Equipment
KBS Revamps Online Shaft Fitting Process
Drivers get all the attention when it comes to custom fitting. Pairing the right driver head with the right shaft can bring a golfer as much as 10, 20, even 30 more yards off the tee.
But despite what many golfers believe, longer drives aren’t the key to lower scores. Tour players love to hit their drives long and straight, but they’ll trade an iron shot that finishes close to the pin for a long drive every time. For that reason, it is just as important for golfers to have a properly fit set of irons as it is for them to have a properly fit driver.
Think of it this way — if a golfer chooses the wrong driver shaft, he or she has messed up one club. If a golfer chooses the wrong iron shaft, however, he or she has messed up as many as eight clubs.
That’s why KBS spent the last 12 months compiling feedback from 75,000 golfers for its revamped online fitting software on the company’s website. Developed with proprietary software from the company’s R&D department, the KBS Fit System offers one of the most comprehensive online shaft fitting systems for golfers.
The new design and updated software asks golfers to answer seven questions and at the end provides them with recommendations for a hybrid shaft, iron shaft and wedge shaft. The results page also includes information about local KBS dealers that can further dial in the fitting and order the shafts for the customer (a golfer’s name, email address and zip code is required to go through the process).
You can see my online shaft fitting results above.
Click here for more discussion in the Tour/Pre-release equipment” forum.
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Equipment
Welcome to the family: TaylorMade launches PUDI and PDHY utility irons
TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.
TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.
TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.
Can you see where this is going?
Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”
TaylorMade PUDI
Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.
In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.
TaylorMade PDHY
Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.
Club Junkie’s take
Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.
For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.
PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?
TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:
- PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
- PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
- Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
- PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
- PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family
Pricing, specs, and availability
Price: $249.99
At retail: Now
Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)
Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)
PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed
PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that 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, there is a listing for a Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Whats in the Bag
Richy Werenski WITB 2024 (May)
- Richy Werenski what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Houston Open.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist TSR2 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 8 X
Hybrid: Titleist TSR3 (19 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White Hybrid 90 TX
Irons: Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 105 S
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F, 50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (54-M, 58-L @60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Onyx (46-50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Onyx (54-60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash
Grips: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord
Check out more in-hand photos of Richy Werenski’s clubs in the forums.
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Joe Golfer
Oct 22, 2012 at 12:26 am
I couldn’t find KBS trim codes on their revamped website, but found them by googling KBS and trim charts. KBS makes excellent shafts, but folks who build their own clubs should be aware that component catalogs sometimes list just one set of trim options for these shafts, though KBS itself has several. The parallel tip “Tour” shaft can range from 4.0 to 5.5, depending on how much one trims. Likewise, the S flex can range from 5.0 to 6.5. Each extra inch of tip trim equals half a flex (.5). Thus, there is overlap. If one follows some component catalog charts, they will only get the softest flex in that range.
If one is pretty familiar with one’s swing needs, one can dial in the specific cpm that they want, as I think each 3/16″ of extra tip trim equals .1 increase in flex.
If one orders the S flex and simply follows the trim codes from some component suppliers, they will wind up with a 5.0 shaft, even if they might have expected a 5.5 or 6.0 or higher. Just giving folks a heads up that those ranges exist, and you can get exactly the flex you want if you read the trim charts from KBS itself rather than some of the component companies.
If your online fitting says you play an S flex Tour shaft, you still need to know that the S flex ranges from 5.0 to 6.5, a full flex and a half range difference depending on tip trimming.
Also, the 90 gram weight plays considerably softer than the Tour wgt, to the extent that if you play an R+ in the Tour model, you likely will be told by the new fitting model that you’d be an S+ in the 90 gram model.