Bgt Brava users

[Z1ggy16]

Those who got fit into Brava or tried it out, are you still in it? Why or why not?

[Lobber]

I'm in it and it's a good shaft for sure in my TSR3.  Can't compare to Autoflex as I never hit it.  Dispersion is excelllent.  BUT, I prefer my Ventus TR and BGT is looking for a new home

[03trdblack]

I finally got around to testing a Brava stiff shaft this weekend and compared it to my Autoflex 505x. I LOVE the Autoflex and was really interested in giving the Brava a try. From my putting it in play this weekend, I can safely say these shafts are not even close to feeling or playing the same. The best way I can describe the AF505x feel is that of a whip. It feels like it has a somewhat firmer butt section (compared to the rest of the shaft) and gets softer in the middle all the way down towards the tip where it firms up again. The overall profile is obviously very soft but you can feel where it bends after the grip and feels like your traditional "Blueboard" type profile.

 

 

 

The Brava on the other hand feels completely the opposite. The butt end feels incredibly soft, like it's bending under my hands in the grip, and then moves to a VERY stiff feeling mid section after the grip and returning back to a soft tip section. I wasn't really expecting this much of a difference between the two and it took an entire round for me to figure out the new timing required to make the Brava work. The only thing I can compare the Brava to in the way it felt was something like a softer version of the LAGolf Trono shaft or a traditional Whiteboard profile but with an overly stiff mid section and too soft of a butt and tip section. 

 

 

 

I got the hang of the Brava shaft after a while and could probably make it work but I don't like shafts that I have to make work and it never felt comfortable all day. Ball flight was pretty high (AF505x also has high ball flight) but the spin on the Brava was noticeably higher than what I'm getting with AF. With AF I hit high knuckleballs and with the Brava I was just hitting high spinners. Unfortunately I didn't have any sort of launch monitor but you could easily see the difference in the flight and how the balls reacted when they landed. I did hit a few good distance shots with the Brava and it does feel easy to swing given that it's very lightweight. 

 

 

 

I can see this shaft working well for some people if they are better at timing this sort of profile but I am not one of those people. I'd love to see what the actual EI bend profile of the Brava shaft looks like to see if it matches up with the way it felt while playing it. 

 

 

 

Also forgot to add that it was very easy to find the center of the club face w/ the Brava and I wore out the middle of the club face all day. The only problem was I felt I never had control over where the face was actually pointing at impact.  

[Redpro]

I have the Stability shafts in two putters. Love them! Then, I put the ZINE wedge shafts in my PW, GW, SW and LW; hop and stop beelines for the flag!!

 

Intrigued by the Brava. BGT is about 20 minutes away from me, so there's a tug in that direction. when I was there for the putter fitting, they had some Adams irons (CMB's) with BGT iron shafts in them. Hit those, stable.

 

Not sure if there is a certain swing speed you need for the Brava?

[Z1ggy16]

12 minutes ago, Redpro said:

I have the Stability shafts in two putters. Love them! Then, I put the ZINE wedge shafts in my PW, GW, SW and LW; hop and stop beelines for the flag!!

 

Intrigued by the Brava. BGT is about 20 minutes away from me, so there's a tug in that direction. when I was there for the putter fitting, they had some Adams irons (CMB's) with BGT iron shafts in them. Hit those, stable.

 

Not sure if there is a certain swing speed you need for the Brava?

I was swinging 110 today and hitting the Brava fine. It actually gave my best numbers. I need the spin because I play lower spin heads and my AoA is basically 0. If I swung +4 I don't think the shaft would work.

 

I'm seeing if anyone here has actually stuck with it long term. It's pricey and like others say, very unique feeling. I worry that today my timing was working with it but that on most days maybe it won't. I'm used to playing ventus which is nothing like this.

[Lobber]

1 minute ago, Z1ggy16 said:

I was swinging 110 today and hitting the Brava fine. It actually gave my best numbers. I need the spin because I play lower spin heads and my AoA is basically 0. If I swung +4 I don't think the shaft would work.

