I would think they would give you a few options for one of those all day things. Not just like hey you have to buy this $1000 shaft, hopefully something like this is the best one for you in the $100-200 range ect but never done one so no clue really. Would love to when I have some money to burn though.

Wish I could get out and hit this club more. Probably out at least 2 weeks now as I jammed my thumb playing soccer. Damn thing is swollen 2x the size of the other. The bruising is really impressive too. The only plus is this is my bottom hand.

Finally have enough rounds with the R15 where I can make some sort of meaningful comparison. It is 6 yards farther on average then the SLDR with no meaningful difference is dispersion. Average gain comes mostly from added yards on miss hits. Not a noticeable difference on flush shots.

Mine came in yesterday, today took it to my club builder to install a custom shaft. Hit 30 balls on the range this evening. Every shot seems to leave the face with little spin. Gonna take a while to figure out how to load this shaft correctly, but since it's a bit softer, and the fact I can basically dial up a shot shape, fully expect to hit the high launch knuckle ball that draws about 3 yards.

Will take it out on the course tomorrow where I can get a better idea of carry and total numbers.

Also plan on sleeping with it tonight.

BO

Nice, is it still a stiff overall and just softer in the tip?

Technically it's an X, but since it's 47.875 inches long, it plays like a stiff. And yes, just a bit softer, just enough to get it going left if I get quick. Driver I've used for 4 years now (same length) was nearly impossible for me to hit left.

BO

Geez BO why do you choose to play such a long driver? Is it just to hit it farther in your old man age ? I assume you arent doing any LD Competitions.

Did you feel like the ball just fell out of the air unless you changed your swing just enough to load the shaft a bit more than normal? This was what I noticed with it at first.

Compensating for some insecurities maybe?

About 4 years ago I was trying to figure out how someone of slight build and average height could keep it in the same neighborhood of guys half my age I tend to compete against. After some research into how clubhead speed translates to distance and how shaft length can(not always) translate into clubhead speed, I thought it was worth a shot.

First I took an old driver and just stuck a 3-inch plug in the top of the shaft. Very crude. Instantly picked up 10-15 yards, mostly carry. Luckily, Art Sellinger has his long drive shop about 20 minutes from me. I go in and talk with a very knowledgeable guy there and explained my situation. After some testing we settled on a tournament legal shaft that was pretty light and weak by long drive standards anyway.

Guys I play all the time with thought I was crazy and it took about a month to get used to it. But after that they realized I knew what I was doing all along. In the end I probably gained 25 yards from the standard driver I was hitting. And with negligible if any loss of control.

And that started an oddly quick transformation in my game. Reaching par 5's much more frequently, wedges into many par 4's, etc. Within 6 months I probably improved 3 strokes per round, from a +2/3 to a +5/6 even reaching +7 more than once. That's just really rare from somebody in their mid 40's.

So now when I play with current mini tour guys who are 6'3" or whatever, I can keep it within 15-20 yards of them. Which is a win in my book at 5'10".


Not if I hit it properly. Naturally if you don't make solid contact with low spin, then yes, the ball will seem to fall out of the air.

My weapon has a really long, stiff shaft, with a maximum sized head. And I know how to use it to impress anybody who sees it. What's to be insecure about?

BO

Well, took it out on the course today and hit lots of shots. The nice thing was I was able to turn it over but didn't lose any left.

Jacked it all the way up to high launch low spin and left it there. Started off with the draw bias about halfway to max. Hit some good shots but felt it was turning over a bit much. Tweaked it back to neutral and flattened it out better, but still didn't get the hang time I was wanting. So upped the loft a degree. That seemed to give me more of my desired flight when struck properly.

Getting more out of it into the wind was further confirmed today. High launch knuckle balls just don't get affected much by wind.

Played with a couple of my regs today and they were impressed with the different ball flight. The lack of spin and flight was noticeable to others eyes. Honestly, I'm swinging pretty crappy at it right now. Just haven't been able to play much which sometimes is no big deal if things are locked in. But it's far from locked in right now.

But I feel this club and shaft will definitely allow me to hit the shape and spin I want. The question is, can I do so consistently with both the shaft and head right on the edge of loss of control.

Regardless, it's a lot of fun!

BO

Interesting stuff BO. I struggle to hit a 46 inch driver. Granted I wasnt fitted for it or anything. I like using no longer than 45. Id love to pick up 15 more yards though. Sounds like that may be an experiment for next summer.

So who knew all of the shaft options would make a difference on the M1. My club has a few demo heads and a bunch of different shafts. I took all of the shafts to the range and tried them all out.

Quickly figured out that I need a slightly heavier one. Ended up going with the Aldila Rogue Silver. With that shaft my misses were not a way off compared to a lighter shaft.

Went to where I bought the club and they ordered it for me and I can switch out at no charge.

Nice glad you found one that worked

New shaft has arrived at the store, too late to pick it up and hit it today however. Guess I'm getting to the course well in advance of my tee time tomorrow to thoroughly get used to it.

After picking up the new shaft I took a couple of swings on their simulator. How does that thing show that I hit a 50 ft draw when I haven't hit a draw with a driver since I was 16? I might slice the ball 50 feet, but nothing close to a draw.

Also pulled a forged 6-iron out (can't remember the brand, Callaway Apex maybe??) and omg that thing swings like butter.

I think we have a winner. Was able to take about 10 swings with it on the range before the round. Throughout the round I was getting more comfortable with it. Hit way more fairways than I even do with the hybrid (somehow).

Distance wise I was hitting it in the 270-280 range. Was fun out driving my playing partner by 50+ yards.

Most of the par 4's on the course are in the 370-380 range. Some have a slight dogleg so I was left with 60-110 yard shots into greens. Finally hit some good irons towards the end of the round.

Best drive of the day was on the 18th which is a 480y par 5 and I had 206 left. Love hitting irons into par 5's.

I would be extremely surprised if this club didn't drop my handicap a good 3-4+ shots over the next month or two.

What were you using again before M1?

G25 but I couldn't keep it in play. It's mostly swing changes since then. Would be curious to see how I hit that one now.

I still have some tinkering to do with the weights and loft to dial in even better. My time is better spent on my mid to short irons for a while though.

So who woulda thought that dialing in additional loft by moving the shaft actually closes the club face? Seems counter-intuitive to me. I have it set +2* to 11.5*. Kinda high for my liking but if I can hit it straight I'm going with it.

The first time someone told me that I was so confused.

TaylorMade demo day at the club so I was able to try six different shafts in the driver. They also had a launch monitor. Didn't take long to figure out that I need a extra stiff shaft. Clubhead speed was 117.

Spin numbers were way too high and my launch angle was about 2* too low. If I switch shafts I think a gain of 10-15 is reasonable with the spin reduction.

Question though is it worth it? I can hit it straight now (285-290) and I like the feel of the shaft (they do have my exact shaft available in extra stiff).

The shaft they recommended was a UST Proforce. Anyone have experience with those?

I looked all of the ones they offer and the UST Proforce isn't even one offered by TaylorMade. There was one other that fit the bill though. Looks like I will just get what I have now except in X flex. Also the UST they offer would be a $200 upcharge.

http://demandware.edgesuite.net/aais...tom_Shafts.pdf

What were your spin numbers? Like 2500 too high or 3k+

Worth is pretty relative, not sure I would pay $200 for 2 yards more and 2 yards closer dispersion. If you are talking 8 yards farther and way more accurate then I would probably fork over $200