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RLM Shafts ( Reactive Linear Motion )
Having been a guest at several different shaft factories overseas and spending a few days each year watching how they produce shafts, it became curious to me why there were more than a few shafts made with the same mandrel. The answer is a simple one though. Shaft mandrels cost a lot of money.
In other words, the playing characteristics of so many shafts are determined by the sanding procedure of the shaft tip and shaft butt sections that were programmed into the computer.
Looking at these sanded shafts under a microscope there were so many graphite fibers that were compromised or destroyed during this sanding process. I came to the conclusion that if a graphite fiber has been cut or weakened during the manufacturing process, there is no way that the fiber was doing anything for you in the way of transferring the energy to the clubhead. The only thing left to the structural integrity of the shaft, is the epoxy resin that binds all of the graphite material together. That fact is clearly evident. Why would manufacturers choose more expensive raw materials only to have them cut apart by the sanding process?
This simply does not seem to me, like the best way to produce a product, a product that we all pretty much agree plays such an important role in our games, well, it evidently is good enough for some, but you had better stop talking about the playing characteristics of the graphite material that you are using, or the expense of these same fibers, while producing shafts in this manner. The fibers are cut or compromised, there is no direct transfer of energy through the graphite fiber material after is has been severed. The only transfer of power is through an epoxy like material that is very similar to the same epoxy that holds the head to the shaft.
Through my research, I have found that many of the shafts currently on the market only contain roughly 35% of the original fibers intact. This got me thinking of what the golfer, any golfer, needs to be more efficient when trying to produce a stroke or moreover, to produce a repeating stroke. The answer was pretty plain to me. More graphite fibers that are left intact during the manufacturing process, should produce a better feel and thusly better results.
I went back to my studies and confirmed that the average score of a daily golfer in America is actually about a 93. This was actually very hard for me to believe. I wanted to think it to be a much lower number. But these are same people that I hear from day in and day out, and my dealer base hears from on a daily basis. These golfers are my actual customers. What these golfers need is playability. Playability is often confused for whatever reason with feel, or players perception of feel. Perception of playability often is a function of out of pocket cost for the product as well. I have listened to so many customers make comments such as: For $200.00 this shaft should play noticeably better than what came in my club in the first place. If it does not make a noticeable difference, confidence is lost, and the customers enjoyment of this expensive game is compromised at the same time.
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