The ProLaunch Blue changed my life

[Noodler]

24 minutes ago, GoldenAges said:

Have you tried counterweights?

I'm torn. I'd like to try this but light shafts are my nemesis. I can't feel the club, timing gets destroyed. Maybe using counterweight in the handle would be the ticket to add some weight and some feel to it. 

 

This all really goes back to the MOI of the entire club.  In most situations, golfers are stuck with using shaft weight changes alone to adjust the MOI of the club.  This is how almost every fitter functions (just adjusting shaft flex and weight).  Most driver/iron/wedge heads all exist in the same realm of total weight in each class of head (within a 10g range).  So it's the shafts where the primary weight change happens in your normal fitting.

 

Fitting for MOI (kind of like just adding weight to the head and going by feel) is a totally different approach.  There is much more attention applied to the overall head weights and changing that weighting to achieve an MOI that leads to the best compromise between center-strike accuracy and swing speed.  You usually can't just go to a lighter shaft without adjusting the club weight and balance elsewhere.  Note that counterbalancing barely changes the club's MOI (because the weight is all at the butt end of the club).

Edited September 23, 2024 by Noodler

[GoldenAges]

32 minutes ago, Noodler said:

 

This all really goes back to the MOI of the entire club.  In most situations, golfers are stuck with using shaft weight changes alone to adjust the MOI of the club.  This is how almost every fitter functions (just adjusting shaft flex and weight).  Most driver/iron/wedge heads all exist in the same realm of total weight in each class of head (within a 10g range).  So it's the shafts where the primary weight change happens in your normal fitting.

 

Fitting for MOI (kind of like just adding weight to the head and going by feel) is a totally different approach.  There is much more attention applied to the overall head weights and changing that weighting to achieve an MOI that leads to the best compromise between center-strike accuracy and swing speed.  You usually can't just go to a lighter shaft without adjusting the club weight and balance elsewhere.  Note that counterbalancing barely changes the club's MOI (because the weight is all at the butt end of the club).

I was primarily thinking that adding weight to the handle would help more with 'losing the clubhead' midswing.

 

I hadn't considered the MOI angle.

[Noodler]

9 minutes ago, GoldenAges said:

I was primarily thinking that adding weight to the handle would help more with 'losing the clubhead' midswing.

 

I hadn't considered the MOI angle.

 

IME, the golfer's ability to track the head (and gain better center-strike accuracy) is directly related to the total club MOI. 

 

I am in the middle of a counterbalancing experiment.  Using CB weights definitely changes the swing dynamics and ultimately the delivery, but it does not do anything in the realm of head tracking (at least not for me). 

 

Get a roll of lead tape and start applying successive 2g segments to the club head in between test swings.  You'll know when you get it right... 🙂

Edited September 23, 2024 by Noodler

[Phebus]

6 hours ago, OspreyCI said:

Any updates on your setup and experience with the PLB? 

Okay, got out today and hit my Titleist TSr2 11° driver with the PLB 45A shaft. Results weren’t that good as I was hitting low duck hooks or high push fades. The few straight balls I hit well went high and far, but they were few and far between. I didn’t have time to test with foot spray and lead tape, but I’m not giving up on it seeing the great results others have had. I do feel if I start adding weight to the head I’ll see better results as I feel I just couldn’t time it due to feel. 
When I went back to my Tensei Blue. 55R shaft I was hitting it well. Both shafts were a 44.5” playing length. 

Edited September 23, 2024 by Phebus
Added text

[GolfTurkey]

2 hours ago, GoldenAges said:

Have you tried counterweights?

I'm torn. I'd like to try this but light shafts are my nemesis. I can't feel the club, timing gets destroyed. Maybe using counterweight in the handle would be the ticket to add some weight and some feel to it. 

I don’t get on with counterweight shafts. I could try adding head weight but this was so bad I think it’s a write off. 

[GoldenAges]

Has anyone tried the Grafalloy ProLaunch GWX 55 in A flex?

 

Has anyone tried any other heavier A flex shafts? I think 45g is going to be too light for me.

 

 

[gvogel]

26 minutes ago, Phebus said:

Okay, got out today and hit my Titleist TSr2 11° driver with the PLB 45A shaft. Results weren’t that good as I was hitting low duck hooks or high push fades. The few straight balls I hit well went high and far, but they were few and far between. I didn’t have time to test with foot spray and lead tape, but I’m not giving up on it seeing the great results others have had. I do feel if I start adding weight to the head I’ll see better results as I feel I just couldn’t time it due to feel. 
When I went back to my Tensei Blue. 55R shaft I was hitting it well. Both shafts were a 44.5” playing length. 

I have been reading this thread with interest as I am coming off of two weeks where I could hardly walk with back pain.  The back pain was caused by trying to hit the ball too hard all summer playing from a set of tees which was not appropriate for my swing speed.  League competition; never play from those tees again.  There is nothing fun about having to hit 5-wood on most of the par 4's, and sometimes twice on par 5's.

