Golf equipment: The shaft that won the Open Championship
By NCG
The iron shaft that helped Phil Mickelson win the Open Championship is set to be released to the public.
The KBS Tour-V is designed to offer a mid launch but with lots of stability and therefore extremely tight dispersion.
It was created specifically for Phil Mickelson last year after he found the original KBS Tour to spin too much and fly too high in his short irons.
Unlike many other pros, Mickelson tests shafts in his irons individually to see how the different lofts behave in terms of spin and flight.
KBS founder Kim Braly came up with the Tour-V – then called the V2 – which had a similar weight but with a stiffer tip and higher kickpoint. This kept the trajectory down and reduced spin.
“It has been tested and perfected over the past year and a half and truly delivers on offering a tight dispersion shaft in a light-weight package." – Kim Braly. Mickelson put them straight in the bag from 5-iron to pitching wedge and kept the Project X 7.0 shafts in his wedges and the original KBS Tour in his 4-iron.
KBS say you can achieve up to 20 per cent better dispersion over competitor shafts using the new Tour-V.
“It has been tested and perfected over the past year and a half and truly delivers on offering a tight dispersion shaft in a light-weight package,” said Braly.
“The results we get from PGA Tour player testing are spot on.”
The Tour-V is available in three flexes – regular (100g), stiff (110g), and extra stiff (120g).
Padraig Harrington and Paul Lawrie have also started using the KBS Tour-V.
