Gear: Introducing the shaft that weighs less than five £1 coins
5 How much does a shaft weigh? Well, in the case of True Temper’s ground-breaking new Project X PXv 39 driver shaft, not very much at all. In fact, less than five £1 coins.
And yet this is a shaft capable of withstanding the force of a 460cc head swinging on the end of it at speeds of up to 120mph.
“The PXv 39’s lightweight properties produce an incredible increase in ball speed,” say True Temper. “Project X engineers incorporated the most advanced materials available in the industry to ensure that golfers get the control they need.”
It stands to reason that if a shaft is lighter then you will be able to swing it more quickly and with less effort. But what a lighter shaft gains you in speed it can take back – and more – in terms of dispersion and quality of strike.
This is a shaft capable of withstanding the force of a 460cc head swinging on the end of it at speeds of up to 120mph. If you can’t ‘feel’ the head then you will be less consistent on terms of direction and you will miss the centre of the face more often. Having tested the PXv 39 in a Ping Anser driver head, what is remarkable is the consistency.
And all this in a shaft that is lighter than just about anything we’ve seen previously. Your average driver shaft these days in the latest model of a top driver weighs around 55g. A steel True Temper Dynamic Gold shaft comes in at almost 130g.
So you might expect to lose some control with the PXv – not according to our testing. In terms of flexes in this shaft, 5.5 is roughly equivalent to a regular, 6.0 to a stiff and 6.5 to an X. As ever with shafts, a good fitting is crucial to optimise performance – to find ones that interact with your swing characteristics and the head.
As well as the PXv 39, True Temper are also making the Grafalloy BiMatrx Tour Prototype available in six custom colour options. This shaft was famously used by Bubba Watson (in pink) when he won the Masters last year.
Expect to pay around £225 for a Pxv39 and £79 for BiMatrx.
Project X PXv 39 shaft