Equipment
True Temper’s Area 61: R&D and Project PXi
Golf equipment companies go to lengths to manufacture the most cutting edge golf equipment designs, and they work equally as hard at marketing their products and facilities under names that describe their efforts.
Throughout the years, some names have been better than others. We loved names like “Futura,” “Anser,” and “Big Bertha.” Others like “Kombi,” “Redwood” and “Diablo” didn’t quite hit the mark.
Golfers might roll their eyes when they hear that golf shaft manufacturer True Temper named its research and development center Area 61 (Hey, are we chasing aliens are birdies?). But at Area 61, the True Temper team has been working hard to create extraterrestrial-performing golf shafts with very foreign characteristics.
One of these shafts, the PXi iron shaft, goes against the grain of what golfers have used for decades. At around 102 grams after trimming, it’s a lightweight iron shaft that mimics the characteristics of one of the most legendary heavyweight iron shafts in golf’s history, the Project X.
[youtube id=”LFgquIp3sqU” width=”600″ height=”350″]
The PXi was the offspring of a True Temper iron shaft design called the Monaco, which Darren Clarke used to win the 2011 British Open. Monaco shafts were engineered with specific geometry for each iron, meaning the 3-iron shaft was created differently than the 4-iron shaft, etc. Yet all the shafts retained a constant weight because of True Temper’s VWT (Variable Wall Thickness) technology.
Greg Cavill, who leads design for True Temper’s iron shafts, said the Monaco was never meant for retail. It was initially a research project, and because of its extremely high cost to manufacture, it is no longer offered by True Temper. But its influence lives on through PXi.
Cavill and his team learned from Monaco that special geometry is not just important for each different iron shaft, but for each individual flex as well. While the PXi does not have variable geometry in each iron shaft like the Monaco, it has VWT in each different shaft flex.
[quote_box_center]“Why should high-handicap players use the same geometry as the players on Tour,” Cavill said.[/quote_box_center]
Even though the PXi 5.0 flex and 7.0 flex carry the same name, they have unique geometric construction that tailors to the different ways that golfers with different swing speeds load and unload the golf club.
The stiffer PXi shafts are designed with thicker walls in the tip section of the grip, which allows the butt end of the grip to take over during the downswing. This creates lower launch and lower spin results, while allowing the shaft to retain its lighter weight. The less stiff PXi shafts have a shorter and stubbier midsection and thinner walls in the tip section, which helps golfers with slower tempos and less abrupt transitions achieve their desired ball flight.
The PXi’s success has been proven by its place in the bags of two of golf’s best players, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. Another major champion, Y.E. Yang, and two-time PGA Tour winner Jason Dufner have also been spotted with the PXi.
The reason for PXi’s success, according to Cavill, is that the shaft has allowed the best players in the world to achieve more distance, and even go to a longer club length because of the PXi’s lighter weight. For some of these high-swing players, they have also found a smoother, more stable feel because of the fact that most of the shaft’s work is done in the butt section of the grip. Watch the video below for more information on the PXi shaft from Chad Hall, director of True Temper global tour operations.
[youtube id=”RiIvd0Wgz3w” width=”600″ height=”350″]
Did you catch the portion at the end of the video where Hall talks about the aesthetic value of PXi? According to Cavill, the finish of a golf shaft is the company’s next step in shaft technology.
[quote_box_center]“I can’t talk about it very much right now, but we’re working on a shaft that uses the technology of a shaft’s finish to enhance performance,” Cavill said.[/quote_box_center]
You’ve been warned.
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Whats in the Bag
Chesson Hadley WITB 2024 (March)
- Chesson Hadley what’s in the bag accurate as of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4, 5), Titleist 620 MB (6-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball
Grip: Odyssey
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Check out more in-hand photos Chesson Hadley’s clubs here.
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Whats in the Bag
Gary Woodland WITB 2024 (March)
Driver: Cobra Darkspeed X (8 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 70 M5
- The white circle that appears at the top of the face a removable sticker that’s used for launch monitor tracking, and Woodland removes it for competition!
3-wood: Cobra Darkspeed X (14 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype
7-wood: Cobra LTDx LS prototype (20 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype
Irons: Wilson Staff (18 degrees), Cobra King MB (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X
Wedges: Cobra SB (48), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-14F), Cobra King (60)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X (48 degrees), KBS Tour V-Ten 125
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0P
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
See more in-hand photos of Gary Woodland’s WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron
As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)
What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!
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I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…
To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”
On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.
Here’s what he had to say:
You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?
MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.
And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.
When did it come back in the bag?
MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.
What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?
MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?
Do you remember how much you paid for it?
MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.
The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?
MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.
It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?
MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.
What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?
MT: Like high 170’s.
Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.
MT: Yeah. The butter knife.
Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons?
MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.
How far do you carry that?
MT: Like 235.
A good little wind club, I’m sure.
MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.
I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man.
MT: Absolutely.
To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.
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tony_stark
Aug 21, 2012 at 5:30 pm
i would like to get some PXI shafts in my mizuno irons
Rodney
Aug 13, 2012 at 5:12 pm
How do I get the t-shirt?
Jim A
Aug 10, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Zak, Do you know whether there is any material difference between this year’s PXi shaft and the pre-PXi graphite iron shaft from last year?
Scott Hill
Aug 8, 2012 at 3:47 pm
Great article Zak, been a Precision then KBS guy myself but this has me interested in trying the PXI
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