Equipment
Matrix Velox shafts optimize speed through curvature
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.
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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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.
Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.
Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.
According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.
He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.
Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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- Akshay Bhatia what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. Bhatia is deciding between drivers. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Callaway Rogue ST Max LS (9 degrees @7.2, 2 grams lead tape heel, 4 grams toe)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X (44 7/8 inches, tipped 1 inch)
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (15 degrees @13.9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X (43 inches, tipped 1.5)
Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW Prototype (19 degrees @17.8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 10 X
Irons: Callaway X Forged UT (21 degrees) Buy here, Callaway Apex TCB Raw (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 125 S+
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S @49, 54-10S, 60-08C @61)
Shafts: KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 135 X
Putter: Odyssey Versa Jailbird 380
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Split
Grips: Iomic
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour
More photos of Akshay Bhatia’s WITB in the forums.
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- Emiliano Grillo what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX
5-wood: Cobra LTDx Prototype (18.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex TCB (4-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Callaway MD3 Milled (46-08S), Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S, 54-10S, 60-08T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Flatso 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Emiliano Grillo’s clubs here.
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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?
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?
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.
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
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?
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 !!
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.
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.
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.
Don jan
Oct 10, 2013 at 2:23 pm
Graphite shafts only cost 5.00 / 8.00 to produce per shaft, yes a
Andy
Oct 10, 2013 at 2:34 am
Cause an iPad is so much harder to fit into a club head?
Xreb
Oct 10, 2013 at 8:28 am
Good one !
J
Oct 9, 2013 at 9:07 pm
Overpriced.
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 ?
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?
Bama68
Oct 9, 2013 at 11:57 am
What will the total raw shaft length be for these shafts.
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?
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