Shaft Gurus.. Need your help!

**SteelDriver** · March 30, 2009

I currently have been playing a 9.5* R7 425 with Grafilloy ProLaunch Red stiff shaft. I went for the PL Red because I really need to keep the ball lower and TM stock shafts turn into a cross between a hot air balloon and a mortar for me. (I currently carry that R7 250+ yards and love the ballflight.)

Today I bought a 9.5* 08 Tour Burner with stock stiff re-ax shaft. I hit about 50 to 60 balls at the range and it was the same moon shot I had before i changed my 425 to the PL red. I carried it 250 as well but higher than ever. I was expecting more distance of course...

When I compare my 425 club length to the tour burner club length, the burner is noticably longer.

My questions:

A. Can I put my PL red in the tour burner?
B. will i have my desired ball flight back that i got with my 425?
C. is the shorter shaft length going to be a problem for me if i do swap it?
D. SHOULD my distance increase when i flatten the trajectory with said Prolaunch?

**grantc79** · March 30, 2009

I currently have been playing a 9.5* R7 425 with Grafilloy ProLaunch Red stiff shaft. I went for the PL Red because I really need to keep the ball lower and TM stock shafts turn into a cross between a hot air balloon and a mortar for me. (I currently carry that R7 250+ yards and love the ballflight.)

Firstly, that doesn't surprise me.

Taylormade makes great heads but their shafts always play weaker than they should so all the fanboys can play one stiffer than they should. They also love putting featherlight shafts in their drivers to add distance as well as inconsistency. As far as your questions go: A: It shouldn't be a problem as long as the shaft isn't too thick for the hosel. Check the hosel size of the old driver vs. the new one. B: Depends on a great many things. The Tour Burner was generally a fairly low spinning head so you shouldn't balloon it. C: Shouldn't be unless you have to trim that shaft a bit and it already played 44.5 or less. D: Theoretically it should as long as you don't launch it too low.

**neudi** · March 30, 2009

A. Yes, the r7 425 has a tip diameter of .350 as well as the tour burner, so if you are able to save the shaft you can put it in your new club.

B. It should be similar since the red has a high flex point causing a lower ball flight.

C. If you use your same shaft you should be fine because you really don't want to tip a driver shaft much or you make it extremely stiff. You can always put an extension in your shaft as well.

D. This is a difficult question to answer because the Tour Burner is a bigger head, which can cause increased distance, but it just depends on the swing and your consistency.

**SteelDriver** · March 30, 2009

Thanks guys. Thats refreshing to know. my Prolaunch is the shorter of the two, so i was worried about putting it in the tour burner head based on it being designed with a longer shaft in mind.

**LBlack14** · March 30, 2009

Shorter length should'nt be a problem. You may loose a few yards, but gain a little more accuracy using a shorter shaft. The PL Red is a Butt trim only shaft so I wouldn't mess with the tip.

Size of the head has nothing to do with distance whatsoever, more of a forgiveness thing and I'd challenge anybody to see the difference in size between 460cc and 425cc. As a matter of fact a 425cc driver can look bigger than a 460 depending on the footprint or depth of the head.

**SteelDriver** · April 1, 2009

had the shafts swaped out and man! you guys were right. Tour Burner with grafilloy prolaunch red added 15 to 20 yds of carry. i was hitting the stock tm shaft 250 carry and now boom it 265 to 270 carry. when the conditions dry here in rainy oregon and i hit a quality non-range ball, i cant wait to see the results. roll should be awesome!

**indacup** · April 1, 2009

D. This is a difficult question to answer because the Tour Burner is a bigger head, which can cause increased distance.....

A bigger head does NOT cause increased distance.

Size of the head has nothing to do with distance whatsoever, more of a forgiveness thing and I'd challenge anybody to see the difference in size between 460cc and 425cc. As a matter of fact a 425cc driver can look bigger than a 460 depending on the footprint or depth of the head.

I totally agree...and to take it a step further, we have found that by using a slightly smaller head 420-430cc, using quality material, allows greater manipulation of weight within the head to create a true players head and distance.

had the shafts swaped out and man! you guys were right. Tour Burner with grafilloy prolaunch red added 15 to 20 yds of carry. i was hitting the stock tm shaft 250 carry and now boom it 265 to 270 carry. when the conditions dry here in rainy oregon and i hit a quality non-range ball, i cant wait to see the results. roll should be awesome!

COOL! Glad to hear!

You did a few good things ya probably didn't know..... The head of the 425 vs the Burner are about 8 gms difference.....this caused your shaft to flex a bit more (which is why the burner was so long...to create equal static weight). But by decreasing the length, you "re-upped" your overall flex characteristics...and with shorter over all length, increasing the MOI and hitting closer to center of the face which is greatly contributory to distance....and forgiveness.

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Shaft Gurus.. Need your help!

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