SHAFT REVIEW! – Talamonti Shafts

By: Matt Saternus

Over the last year, we’ve seen a lot of companies trying to interact directly with consumers via Twitter, Facebook, and forms of social media that were actually designed for girls (Pinterest).  While it’s a great trend, it’s not exactly new to Phil Talamonti.  For as long as I’ve known about Talamonti shafts (about 5 years), I’ve heard stories of golfers calling Phil directly for advice on what shaft to play.  It’s simply how Phil does business.

Phil has been in the golf industry for over 20 years, and he’s been designing shafts exclusively for over half of that time.  In 2008, he went out on his own and created Talamonti Shafts.  This year, after over 12 months of research and development, he has released three new wood shafts, the Light 55, the LS-70, and the HL-70.  Should you be giving Phil a call before you hit the course this year?  Read on to find out.

Specs, Price, and Manufacturer Notes

:: The LS-70 is an ultra-low spin shaft specifically designed for stronger players.  It is available in Stiff and X and weighs in at 73 grams.

:: The HL-70 offers a smooth, stable bend profile that provides low spin to both low and high-horsepower swing.  The HL-70 weighs in 72-73 grams (depending on flex) and is offered in R, S, S/X, and X flex.

:: The Light 55 was designed for players who wanted to play a light weight shaft while still getting an accurate, low-spin ball flight.  It weighs 55 grams and is available in A (Senior), Regular, and Stiff.

Each of the three shafts reviewed here retails for $225 through the Talamonti website.

Looks, Feel, and Miscellaneous

Talamonti has brought a unifying look to his new line of shafts.  The bottom half of each shaft is solid white, with the top half a bright neon color.  The colors distinguish the models: green, blue, and orange for the LS, Light, and HL models, respectively.  The graphics are a 360* wraparound pattern that offers a consistent look at address, even in today’s adjustable drivers.

The feel throughout the Talamonti line is quite consistent.  Stability is the defining characteristics, even in the Light 55.  That said, the shafts don’t feel harsh or hard to load, even with my decidedly pedestrian swing speed.  The primary difference I noticed was that on mishits, the torqueing/twisting feeling was very prominent in the Light 55, but much less noticeable in the LS-70 and HL-70.

Performance

For the Performance testing, I hit each of the shafts in a Callaway RAZR Fit Extreme 10.5 head on a FlightScope X2 launch monitor.  I hit 20 “good” shots with each shaft, changing frequently so that fatigue was not an issue, nor did I get grooved with one shaft to the detriment of fairness.  All shafts were gripped with PURE Grips.

Testing was done at Golf Nation in Palatine, IL, one of the best indoor golf facilities in the country.

*NOTE: Testing has moved inside for the winter, and our FlightScope seems to be producing somewhat different numbers indoors compared to outdoors.  To greater or lesser extents, ball speed, club head speed, and spin are all coming in lower than they did outdoors, hence the carry number is smaller.  That said, it’s still an apples-to-apples comparison, so no attempt has been made to “normalize” the numbers: we’re publishing the numbers straight off the FlightScope, as always.

DATA

ANALYSIS

Most of what we see in the data is what I expected: the LS-70 was the lowest launching and spinning, the Light 55 had the most spin.  We also see that the Light 55 had the poorest offline and dispersion numbers.  I would attribute this primarily to the fact that the shaft was noticeably lighter than anything I normally play, so I wasn’t very comfortable with it.

Personally, I could see myself being very happy playing the HL-70 or the LS-70.  The weight is very comfortable to me, just slightly heavier than the “standard” 65 gram shaft.  The dispersion was very acceptable and the launch and spin were near my window for optimal.

Conclusion

Though it may not be a name you’re familiar with, I can say without reservation that Talamonti shafts are as good as any big name graphite shaft on the market.  The biggest hurdle that consumers need to overcome is the inability to demo a Talamonti before they buy it.  Talamonti shafts can currently be found at the club fitting studios listed HERE, and I’m sure the list will be growing as word gets out about the quality of this product.

:: VISIT THE TALAMONTI SHAFTS WEBSITE
:: FOLLOW TALAMONTI SHAFTS ON TWITTER
:: LIKE TALAMONTI SHAFTS ON FACEBOOK