The ProLaunch Blue changed my life

[Buckeye Hutch]

I've been following multiple "Substitute Autoflex" threads for a while now.  Recently, I took the plunge and bought a PLB 45 in A flex for my driver.  Only had 1 short range session so far, but all I can say is Wow!  I'm wondering about trying an experiment with my 5 wood. I'm 66 years old with a SS in the mid 90's...before the PLB 45 A, my driver had a Ventus TR Red stiff shaft.  I've read that the substitute Autoflex plan is to go 2 flexes softer and 2 weight classes lighter (i.e. 65 g to 45g). But have you found this to be true with fairway woods?  I'm curious about your results?  Earlier in this thread, I think I read that someone successfully using the PLB 45 A, was going to try the 65R in a 5 wood?  Thoughts?

[James the Hogan Fan]

Alright I am taking the plunge. Prolaunch blue 45 on order...

[tatertot]

31 minutes ago, James the Hogan Fan said:

Alright I am taking the plunge. Prolaunch blue 45 on order...

Actually driving better this year than last. Prolaunch Blue 45 A flex is the real deal.

[James the Hogan Fan]

For all of those who have had success with this, have you gone PLB 45-A for your fairways as well?

 

Similar effects, benefits? 

[Howard_Jones]

15 hours ago, James the Hogan Fan said:

For all of those who have had success with this, have you gone PLB 45-A for your fairways as well?

 

Similar effects, benefits? 

 

Thats probably not a good idea, since the PL BLUE 45 is a NON TIP TRIM design, so if we use A flex for the driver, we should use R for woods due to higher head wgt. If not, the woods becomes softer than the driver.

[Howard_Jones]

21 hours ago, James the Hogan Fan said:

For all of those who have had success with this, have you gone PLB 45-A for your fairways as well?

 

Similar effects, benefits? 

I should have added, that a 3W with 208-210 gram head wgt, might work, but a 5w with 220 or 7w with 230 is a no go due to no tip trim.

[James the Hogan Fan]

 

Hey wait a minute Mr. Post Man!

 

Epoxy now curing, should be testing by the weekend!

[Hammer_Hands]

On 5/31/2025 at 8:42 AM, Howard_Jones said:

I should have added, that a 3W with 208-210 gram head wgt, might work, but a 5w with 220 or 7w with 230 is a no go due to no tip trim.

Hey Howard - What is the rationale for no tip trim on these shafts?  I actually acquired one (45 g R Flex), I tip trimmed it in an inch and put it in my daughter's driver.  There was some cosmetic damage to the tip of the shaft and she needed it an inch shorter, so I trimmed it from the tip instead of the butt.  I didn't know these shafts were only designed for butt cuts.  She played with it all of this past High School season with fine results, but I'm wondering if the shaft performance is compromised in some way?

[Howard_Jones]

59 minutes ago, Hammer_Hands said:

Hey Howard - What is the rationale for no tip trim on these shafts?  I actually acquired one (45 g R Flex), I tip trimmed it in an inch and put it in my daughter's driver.  There was some cosmetic damage to the tip of the shaft and she needed it an inch shorter, so I trimmed it from the tip instead of the butt.  I didn't know these shafts were only designed for butt cuts.  She played with it all of this past High School season with fine results, but I'm wondering if the shaft performance is compromised in some way?

 

The secret behind the design is the tip section, if we tip trim it, it will no longer work as intended, so we simply alter it off from how its made to work. Most woods dont have that strong focus on the tip like PL BLUE 45 has, so its not like we cant do it, but we should not do it if we choose that shaft for the sake of its profile. Thats the only explanation i was given when i asked why tip trim instruction for the 45 model was no tip trim, while 55, 65 & 75 was like most others with 0.5 for 3W, 0.75 for 4W , 1.0 for 5W and 1.5 for 7W or higher.

[James the Hogan Fan]

On 6/5/2025 at 10:26 PM, James the Hogan Fan said:

 

Hey wait a minute Mr. Post Man!

 

Epoxy now curing, should be testing by the weekend!

 

I went to trackman studio this evening to compare this shaft (in a Wilson Cortex head), my current gamer (Wilson D9), and my old reliable Cleveland Hi-Bore (yes the 20 year old one). After a warm-up with irons I hit 10 shots with each club. Now I also cheated a bit in the PLB's favor, it's playing 46" while the other drivers are playing 45.5"

 

The Hi-bore and D9 are basically the same club for me. Both were seeing average carry in the 225-235 range, a mild fade, 102-103 clubhead with upper 140's ballspeed. 

 

Enter the Prolaunch Cortex: 103.9 club head, 155.5 ball, smash 1.50, spin 2150, carry 254!!!

 

Ok beginners' luck. Swing 2: 156.2 ballspeed, 246 carry. 

