Equipment

KBS TD, 1 One Step: Get to know the first KBS shaft for woods and new putter shaft

Published

5 years ago

Nov 19, 2021

KBS’ TD “Tour Driven” wood shaft is the company’s first entry into the driver/fairway wood market, and the line remains as relevant as it did at launch two years ago.

As a refresher, the TD Graphite wood shaft has been designed as a mid-launch/low-spin performance Graphite golf shaft that is designed to optimize the maximum performance and efficiency of spin and launch angles at various swing speeds.

The KBS TD Graphite wood shaft plays lighter and stiffer than other graphite wood shafts on the market in design for excellent performance and superior feel – aided by the new KBS Category Swing Speed System to fit shafts off swing speed alone instead of weight and flex.

KBS TD: The creation

The shaft is designed to fit the widest range of players, with the concept centered around the Kim Braly (KBS R&D and Tour Operations Director) Signature shaft geometry. The shaft features equal reduction in stiffness throughout the length of the shaft for an efficient engine while also loading and unloading for players at an incredibly efficient rate.

The TD driver shaft was designed with an El curve that applies the formulas from the KBS Tour iron shaft. The result is a driver shaft that produces a piercing ball flight, with a smooth, extremely stable feel as well as a tight dispersion.

Instead of then applying the standard R, S and X “flex” principles, Kim Braly developed a fitting matrix that could be applied to fit players into their flex profile.

To do this, Braly looked at swing speed as the baseline while assuming that all other variables the fitters address are neutral, including tempo, ball speed, launch angle, spin rate, angle of descent, distance and dispersion.

The result? The development of a matrix of weights and categories. 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 grams. And categories 1-5. The baseline swing speed chart is as follows:

If a player then wanted to know what category represented what flex, it would be the following:

The system, though, as with other KBS shafts, is not designed or fit to a “flex” but a flex profile.

Speaking on the new addition and the first foray into the driver/fairway wood market, Kim Braly, R&D and Tour Operations Director stated

“I’ve been asked the question of when we were going to enter the wood shaft market for many years and my answer was always not until we’re 100% happy with the product and we can make an even bigger impact with a full set of shafts throughout the bag.

We’ve worked tirelessly with our Tour players and R&D team to perfect our first wood shaft which has all the characteristics of a KBS shaft. We’ve designed it to offer optimized spin rate and launch, which equals more power and distance on every shot with the driver and fairway woods.”

KBS 1 One Step putter shaft

In addition to the TD Graphite wood shaft, KBS has also recently introduced its new 1 One Step putter shaft.

Weighing six grams more than conventional putters at 130g, the 1 One Step Putter Shaft is a single bend, straight tip model .370 in diameter that provides golfers with more flexibility in creating a pure amplified feel and reduced vibration at impact for more accurate and consistent putts.

On the 1 One Step putter shaft, Braly had this to say

“On average, around 45% of strokes per round involve your putter, so we wanted to create a shaft with varying putter head weights per stroke that puts more confidence in the hands of those who currently aren’t that confident on the greens.

“A lot of time and investment has gone into producing another putter shaft that can be played by a Tour pro or a higher handicapper. On the green it’s all about feel and the 1 One Step creates that pure feel, enabling a smooth stable stroke each and every time. The research we did saw many more putts holed, so I’m excited to see how golfers react to it.”

As the second putter shaft to be created by KBS, the 1 One Step shaft follows the popular CT Tour version launched in 2019 and comes in Chrome, Black Matte, and Black Gloss finishes.

Equipment

Best ‘forgiving’ wedges – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

10 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, our members have been discussing the most forgiving wedges on the market. WRXer ‘aaronpoling’ lays out his current setup and what he’s currently considering, saying:

“I am looking at getting new wedges, but looking for a forgiving wedge.

I currently play Ping G25 50°, MD4 54° and 58°. I used to play the CBX2 in the 50°, 54° and 58° and liked them a lot; but like any good dad, my son took them.

