine,” said Kim as he took the shaft and inserted it into one of the space-aged looking contraptions on the Van. He hit a button, the shaft spun and done. “That machine helped us to understand where the shaft should be placed to optimize performance. Now we need to get a ferrule, glue the club and have you pick a grip” he said as he opened Pandora’s box of grips.

My eyes went wide, and I started to look through the grips, finally settling on one, “how about this?” I said as I handed it to Kim.

“Perfect,” he said. “Let me put it on and we will be ready.” After about 15 minutes of letting everything dry, Kim presented me with my new weapon; it was beautiful! I thanked him and took off to the car, excited to test the club at my local club.

As I got into the car, I called my best friend Julian: “Bro, can you get an emergency 9 in? I just got a new KBS Proto shaft in my hybrid and I am feeling muy confident!”

“KBS Proto! Whaaaa? That’s a killer shaft. Phil Mickelson used one this year when he won. I’ve wanted one soooooo bad. Ya, I’m on the putting green. Let’s play!” responded Julian.

Of course, we headed off the back and on the 18th hole I smoked one leaving 216 yards to the pin. It was the moment of truth; hybrid time. Pulled the club, went through my routine and SMASH. “Pure!” said Julian as I smiled and watched the ball sail straight towards the green.