 

And so on. Carry was up, speed was up, overall distance slightly up, spin down, but for once I didn't feel like I was on the verge of knuckleballing everything. And though the club was longer, I was still delivering it consistently. (And not slicing it off the planet)

 

Long story short, James is happy, and this head/shaft combo is going into the bag immediately. 

 

[Buckeye Hutch]

4 hours ago, James the Hogan Fan said:

 

I went to trackman studio this evening to compare this shaft (in a Wilson Cortex head), my current gamer (Wilson D9), and my old reliable Cleveland Hi-Bore (yes the 20 year old one). After a warm-up with irons I hit 10 shots with each club. Now I also cheated a bit in the PLB's favor, it's playing 46" while the other drivers are playing 45.5"

 

The Hi-bore and D9 are basically the same club for me. Both were seeing average carry in the 225-235 range, a mild fade, 102-103 clubhead with upper 140's ballspeed. 

 

Enter the Prolaunch Cortex: 103.9 club head, 155.5 ball, smash 1.50, spin 2150, carry 254!!!

 

Ok beginners' luck. Swing 2: 156.2 ballspeed, 246 carry. 

 

And so on. Carry was up, speed was up, overall distance slightly up, spin down, but for once I didn't feel like I was on the verge of knuckleballing everything. And though the club was longer, I was still delivering it consistently. (And not slicing it off the planet)

 

Long story short, James is happy, and this head/shaft combo is going into the bag immediately. 

 

Just curious...did you play around with swingweight?  I put my PLB A flex shaft in my Ping G430 Max 10K head (playing to 45.25"), which has a 28 gram backweight.  I assumed that I would have to add weight to the head.  Tested 31g, and 34g weights.  Surprisingly, I will be sticking with the 28 gr.  I'm sure the swingweight isn't where it was before this experiment started...but you can't argue with the results.  Like you, my new setup is in the bag!

[James the Hogan Fan]

21 hours ago, Buckeye Hutch said:

Just curious...did you play around with swingweight?  I put my PLB A flex shaft in my Ping G430 Max 10K head (playing to 45.25"), which has a 28 gram backweight.  I assumed that I would have to add weight to the head.  Tested 31g, and 34g weights.  Surprisingly, I will be sticking with the 28 gr.  I'm sure the swingweight isn't where it was before this experiment started...but you can't argue with the results.  Like you, my new setup is in the bag!

 

At risk of blasphemy in the club tech forum, no, for a few reasons.

 

Firstly, I don't have a swingweight scale and don't really trust the Hireko calculator when it says this driver is sitting at something like E5, which seems a bit Babe Ruth lumbery to be believable.

 

Secondly, I would only be able to remove the Cortex's sliding weight or add lead tape to adjust, so given that I might as well try it in the as-built condition and see how it goes. The answer as we saw above is "quite well."

 

So with that combination of things, for now "ignorance is bliss" and we'll see where we go. The head was I believe 210g, in any case...

[biglefthander]

Iirc autoflex recommends a very light swingweight with their shafts

[AtomicJoe]

I recently bought a PL 45L from a member here and I put it in my old G30 head. It plays right at 44.5” or so. I added weight to the head to bring it to 202g. I set it up mainly as a practice tool. It’s VERY whippy and forces me to be long and smooth with my swing but MANNN I can hit some long high bombs with that thing. Timing has to be perfect though so it definitely works as a practice tool. 
 

I am contemplating trying the 45 in R or just going to the 65S. I like the feel of the shaft a lot. The 45L is a big difference from my current gamer shaft which is 65X but I find that swinging the PL helps tremendously with my regular setup because if I’m not ON with the timing my shots are all over the place. 

Edited June 9 by AtomicJoe

[Cwebb]

8 hours ago, AtomicJoe said:

I recently bought a PL 45L from a member here and I put it in my old G30 head. It plays right at 44.5” or so. I added weight to the head to bring it to 202g. I set it up mainly as a practice tool. It’s VERY whippy and forces me to be long and smooth with my swing but MANNN I can hit some long high bombs with that thing. Timing has to be perfect though so it definitely works as a practice tool. 
 

I am contemplating trying the 45 in R or just going to the 65S. I like the feel of the shaft a lot. The 45L is a big difference from my current gamer shaft which is 65X but I find that swinging the PL helps tremendously with my regular setup because if I’m not ON with the timing my shots are all over the place. 

 

It has that "whippy tempo master" effect.  The key is finding where to draw the line of too whippy vs plenty of flex to promote a beneficial tempo.

 

Would be interesting to see how you do with the 'R'

[AtomicJoe]

5 hours ago, Cwebb said:

 

It has that "whippy tempo master" effect.  The key is finding where to draw the line of too whippy vs plenty of flex to promote a beneficial tempo.

