Equipment
Spotted: Graphite Design Tour AD IZ
We spotted Graphite Design’s new Tour AD IZ shaft being tested on the range at the Dell Technologies Championship. Graphite Design has shared the following information about the shaft, which will be available October 2.
Like Graphite Design’s legendary Tour AD DI shaft, the Tour AD IZ is designed to promote a higher launch angle and lower spin rate. IZ stands for “Into the Zone,” and the new shaft will be available in five weights (40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 grams) and five flexes (R1, R2, R, SR, and X).
Construction-wise, the Tour AD IZ is made from 50-ton, aerospace-quality graphite. It also uses Torayca T1100 G pre-preg with “Nanoalloy,” which is incorporated into the tip-section of the shaft to promote increased stability. The stronger, lighter-weight material eliminates the need to use additional graphite material to stiffen the tip section, which promotes a better feel. The shaft will carry an MSRP of $500.
Profile and Specs
Click to enlarge.
- IZ-4: Soft Tip Section, Medium Mid-Section, Medium Butt Section
- IZ-5, IZ-6, IZ-7, IZ-8: Firm + Tip Section, Medium Tip Section, Firm Butt Section
Comparison Chart
Graphics provided by Pro’s Choice. You can learn more about the Tour AD IZ from Pro’s Choice Golf Shafts.
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- Marcus Kinhult what’s in the bag accurate as of the ISCO Championship. Kinhult was deciding between 3-woods. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (9 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Red RDX 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist TSR2 (15 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana BF 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT2 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 70 TX
5-wood: Ping G25 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana Blue 80 TX
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist 620 CB (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper 120 S
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-12F, 54-08M, 58-08M,
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper 120 S (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue 120 S400 (54-58)
Putter: Odyssey 2-Ball Ten Armlock
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
See more in-hand photos of Marcus Kinhult’s equipment here.
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from an article our Andrew Tursky filed for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. You can read the full article here.
Thompson entrusts Craig Allan, director of Sea Island’s Golf Performance Center, who works with various PGA TOUR players on their fitting needs. Last year, Thompson informed Allan that something wasn’t right with his irons. He’d been striping his driver with a Titleist ’21 Pro V1 and Titleist TSR3 driver, but he was struggling with distance control with his irons due to low spin, while catching too many fliers out of the rough.
Allan offered Thompson three solutions: weaken the lofts of his current irons, test out some higher-spinning golf balls, and test out different iron heads and shafts. Thompson didn’t want to hit the ball higher with his irons; he wanted to address the golf ball instead. Initially, Thompson decided to change into a Titleist Pro V1 Star prototype golf ball that offers higher spin rates.
Although the ball change provided a nice solution for his iron play, his driver play suffered.
“(At the) Memorial (Tournament presented by Workday) last year, I started playing a spinnier Titleist golf ball, and it was great for my iron setup at the time,” Thompson said. “But kind of over time I saw my driver’s stats kind of go down, which is kind of a strong suit of my game. So we were trying to figure out after Valspar (Championship) this year how we can get the driver back going.”
Following the Valspar, Thompson and Allan got back to work in the testing center. Thompson was ready for Allan’s third option, which meant he would switch back into his previous Titleist Pro V1 ’21 golf ball, restore his driver dominance, and begin looking at different iron heads with weaker lofts and different shafts to gain spin and distance control.
After two weeks of testing different iron head-and-shaft combinations with the lower spinning golf ball, Allan and Thompson decided on the Titleist 620 MB irons (5-9) equipped with True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid Tour Issue X100 shafts, which offer slightly higher spin and launch compared to the True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts that Thompson was playing previously.
Head over to PGATour.com to read the full article.
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BK says: League play is back, weather permitting, and it feels like I have been away for years! We are going with a few brand new items in the bag this week as I try and figure out the 14 clubs I am taking on my golf weekend in a couple of weeks. Irons are the Ben Hogan PTx Tour, a progressive set that is built around multi-piece long irons and on-piece forged 9 and PW. The driver head isn’t new but the shaft is the brand new Fujikura Ventus Red with VeloCore+ technology. Finally the lob wedge is the Titleist Vokey Wedgeworks 60 A+ grand.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6x (2024)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7x (2018)
7-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (20 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8s
Irons: Ben Hogan PTx Tour (4-PW)
Shaft: KBS Tour-V 110 Stiff
Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM10 (50.12F)
Shaft: Nippon Modus Tour 105 Stiff
Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM10 (56.14F)
Shaft: Nippon Modus Tour 105 Stiff
Wedge: Titleist Vokey Wedgeworks (60 A+)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S200
Putter: Toulon Chicago
Shaft: Stroke Lab
Ball: Titleist ProV1x
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Golfandpuff
Aug 30, 2017 at 10:43 am
I just wish it did not retail for $500!
Zak Kozuchowski
Aug 30, 2017 at 11:39 am
MAP should be $379 at most fitters.
Joe Golfer
Aug 29, 2017 at 4:22 pm
I like the comparison chart at the bottom of the article.
I just wish that there was something that tells you which profile would be most suitable for various types of swing styles/tempos….
Tcann32
Aug 30, 2017 at 12:17 pm
It’s hard to recommend a shaft without seeing someones swing, and the way their swing affects a shaft, and the way the shaft affects the swing.
Everyone is so different that it’s hard to recommend “blindly”, but in everything I’ve tested and researched I’ve found that for myself and my swing profile (Medium-quick tempo, fast transition, mid-late release) that the first part of a shaft I look for is the butt stiffness. If the butt is too soft, then I lose track of the club in my swing, and it affects my release of the club. Tip stiffness is what I look at for launch and spin rates, and mid-shaft profile can make up for one of the other two, depending on the other portions profiles. That obviously wasn’t a scientific explanation, but if you look at your swing, and the way you load the club, and what you’re looking for in terms of launch and spin profile, you can make a closer guess on what might fit you best.
As far as this shaft goes, it’s reminiscent of the AD-MJ, which is a great shaft.