 

I ordered a GT2 11* with a Tensei 55 R shaft.  I hit it for the first time Saturday, swinging easily and smoothly.  I was very nicely surprised with the ease that I was hitting the ball.  Much better than my TSR2 with the Ventus TR Red 5R shaft, which will be for sale shortly.

 

As a relatively inexpensive experiment I will be picking up a Prolaunch Blue 45 A with a Titleist tip for giggles.

[Phebus]

Funny, I have the Tensei Blue 55R shaft and really like it. But, like others I’m chasing better distance and accuracy, so ordered a PLB. I’ve been on the hunt for a Ventus Red 5R, so it’s interesting that you preferred the Tensei. I’m also hitting an I1° TSr2. 

[OspreyCI]

Have a new uncut PLB 45A If anyone is interested. Just purchased off the Bay and not needing it anymore. 

[10undrbogey]

Again, thanks to @tatertot for the heads up on the PLB driver shaft, it has done the same for me. I’m driving the ball longer & straighter than I ever have👍

 

So, since my swing speed is the opposite of the charter member WRX’r (Txxx, tipped to the graphics) I wanted to see if the iron version of the PLB would do something similar for my iron game.

 

Ordered a set of 80g “A” flex iron shafts, arrived yesterday & I hurriedly trimmed, prepped, pulled my old 9i shaft & glued up the PLB. Only had time to do the 9 iron, but was playing today so I wanted to at least be able to hit one.

 

As luck would have it, only had 1 real opportunity to hit my 9. 
 

And it felt great. High, solid shot that had everything I want in a 9i shot. 
 

I hit it once more on a par 3 into the wind when I knew it was too much club but just took an easy swing & sure enough, 30’ past the pin.

 

Very limited data points so far, but I love the feel & am excited to get them in the rest of my irons for the next round.

[tatertot]

14 minutes ago, WasatchBogey said:

Again, thanks to @tatertot for the heads up on the PLB driver shaft, it has done the same for me. I’m driving the ball longer & straighter than I ever have👍

 

So, since my swing speed is the opposite of the charter member WRX’r (Txxx, tipped to the graphics) I wanted to see if the iron version of the PLB would do something similar for my iron game.

 

Ordered a set of 80g “A” flex iron shafts, arrived yesterday & I hurriedly trimmed, prepped, pulled my old 9i shaft & glued up the PLB. Only had time to do the 9 iron, but was playing today so I wanted to at least be able to hit one.

 

As luck would have it, only had 1 real opportunity to hit my 9. 
 

And it felt great. High, solid shot that had everything I want in a 9i shot. 
 

I hit it once more on a par 3 into the wind when I knew it was too much club but just took an easy swing & sure enough, 30’ past the pin.

 

Very limited data points so far, but I love the feel & am excited to get them in the rest of my irons for the next round.

So ... I decided to give one of my old drivers same bag time Tuesday ...worst driving day of the year.

 

Today, back to the PLB - bogey-free 67 with 16 GIR. Driving was awesome yet again.

[OspreyCI]

On 9/25/2024 at 11:22 AM, OspreyCI said:

Have a new uncut PLB 45A If anyone is interested. Just purchased off the Bay and not needing it anymore. 

Well, this thread got me keeping the shaft and prepping it for a TaylorMade sleeve. Will be comparing it to a Ventus Blue Velo 6-S. 

[ZA206]

Swing harder with a normal shaft ya bunch of old a** geezers!🙈

[tatertot]

4 hours ago, ZA206 said:

Swing harder with a normal shaft ya bunch of old a** geezers!🙈

Shot a 64 today ... 30 on the back 9, with three 2-putt birdies. I'll keep my poor-man's AutoFlex.

[Ger21]

On 8/28/2024 at 11:51 PM, PARETO said:

Hmmmm. Now to find a cheap head to build it. Thinking Ping G25/30.

My go to cheap heads are Srixon Z545 and Z745. I have 3 that I paid about $40 each for them. The Z545 is pretty forgiving. The Z745 is smaller, and sounds and feels great. I just put an L flex PLB in a Z745 last week, and drove it great. Can't play this weekend, but will get a few more rounds in next week.

[cwilli15]

What about the PLB Supercharged? Is it the same as the standard PLB?

Edited September 28, 2024 by cwilli15

[OspreyCI]

Had a very long rang session with the PLB 45A in a Stealth+ head. I alternated between this shaft and a Ventus Blue Velo 6-S. The PLB played at 45.25 D0 SW and the Ventus was 45.75 D5 SW. 

 

I can really see the benefits of a lighter and more flexible shaft. I will say I was REALLY surprised how the PLB held up even on aggressive swings that I did not mean to put on it. I would easily have tried to play the PLB, but it just launched too high for me. It was very straight, just like the Ventus, but I needed the lower launch. The Ventus was a little more consistent too. 
 

All in All, EXCELLENT shaft. Will be headed to BST if someone wants to try it. 

