Falling in love with GD Tour AD DI, and out of love with Diamana

kian wrote:

did u try the new DJ shafts?

No, I understand it will launch higher w more spin, I was looking for lower launch and less spin. The DI fits the bill well. I have stopped my 2-year search of looking for the 'right' shafts.

Lee36328 wrote:

After checking the numbers on Trackman today, decided to try tipping the driver shaft half an inch.

That will bring down the swing weight by about 3 points, from D6 to D3, so I am adding weight at the tip to bring it back up to D6 again.

Hopefully that will tighten up the dispersion a bit more.

Took it straight from the shop to the course, no chance to even hit a single test shot.

Waited for a wide fairway to try.

Whoa! Like stepping on the gas after putting in a new supercharger in the engine, the new muscle in the flex totally surprised me. I hooked it to the left. But even a hook went pretty far. Ended up in the rough, playable.

Tried one more time, downslope dogleg left, airspace protected by trees on the left and right. It surged past the dogleg corner and took a satisfying left turn and disappeared out of sight behind the dogleg. Left fairway.

Ah... this puppy now likes to draw.

Two things from this. My clubface now gets square much earlier. My path is still too deep, esp with longer clubs. Got to watch my right shoulder in the takeaway for long clubs.

Thanks Sham for your review of the S3 driver.

My backside got the better of me and I bought the S3 9.5* with a tour AD DI-6s shaft a few days ago. I tried it out immediately at a friendly tournament in Legends GCC in Kulai, Johor.

The head is definitely more forgiving even though the loft is stronger than my s2 (10.5*). In the beginning I was not able to launch the driver high, resulting in reduced distances. I tend to have an easy swing tempo and this driver/shaft combo does not like my swing speed. However, I was still optimistic and played around with the address position and also amped up my hips gradually. And yes, with a faster swing speed, the results were quite promising.

I even outdrove the longest hitter of my flight on one of the Par 5s which gave me an opportunity to try for 2 on.

Not bad for its first day!

I gamed it on Saturday again and this time, the low launch is still evident for the whole day.

I feel that my current swing speed is not up to par to benefit from the 9.5 head. Yes it is forgiving but if the launch angle is too low, I feel that I cannot optimize its potential.

I have put the Tour AD shaft into my S2 10.5* head so that I can work on increasing my swing speed first and create a higher launch angle. Once that is achieved, I will try the S3 9.5* head again.

Now for a review of the Tour AD DI-6s shaft. Wow!!! This shaft is per what Bro Lee said. It needs to be pushed hard. It can take whatever I dish out and still take even more. I think I am only using about 20% of its potential and it is already producing more distance than my current S2/fit-on max setup.

In addition, Tour AD reduces the dispersion quite a bit, I would safely say at least 20-30%. My slices are lesser and my hooks are not as wild.

In order to exploit this shaft, I must increase my swing speed. Now I understand why a good shaft will help me in increasing my swing speed. I can afford to push it hard and it will still be strong enough not to veer off course.

I Like!!!

S3 Head, wait for me ok?

Power is nothing without control, goes an old tire advert.

This shaft gives one the control to unleash all that power.

And going heavier and stiffer compels my pivot to find more power, more power. The control of the shaft helps to keep it accurate.

Enjoy.

Update:

The tipped shaft in the driver is beginning to feel a touch soft again. Certainly can't blame the shaft, so I blame the swing. Now I need to decide whether to ease up and swing with relaxed tempo, or tip it another half inch and really go at it and see how much power the (new) pivot can pack. I think best to see how the swing settles down before deciding.

Dispersion has certainly been noticeably reduced. Fantastic. Means I will save money restocking my lost ProV1s. See? This shaft is beginning to pay for itself already.

Meanwhile, the shaft is the 3 wood (stiff, untipped) is feeling like an old golden retriever. All soft and fluffy and friendly, but gets the job done reliably with minimal effort. This I will keep for now for those narrow narrow fairways. But at the rate the driver is going, the flex gap between the two may compel me to tip the 3 wood just to keep up or I live with two different swing tempos.

Interesting experiment to see where this leads to.

Thought i would chip in to this very detailed review about the Tour AD DI. I currently have the 60g version installed in my G20. Previously was using the G15 with a Kai'li, and i think that is still the longest driver i've ever hit. I'm still keeping it as a backup, but vanity makes me wanna play the latest, newest stuff...

