The latest release from True Temper's Project X brand is the first stable shaft to weigh in at less than 40 grams
By James Achenbach, Golfweek
The quest for the high-
performance, sub-40
driver shaft has fascinated golfers and shaft
manufacturers in
the era of lightweight graphite.
Sub-40, meaning less than 40 grams. For
years, it has been
golf’s version of the Holy Grail. It has been a
dream but not a
reality.
Such a shaft not only would have to meet the
weight
requirement, but also would have to be
durable. It would have
to produce penetrating drives that don’t
balloon up in the air.
Whne this shaft was announced, the gauntlet was laid
down.
"We have the
lightest golf shaft
that’s ever been introduced,” said Chad Hall,
True Temper’s
director of global tour operations. “It weighs
39.5 grams at 46
inches raw length.”
The shaft is the Project X PXv 39, which tips
the scales at 39.5
grams. “Go ahead and weigh it,” Hall said as a
challenge.
This is not your grandfather’s shaft, because
original steel
driver shafts weighed about 140 grams each.
Over the years,
these shafts grew only marginally lighter. At
39.5 grams, this
True Temper shaft is less than one third the
weight of the
driver shafts used by golfers such as Sam
Snead, Ben Hogan,
Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in their primes.
This is not your father’s shaft, either. Although
the weight of
graphite driver shafts has gone steadily
downward, ducking
under 40 grams with a durable shaft has
presented an enigma.
Even the highly regarded Bassara W-Series 33
from Mitsubishi
Rayon weighs 41 grams.
True Temper says the PXv 39 can withstand
the stress of high
swing speeds. How did it eclipse the 40-gram
barrier? One
explanation: The shaft has no paint. It is a raw
shaft, with a
decal and protective clear coat.
Don Brown, Project X product development
manager and
designer, told a paint story: “If we painted it,
the total weight
would have gone up to about 42 grams, and
we are committed
to staying under 40 grams.”
Said Hall, about the shaft's genesis: “In the
beginning, it
seemed likely the shaft was going to be a
game-improvement
design, with a lot of high-shot tendencies. And
then, as the
shaft became a reality, we realized this is a
better player’s golf
shaft. It’s incredible how stable it is."
Thank modern carbon-fiber materials and
advanced
construction – and no paint – for the new
shaft. (A 52-gram
version of the shaft also is available for golfers
who prefer a
heavier driver shaft or want to use it as a
fairway wood shaft.)
“We created a core in the shaft that is
extremely rigid,” Brown
said. “This prevents the shaft from ovalizing
(taking an oval
shape). When they ovalize, they snap.”
The 39- and 52-gram versions carry a
suggested retail price of $350 for each. The
PXv 52 can be
purchased through retailers, but the PXv 39 is
available only
through True Temper’s Performance Fitting
Center clubfitters.
At a pre-release Demo Day
on the range at Orange County National Golf
Club in Florida, the
resiliency of True Temper's new product was revealed.
Part
of the Krank long-
drive team (Krank is known as a manufacturer
of driver heads
used in long-drive competition) took on the
PXv 39 shaft.
Many observers were betting the shaft would
break, though
“break” was not the word that was commonly
used. “Explode”
was a popular choice, “disintegrate” was heard
several times,
and “snap” was often uttered.
However, the shaft withstood the long-drive
assault.
“Originally the shaft was going to be a
Grafalloy shaft (another
True Temper brand)," Hall said. "But after
testing and testing,
we said, ‘This is a Project X shaft. Holy smoke,
this is a very
high-performance shaft.’ "
Sub-40. Some might call it a scientific
breakthrough.
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