[Howard_Jones]

On 9/28/2024 at 2:38 PM, cwilli15 said:

What about the PLB Supercharged? Is it the same as the standard PLB?

its a very different shaft and profile, and if it was good, they  would still make it, but they dont.
Im not aware of any Graphite wood model who has been in production as long as ProLaunch Blue

[Cwebb]

4 hours ago, OspreyCI said:

Had a very long rang session with the PLB 45A in a Stealth+ head. I alternated between this shaft and a Ventus Blue Velo 6-S. The PLB played at 45.25 D0 SW and the Ventus was 45.75 D5 SW. 

 

I can really see the benefits of a lighter and more flexible shaft. I will say I was REALLY surprised how the PLB held up even on aggressive swings that I did not mean to put on it. I would easily have tried to play the PLB, but it just launched too high for me. It was very straight, just like the Ventus, but I needed the lower launch. The Ventus was a little more consistent too. 
 

All in All, EXCELLENT shaft. Will be headed to BST if someone wants to try it. 

 

You can always try it in a lower loft head, if the shaft itself is a good fit

[OspreyCI]

14 minutes ago, Cwebb said:

 

You can always try it in a lower loft head, if the shaft itself is a good fit

Yea, thought about it. I am at the point chasing all summer the “one” and my setup with the Ventus is one have to stick with. 

[Grape]

I also hopped on the ProLaunch bandwagon.  Driver this year has cost me the most strokes, so really looking forward to trying something completely new.   Arrives today, can't wait to give it a shot. 

[southpaw72]

On 9/14/2024 at 11:07 AM, southpaw72 said:

This thread just cost me $80 

In typical wrx fashion I haven’t even taken the shaft out of the box yet. 

[Ger21]

After two weeks, the PLB experiment has ended. I may revisit it next year.
What I found is that it was the easiest shaft to make solid contact that I've ever used. But it required a very deliberate tempo, which I need to work on. My quick tempo resulted in 40% fades starting on the right, and 40% draws starting on the left. Usually the opposite of what I was trying to do.

Most of the year I had pretty good results with a 50g A flex RIP Phenom I picked up as an alternative to the PLB. For me, it was more tolerant of tempo than the PLB.

 

 

[DaveGoodrich]

On 9/19/2024 at 1:12 AM, Howard_Jones said:

On 9/18/2024 at 12:50 PM, DaveGoodrich said:

 

Anybody tried this approach with a PL Blue into a fairway wood?  I have ordered an R to put in my driver, and I will try the S, that I currently have in my driver, in my M5 3 wood as an experiment.  

Tell us how that worked when done.

 

Will do.  I like the 45R in my driver.  Frankly, it doesn't feel that much "looser" than the S.   I was "swinging for the fences" yesterday (with my ~93 mph driver swing), and had no control issues, or struggles to keep the flight down when needed into the wind, etc.  So I just installed the PL Blue 45S in an older Tour Edge 4-wood.  Should be able to test it on the course tomorrow.

[tatertot]

Had a pair of 2-putt birdies on the back 9 today. The honeymoon is still going.

[Phebus]

After playing it in my 11° TSr2 the last few weeks, I bought a 12° TSr1 that I’m going to try out tomorrow with the ProLaunch Blue 45A. After watching a Club Champion video of a fitting with the TSr1 I decided to try it and compare it to the TSr2. 

 

[speedeuphoria]

On 8/25/2024 at 4:42 PM, Cwebb said:

The key statement here is "the easier I go after it, the farther it goes". 

 

There's a lot of value for many players, in a shaft that demands a smooth tempo.....which then promotes good balance.....which leads to better consistency

 

 

I think this is it or most of it.

 

After struggling for probably forever with driver. Trying multiple shafts, using outdoor trackman to see launch and what is "actually too low height and high"( which instantly made me ditch the Kaili white low/low shaft.  I hit good drives with the senior flex Soo much so that I probably need to revisit it just went a bit high even at 8*

 

At the moment slowing down/feel like pausing at the top has led me to hit every shaft better with driver and farther than ever. Currently settled on the original shaft that came in my driver which is RDX blue 60 6.5 and ltdx at 8*draw (baby fades and occasional straight ball). Feels like I won the lottery 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2024 by speedeuphoria

[jobin]

Bought 2 new PLB shafts: one at Golf Galaxy 45gm, A flex @ $59. and the other at PGA Superstore, 55gm, R flex, also $59.

Carry back to Thailand soon and give them a try on various heads. Have never bought a new shaft before so have some hopes/concerns. 

[Phebus]

My latest iteration with the ProLaunch Blue 45A has been a resounding success. I purchased a 12° Titleist TSr1 head and had it built with a 45” PLB 45A shaft. With my 85-90mph club head speed, I’m carrying the ball approx 15 yards further than my 11° TSr2 driver, and have tightened up my dispersion as well. The combination of loft, light weight, and design of the TSr1 head really suit my swing. 

[tatertot]

Bought a second 45A ... going to try it on an old 10.5 degree M3 I've had sitting around.