Equipment

‘The Claw’ and ‘Flatso’ putter grips from SuperStroke

Published

11 years ago

Jan 18, 2013

The ban on anchored-putting styles isn’t scheduled to go into effect until 2016, but many tour players are already preparing for the day when they can no longer lean on their long and belly putters.

It’s not even February, but we’ve already seen photos of two very successful long-putter users, Carl Pettersson and Adam Scott, practicing with non-anchored putters. If you look closely at the photos below, you’ll see that neither Pettersson nor Scott are gripping the putter in a traditional way — they’re both using a version of the “claw” grip, which places their right hand on the putter in a position that’s similar to the way they gripped a long putter.

Dean Dingman, president of SuperStroke golf, said that as the death date for anchored putters grows nearer, golfers who were successful with anchored long and belly putters will start to gravitate toward new, non-anchored putting styles. That’s why his company has released five new putter grips that will give golfers who struggle with conventional putting styles more options on the green.

SuperStroke’s new “The Claw” putter grip looks much like conventional putter grips, but it’s length has been stretched 2.5 inches, which better accommodates the claw style of putting.

The grip was inspired by Phil Mickelson’s experiment with the claw putting style last fall. Mickelson wanted more grip length to accommodate the position of his lower hand, which rests farther down the grip when using the claw style of putting. To do so, Mickelson cut down one of SuperStroke’s 21-inch belly putter grips to 13 inches, which gave him the length he needed as well as a reduced weight (The Claw weighs 93 grams) that gave his putter a better balance.

SuperStroke’s Flatso grips are designed in a non-tapered pentagonal shape that creates a wide flat section on the front of the grip, as well as a pistol-style ridge that give the grips a different feel than the company’s round-shaped putter grips. The Flato is available in four different styles — Flatso, Flatso Mid, Flatso DB and Flatso 17 — all with different constructions that target different golfers.

The standard Flatso has a front-section diameter of 1.7 inches, which some golfers will use to place their thumbs more parallel to each other on the wider flat section of the grip, which will level their shoulders at address. With the Flatso, golfers can also position their hands further away from each other, which will help some create a more shoulder-driven stroke.

“We noticed that some tour players were trying to get their hands closer together and level out their shoulders at address,” said Jon Luna, director of marketing for SuperStroke. “Others players asked us for more of a pistol-style feel on the back of the grip. We feel that the larger flat section gives golfers more versatility and more options on how they can putt.”

The Flatso weighs 100 grams, and like all of SuperStroke’s standard-length grips, measures 10.5 inches. The Flatso Mid is a smaller, lighter version of the Flatso, with a diameter of 1.4 inches and a weight of 60 grams. Because of it’s smaller front section, the Flatso Mid will help golfers square up the face slightly faster at impact than the larger Flatso grip.

The Flatso DB (or Double Barrel) has the same outer construction as the standard Flatso grip, but it has two holes on the interior of the grip that will allow golfers to either add or subtract offset from their putter. If a right-handed golfer installs the grip on their shaft through the left hole, they will subtract 0.25 inches of offset from the putter, which should delay the closing of the putter face through impact — good for players that tend to miss their putts to the left. If the grip is installed through the right hole, the grip will add 0.25 inches of offset to the putter, which should speed up the closing of the face and help players who tend to miss their putts to the right.

SuperStroke’s Flatso 17 is a 17-inch-long version of the company’s Flatso Mid grip, and was designed to add stability for golfers who anchor mid-length putters to their leading forearm. In this style of putting, which has been popularized by Matt Kuchar, the Flatso 17 is turned counter clockwise (for a right-handed golfer) so the 1.4-inch diameter of the grip rests flatly against a golfer’s upper wrist and forearm.

Click here for more photos of the grips and to see what people are saying in the putter forum.

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Whats in the Bag

Ruixin Liu WITB 2023 (October)

Published

4 hours ago

Oct 3, 2023

GolfWRX Staff

Ruixin Liu what’s in the bag accurate as of the Walmart NW Arkansas LPGA Championship.

