Equipment
Breakthrough Golf Technology’s new Stability putter shafts, from CEO Barney Adams
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.
- Eight layers of high-modulus carbon fiber with a no-taper design in order to reduce torque
- A 22-gram aluminum insert for reinforcement
- A 7075 aluminum “connector” allows attachment to any tip diameter regardless of bend profile
- 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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- Steve Stricker WITB accurate as of the Zurich Classic. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, C4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 7.2 X
3-wood: Titleist 915F (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist 816 H1 (17 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (3, 4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (46-10F @55), Titleist Vokey SM10 (54-10S @53), Titleist Vokey SM4 (60 @59)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 w/Sensicore
Putter: Odyssey White Hot No. 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Grip Rite
Check out more in-hand photos of Steve Stricker’s clubs here.
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- Alex Fitzpatrick what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X
Hybrid: Ping G430 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 TX
Irons: Ping iCrossover (2), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 9 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-12F, 56-12D, 60-08M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X
Putter: Bettinardi SS16 Dass
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Alex Fitzpatrick’s clubs here.
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In our forums, our members have been discussing Mini-Drivers and accompanying shafts. WRXer ‘JamesFisher1990’ is about to purchase a BRNR Mini and is torn on what shaft weight to use, and our members have been sharing their thoughts and set ups in our forum.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- PARETO: “New BRNR at 13.5. Took it over to TXG (Club Champ but TXG will always rule) in Calgary for a fit. Took the head down to 12, stuck in a Graphite Design AD at 3 wood length and 60g. Presto- numbers that rivaled my G430Max but with waaaaay tighter dispersion. Win.”
- driveandputtmachine: “Still playing a MIni 300. The head was only 208, so I ordered a heavier weight and play it at 3 wood length. I am playing a Ventus Red 70. I play 70 grams in my fairways. I use it mainly to hit draws off the tee. When I combine me, a driver, and trying to hit a draw it does not work out well most of the time. So the MIni is for that. As an aside, I have not hit the newest BRNR, but the previous model wasn’t great off the deck. The 300 Mini is very good off the deck.”
- JAM01: “Ok, just put the BRNR in the bag along side a QI10 max and a QI10 3 wood. A load of top end redundancy. But, I have several holes at my two home courses where the flight and accuracy of the mini driver helps immensely. Mine is stock Proforce 65 at 13.5, I could see a heavier shaft, but to normal flex, as a nice alternative.”
Entire Thread: “What’s the perfect Mini-Driver/Shaft combo? – GolfWRXers discuss”
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Steve Stricker WITB accurate as of the Zurich Classic. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, C4...
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Alex Fitzpatrick what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura...
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Alejandro Tosti what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees...
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View this post on Instagram A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx) Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (10.5 degrees)...
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Pingback: Club Junkie: Review of Breakthrough Golf Technology’s ZNE wedge shaft – GolfWRX
Darrell
Aug 25, 2018 at 4:46 pm
Do these guys still have a website? All the ones I see are no longer used.
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.
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.
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” …. 😀
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.
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.
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.
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. 😀
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.