Equipment

True Temper re-releases the Grafalloy Blue shaft

Published

13 years ago

Feb 27, 2013

Don Brown, product developed for True Temper, knows that the Grafalloy Blue shaft isn’t for all golfers. In fact, he even estimated about 80 percent of the golfers were not upset when it was discontinued in 2011.

But the 20 percent of golfers who fit into the Blue were a vocal minority.

“We discontinued it a few years ago and we got inundated with phone calls, ‘I want a Blue. Where can I get a Blue?” Brown said.

Recently, True Temper decided to re-release its “cult favorite” shaft with some minor alterations. One obvious alteration is the color. It has been painted white instead of blue because of the color’s popularity, Brown said.

There are also some adjustments made to the manufacturing of the shaft, which is now made with higher-grade materials to make it more stable. It also features True Temper’s Speed Coat technology to improve aerodynamics, which True Temper says can bring faster club head speeds.

[youtube id=”KubjEE0s6xA” width=”620″ height=”360″]

The shaft comes in both a 60-gram and 75-gram versions, and is available in R Flex, S Flex or X Flex. It retails for about $80.

Related Topics:True Temper

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Andrew Prezioso

Andrew Prezioso is a freelance sports reporter and photographer (http://amprezioso.smugmug.com/). You can follow him on Twitter @AMPrezioso. He currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, after graduating from the University of Richmond in 2012.

17 Comments

Roy

Dec 13, 2015 at 12:55 pm

I am an old custom club maker who dynamically fitted shafts. The Blue in an R flex was perfect for my 105 mph swing speed. I should have bought a few of these before they quite making them. The blue R flex was very close to a conventional stiff and with the lower torque produces a very repeatable, long distance and accurate driver. The new blues (see Hireko Golf Dynacraft shaft fitting addendum) to confirm that it indeed has the same weight, torque and frequency of the old blue. I have just order several of them and will retrofit a drive I made that doesn’t work that well–looking forward to having a real “monster” in my hands. I discovered this when a Nike rep told me this past summer that the Blue had been resurrected.

Reply Report comment
TK3

Jul 7, 2014 at 4:09 pm

Hi TT,

My SS hovers right @ 100mph, with an aggressive attack (ex hockey player). Would the Blue in a Regular be too soft or should I go with a Stiff? Looking @ the 60g version.

Avg drive @ 270 (with roll)
Current driver – Titleist 910 D2 playing @ 46″

Cheers,
TK3

Reply Report comment
jaime

Mar 4, 2014 at 7:27 pm

hi I just order cobra bio cell with a blue 65 x stiff its a lower ball flight and more accurate shaft then stock shaft and price was good too

Reply Report comment
dekker

Jan 14, 2014 at 10:29 pm

the new blue is the same as the old blue, except for the paint job and the speed coat. It’s a beast even in S so tighten your laces. The most accurate shaft I used but I still prefer my Prolite 35x in a driver
Tested the original Blue(S) in my driver, and pulled it to put in my 980f 13* 3wood. Smartest move I made with it. Point and shoot.

Reply Report comment
Carlos Lopez

Dec 13, 2013 at 12:23 am

Does anyone have the Blue 75 X with a Nike VRS Covert Driver head combo? I would love to get your feedback on it. Thanks.

Reply Report comment
Liam.B

Oct 15, 2013 at 10:23 am

ive been looking for a shaft that helps me control the ball better. being tall with a fast swing speed i find most wood shafts whippy. will this shaft help me with a more consitant ball flight, considering im not after a high ball flight but more medium.

Reply Report comment
Kent Marlin

Aug 21, 2013 at 7:13 am

It’s about time! The best shaft I ever owned! Thanks, Kent

Reply Report comment
Maurice

Aug 14, 2013 at 11:29 pm

Is this a high launching shaft?

Reply Report comment
Maurice

Aug 10, 2013 at 10:50 am

Hi there, where can I purchase this shaft?

Reply Report comment
Joe Golfer

Mar 1, 2013 at 1:35 am

All I recall about the original Blue was that it played stiffer than the designated flex on the shaft. That is surprising considering that most graphite shafts play a lot softer than the designated flex listed, just so that golfers can assuage their egos and play a stiff flex that would have been an R flex fifteen years ago.
A buddy of mine had a club with an R flex Blue, and it played more like a very slightly soft S flex, closer to S than R.
I wonder if the new Grafalloy Blue follows that same flex profile.
That original Blue certainly played stiffer than both the ProLaunch Blue and also the ProLaunch Red and also the old ProLite.
One can say all they want about the specs, such as a listed torque and the # of grams, but does the new Blue play to a stiffer than normal profile just like the original did?

