UST Mamiya AVIXCore Tour Red Shaft
Give It The (Right) Shaft
The weather is warming, a gentle breeze is blowing, and with each passing day, the walls of your office get a wee bit tighter. That’s just what we can spring. The lure to get outside is powerful and your favorite golf course is one of the best ways to soothe that itch. Before you do, however, make sure your equipped to get the most out of your leisure time. We’ve already confessed our unbridled passion for uncorking a new driver. Still, just as a sharply design sports coupe is nothing without the hardware under the hood, a golfer needs to know that he has all the horsepower he needs behind his tee box travails. We’re talking about a badass shaft, the engine of the golf club.
If you know much about the impressively complex world of high-performance golf shafts and the custom-fitting game, then you’ll know that UST Mamiya is a brand name that carries weight. We recently had the chance to take a few laps with their flagship AVIXCore shaft, comparing its performance to a run-of-the-mill manufacturer’s stock shaft (well, not that it was much of a comparison). Hit the jump to get our take on why you might want to make the same leap.
For the better golfer, getting educated on the particulars of your swing and finding equipment that suits it is a must. There’s no sense in handicapping yourself with a shaft that doesn’t meet your needs; the game is hard enough as it is. For our purposes, we tested the AVIXCore Tour Red thanks to its penetrating ball flight and low spin characteristics. Offered in 69, 79, and 89g weights, we opted to rock the middle option, sacrificing a degree of stability of for the increased swing speed offered by the slight decrease in shaft weight. The 2.6 degrees of torque for which this shaft is rated seemed perfectly adequate, considering that lack of stability never seemed an issue.
Numbers and stats are great, but golf equipment is ultimately about confidence and performance. Our decidedly unscientific testing (the launch monitors were on strike that day), proved that the AVIXCore Red delivers in spades. Mated to a reliable TaylorMade R5 TP head, a notably boring (that’s a good thing) trajectory was observed on drive after drive. The slight increase in both carry and roll that this produced certainly added a few yards to typical drives. Our playing test occurred on a familiar track and perhaps the best testament to the increased length that shaft offered was that on two separate occasion we were found in bunkers that are typically a bit out of reach.
Additionally, the stable performance of the shaft means that working the ball is a piece of cake (relatively speaking). Draws and fades seemed well within control, a trait rarely seem with cheaper, whippy shafts. Of course, practice makes perfect when it comes to honing your game, but we’d encourage you to check with our local shop about getting a read on your swing’s attributes for the purpose of, at least, custom shafting your driver. We’ve learned that a little attention in that department can pay big dividends on your scorecard. For that matter and for our money, a UST Mamiya AVIXCore shaft that fits your game is more than a worthy investment. Not to mention that one of our favorite gentlemen golfers, Stuart Cink, used this very shaft to win the 2009 Open Championship. Apparently, the Queen approves.
Buy Now: $140
