Equipment

WRX Spotlight: KBS TD driver shaft

Published

5 years ago

Nov 1, 2019

The skinny: For the first time ever, KBS is adding a driver/wood shaft to the KBS product line (read our full launch story here). The KBS TD is a lighter and stiffer driver/wood shaft with characteristics of the original KBS feel. It is the perfect complement to their already proven performance-driven line of golf shafts. According to founder Kim Braly, “TD is the culmination of my years of shaft design being put into the most exciting club in your bag. The KBS TD will change the way you look at driver shafts.”

Our take on KBS TD shafts

The TD series is really a shaft connoisseurs dream; allowing not only a range of weights (40 to 80 grams) and stiffness 1-5 (yes numbers, not letters) but also up to four inches of tipping. This is an important nuance because with the right equipment and expertise, shafts can be very specifically matched to players.

For testing, KBS provided three shafts. To help me, I enlisted the help of my friend (and world-class fitter) Lyndon Wilson. Lyndon, owner of Golf Studio 360 at Orange County National in Orlando, Florida, is a world class fitter and builder with a resume that includes working with a wealth of PGA Tour players. Together with a FlightScope and Digiflex 2.0.

The first thing that struck us was the quality of the product: the shafts had tight specs on frequency and weight (no surprise here!). However what was really cool was Lyndon’s ability to move frequency slightly to really create shafts that would be tailored to my game. Based on our relationship, which includes playing a lot of golf together, he made up two shafts

50g, category 2 tipped an inch to play 6.0 to test in my driver at 45 inches
69g, category 2, not tipped and playing 5.5 for my 3 wood to test at 43.5 inches

Side note: watching Lyndon work, it is clear that these shafts, in the right hands, offer fitters a tremendous opportunity to perfectly fit each and every player.

But there’s still the big (and most important) question: how did it work? As one would expect, this is where KBS shines; performance.

In my opinion, KBS has hit another home run: producing a high-quality product that maximizes feel and consistency.

For more on the KBS TD shafts, check out Ryan Barath’s launch story.

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Whats in the Bag

Wesley Bryan WITB 2024 (May)

Published

34 mins ago

May 2, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Wesley Bryan what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 50 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 60 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Wesley Bryan’s clubs here.

Hybrid: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus Rescue (19.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Blue 8 X

Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Takomo 101U (4), Takomo 101T (5), Takomo 301 CB (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Check out more in-hand photos of Wesley Bryan’s clubs here.

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 52-08F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (58-A)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: L.A.B. Golf DF3

Check out more in-hand photos of Wesley Bryan’s clubs here.

Grips: SuperStroke, Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

More photos of Wesley Bryan’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

Why Wesley Bryan is playing two 4-irons this week

Published

3 hours ago

May 2, 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.

…Flash forward to THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson 2024 at TPC Craig Ranch in Texas, and Bryan is still playing with a mixed Takomo set, except he’s added a new 101 U 4-iron, plus a Titleist T200 4-iron, and he’s dropping his 5-iron.

That bears repeating: Bryan is switching to an iron setup that consists of two 4-irons and no 5-iron.

On paper, that looks wrong, but when you look at yardage gapping instead of the number on the sole of the iron, things start to make more sense.

As Bryan explained to GolfWRX.com on Tuesday in Texas, his Takomo 301 CB 6-iron goes about 195-200 yards. Then, his new hollow-bodied Takomo 101U Driving Iron, which he recently started testing “a couple weeks ago” and bent about 2 degrees weak, goes about 220 yards, and the Titleist T200 4-iron goes about 235 yards.

Speaking on his new Takomo 101U Driving Iron, which sells for $119, Bryan had this to say:

“It’s super forgiving and launches high, and it has a bit longer of a profile to where it looks really good,” said Bryan. “If people are willing to play something that doesn’t have an expensive price tag on their club…[I started testing it] in the last couple weeks and it’s in the bag.

“I just made it like 2 degrees weaker. Basically that gap from 205 to 225 I was in a little bit of a dead space, so I’m going to try and fill that gap better.”

Check out Wesley Bryan’s full WITB here.

Read the rest of the article at PGATour.com.

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Equipment

Most forgiving players irons? – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

4 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, o ur members have been discussing players irons. WRXer ‘NorthTXGolf’ is on the hunt for some new irons but is putting a priority on forgiveness, and has reached out to fellow members who have been sharing their thoughts and advice on the subject 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.

Sam217: “i230 has got to be one of the most forgiving players irons available. Cobra King Tour another. Don’t sleep on the New Level 480 DB coming out soon.”
RangeBaller: “ZX5/ZX7 and i230 should definitely be in your testing pool.”
YAMS49: “Another I210 homie here… Very highly recommended if you want/need spin and a consistent yardage.”
golf-RN: “I second the Cobra King Tour irons. I am not the greatest ballstriker by any stretch of the imagination and I find the King Tours very forgiving. Toe strikes might lose 5 or 6 yards with no directional loss. You definitely feel the miss though lol but mishits from the center aren’t punished too hard regarding distance.”

Entire Thread: “Most forgiving Players irons? – GolfWRXers discuss”

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