Back to the Tour AD DI. I think categorizing it as a high launch shaft is a little misleading. This was the reason i resisted trying the shaft for such a long time (i'm usually a high ball, high spin kind of player). In the G20, i get a very nice mid height ball flight, in fact very much the same as the Kai'li. It does feel smooth, but that's also the main reason it's not perfect for me. It's soooo smooth, that when i really give it a go, it starts to misbehave - hooks and slices, nothing consistent. I constantly have to tell myself to slow down, swing easy, etc. Good thing though, even with the easy swing, this shaft produces. Distance is good, dispersion very very tight.

In summary, i think the AD DI is definitely a very good shaft, just not ideal for me. The shaft graphics put me off a little too, even though i like the colour orange in general. It won't be staying in my bag for long.. already have something else on the way. Anybody interested in buying a shaft pull?

Useful writeup, solarpop. Thanks.

Having enjoyed good result with the tipped shaft in the driver, I have recently tipped the 3 wood an inch. As I said above, tipping changes the feel of the shaft quite a lot.

It feels totally like a different shaft after 1 inch removal, a bit of a shock initially, but I'm also amazed how quickly the body adapts.

Now I can step on it with the 3 wood without holding back. It can take what I dish out and responds in a stable manner. Takes a bit more load to get the same distance, but with yields much tighter dispersion. Which is to be expected with tipping.

More interestingly, once you get it going, the shaft remains smooth in feel despite the increased stiffness.

Actually i did consider that the reason could be that the shaft was a poor fit for me flex-wise. My average ss is right about 105, and i'm using a DI 6S untipped.. the shaft i have already has a 1 inch graphite extension on the butt, so i'm not very keen on tipping and and extending again. I don't doubt that the shaft will perform better with a little tipping, but i rather prefer using something that's good for me right out of the box instead of having to experiment with different configurations to get it right, you know what i mean?

I interested if ur shaft being pull out...

solarpop wrote:

Actually i did consider that the reason could be that the shaft was a poor fit for me flex-wise. My average ss is right about 105, and i'm using a DI 6S untipped.. the shaft i have already has a 1 inch graphite extension on the butt, so i'm not very keen on tipping and and extending again. I don't doubt that the shaft will perform better with a little tipping, but i rather prefer using something that's good for me right out of the box instead of having to experiment with different configurations to get it right, you know what i mean?

Yes, I do know what you mean.

At 105mph, you're faster than me, and I'm using X, tipped. So, I can imagine how an S would feel in your swing.

Just wondering, if it already has a butt extension, might it already be tipped?

On the other hand, if it's not been tipped, only butt-extended, and you're gripping it at the end, it lengthens the shaft, and makes it slightly softer.

It's definitely not tipped, as it was custom ordered from Ping that way. The previous owner tried it as a shorter driver, which i took over, then i had the extension installed to play at standard length. Don't think a one inch extension would change the playing characteristic of the shaft much, but you never know.

If I'm not mistaken, an extension at the butt making the shaft longer changes the frequency, ie. the stiffness of the shaft.

But it seems the previous owner cut the butt (else it would be around 46 inches uncut if I recall correctly). So when you extended the butt, that gets the length closer to its uncut form.

Now I need to decide whether to trim the butt to get it to 45 inches, or leave room to tip a further half inch from the tip.

Hi Lee, can you share how long it take for the new tour ad shaft to run in and when can start to expect see more consistence ball flight. (if we take out the consistency of good swing factor)

Dan5 wrote:

Hi Lee, can you share how long it take for the new tour ad shaft to run in and when can start to expect see more consistence ball flight. (if we take out the consistency of good swing factor)

Hi Dan5.

Previously, I was not aware there is the concept of 'running in' a shaft, so I did not pay attention or notice this.

Also, as I was busy changing and fixing my driver/3 wood swing, it's hard to notice a specific change in feel due to use.

But I do notice I feel more settled with it well within 1 month, say 2 weeks or so, with regular use at the range, if that helps.

Thanks for the feedback, guess u are right, need some time to get adjusted and settle in.

is that any way to run in faster? like a machine or sth?

when we fit Pariya (with Callaway Tour) who plays on the Asian Tour, its important that the initial shots goes right of target. it it goes straight with a new shaft, its always going to be too weak after its run-in. thosse guys can run in a shaft in one afternoon.

i know it sounds weird but thats how Pariya choose his shaft.

here's a look at all the new shaft with the new Razr Fit cogs thats been installed and sitting in the Den, awaiting the new head to arrive.....





