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Breakthrough Golf Technology’s new Stability putter shafts, from CEO Barney Adams

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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.

  1. Eight layers of high-modulus carbon fiber with a no-taper design in order to reduce torque
  2. A 22-gram aluminum insert for reinforcement
  3. A 7075 aluminum “connector” allows attachment to any tip diameter regardless of bend profile
  4. 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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23 Comments

23 Comments

  1. Pingback: Club Junkie: Review of Breakthrough Golf Technology’s ZNE wedge shaft – GolfWRX

  2. Darrell

    Aug 25, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    Do these guys still have a website? All the ones I see are no longer used.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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” …. 😀

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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. 😀

  10. 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

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. 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

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

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Equipment

Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.

However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was up. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.

“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”

Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.

Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.

Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.

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Whats in the Bag

Zac Blair WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Red 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade M5 Rocket 3 (14 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 757 Evolution V1 X

Utility: Titleist U510 (3)
Shaft: Aldila Tour Blue 85 X

Irons: Ping i210 (4-6), Miura MB-001 (7-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 58-08M @57, 60 @61), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (52-M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 105 X

Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

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Whats in the Bag

Martin Trainer WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Wilson Staff Staff Model (6.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kai’li Blue 70 TX

3-wood: Wilson Staff WLabs Prototype (13 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 80 TX

Irons: Wilson Staff Staff Model (2, 4-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Wilson Staff Staff Model (52, 56, 60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Putter: Bobby Grace Greg Chalmers Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

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