Reply Report comment
- True Temper
  
  Mar 1, 2013 at 10:40 am
  
  Joe Golfer,
  
  The new Blue has the same profile as the original Blue so I guess the answer is yes. The Grafalloy Blue is a unique design those with a stiffer butt section through a slower taper rate, thus the appearance of playing stiff. It’s all relative though, we design shafts for specific player profiles and Blue was designed for quicker tempo players. Why should every shaft play the same?
  
  TTS
  
  Reply Report comment
  - John
    
    Mar 1, 2013 at 10:49 am
    
    Are there any OEM’s offering this new Blue? The Original was the the best shaft i ever played
    
    Reply Report comment
    - RC
      
      Mar 13, 2013 at 8:58 pm
      
      Ping has it in their works catalog. I’m getting a G25 with at blue in it. Not gonna be able to get it above my shoelaces, but it’ll look amazing!
      
      Reply Report comment
Edawg

Feb 28, 2013 at 4:31 pm

So freaking excited that you guys relaunched the Blue!!! I have gone years looking for old Blues on Ebay, but to no avail. Can’t wait to throw ’em in my Cobra ZL and Mactec 3wood.

Reply Report comment
Guy Crawford

Feb 27, 2013 at 12:35 pm

The old Blue flight profile is completely different from the new Blue. I was excited until I saw the specs. I’ll go Tour AD or Adilia instead.

Reply Report comment
- True Temper
  
  Feb 28, 2013 at 2:02 pm
  
  Guy,
  
  Completely wrong. The profile is the same. Look at the specs of the Blue 60- same as the original with a couple grams of weight removed.
  
  True Temper
  
  Reply Report comment
- RC
  
  Mar 13, 2013 at 9:01 pm
  
  Good luck with that AD, not sure if there is a $300 difference in the performance though. Aldila is crap.
  
  Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Building the Bag: How Neal Shipley’s switch-up on spin has developed his setup

Published

15 hours ago

Jun 9, 2026

Alistair Cameron

Neal Shipley survived “Golf’s Longest Day” to qualify for the U.S. Open next week at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, and is set to make his first appearance at his national open since he earned low amateur in 2004. So what better time to be featured in another edition of “Building a Bag.”

It’s also a significant time for Shipley to have a breakdown of his setup featured here at GolfWRX, as the Ohio State alum has been through some substantial gear changes over the past few months to combat one thing – over-spinning the golf ball.

So let’s dive into Shipley’s setup:

Big changes start with the ball

Shipley’s major bag update for this season has been a change in golf balls. Initially, in the Titleist Pro V1, Shipley had to remove loft from his long irons to tackle the fact that he overspins the golf ball. But after testing and transitioning to the Pro V1x Double Dot, he was able to find the right numbers and also launch the ball higher.

“I’ve struggled with spin for a long time and I was battling that, especially in my longer irons and had to take a lot of loft off,” Shipley told GolfWRX. “So I struggled when I got the irons in the right spin rates in the right spin windows, not getting enough height. So I was able to go to this ball and add loft, get the lunch I need, without really adding too much spin.”

The lower-launching and lower-spinning Pro V1x variant is a golf ball that transformed Cameron Young’s game and plenty of players have tested it out on Tour, including Kris Ventura and Jhonattan Vegas.

“It’s been nice to kind of launch the ball a little bit more and get some height more with my launch rather than with the ball downfield,” Shipley added. “So it’s been a nice addition. It’s really good in crosswind. It’s great off the tee.”

Soft stepping experiment

From 5- to 9-iron, Shipley plays Ping’s Blueprint T irons, of which he believes are “one of the cleanest looking blades out there.”

The model has been in his bag even before they even went to retail. What’s most interesting about his iron setup, though, is what he’s doing with the shafts.

Shipley plays Dynamic Gold X100 120 shaft, a pretty common shaft out on Tour. What he and the Ping team have begun experimenting with is soft-stepping, for a few reasons.

“Trying and get a little more, just touch, more height and spin on the ball, a little more deflection,” Shipley said on the process of changing the stiffness of a set of irons by putting the lower-numbered iron shaft throughout the set and changing the distance from the first step in the shaft to the hosel. (ie. The 8-iron shaft is put in the 9-iron and so forth.)

Essentially, the shift makes the shaft slightly weaker by cutting more off the butt end of the club. The change aligns with the ball swap, with Shipley’s freedom now to launch the ball higher with loft without it overspinning. Shipley has also done the same to his i240 4-iron.

No need to de-loft

Shipley plays some of the lowest-lofted clubs out on the PGA Tour. His older Ping G440 LST has just 6.8 degrees of loft – yes, you read that correctly!

Now with the ability to add more loft, thanks to the golf ball change, Shipley’s current driver is at 7.6 degrees. The 9-degree LST head is cranked down on Big Minus on the Ping adapter hosel.

It’s still a stout build, however, as Shipley plays a Fujikura Ventus TR 7x that has been tipped at 2 inches. He also uses the heaviest high-density tungsten back weight available at 35 grams.

More than just the stamps

Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.

That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.

On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley said. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.

“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”

On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”

“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.

There’s more to just the stamping. He’s stuck with the S159 wedges since graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour, as he feels confident in the head shape.

“I prefer the shape a little bit more of the leading edge, not as rounded of a leading edge, a little bit more straight on,” Shipley added.

The added confidence helps him with adapting to the different grinds needed week-in-week-out on Tour. Shipley is happy to game three different grinds with his lob-wedge.

“Primarily use the T, the H, and then I’ll do a 58S,” Shipley said. “These are actually at 59 degrees. I’ll do the 58 strengthen to take a little bit of bounce off in the S grind and then we’ll shave some trail edge and heel edge relief. Just helps act as like a higher bounce essentially. So kind of stick with those most of the time.”

Heavier the better

The final piece to Shipley’s puzzle is his custom Ping PLD Anser 4D. It’s somewhat of a gentle giant, featuring a heavier-than-usual head, but a custom aluminium insert.

“It’s a little bit heavier, I think this one’s 355 to 360 grams, so a little bit heavier head,” Shipley said. “So the heavier head I feel like has helped me on some of the shorter putts with a little bit of stability.

“But the insert, I think, has been helpful in some of the longer putts. Just kind of slowing the ball down with the softer insert in the grooves.”

Shipley’s one of the few players left on Tour playing an actual Anser blade, having said in the past that he naturally sets up to the right on putts and allows the face to rotate through. Something which he hasn’t been able to mimic with a mallet.

Shipley’s full bag:

Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees @ 7.6)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7X (45 inches, tipped 2 inches)

Mini driver: Ping prototype
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 8X

3-wood: Titleist TSR3 (13.5 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X

5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black VeloCore+ 8X

Irons: Ping iDi (3 @ 19.25), Ping i240 (4), Ping Blueprint T (6-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 X100 (4-9 soft-stepped)

Wedges: Ping s159 (46-12S, 50-10S, 54-12S, 60 T or H @ 59)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 X100 (46-50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (54-60)

Putter: Ping PLD Anser 4D

Grips: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Double Dot

Whats in the Bag

Hannah Green WITB 2026 (June)

Published

17 hours ago

Jun 9, 2026

Will Schube

Driver: Titleist GTS3 (10 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana RB 53 S

3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana RB 63 S

7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, C1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Designs Tour AD DI-6 SR

Irons: Srixon ZXi5 (4), ZXi7 (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Steelfiber i80 CW

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ Tour Rack (50 MID-10, 56 MID-10, 60 LOW-06)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro 980GH D.S.T. R

Putter: Scotty Cameron Xperimental 3.2 Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond

Check out more in-hand photos of Hannah Green’s clubs here.

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Tour Issue Ping G440 LST

Published

19 hours ago

Jun 9, 2026

Will Schube

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, @Slinger24 is selling a tour-issued Ping G440 LST driver head. The item, verified by the club maker, has nine degrees of loft.

From the listing:

First up is a tour issue PING G440 LST 9 degree head. Head-cover included. Has been verified by PING with the serial number and you can see the spec sheet from PING as well. This thing is an absolute spin killer. I just can’t hit it high enough. Asking $380 shipped in the lower 48 UPS for the head.

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.