I am currently looking Callaway’s CB12 and Cleveland’s CBZ. Anyone have thoughts on these? Or recommendations of other wedges that I should check out?”

And our members have been weighing in with their thoughts and recommendations in response, with one brand coming out emphatically on top.

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.

boggyman: “CBZs are amazing wedges!”
drewbens: “Agreed, the Cleveland CB wedges are great! Already had a CBX Full Face 2 54 and recently added a 50 and 58 (for well under $100 a piece). Was chipping so well last week that my brother-in-law asked if the wedges were legal. Definitely underrated wedges for those of us that are not scratch golfers.”
BogeyTed: “Get Cleveland CBX/CBZ. Very underrated clubs.”

Entire Thread: “Best ‘forgiving’ wedges – GolfWRXers discuss”

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Ping PLD Ally Blue Onset putter

Published

10 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @negncic has a Ping PLD Ally Blue Onset putter up for grabs.

From the listing: “34” Ping PLD Ally Blue Onset. Ping composite shaft Ping PLD Pistol grip. No issues. $345 shipped.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules

Equipment

I built the worst fitting clubs ever – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

1 day ago

May 28, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, our members have been reacting to a WRXer who claims to have built the “worst fitting clubs ever.” ‘dlow206’ recounts his experience with plenty of insightful findings for where he can go better next time in a detailed post, saying:

“Here’s my story of building the worst fitting clubs ever (for me). And my findings of what a better fit is.

I am short in stature, as well as a very short wrist to floor of 30.5″. I went down a rabbit hole of wanting to try irons 1″ shorter of more than standard length. Given the shorter lengths, the swingweights would be super light unless I added back a ton of weight to the heads, but I don’t like adding an extreme amount of weight back to the heads, so I decided to compensate with heavier shafts (115 grams instead of 95). Played with this set for a while and was hitting all irons extremely poorly. Thin, fat, right, right, left. My swing didn’t deteriorate that much because I was hitting my driver well, woods well, etc.

Went back to my older set of irons, playing at standard length, and my iron play improved immediately. Since then, have been doing more testing, while paying more attention to different possible variables. What I have found is I actually prefer lighter total weight with relatively normal or slightly heavier swingweights. Did a recent fitting and found that 85 gram shafts were better for me than 95 grams with standard length and relatively standard swingweights.

Still trying to dial in a final iron shaft choice, so have a few contenders that I will be testing. Will be moving away from my current Steelfiber i95 S parallel to lighter and softer

MMT 80 parallel R – worked pretty well in a limited number of swings at a fitting
Fujikura Travil 85 R – the fitter liked the Axiom 95 R for me at Club Champion, but i didn’t love the effort required to swing them. If there was a 85 Axiom, that would probably have been a great fit. So i am going try a Travil 85 R which is japan only
Steelfiber i80 CW R – i have been playing Steelfibers for a long time, so need to give one Steelfiber shaft a shot

Given I do club building work, I am going to build all of these shafts with the All-Fit universal iron adapters to pair with a Srixon 7 iron head for testing. With these adapters, there isn’t a swingweight issue because the amount of weight from drilling out is about equivalent to the universal adapter components.”

And our members have been sharing their reactions 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.

Mikey_HACKilroy: “That length cut costs you a fair amount in swing points. I’d posit the length mattered more than the weight because a 115g shaft isn’t going to actually add enough back after cutting an inch off. Does it mean 115 would ultimately work? Hard to say. Maybe try a 1/2″ cut and add 2g to the head to compensate assuming the 7i is 37″ long. Maybe that will feel better. It translates to the same ~D2 you’re swinging at with the 95g shafts (estimated based on common weight, but you can weigh your parts on your own obviously).”
Stuart_G: “Your process is good – keep at it and trust it.”

Entire Thread: “I built the worst fitting clubs ever – GolfWRXers discuss”