NAPA, Calif. – Throughout 2019, in his chase for greater control and consistency from his wedges, Bryson DeChambeau has tried a number of different steel shafts, ranging from the ultra-stiff True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 shafts, to the softer True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts. Of course, the wedge shafts he’s been using measure the same length as his irons. What he didn’t try previously, however, at least in competition, were graphite wedge shafts. Ahead of the Safeway Open, DeChambeau tested new LA Golf prototype wedge shafts that are so stiff that DeChambeau referred to them as “Texas Rebar� shafts while speaking with PGATOUR.COM at the Safeway Open on Wednesday. He said the 124.5-gram graphite shafts are stiffer than the X7 shafts he played previously, and actually, they’re “stiffer than anything made,� according to DeChambeau. “Bryson asked if we could make him a shaft out of graphite that was stiffer than the TT (True Temper) Dynamic Gold X7 that he was gaming,� said John Oldenburg, Chief Product Officer at LA Golf shafts. “Always being one to push the envelope and explore any angle that could improve his performance, he asked that we make him shafts to test that were as stiff as we could possibly make. These first prototype ‘Rebar’ wedge shafts are a full flex stiffer than Dynamic Gold X7…more than 10 grams lighter than X7. They are also considerably stiffer in the tip, and are even a bit lower in torque than the X7.� During his previous wedge shaft experiments, DeChambeau says he found that softer wedge shafts require “too much timing.� The softer shafts, he says, have too much lead deflection coming into impact, and inconsistent deflection as they make contact with the turf, thus causing inconsistent launch patterns and spin rates. With the new, super-stiff graphite shafts, DeChambeau says deflection is more consistent, and the shafts also work to lower ball flight, increase spin around the greens, and decrease spin on full shots. “It’s the most consistent shaft I’ve ever tried,� DeChambeau told PGATOUR.COM on Wednesday. With this new revelation, DeChambeau has put the LA Golf prototype graphite shafts into each of his three custom Cobra King wedges. According to Oldenburg, DeChambeau is also considering using these shafts throughout his iron set, too. Should DeChambeau follow through with the switch to graphite in his irons, he would then have graphite shafts in all 14 clubs; DeChambeau has been using an Ozik graphite shaft in his putter for over a year, in addition to using graphite shafts in his metalwoods.
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