I'm about a 7 handicap, 6'4'', with a swing speed around 115-120, a medium tempo, and I prefer to play a low draw. I just recently had to return my Nike VR Pro because I cracked the shaft and I've decided to go with another company because Nike decided not to fix it and TGW just gave me a credit. I don't have any places that are close where I can demo these clubs so I am looking for some feedback from someone who has played some of these clubs. I don't necessarily need a lot of workability, but a low spin rate is a must as I play in windy conditions often. Any comments or suggestions would be great and if anyone has some suggestions on good x-stiff shafts I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

I am a Titleist player and play the D3. I love the look and the way the ball comes off the face. The key for you sounds like the shaft. DO NOT go with a standard RBZ shaft as they are VERY cheap. I have a Project X stiff shaft in mine and works great for me. Sounds like you need something a bit firmer. I definitely do not like the look of the R11.

wow...so Nike wouldn't fix your shaft? How old was the club? That sounds patently ridiculous to me.

That said, have you tried the Ping i20 at all? I hit a bunch of Ping clubs last night, and I couldn't believe how freaking awesome it felt to hit the i20. Of course, I'm not consistent enough to play the i20 yet, so I'll stick with the G15 I'm playing for now. But IMHO, Ping makes the best drivers on the planet bar none.

I don't think changing companies is the right move here, especially at the price of a new club. If you're hitting the VR nice, why not just put the money into a quality shaft? It's the most important part anyway. Look into the new Project X shafts and Fujikura. Get something that is going to give you the launch you want. With the price of clubs these days you can get a killer shaft for less than half.

birdieXris wrote:

I don't think changing companies is the right move here, especially at the price of a new club. If you're hitting the VR nice, why not just put the money into a quality shaft? It's the most important part anyway. Look into the new Project X shafts and Fujikura. Get something that is going to give you the launch you want. With the price of clubs these days you can get a killer shaft for less than half.

Sometimes, it's about more than just sticking with what works. If I broke the shaft on one of my drivers, and the company wouldn't replace it, I would refuse to endorse that company in any way, shape, or form at any point in the future. In other words, I wouldn't be caught dead with one of their clubs on the course.

I've broken 2 shafts in both my Adams driver (at the hosel) and had them both replaced by Adams golf, via Dick's sporting goods (just take it in). I believe (from web forums) that Adams knew about faulty construction in my particular driver, so they may have been more lenient with it, but the fact that they replaced the shafts both times with the newest OEM shaft that they were currently shafting their most up-to-date drivers made me a committed fan of their company. It's a shame that Nike won't stand by their product.

You can find replacement shafts on e-bay fairly cheap (people are always tinkering and pulling shafts out and selling em).

Agreed Duke. Adams is a stand-up company. I had a similar experience with Ping. I broke my shaft at the hosel by simply hitting balls, and they refitted the club with a new shaft for free.

I bought the VR Pro Str8 Fit in July for $400 from TGW.com. When I bought it they had the promotion going where they threw in a hybrid for "free". I thought this was a great deal and like the reviews for the driver and hybrid and thought why not. In March I dented and cracked the face of the Hybrid and sent that back. Within 2 weeks I cracked the shaft of the driver near the head and sent that back. I was told that Nike decided to not fix the clubs and that I would be given a TGW credit of $400 instead. TGW has dropped the price of the VR Pro St8 all the way down to $180, while the hybrid is still $170. I'm not sure what would have happened if only one of the clubs needed to be returned, but either way I got my full amount back which is fine. That's the story.

Before that I had been playing a Titleist 905R 9.5* with a Proforce V2 X 76g shaft. The ball goes incredibly high and has a lot of spin. I rarely get any roll. Most of the time I get a ball mark and loss about 5 feet on the back spin.

I've decided the go with the Titleist D3 8.5*, I just don't know which shaft I would like to get.

Free Shafts
Titleist Ahina 82 x
Aldila Alphia RIP 80 x

Upgrade Shaft
Mitsubishi Diamana ahina 80 x (+$250)

Any comments or other good 75+g x stiff shafts that are low/mid spin and launch would love to hear it. Thanks for the comments so far.

Callaway is good about taking care of their customers. I bought a used X460 from EBAY and had some epoxy? the glue used to hold the head on the shaft that would rattle around in the driver head, and was more annoying then anything else. I called Callaway and told them. They couldnt replace the current model I had so they shipped me a brand new Hyper X the next model up for Free!

Callaway is good about taking care of their customers. I bought a used X460 from EBAY and some epoxy glue was rattling around in the driver head. It was more annoying then anything. I called Callaway Pre-Owned and no questions asked shipped me a New Hyper X driver (one model newer then the X460) absolutely free!

Newer Nike equipment is garbage IMO... I broke my Str8fit driver in the first round.. rattling in the hosel area as well. Golf Galaxy replaced it on the spot... but then trim and cosmetic parts started falling off of the new one too. When I complained to Nike they offered me a 25% off coupon to the outlet store.

FWIW I have tried a lot of shafts to get my spin rates down and the best I found by far was the Aldila RIP Alpha 70X. I now play the RIP 70 Alpha shaft in an XX flex (289 CPM)

Just so everyone knows, I ended up getting fitted at the NY Golf Center here in Manhattan. Tried a variety of shaft/head combinations. Ended up that the Callaway Razr Fit had the highest BS, the Accra Tour Z+ M5 had the lowest launch, and we believe the two will had the lowest spin rate around 2800 with a launch around 14*. My average BS was around 180 and my SS was around 124. Thanks for all the input, this is the result Callaway Razr Fit 8.5*, with an Accra Tour Z+ M5 shaft, +2 wraps, neutral face, and neutral weights.[[/img]]

Sounds wicked, hope it works out great for you.

By the way Hoinacki some very impressive numbers, wow!