DGman

Lee36328 wrote:

If I'm not mistaken, an extension at the butt making the shaft longer changes the frequency, ie. the stiffness of the shaft.

But it seems the previous owner cut the butt (else it would be around 46 inches uncut if I recall correctly). So when you extended the butt, that gets the length closer to its uncut form.

Now I need to decide whether to trim the butt to get it to 45 inches, or leave room to tip a further half inch from the tip.

Been choking down half to one inch on the grip all this while, but finally decided to trim the extra half inch off the butt yesterday. So, it's now 45 inches instead of 45.5.

After waiting for the glue in the grip to dry, even just swinging without hitting a ball, I could tell it was going faster than before, and faster compared to my other drivers in other shafts. It feels much lighter than before, and swing weight has gone from D4 to D2.

Took it out to the range this afternoon, and wow! There is a big difference between choking down half inch and cutting off that same half inch. Club feels a lot lighter. I must take it back to the shop and weigh it to find out how much ligther. It really feels like I can go all out with it.

Needless to say, ball flight is much higher and further, because I can swing it faster than before.

I enjoyed hitting it so much, I spent 4 hours at the range today, hitting drivers mostly, chuckling with delight at the ball flight. It felt like injecting the serum of youth into both shaft and golfer.

Lee where did u change the GD shafts and what are the costs?

essentiale wrote:

Lee where did u change the GD shafts and what are the costs?

Got it changed in Malaysia, at Absolut Custom Golf. Prices in Singapore probably different.

It's not cheap, but certainly competitively comparable to shafts like Fujikura Motore, Diamana Kaili, etc.

anyone tried both the DI and Diamana thump hybrid shafts before? Any reviews?

timang84 wrote:

anyone tried both the DI and Diamana thump hybrid shafts before? Any reviews?

Not an exact comparison, but I currently own a DI hybrid shafted utility (DI7), and a Diamana thump (but for FW) wood. Both shafts are very stable. But the DI shaft is harder to load but behaves closer to what you intend it to do (more predictable), as compared to the stable smooth Thump.

To add on, I also have a Tour AD UT-55s hybrid shaft on a RC head (Too whippy and unpredictable for me) and Tour AD SF6 shaft on another RC hybrid. I find the SF shaft has just the right balance of explosiveness and predictability and more friendlier than than the DI-7. It is also my current gamer.

Hope my humble review helps.

kyleyann wrote:

timang84 wrote:

anyone tried both the DI and Diamana thump hybrid shafts before? Any reviews?

Not an exact comparison, but I currently own a DI hybrid shafted utility (DI7), and a Diamana thump (but for FW) wood. Both shafts are very stable. But the DI shaft is harder to load but behaves closer to what you intend it to do (more predictable), as compared to the stable smooth Thump.

To add on, I also have a Tour AD UT-55s hybrid shaft on a RC head (Too whippy and unpredictable for me) and Tour AD SF6 shaft on another RC hybrid. I find the SF shaft has just the right balance of explosiveness and predictability and more friendlier than than the DI-7. It is also my current gamer.

Hope my humble review helps.

Thanks for the reviews. went for the di 85s in my 3 and 4 hybrids... now thinking if I should let go of my thump hybrid shafts haha....Also, did you shaft a driver shaft (I.e. DI7s ) into your hybrid or was it a DI 75s hybrid shaft?

timang84 wrote:

kyleyann wrote:

timang84 wrote:

anyone tried both the DI and Diamana thump hybrid shafts before? Any reviews?

Not an exact comparison, but I currently own a DI hybrid shafted utility (DI7), and a Diamana thump (but for FW) wood. Both shafts are very stable. But the DI shaft is harder to load but behaves closer to what you intend it to do (more predictable), as compared to the stable smooth Thump.

To add on, I also have a Tour AD UT-55s hybrid shaft on a RC head (Too whippy and unpredictable for me) and Tour AD SF6 shaft on another RC hybrid. I find the SF shaft has just the right balance of explosiveness and predictability and more friendlier than than the DI-7. It is also my current gamer.

Hope my humble review helps.

Thanks for the reviews. went for the di 85s in my 3 and 4 hybrids... now thinking if I should let go of my thump hybrid shafts haha....Also, did you shaft a driver shaft (I.e. DI7s ) into your hybrid or was it a DI 75s hybrid shaft?

It's the DI 75s hybrid shaft.

If it is out of love with Diamana, can try Tour AD UT hybrid shafts.