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WHOA!!! Check out the T & A!!!Sep 28 '01 (Updated Dec 13 '01) Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Sport and Outdoor
The Bottom Line If you're a person who likes to reshaft/regrip often, be aware of the steps you'll have to take to accommodate the shafts Taylor Made uses.
T & A?!?! Tips and A**/Butts...what were you thinking? Taylor Made is a popular company in golf. They have a good reputation and make quality clubs. But, there is something about Taylor Made clubs that many people do not know. The shafts they use are too big. Too big??? Spermologer---WHAT?!?!? Well, generally speaking, in irons the standard tip diameter of a shaft is .370 inches (that is in parallel tip irons...irons with tapered tips are .355). Taylor Made irons have tip diameters of .400. Again, generally speaking, woods have a .335 tip diameter, while Taylor Made, again, has a .400 tip diameter. So, Kristan, what's the big deal? Who cares, right? Nope, not right. The clubs are fine off the shelf, but face it, things happen. There are many reasons a person would want to change a shaft. A club could break under normal use (which is fine while the club is under warranty, but not when that period is up). People have tempers...after a bad shot, clubs tend to be wrapped around trees, small children, friends, and such. Or, maybe after a few seasons a different shaft flex, weight, bend point, torque, etc. is desired...there are many reasons a person would change a shaft, these are just a few. (someday I'll write a review on shafts and include more information and in greater detail). During the warranty period, a club will be repaired or replaced at Taylor Made's discretion (they are another company who is good with customer service and their warranty is a good one). But, reshafting after that can be a problem. Shafts (graphite or steel) with a .400 tip diameter are not available from any retailer. Until recently, that meant that any reshaft had to be done by Taylor Made, which is a QUITE costly, not to mention, timely endeavor. Until recently? Well what has changed? Shims have been introduced. Shims are little things that look quite a bit like springs. They are put around the shaft and epoxied in the head. They can make up the difference between a shaft and hosel (hole in the head of the club). While they work fairly well, the bond is not quite as good as it is between a shaft and hosel with matching sizes. Over time (and with a high enough swing speed), the bond will break down, and the head will need to be re-epoxied. Taylor Made's graphite shafts are "bubble shafts". Not only do they have a larger tip diameter, but the butt diameter is larger as well. Most non-Taylor Made shafts have either a .580 or .600 butt diameter, but Taylor Made's are much larger. This is HUGE when it comes to regripping (something I think very highly of--check out my "Solvent Smells Good" review if you're interested). Most grips won't fit over the huge butts of the clubs. Even if you can get them stretched out enough, the butt cap won't go on completely and it looks very goofy. The most popular components retailer carries only four grips that will fit a Bubble Shaft (of over 200 available grips). They are: Taylor Made Bubble Tour Wrap, Firesole Bubble, All-Weather Bubble, and Tour Wrap Ultralight (by golf pride) . Not only is the grip selection small, but a special installation tool is necessary. In order to install these grips, one needs a big-butt tool (costs around $10) which helps get the grip over the butt of the shaft. This review pertains to the Taylor Made clubs introduced and sold over the past few years. The T & A of Taylor Made are beginning to change. The current Taylor Made line is the 300 Series. Of the three drivers (300, 320, and 360) only the 360 comes standard with the Bubble shaft (this one actually has a .405 tip) making the regrip worry obsolete for the 300 and 320 models. Plus, the shafts in the 300 and 320 have a .350 tip, which is still not "standard" (a word in golf that becomes more and more meaningless each season as different companies change things), but there are a fair amount of shafts available with a .350 tip. Some of the more popular with a .350 tip are the UST Pro Force 65, True Temper EI-70, Grafalloy ProLite, and the True Temper Bi-Matrix. The 300 Series fairway woods come standard with Taylor Made's new ultralight graphite shaft (It ranges 69 to 61 grams and 3.4 to 4.2 degrees torque from the TS100 flex to the L60 flex). Those shafts also have a .350 tip, easing the pain of reshafting. While a bubble shaft is available in the 300 Series fairway woods, it too offers a .350 tip. The clubs offered by Taylor Made in the recent past have offered many a headache to consumers who were unaware of the T & A problems with them at the time of purchase due to regripping/reshafting/repair issues. However, the industry has come up with a way to bypass the reshafting difficulties (shims) and now, Taylor Made is venturing closer to the standard. While Taylor Made has good products, be aware of the limitations for modification their shafts impose.  |
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