Driver: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero (9 degrees @8)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana

3-wood: Titleist TSR1 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 55 S

Hybrid: Ping G430 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 75 R

Hybrid: Ping G430 (22 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 75 R

Hybrid: Ping G430 (26 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 75 R

Irons: Titleist T200 (6-PW), Titleist T150 (7-PW)
Shafts: AeroTech SteelFiber i95

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (48-10F), WedgeWorks Proto (54-M), Miura MG-R01 (58)
Shafts: AeroTech SteelFiber i95 cw (48, 54), UST Mamiya Recoil 95 (58)

Grips: Golf Pride MCC, Grip Master

More photos of Ruixin Liu’s WITB in the forums.

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Whats in the Bag

Will McGirt WITB 2023 (October)

Published

6 hours ago

Oct 3, 2023

GolfWRX Staff

Will McGirt what’s in the bag accurate as of the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Red 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X

3-wood: Ping G430 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X

5-wood: Ping G430 Max (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X

Irons: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (4, 5), Srixon ZX7 Mk II (6-PW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X

Wedges: Cleveland RTX6 Tour Rack (50-10 Mid, 54-12 Full, 58-09 Full)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 125 Wedge

Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Victory Cord

More photos of Will McGirt’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

Club Junkie Review: Graphite Design Tour AD VF wood shaft

Published

9 hours ago

Oct 3, 2023

Brian Knudson

Graphite Design has been a legendary brand in the world of premium golf shafts since the company was founded in 1989. Graphite Design has had some popular shafts over the years, but they are probably most well known for the Tour AD DI that was released in 2010. Today we are talking about the newest shaft in the Graphite Design lineup, the new VF. The letters do stand for something, Victory Force, and according to Graphite Design every victory requires force! For a more in-depth review, please check out the Club Junkie podcast below or on any streaming platform. Just search “GolfWRX Radio.”

Out of the box, the VF has a very familiar look with a red handle section and a black tip section that are separated with the traditional 10 silver rings. The color combination is definitely more subtle than some of the other Tour AD shaft combinations. Graphite Design doesn’t make too many low-launching shafts, so the VF is filling that need. The VF will suit players looking for low/,id launch and low spin shaft to put in their driver or fairway wood.

The shaft profile is a firm+ handle section, it matches the stiffest handles Graphite Design shafts, with a stiff midsection, and finally a very stiff tip. Exotic materials are used along with MSI Design to maintain stability and consistency. Graphite Design uses Torayca M40X carbon fiber in the handle section to make it stiffer and enhance control of the shaft. Ultra-high modulus Torayca T1100G is used in the middle and tip section for added stability without losing that smooth feel.

I built up the VF shaft using a universal tip system that allows me to use the shaft in any driver head. The building went extremely smoothly as every Graphite Design shaft I have ever installed has a consistent tip diameter and I have never had any issues with a sloppy fit. Once the VF was cut to length and installed, the shaft has a great look that doesn’t jump out as distracting or eye-catching. If you are playing a TaylorMade Stealth 2, then the shaft blends in naturally and they look to visually be great partners!

You would expect a smooth and responsive feel from any Graphite Design shaft and you will get just that with the VF. For me the shaft was exactly as Graphite Design describes, being mid/low launch and offering a very penetrating ball flight. The Tour AD XC might launch a touch lower, but I like the feel and consistency I get from the VF just a little bit more. No matter what driver head I used, the VF seemed to offer ball flight in a similar window, slightly lower than the Fujikura Ventus TR Blue I was using. Even shots into the wind showed no real signs of rising or ballooning. Spin was also lower than I expected with the VF shaft. On the course, I noticed a penetrating, boring flight no matter where I hit the ball on the driver face. Shots struck low on the face held a good amount of distance and even the low heel strike seemed to launch lower and carry further.

I even took a couple of driver heads out to the range with a launch monitor and noticed that I rarely saw a spin number with a “3” in front of it. Almost every shot, good and not so good, seemed to spin around that 2,600 RPM number. With many fittings and shaft tinkering, that is usually on the lower end of what I find with my swing. As I said with the shaft being mid/low launch I was seeing an average of around 11 degrees while using a couple of 10.5-degree driver heads. On course, the VF was very straight and consistent and while it seemed easier to square up than I expected, it did not want to go left as easily as some other shafts. I would consider the flight just slightly fade biased but if you release the club properly you will be rewarded with a straight shot down the fairway.

Overall, the Graphite Design Tour AD VF is a really solid mid/low launch and low spin option with a smooth feel. It is starting to gain some traction on the professional tours and could be a great shaft for your swing as well.