You can tell Shot Talk is having an effect on me...

[Sandy]

... because this week for the first time ever I got one of my clubs reshafted rather than replace the club with a new one...

[Rockford35]

Ha!

How's the new stick?

R35

[Sandy]

Haven't had a chance to hit it yet, but will take it down to the range tomorrow and then try and get out for a round next week, assuming this rain disappears!

It's a Cleveland Launcher 17* 4w that had the stock stiff shaft in, but it was way too stiff for me, so I had it pulled out and a regular flex Grafalloy Prolaunch put in, which should help get the ball up a lot more easily.

[Rockford35]

Is the Launcher a steel or Ti?

I'm currently looking for a Launcher 4 wd.

R35

[Sandy]

It's a steel Launcher from the last generation before the Steel/Ti versions that I bought used really cheap. It came with the Fujikara Launcher Gold in stiff fitted to it, but even adding this shaft means it costs less than a new one would have done.

As I've improved playing (now 90% of the time I break 100 on any course with a slope less than 130) it's filled my clubs out perfectly between my driver and a 22* Nike CPR Hybrid Wood. Only makes a few appearances a round though, having learned the fastest way to break 100 is to play the 5i and higher as much as possible. Very nice off the tee though, but would just like to be able to play it off the ground more, hence the shaft change.

[JEFF4i]

Very very nice. Reshafting can have so much effect.

[Bravo]

Originally Posted by Sandy

Haven't had a chance to hit it yet, but will take it down to the range tomorrow and then try and get out for a round next week, assuming this rain disappears!

It's a Cleveland Launcher 17* 4w that had the stock stiff shaft in, but it was way too stiff for me, so I had it pulled out and a regular flex Grafalloy Prolaunch put in, which should help get the ball up a lot more easily.

I'll bet you love this shaft...Let us know how it goes for you...

[bames]

Originally Posted by Sandy

...It's a Cleveland Launcher 17* 4w that had the stock stiff shaft in, but it was way too stiff for me, so I had it pulled out and a regular flex Grafalloy Prolaunch put in, which should help get the ball up a lot more easily.

This is funny because I almost sold my 3 wood but have decided to do the same thing...thanks ShotTalk

I hit this same combo one day at the range and thought I was going to throw up. That shaft is awful. I have three clubs with the ProLaunch in it and I think this will be a great combo for you. Let us know!

[Sandpiper3]

You see that in most stock shafts, just plain awful. It seems now the newer clubs are starting to get better and better shafts coming stock in them, with many more options.

[Sandy]

Well, I managed to get down to the range this weekend and gave the new shaft a try out...

WOW!

After a nice warm up, I broke out the 4w to see what it was like, and for my first few shots I could barely hit it, as it just felt so different. But, after a couple of adjustments (thanks to a surprise side benefit of getting a new shaft - I now have the old shaft in my bag to put on the floor to check where the ball is in my stance!) I hit one flush and it was phenomenal! I then hit another, and it did the same, then another, then another...

I tried some off the deck, some off the tee, and overall hit about 25 to 30 shots before stopping before I got tired and 'ruined' the good experience. The difference in flight and length was astonishing. Despite hitting with a horrific swirling wind trapped in the range, the flight of the ball was everything I hoped it was (not ballooning high, but much more flight than the stock shaft) but what surprised me most was how the ball still bored through the wind. Every ball was going out to the 200yd markers despite the head wind, and the feel from the good shots was phenomenal, and gave me a first taste of what better golfers mean when they talk about 'feedback'. What also seemed perfect was that the ProLaunch, even in regular flex, had a slightly firmer feel than the OEM Aldila NV shafts in my old Adams 3w and 5w had, which seems to fit my swing speed perfectly, and stopped the club feeling as 'whippy' as it had done in my old woods.

So, in summary, it was a great decision, and I'm looking forward to taking it out on the course later this week. I'm also now seriously considering getting the hybrid version put into my Nike 22* CPR Wood, which has a horrible stock shaft that is nowhere near as good as the iRod ones I had in the old CPRs I traded away. I may even get my R5 shafted with one, so if anyone has tried that combo please let me know how it works!

(For reference, despite being a big guy, I hit my driver between 200 and 230 depending on how bad my swing feels that day, and used to play Adams Ovation 3w and 5w, which I were fine off the fairway, but used to pop-up all the time off the tee or out of rough. To get a 4w to fly out to the 200yd markers would seem to be a massive difference for me, as my old 5w was probably good for about 180yds at best)