Equipment
Club Junkie Review: Graphite Design Tour AD VF wood shaft
Graphite Design has been a legendary brand in the world of premium golf shafts since the company was founded in 1989. Graphite Design has had some popular shafts over the years, but they are probably most well known for the Tour AD DI that was released in 2010. Today we are talking about the newest shaft in the Graphite Design lineup, the new VF. The letters do stand for something, Victory Force, and according to Graphite Design every victory requires force! For a more in-depth review, please check out the Club Junkie podcast below or on any streaming platform. Just search “GolfWRX Radio.”
Out of the box, the VF has a very familiar look with a red handle section and a black tip section that are separated with the traditional 10 silver rings. The color combination is definitely more subtle than some of the other Tour AD shaft combinations. Graphite Design doesn’t make too many low-launching shafts, so the VF is filling that need. The VF will suit players looking for low/,id launch and low spin shaft to put in their driver or fairway wood.
The shaft profile is a firm+ handle section, it matches the stiffest handles Graphite Design shafts, with a stiff midsection, and finally a very stiff tip. Exotic materials are used along with MSI Design to maintain stability and consistency. Graphite Design uses Torayca M40X carbon fiber in the handle section to make it stiffer and enhance control of the shaft. Ultra-high modulus Torayca T1100G is used in the middle and tip section for added stability without losing that smooth feel.
I built up the VF shaft using a universal tip system that allows me to use the shaft in any driver head. The building went extremely smoothly as every Graphite Design shaft I have ever installed has a consistent tip diameter and I have never had any issues with a sloppy fit. Once the VF was cut to length and installed, the shaft has a great look that doesn’t jump out as distracting or eye-catching. If you are playing a TaylorMade Stealth 2, then the shaft blends in naturally and they look to visually be great partners!
You would expect a smooth and responsive feel from any Graphite Design shaft and you will get just that with the VF. For me the shaft was exactly as Graphite Design describes, being mid/low launch and offering a very penetrating ball flight. The Tour AD XC might launch a touch lower, but I like the feel and consistency I get from the VF just a little bit more. No matter what driver head I used, the VF seemed to offer ball flight in a similar window, slightly lower than the Fujikura Ventus TR Blue I was using. Even shots into the wind showed no real signs of rising or ballooning. Spin was also lower than I expected with the VF shaft. On the course, I noticed a penetrating, boring flight no matter where I hit the ball on the driver face. Shots struck low on the face held a good amount of distance and even the low heel strike seemed to launch lower and carry further.
I even took a couple of driver heads out to the range with a launch monitor and noticed that I rarely saw a spin number with a “3” in front of it. Almost every shot, good and not so good, seemed to spin around that 2,600 RPM number. With many fittings and shaft tinkering, that is usually on the lower end of what I find with my swing. As I said with the shaft being mid/low launch I was seeing an average of around 11 degrees while using a couple of 10.5-degree driver heads. On course, the VF was very straight and consistent and while it seemed easier to square up than I expected, it did not want to go left as easily as some other shafts. I would consider the flight just slightly fade biased but if you release the club properly you will be rewarded with a straight shot down the fairway.
Overall, the Graphite Design Tour AD VF is a really solid mid/low launch and low spin option with a smooth feel. It is starting to gain some traction on the professional tours and could be a great shaft for your swing as well.
Graphite Design Tour AD VF Specs
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The following is an excerpt from a piece we filed for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head on over there for the full story, which also includes the Mexico Open winner discussing how he configures his PXG irons set up.
Knapp may be a Tour rookie, but he’s experienced enough to know what works for him. And it’s not a 3-wood.
“I put in a 3-wood every once in a while, but I was just never able to find one that I loved,” Knapp told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday. “Three woods, in general, I just hit on the bottom of the face. They spin a lot and don’t go anywhere.”
Rather than using a fairway wood, Knapp goes with a TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver that has 13.5 degrees of loft. The club complements his 9-degree Ping G425 LST driver.
During a fitting session in Oklahoma last year, Knapp told his fitter he was looking for a club that goes 286 yards, and his first three shots with the mini driver went between 285 and 290.
“It’s just an easier club to hit than a 3-wood,” Knapp explained. “It spins more off the ground, but I don’t need it off the ground too often. And from 270+ yards away, you’re not really trying to be too precise. You’re just trying to get it up around the green most of the time. So, for me, it’s really just a tee club and kind of a fairway finder for me.”
Read more here and check out Jake Knapp’s full WITB below.
Driver: Ping G425 LST (9 degrees @7.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5
Mini driver: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 95 6.5
Irons: Srixon ZU85 (2), PXG 0311 X (4), PXG 0211 ST (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei White Hybrid 100 TX (2), KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X (4-PW)
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II (52-10), Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56.5-10S), WedgeWorks (60-T @61)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X (52, 56), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Double Bend
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour SGP 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot
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In our forums, our members have been discussing shallow faced and deep faced fairway woods. WRXer ‘Mike412’ kicks off the conversation saying:
“I’ve always preferred a deeper face but with so many manufacturers making shallow face woods the deeper face models are hard to come by, especially on the used market and even more especially 7W’s. So for those that like a shallow face, what do you like about them?”
And our members have been having their say on the subject in our forum.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- CactusGolf: “Shallow-faced woods were always a problem for me, especially with the last Paradym release because I found myself making contact at the top of the face to the point of danger. Had to switch to the Paradym Triple Diamond model for the slightly deeper face and haven’t had that problem. Made sure to loft up by at least +1* with the lower-spinning head. I don’t hit fairway woods off the deck very often due to the length of some of my courses, so the fairway wood is primarily a tee-only club.”
- Bobb3rddown: “I like deeper faced woods. Especially out of the rough. I’ve slid under to many balls I the rough with shallow face woods.”
- ChipNRun: “Prefer a deep face, but can handle a medium-face OK. Played with shallow-face FWs during early 2000s, but I changed my swing plane and started popping up shots, especially on tee shots. Ended up fluffing grass and putting ball atop tuft on tee shots.”
Shallow face vs Deep face fairway woods – GolfWRXers discuss
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (2/28/24): Refinished Scotty Pro Platinum Newport Mid Slant putter
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Refinished Scotty Pro Platinum Newport Mid Slant putter.
From the seller: (@CAGOFORIT): “Refinished by Flanigan Built. Original HC and shaft with band intact and SC pistol grip. Length 34”. Previous owner cut down the shaft. It has been extended back to 34”. $300 shipped CONUS.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Refinished Scotty Pro Platinum Newport Mid Slant putter
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Stephen
Oct 12, 2023 at 11:59 am
You mentioned the Tour AD GP was one of your favorite Graphite Design shafts (same here). How did the VF compare to it? Do you think it’s the GP replacement essentially?
Brian Knudson
Oct 12, 2023 at 12:45 pm
To me the VF launches just a little lower and definitely spins less. I also find that I have a little less draw, more straight, ball flight with the VF.
Julia
Oct 3, 2023 at 6:08 pm
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