Connect with us

Equipment

GolfWRX Early Look: New True Temper Project X IO, U, LS, and Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Spinner shafts

Published

on

It’s without question that True Temper Sports holds the No. 1 spot for steel shafts with a, well, steel grip. Whenever I do weekly WITBs, I type “Project X” and “True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue” to the point of arthritis.

Our resident tour photographer snapped some pics of True Temper’s latest offerings—the Project X LS, IO, U and Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 “Spinner” shafts.

For more information, and to add to what our Ryan Barath wrote about the PX LS back in June, I spoke with True Temper’s Product Marketing Coordinator Keenan Phillips, and this is the intel he shared.

Project X LS

“Low Spin” Yes, this shaft is for the player who generates a lot of spin and launch. Not for the faint of heart, it was designed to parallel the Tour Issue X7 but for the PX player.

Rival comparisons would KBS C-Taper, KBS $Taper, X7, and a few others. The point is, if you are looking to find some height, look to the LZ, if you want to knock it down, the LS is your whip.

From Project X

“Project X LS started as an engineering concept to create a shaft to best suit the increasingly stronger golfer. The new era of elite-level golfers are stronger, more athletic and faster than ever, and because of this, they naturally create more launch and spin. With this in mind, we tasked our engineers with one thing—to create the lowest launching and spinning steel golf shaft on the market. The result was a shaft that launched a degree lower and spun up to 500 rpm less than its predecessor.

“Project X LS (Low Spin) is the next evolution of the original Project X. It features an ultra-stable and stiff design that minimizes spin while providing a tight feel to keep up with even the strongest swingers on Tour. LS also features a unique brushed chrome finish that reduces glare and gives Project X LS a distinct look.”

Project X IO

If you read the info on the website, you may get the impression that the IO rivals Dynamic Gold’s AMT in certain aspects. Yes and no. From a performance standpoint, maybe, but the way in is a bit different. Instead of adjusting weight up and down the set to achieve performance, the IO dials in stiffness areas across the set to get what you want. The popular PXi shaft was the foundation for the IO which gave PX players a lighter option but still maintaining the preferred flight windows.

For example, if we were comparing this to the Fujikura Ventus line, the 5.5 (105 grams) IO plays like the Red, 6.0 (110 grams), like the Blue, and the 6.5 (115 grams) like the Black. Simple enough.

Another thing to note, this shaft wasn’t designed as a “Tour part.” You may see some a couple sneak out there but not many—not the spirit of the design.

From Project X:

“The new Project X IO was born from the concept that not all golfers need the same thing from a shaft. While the stronger players require launch and spin reduction to control their ball, many golfers need more launch and spin to help maximize their distances.” 

“Project X IO takes the DNA of the popular PXi shaft and evolves it by having each shaft flex designed with a specific weight and trajectory progression in mind. As Project X IO increases in flex, it gets 5g heavier and is geometrically modified to launch lower…Project X IO is ideal for players who love the stability of Project X but need an easier to load shaft profile and are looking for a lighter weight option.” 

Project X U

Yes, it’s a utility shaft, but for fitters and builders, it’s a breath of fresh air. With utility irons becoming more and more popular across the board, builders face difficulty finding a lighter weight steel option that gives players not only the flight they want but something that doesn’t feel like it comes from another planet.

Project X U was engineered to solve both of those issues. Now players can have a steel shaft in their utility iron that optimizes speed and maintains a penetrating ball flight. Once again, PXi was the way into this, and the engineers have taken it the next step to give every player an option.

From Project X:

“Utility irons and hybrids are designed to perform differently than a traditional iron but are often paired with shafts designed for traditional irons. The new Project X Utility (U) was specifically crafted to work with utility and hybrid heads. 

“The Project X team of engineers looked at what specific characteristics were needed to optimize utility club performance. They started with a lightweight design in all flexes to maintain clubhead speed while still providing the consistency of steel. As shaft flex gets stiffer…U utilizes varying geometrics to lower launch—creating the optimized launch for each flex.”

Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Spinner

Before True Temper came out with wedge-specific S400 shafts, tour builders used to use 8-iron shafts for wedges to maintain weight and add some feel in the tip section, which in turn added spin. The longer tip section was a common sight in bags and will become more popular with this release. True Temper already dominates the wedge portion of bags, but having the familiar feel of the S400 with a bit more play at the bottom will get traction on tour quickly, especially in the 58- 64-degree neighborhood.

At 128 grams and a 37.5-inch raw point, the Spinner will fit right into the TT line up like its been there for 30 years. In a sense, it has, but now builders don’t have to steal 8-iron shafts to get it done.

 

Your Reaction?
  • 65
  • LEGIT12
  • WOW5
  • LOL2
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP1
  • OB1
  • SHANK4

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Bill

    Sep 12, 2020 at 8:47 am

    When can you buy the project x u shaft ?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Whats in the Bag

Eric Cole WITB 2024 (March)

Published

on

  • Eric Cole what’s in the bag accurate as of the Cognizant Classic. 

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops (9 degrees)
Shaft: Project X Even Flow Riptide LX Proto 70

3-wood: PXG 0311 Black Ops (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X Denali Black 70 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X Denali Black 70 TX

5-wood: PXG Gen5 0311 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 95 TX

Irons: PXG 0317 CB (4), PXG 0317 ST (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Vokey Design SM10 (50-12F, 54-10S, 60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: PXG Battle Ready II Bat Attack, Odyssey O-Works 2 Ball CS

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT1
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Whats in the Bag

Rose Zhang WITB 2024 (March)

Published

on

Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (9 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 5 S (45.5 inches)

(Photo via Callaway Golf)

3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (15 degrees @14.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6 S (43 inches, tipped 1 inch)

5-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6 R (42 inches, tipped 1 inch)

Hybrid: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke (21 degrees @22)
Shaft: KBS Tour Hybrid 75 R

Irons: Callaway X-Forged Star Japan (5-PW)
Shafts: Nippon 850GH R

(Photo via Callaway Golf)

Wedges: Callaway X-Forged Star Japan A (49), Callaway Jaws Raw (54-10S, 58-08C)
Shafts: Nippon 850GH R

Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Double Wide

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X+

Your Reaction?
  • 4
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW1
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Equipment

Best fairway woods of 2024: Expert club fitters recommend the most versatile and forgiving options

Published

on

Whether it be hitting approach shots into longer par 4’s and par 3’s, going after par 5’s in two, or just trying to hit more fairways off the tee — finding the best fairway wood of 2024 to fit your needs is a must as you fill your golf toolbox.

Looking at the best fairway wood playing field for 2024, we continue to see more fairway wood options from every manufacturer. What used to be a single model release has been expanded to three — and in some cases even four — driver D.N.A.-infused models to fit specific player types.

These new fairway woods impress us with their ability to utilize new technology and construction methods to go faster, and further, while also offering never-before-seen levels of forgiveness. It’s now easier than ever to find the right one that matches your swing.

That being said, ultimately the best way to find the best fairway woods for you is to work with a professional fitter using a launch monitor. The difficult part is a lot of people don’t have easy access to fitters, launch monitors, and club builders — so at GolfWRX — with the help of our panel of expert fitters — we have done a lot of the work for you to narrow down your short list of fairway woods to demo.

Best fairway woods 2024: The categories

We have broken our 2024 best fairway wood list into two categories.

  • Best fairway wood for golfers seeking forgiveness
  • Best fairway wood for golfers seeking versatility

We selected this format for fairway woods in cooperation with fitters because every golfer prioritizes one of these two elements, regardless of age, handicap, or sex. And for many golfers, forgiveness is the number one factor when selecting a fairway wood.

Most versatile fairway woods of 2024

Ping G430 Max

Ping developed Carbonfly Wrap in a bid to deliver more distance by positioning the CG closer to the face to maximize ball speed, resulting in higher, longer carries. The lightweight composite crown wraps into the heel and toe sections of the skirt, creating weight savings of 10 grams, which are reallocated to achieve the lower CG and increase ball speed. The composite also plays a role in the pleasing sound, while a tungsten backweight extends the perimeter weighting to ensure forgiveness.