 

I'm seeing if anyone here has actually stuck with it long term. It's pricey and like others say, very unique feeling. I worry that today my timing was working with it but that on most days maybe it won't. I'm used to playing ventus which is nothing like this.

Timing is everything

[SquamishLefty]

On 2/10/2023 at 2:44 PM, 03trdblack said:

I finally got around to testing a Brava stiff shaft this weekend and compared it to my Autoflex 505x. I LOVE the Autoflex and was really interested in giving the Brava a try. From my putting it in play this weekend, I can safely say these shafts are not even close to feeling or playing the same. The best way I can describe the AF505x feel is that of a whip. It feels like it has a somewhat firmer butt section (compared to the rest of the shaft) and gets softer in the middle all the way down towards the tip where it firms up again. The overall profile is obviously very soft but you can feel where it bends after the grip and feels like your traditional "Blueboard" type profile.

 

 

 

The Brava on the other hand feels completely the opposite. The butt end feels incredibly soft, like it's bending under my hands in the grip, and then moves to a VERY stiff feeling mid section after the grip and returning back to a soft tip section. I wasn't really expecting this much of a difference between the two and it took an entire round for me to figure out the new timing required to make the Brava work. The only thing I can compare the Brava to in the way it felt was something like a softer version of the LAGolf Trono shaft or a traditional Whiteboard profile but with an overly stiff mid section and too soft of a butt and tip section. 

 

 

 

I got the hang of the Brava shaft after a while and could probably make it work but I don't like shafts that I have to make work and it never felt comfortable all day. Ball flight was pretty high (AF505x also has high ball flight) but the spin on the Brava was noticeably higher than what I'm getting with AF. With AF I hit high knuckleballs and with the Brava I was just hitting high spinners. Unfortunately I didn't have any sort of launch monitor but you could easily see the difference in the flight and how the balls reacted when they landed. I did hit a few good distance shots with the Brava and it does feel easy to swing given that it's very lightweight. 

 

 

 

I can see this shaft working well for some people if they are better at timing this sort of profile but I am not one of those people. I'd love to see what the actual EI bend profile of the Brava shaft looks like to see if it matches up with the way it felt while playing it. 

 

 

 

Also forgot to add that it was very easy to find the center of the club face w/ the Brava and I wore out the middle of the club face all day. The only problem was I felt I never had control over where the face was actually pointing at impact.  

[03trdblack]

5 hours ago, SquamishLefty said:

 

This info is great. Here is the Autoflex 505xx for comparison. Obviously not the same graph but should show some general comparisons. The Brava seems to have a mid stiffness bump compared to the AF that has a very soft mid section. 

 

[rlb4]

[ThomasM]

I’m in the 54g S in the driver(Ping G430 10K) and the 58g X in the 3 wood(Ping G430 LST). It’s also a rocket in the 5 wood turned down as well. I don’t think I’ve ever had this much control + height + carry distance in this head and shaft combo. I’d also like to try it in a 7 wood setup. 

[misterkye]

I had the AF 505x and was in love with it while it lasted. I have a toddler and he co-sleeps with us, often leaving me sleeping in odd positions. I am not getting older and had a bad case of a stiff neck... Was mid-round when I found the "perfect knot" lodged deep into my neck/shoulder area. Like a fool, I was using the driver shaft to massage this knot out... *CRACK* my boom boom days were now finished...

 

But back to the origins story:

 

Driver is one of my most consistent clubs, usually hitting it in the 250-260yd range. Driver swing speed is dependant on time of year, but usually falls in the 100-105 range, with an occasionaly uptick when I am playing often. I always played stock shafts (always in Stiff), and finally upgraded to a Fuji Speeder 661 evo iv shaft and made my quite accurate. Distance was the same as the stock shaft I was in, but the dispersion was just too good to pass up.

