Review – Matrix MFS (Black, Red, and White Tie) Hybrid Shafts

We obsess over our driver shafts. Which is the highest launching? Which is the lowest spinning?

We all have our favorites.

We all think we know what’s best.

We obsess over irons shafts too. What will give me tour trajectory? What’s going fly high and land soft?

Am I too much of a man for graphite in my irons?

(Yes).

These questions demand answers. We have to know. We have to get fit (or self fit). We need 10 more yards, or 5 yards better dispersion, or maybe just something with really cool graphics.

Some would say the shaft is EVERYTHING. No way you don’t put some serious thought into it.

Do you do the same with your hybrids?

I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that for most of you, a hybrid shaft is an afterthought, if it’s even a thought at all.

Full disclosure I’m actually playing the stock shaft in my hybrids right now, but that doesn’t mean I don’t often think about putting something else in there.

Matrix Makes it Easy

Fortunately, for those of you who are curious about the possibility of finding a better fitting hybrid shaft, or at least a shaft that delivers the performance you’re looking for, Matrix makes it easy.

By now most of you should be plenty familiar with the Matrix MFS (Matrix Flight System) series of shafts.

MFS originated with the m3. More commonly known as the Black Tie, the m3 was an immediate hit with aggressive swingers looking to take off some spin and lower their ball flight. Any rational discussion about the lowest spinning shaft on the market likely includes the black tie.

Next came the X3 (White Tie) which filled the high launch (and reportedly lowish spin) role within the expanding MFS lineup.

In early 2013 Matrix rounded out their MFS with the introduction of the Q3. Billed as mid-launch and mid-spin, the Red Tie, which Matrix says will fit the highest percentage of the bell curve, has become 2014’s Kuro Kage; an immensely popular shaft among OEMs as their stock offering (in both real and made for varieties).

According to Matrix, each MFS shaft is designed with a specific ball flight in mind (that low, mid, high thing we just talked about). With MFS it’s not necessarily about fitting a guy with a specific swing characteristic, instead MFS seeks to to modify the launch and spin characteristics of what the player already does in order to achieve the desired result.

The short of it…within MFS…low, middle, high, it’s all relative.

MFS for Hybrids

Last fall Matrix expanded their hybrid offerings, putting Q3 and X3 options alongside the existing M3 offerings. With the exception of the Black Tie, which is available in 85g, 95g, and 105g, Altus MFS Hybrid shafts are only available in 95 grams (a full selection of flexes is available in each).

Matrix already has a full compliment of hybrid shafts to choose from, so for now they feel like they’ve got the market well-covered. If, however, the demand arises, Matrix will consider adding additional weights for both the Q3 and X3.

As with the driver shafts, Matrix Flight System hybrid fitting is designed to be easy. While generally a guy who fits well into a particular MFS driver shaft will probably find similarly good results in the complementary hybrid model, it really boils down to your desired ball flight.

It’s entirely possible you might want to lower launch with your driver, but increase it with your hybrid. The MFS hybrid shaft that fits best depends on what flight characteristics you’re trying to achieve with a particular hybrid.

How We Tested

Apart from forming a general picture of how the Matrix MFS Hybrid shafts perform, we were most interested in finding out if our testers would get the launch conditions that Matrix suggests they we should.

To do that we rounded up a handful of testers who would generally fit well into stiff shafted clubs. We installed TaylorMade tips on each shaft, cut them to identical lengths, installed the same model grip on each shaft,  and popped them into a TaylorMade SLDR #3 hybrid for testing. During the testing itself we used the same protocols we use for our Most Wanted Testing.

To maintain consistency, we will use the same hybrid for any additional hybrid shaft tests.

Performance

As you can see from the above, carry distances were relatively consistent between all 3 models, with barely 4 yards separating the shafts. Differences in total yards can likely be attributed to two factors.

Firstly, our testers produced the most spin with the Red Tie (see below), and more spin often means less distance. Secondly, if the shots hit with the Red Tie had been on average closer to the center line, those differences in distances would presumably be narrower.

As you might expect given the distance numbers, ball speeds were very close across the 3 MFS shafts, and while the extra pop of the X3 is intriguing, we’re likely within the margin of error here.

For us this is really the most interesting (and important) part of this test. The beauty of MFS is that it’s supposed to greatly simplify shaft fitting. For that to actually work, the shafts need to basically perform as advertised. While each individual golfer is different, when it comes to the launch conditions, you really hope the shafts deliver what they’re supposed to.

As you can see from the chart above, the Matrix MFS Shafts did just that. As expected, the Black Tie produced the lowest launch angle. The White Tie launched highest, and just like it’s supposed to, the Red Tie produced the comparative mid launch condition.

As we usually do, we observed a correlation between launch angle and apex (height). The Black Tie produced the lowest ball flight, the X3 the highest, and as we’d expect, the Red Tie flew through a window between them.

Equally as reaffirming, the low spinning Black Tie did in fact produce the lowest spin rates for our testers. The high launch, low spin White Tie – while not as low spinning as the Black Tie, did spin less (421 RPM) than the mid-spin Red Tie.

Feel

My recommendation is that you take feel for what it is. Each of us is different, and consequently we each perceive feel differently. That said, the 3 shafts in the Matrix MFS gave our testers the full Goldilocks experience.

As you might expect given its performance characteristics, the Black Tie was rated as the firmest feeling of the bunch. Pick your adjective…stout, boardy; most of our testers told us that this shaft is too stiff.

While our testers generally liked the softer-tipped White Tie, it was described as “whippy, but in a good way”. I’m not sure what that really means (I like the boardy Black Tie), but for the sake of maintaining this Goldilocks analogy, let’s go with this shaft is too soft.

Overwhelmingly, on feel alone, the Red Tie was the favorite of our testers. Not too soft, not too hard…this shaft is just right.

Granted, that’s all pretty ambiguous stuff, but the takeaway is this: For most the black tie will feel the firmest (you’ll feel every bit of the flex), the white tie will feel the softest, and the red tie will occupy the smooth sweet spot right in the middle.

Final Thoughts

While we always recommend getting properly fit, we’re not delusional enough to think that most of you are going to do that…not with your hybrid shafts anyway. So with necessary deference to reality, we can appreciate the simplicity of the MFS Hybrid series.

Our test results suggest that if you know what it is you’re hoping to achieve from your hybrids, there’s very little guess work here. Relative launch characteristics are as advertised, which means between the Black, Red, and White Tie shafts, Matrix is going to be able to give you the ball flight you’re looking for from your hybrid.

Matrix MFS Hybrid Shafts retail for $150 each.

For more information visit the Matrix Shafts Website.