For the full technology breakdown, check out our launch piece.

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max

Ai Smart Face — the centerpiece of Callaway’s Paradym Ai Smoke drivers — is also the key technology of new Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke fairway woods and hybrids. As with the drivers, the carbon chassis is lighter, allowing for 24 grams of weight to be redistributed throughout the head for enhanced launch, spin, and forgiveness. As utilized in Paradym, engineers leverage a tungsten speed cartridge to push CG low and forward.

For the full technology breakdown, check out our launch piece.

Titleist TSR2

TSR2 fairways feature the lowest CG in Titleist history for an all-steel construction designed to create speed and launch without excessive spin. New Open Hosel Construction created space for sizable improvements to key areas of performance by removing unwanted weight high and towards the heel.

For the full technology breakdown, check out our launch piece.

TaylorMade Qi10 Tour

The Qi10 Tour model uses a multi-material titanium-carbon construction and offers a more compact head shape, equipped with a moveable 50-gram weight in the sole for precise weight placement. By placing the sliding weight further back in the head, golfers can achieve a higher launch and more stability, whereas placing the weight further forward helps achieve a lower-spin and more penetrating ball flight.

For the full technology breakdown, check out our launch piece.

Titleist TSR3

Titleist’s adjustability-focused fairway wood is designed with a new, easy-to-adjust 5-position SureFit Adjustable CG Track System to fine-tune performance. It features the same Open Hosel Construction as TSR2 fairways. The TSR3’s CG has been positioned deeper, slightly lower, and closer to face center to provide easy, high launch with plenty of forgiveness.

For the full technology breakdown, check out our launch piece.

Most forgiving fairway woods of 2024

TaylorMade Qi10 Max

The Qi10 Max fairway wood heads use the company’s “Infinity Carbon Crown” that helped free up weight to be placed lower in the heads, helping achieve higher inertia and an enlarged face profile to boost ball speeds across their faces. Compared to the standard Qi10 model, the Qi10 Max has a larger front-to-back shape and shallower profile that’s designed for increased forgiveness and playability.

For the full technology breakdown, check out our launch piece.

Ping G430 Max

Ping developed Carbonfly Wrap in a bid to deliver more distance by positioning the CG closer to the face to maximize ball speed, resulting in higher, longer carries. The lightweight composite crown wraps into the heel and toe sections of the skirt, creating weight savings of 10 grams, which are reallocated to achieve the lower CG and increase ball speed. The composite also plays a role in the pleasing sound, while a tungsten backweight extends the perimeter weighting to ensure forgiveness.

For the full technology breakdown, check out our launch piece.

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max

Ai Smart Face — the centerpiece of Callaway’s Paradym Ai Smoke drivers — is also the key technology of new Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke fairway woods and hybrids. As with the drivers, the carbon chassis is lighter, allowing for 24 grams of weight to be redistributed throughout the head for enhanced launch, spin, and forgiveness. As utilized in Paradym, engineers leverage a tungsten speed cartridge to push CG low and forward.

For the full technology breakdown, check out our launch piece.

Cobra Darkspeed Max

Cobra’s draw-biased model is built for the player who needs forgiveness. Depending on the weight configuration, either greater forgiveness or more draw bias can be targeted. The draw-biased Max model is the most forgiving in the lineup. Here the weights are 12 and three grams and are situated in the rear and heel of the club to achieve the desired launch and ball flight.

For the full technology breakdown, check out our launch piece.

Titleist TSR2

TSR2 fairways feature the lowest CG in Titleist history for an all-steel construction designed to create speed and launch without excessive spin. New Open Hosel Construction created space for sizable improvements to key areas of performance by removing unwanted weight high and towards the heel.

For the full technology breakdown, check out our launch piece.

Again, we can’t thank the fitters enough for their time, and we hope that in your search for your best fairway wood for 2024, we can help you find it!

Best fairway woods of 2024: Meet the fitters

Join the discussion about the best fairway woods of 2024 in the forums.

 

Your Reaction?
  • 6
  • LEGIT2
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK6

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending