Equipment

Club Junkie Review: Graphite Design Tour AD VF wood shaft

Published

7 months ago

Oct 3, 2023

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.

Graphite Design Tour AD VF Specs

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Equipment

Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage

Published

4 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.

It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.

When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”

“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”

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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.

Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:

“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.

“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.

“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.

“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.

“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”

So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.

His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.

See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here

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Equipment

Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron

Published

5 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

Brian Knudson

It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.

We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.

From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.

“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.

TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°

TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

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Whats in the Bag

Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)

Published

6 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Check out more in-hand photos Collin Morikawa’s clubs here.

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)