 

I caught wind of this Autoflex shaft with the Korean Hidden Tech and was sold after seeing Adam Scott's reviews of it. I ordered the 505x (Stiff version, not x-stiff), even paired it with the TSR4 (a la Adam Scott) and after a few swings, decided it was too whippy and wasn't for me. It sat collecting dust for a good year, until I played with one of my friends who can really hit it. I was surprised to see him in the 505x and after witnessing one of his best-driving rounds, I knew I had to give it another shot.

 

When originally trying the 505x, I had it paired with a TSR4 head, and remember feeling the weight of the head throughout the swing. The TSR4 head is weighted slightly heavier, so I decided to try the shaft out with the TSR3 head. It was love at first strike, a good 280 yards with a slight draw. I kept hitting drives into spots I hadn't been in since my younger/more active golf days. But at times, the shaft would be slightly erratic. I'm sure that's due to my swing, but my misses with the 505x, were quite big. I still loved the fact that I could get the ball out there, and so it became a staple in my bag. But alas the love story came to a close when I decided to be a bozo and use the shaft as a massage tool... (photo attached)

 

I went back to Fuji shaft, and back to "boring" golf came. Don't get me wrong, I love hitting it straight and accurate, but knowing that I can carry it an additional 15-20 yards, I was on the hunt for a replacement. 

 

In comes the BGT Brava (via golfwrx classifieds):

 

I came across a gent offering a great deal on the BGT Brava 58x shaft. My swing speed is not deserving of a x-stiff shaft, however when trying it out for the first time, the flew had a different type of flight/sound off the face. I thought the autoflex gave me a type of "autolag" on my swing that typically lacked lag. The feeling was different from the autoflex shaft, it was more stable and it just felt smooth after each shot. I was playing an unfamiliar course and so I could not compare my drives, as I thought the particular course we were playing (Shady Canyon CC in Socal) had fairways that were rolling quite well.

 

My second round with the Brava Shaft was at my home course and immediately I saw the gains. With the 505x I had the tendancy to draw/hook the ball, especially when "taking some off" for a more controlled shot. With the Brava shaft, the ball flight was definitely straighter and LONGER. I don't want to cause any doubt with the numbers I had, because even I didn't believe what I was seeing.

 

I didn't think I could get any longer, unless I invested in lessons and the gym, but suddenly I am a believer in golf tech. The results after changing to the Brava shaft speak for themselves, and my playing partners are dumbfounded that I can "sometimes" outdrive them. Even had my first eagle attempt the other day, on a hole where I am ALWAYS short of the elusive 2-on on a par-5. 

 

There is also one "cool/odd" thing I noticed about both both shafts is: the harder you swing with them, the better they go. I loved the AF 505x, but after being introduced to the Brava shaft, I am still dumbfounded by its performance. Everyone is different and will get different results, but if you have a chance to try either shaft, do yourself a favor and please do it! My preference is the Brava shaft, but both shafts are so awesome at what they do, just depends on how you want the shaft to feel through the swing/impact. Can you name one golfer that can't use an additional 10-15yds off the tee?

[odshot68]

I was messing around at local shop today and was looking for a soft X and came across an X flex with TM tip so stuck it with the standard Qi10 TM 9 degree head and had to deloft it down to 8.25 which opened the face.  It was crazy good.  I'm always in between S and X with driver but wanted more of a softer shaft with a hinge but didn't feel out of control.  I saw a great flight and numbers and seemed very stable.  

i can't wait to get it on the course.

 

Edited October 19, 2024 by odshot68

[Spumoni]

Try the Brava Tour.  Feels like the original Brava but more stable and less spiny for me. I hit some drives to places I could not reach with the original Brava, or Ventus or Newton.  

[Mr.Sir]

I loved this shaft until I did a weekend scramble and really jumped on it. I ended up with 2 breaks, one 4” under the grip, and one 8”s up from the tip. Had to argue with them to return the shaft.. said it was impossible. So they sent me a “demo shaft.” And now it handles nowhere near the original. Threw a ventus black in its place. Finally, getting results again.

 

I loved it when it was working for me, effortless power and great accuracy. But now it feels way too soft in the handle section.