Equipment

WRX Spotted: LA Golf Shafts “Rebar” wedge shaft

Published

5 years ago

Sep 25, 2019

Regarding a golf shaft: “It feels like a piece of rebar” is one of those phrases in the golf vernacular. In the case of LA Golf Shafts and its newest prototype being tested on tour, “being as stiff as a piece of rebar” is exactly what the company is going for.

To get the inside information on the new Rebar prototype, we reached out LA Golf Shafts Chief Product Officer John Oldenberg to find the out about the origin and development of the shaft

“The word “rebar” says it all. Our team did some testing with Bryson about a month back in San Diego with the Cobra folks on iron and wedges. At the time Bryson asked if we could make him a graphite shaft that was stiffer than the Dynamic Gold X7 that has been gaming. The answer to him was absolutely!”

Bryson DeChambeau’s LA Golf Shafts Rebar wedge shaft

This is the biggest misconception that many consumers still have about graphite—it’s not as strong or as stiff as steel, since when it was originally introduced the shafts were targeted as a softer, lighter alternative to steel.

Back to John

“I told Bryson that with graphite, I could make the shaft as stiff as rebar. He was intrigued and ask that we make him shafts to test that were as stiff as we possibly could. So that’s what we did, hence the working name ‘Rebar’. He tested a ‘Rebar’ 7 iron shaft at Cobra about 2 weeks ago and really liked it, and asked for some wedges to test.

“The shafts that he is testing now (that we spotted at the Safeway) are the ‘Rebar’ wedge shafts. They are at least a full flex stiffer than his X7’s and are a whole lot stiffer in the tip, while also being a bit lower in torque. So far the response from him has been very positive. Last I heard he had re-shafted his three wedges with the “Rebar” and was taking them out on the course for a practice round.

“If these shafts work, the plan is to work him into a full set of graphite by the end of the year.”

This is certainly an interesting development since currently there isn’t a single player in the top 20 in the Official World Golf Rankings who plays graphite iron shafts—and the only one in the top 50 right now (based on current bags) is Matt Kuchar. Designers have said for years graphite can be made stiffer and even more reliable than steel, and now we are slowly seeing these product developments make their way to the PGA Tour.

See what WRXers are saying about the Rebar shaft in the forums.

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Ryan Barath

Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

8 Comments

Longus Hitterus

Sep 27, 2019 at 5:08 pm

I need this in a Driver. Thanks

Big Dawg

Reply Report comment
Fred

Sep 25, 2019 at 6:13 pm

Bryson is a brilliant idiot who will soon think himself out of golf.

Reply Report comment
- Brent
  
  Sep 26, 2019 at 12:13 am
  
  Really Fred? He got to be a top 10 player on earth with multiple wins on the PGA tour, doing and thinking exactly how he does. But please, enlighten us what he should do differently with his equipment.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Scott
  
  Sep 26, 2019 at 6:51 am
  
  Says the guy who can’t break 80 from the forward tees.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Chris P. Bacon
  
  Sep 26, 2019 at 7:32 am
  
  Fred is the type of guy who uses iron covers.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Brent
    
    Sep 27, 2019 at 11:29 pm
    
    ????????????
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Brent
    
    Sep 27, 2019 at 11:30 pm
    
    @Chris Those were supposed to be laughing faces.
    
    Reply Report comment
James Awad

Sep 25, 2019 at 3:36 pm

About 25 yrs ago, when graphite shaft innovations were finally yielding some good breakthroughs, one of my students, an engineer (of course) brought me an 8 page print out of all the computations he did and ‘proved’ rebar would be better than any steel or graphite shaft…(as long as you’re Iron Byron)

Kinda been done with wedges – see ‘Lobster Shaft’…

I’m in favor of really stiff wedge shafts, but very little tech is required for that 🙂

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Equipment

Michael Block spotted with full set of TaylorMade “Proto” irons at Valhalla

Published

16 hours ago

May 14, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

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.

On Monday at the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Block had a full set of TaylorMade “Proto” irons in the bag.

Block is the first player of many on the PGA TOUR to bag a set of the mysterious “Proto” irons. Rory McIlroy first switched into a “Proto” 4-iron at the Valero Texas Open, and Collin Morikawa followed suit at the 2024 RBC Heritage. Block isn’t using just the 4-iron, though, he’s using a full set to go along with a TaylorMade Stealth UDI driving iron.

Speaking with GolfWRX.com on Monday at the PGA Championship, Block revealed the full backstory.

“I hit a couple super “Proto” irons when I was at the Kingdom (TaylorMade’s fitting facility in Southern California) a couple months ago, and it was a 9-iron that didn’t have any badges or anything on it,” Block said. “I had no idea what it was … It was very similar to what I was using back then, you know, my old MCs, and very similar from the top. I hit it and absolutely loved it. For me to even think about switching irons from the last 11-12 years is crazy.

“I got this set about two weeks ago, and I’m working my way into them. I hit them more solid; it comes off the face more solid. Much higher. I think they’re still slightly too upright for me, so they’re being bent a degree flatter, because they’re going a little too high for me and drawing a little too much. When that starts to happen, I start to drop the club under and compensate too much, so I’m getting them flattened slightly, and I’m going to test them on the range again, and hopefully have them in play on Thursday…

“They go further, and they go higher … that combination is kind of a no-brainer. If I can take a 5-iron from 204 rather than a 4-iron, it’s good on me. It’s going to help me out for sure, especially at a major with the pin locations. Having that height coming in, that descent angle is going to be huge.”

With such new irons in the bag, after using the same irons for over a decade, surely you’d think there will be a bit of a learning curve. Block, however, is finding immediate comfort with the new “Proto” irons.

Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.

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Whats in the Bag

WITB Time Machine: Rory McIlroy’s winning WITB, 2014 PGA Championship

Published

18 hours ago

May 14, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Rory McIlroy outlasted Phil Mickelson at the 2014 PGA Championship. It’s even harder to believe McIlroy hasn’t hoisted a major trophy since his 2014 victory at Valhalla.

After a slow start to his final round, McIlroy tallied an eagle and two birdies on the back nine and his fourth major championship. Take a look at the clubs he played a decade ago in Kentucky.

Driver: Nike VR_S Covert 2.0 Tour (8.5 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage XTS 70X

3-wood: Nike VR_S Covert 2.0 Tour (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Rombax Pro 95 X

5-wood: Nike VR_S Covert 2.0 Tour (19 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Rombax Pro 95 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s clubs from 2014 here.

Irons: Nike VR Pro Blade (4-9) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X 7.0

Wedges: Nike VR Forged (46, 52, 56, 60 degrees) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5

Putter: Nike Method 006 Buy here.

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

Ball: Nike RZN Black

Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s clubs from 2014 here.

WITB Time Machine is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.

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