For years, super heavy and sturdy steel shafts like Dynamic Gold X100s or Project X 6.5s dominated the PGA Tour.
But could lightweight and softer graphite shafts eventually capture some of the market share on Tour? It seems unlikely given the rapid swings at the highest level of the game, but you won’t know until you try.
And Jimmy Walker, winner of the 2016 PGA Championship, is trying.
On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipment, co-host Johnny Wunder reported that Walker has been testing Fujikura’s Axiom 75R iron shafts in his clubs and seeing some pretty insane numbers.
“So they built up a 7-iron, and Jimmy’s normal ball speed with a 7-iron is about 125 to 130 miles per hour,” Wunder said. “So he’s not hammering his irons, but like he’s not one of the holy gods where they’re about 140. He’s a normal tour player with his irons.
“He’s hitting 135, 136 off these regular shafts, but the ball is still spinning 7-iron at 6,600 and launching high. He says, I can turn them over, but I’m swinging 80 percent. I don’t have to work hard.”
So the real question is: how did Walker even come up with the opportunity to test a shaft designed for much slower players?
It turned out that he had made a few cracks with his father’s driver, which had a regular Fujikura Ventus shaft, and found that he was able to maintain the same ball speed as his gamer despite the soft flex.
His initial fear of hitting the ball far to the left turned out to be unfounded. So he went to a golf shop and asked someone to build him a 7-iron with lighter steel shafts, but someone suggested he try the Axioms.
Fujikura Axiom iron shaft
AXIOM introduces an unparalleled level of iron shaft performance. For the first time, Fujikura’s patented VELOCORE TECHNOLOGY is integrated into an iron axle delivering the same industry-leading performance improvements initially introduced in VENTUS and VENTUS TR. Extreme accuracy and consistency combined with unparalleled workability provide golfers with the same level of confidence they have come to expect from VeloCore powered products. Whatever the recording requires, AXIOM delivers. VeloCore technology is the engine that powers AXIOM’s iron performance. An extremely stable platform delivers optimized results on every shot thanks to tighter dispersion, faster ball speeds and improved accuracy. AXIOM is designed in a unique 3-parallel system that creates constant weight and decreasing torque values throughout the set. Consisting of a long parallel (#2, #3, #4), a center parallel (#5, #6, #7) and a short parallel (#8, #9, W), AXIOM allows for greater versatility in design and material integration compared to a single blank iron shaft. Each iron is specially designed to fit each design, reducing the number of SKUs and maximizing results.
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For Wunder and fellow co-host Jake Morrow, the idea is tempting, especially on days when you’re not feeling your best and swinging 80 percent might be the limit. The problem is that you have to swing 80 percent all the time, something Morrow said he might have trouble with.
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