 

Would be interesting to see how you do with the 'R'

I’m pretty sure the R is gonna happen soon. I’m curious and I like trying new stuff. 

[shavdog1968]

With the senior flex do you have any issues with a duck hook or pull because of the flex...Thanks

Edited June 15 by shavdog1968

[tatertot]

6 hours ago, shavdog1968 said:

With the senior flex do you have any issues with a duck hook or pull because of the flex...Thanks

Nope. The smoother you swing, the farther the ball goes. If you're a high speed player, probably not the shaft for you.

[autronicdsm]

I don't understand how everyone is switching to these senior or lady flex shafts and not struggle.

Guess my swing is so unique nobody designed a shaft for it yet 😄 

[TheFrozenChef]

19 hours ago, tatertot said:

Nope. The smoother you swing, the farther the ball goes. If you're a high speed player, probably not the shaft for you.

Might be a fun experiement. I don't have a particularly high SS (105 or so) and I can't imagine this going well since I hate seeing the hook.

 

How are people's spin rates with this? 

[Ger21]

6 hours ago, autronicdsm said:

I don't understand how everyone is switching to these senior or lady flex shafts and not struggle.

I've played 70g stiff flex driver shafts for long time, even at 60+ yo. I tried the L flex Prolaunch, but it was just too whippy.

Picked up a "new" old 50g A flex RIP Phenom, though, and it's money for me. It does force me to slow my tempo, but I can just wind up and let it rip. Feeling it flex at the top pf the backswing triggers the swing. Been driving it better than I have in years.

[Howard_Jones]

PL Blue 45 is 20 years old this year.....

While searching in my archives for something else, i came over the Grafalloy catalog for 2006, and it say the PL Blue got a tech award price the year before, so its been out there also as 45 gram option for 20 years.

I dont think any other graphite shaft is one the markedplace 20 years after introduction, but you all know why this model still is.
 

2006_Grafalloy_catalog.pdf

[James the Hogan Fan]

On 6/15/2025 at 9:42 PM, shavdog1968 said:

With the senior flex do you have any issues with a duck hook or pull because of the flex...Thanks

I've noticed if I overswing I can get a straight pull, emphasis on straight, that's more left rough than left trees. I have had swings where I have thought "that should have been the 150 yard hooking knuckleball" which launch as that 230 yard mildly offline left pull.. this shaft seems pretty duck-hook proof, at least for me.  (And I am a 102-103 speed player)

[Tiger_Stud]

On 7/7/2025 at 1:19 PM, Howard_Jones said:

PL Blue 45 is 20 years old this year.....

While searching in my archives for something else, i came over the Grafalloy catalog for 2006, and it say the PL Blue got a tech award price the year before, so its been out there also as 45 gram option for 20 years.

I dont think any other graphite shaft is one the markedplace 20 years after introduction, but you all know why this model still is.
 

2006_Grafalloy_catalog.pdf 21.15 MB · 16 downloads

Isn’t the Diamana Blue Board almost as long on the market?

[gdb99]

1 hour ago, Tiger_Stud said:

Isn’t the Diamana Blue Board almost as long on the market?

But that has been through many versions and material changes. The original is no longer made.

[Howard_Jones]

3 hours ago, Tiger_Stud said:

Isn’t the Diamana Blue Board almost as long on the market?

Not with identical carbonfiber frame and EI profile.

Diamana became just like HZRDUS, severel generations of the same brand name, with slightly different carbonfiberframe and EI profile.

https://mitsubishigolf.com/products/diamana-bb

Grafalloy PROLAUNCH BLUE, is still the same shaft, ONLY colors and grapiccs has changed so its still "Generation 1", and crazy 20 years after.

How often do OEMS need to "upgrade" their best selling models to "a new generation"?
...not very long, and far from 20 years.

[Tiger_Stud]

2 minutes ago, Howard_Jones said:

Not with identical carbonfiber frame and EI profile.

Diamana became just like HZRDUS, severel generations of the same brand name, with slightly different carbonfiberframe and EI profile.

https://mitsubishigolf.com/products/diamana-bb

Grafalloy PROLAUNCH BLUE, is still the same shaft, ONLY colors and grapiccs has changed so its still "Generation 1", and crazy 20 years after.

How often do OEMS need to "upgrade" their best selling models to "a new generation"?
...not very long, and far from 20 years.

Thanks! I thought the newest version that came out last year is made to the original formula. 

[Howard_Jones]

2 hours ago, Tiger_Stud said:

Thanks! I thought the newest version that came out last year is made to the original formula. 

if you follow the link i posted, you will see its made with different carbonfibers then the first generation.

[Tupperwolf]

Ok I'm getting in on this as well, just ordered one assembled with a tip adapter for my old trusty Ping G400 Max!  45A flex, never thought I'd see such a thing in one of my own clubs...

Edited July 16 by Tupperwolf