Review: Talamonti PD-70 Golf Shaft
What shaft is that?
When someone asks about the shaft that you are using it is usually a good thing. Even after you tell them what you are using, if they still are scratching their head, then you have some explaining to do. After playing a number of rounds with my Talamonti PD-70 shafts, I have had to explain to people what the deal is with this shaft.
As well informed as many of our readers here are, my guess is that many of you are saying, “Talamonti, I’ve never heard of that one.” Well right now, that might be on purpose. Philip Talamonti the creator of this shaft, has gone with an anti-marketing campaign. He currently does not have a website and only sells his shaft out of four golf shops in the major metros in TX. So if you want to get your hands on one of these babies, you need to get in touch with him direct or live in TX. (See 2011 update below and how that has changed)
After getting in touch with Phil we decided to try both a regular flex and a stiff flex to see which would fit me best. Beyond flex, I had almost no information about how this shaft was supposed to perform. This is one shaft that I hit with no preconceived ideas of what it was going to do.
I installed both shafts according to instructions from Phil with an I-mix tip. I tipped the stiff .5” to account for the adaptor and tipped the regular 1” to get it closer to the necessary flex. A nice feature of all Talamonti shafts is that they come marked “M.O.I. Optimized”. From my understanding it is a similar process as SST Puring. Philip says that M.O.I Optimizing allows the shaft to have a little more torque, yet retaining predictable, stable results. It is very easy to line this shaft up for install, there is a little painted mark on the shaft along with a shaft band.
The very first time I pulled my driver out of the bag with this shaft in it, the guy I got paired with (who knew his equipment) asked what shaft it was. My guess is that the color caught his eye. It is medium red with a pinkish hue, setting it apart from other red shafts. The graphics are all business and very professional, with black letters outlined in yellow.
After I hit my first drive he was even more interested in this shaft. I proceeded to hit bombs with this thing all day long. Shot after shot dispersion was tight. I hit high baby fades hole after hole with the stiff flex. This shaft definitely did not want to go left for me. When I put the regular flex shaft in play, I still couldn’t find the left side, but got more distance and a higher trajectory. Dispersion was slightly affected by the lesser flex. I found both regular and stiff flex to be a relatively low spin shaft. For many the comparison to Diamanas might be easiest to understand; Redboard height, with sub-Blueboard spin. This shaft is comparable to the other well know high-end shafts. It is very smooth, extremely stable, and has a great feeling kick at impact. I found a very predictable flight pattern and feel.
I had a mental hurdle I had to get over with the regular flex. I did the waggle test when I first pulled it out of my bag, and it seemed very floppy. I then proceeded to cold-top my first drive. But after that I settled down and swung away. It was then I found the beauty of this shaft. The Talamonti PD-70 is stable and predictable, even in the softer flex. For all you manly men out there, you might want to swallow your pride and go down a half flex, I was glad I did. I even gained a couple yards.
Per flex they play about a ½ flex stiffer than normal and feel so stable, going down a flex is not a problem at all. At the same time, if you want to play your normal flex you will not be penalized for that choice. I don’t want to make it sound confusing, but I think that depending on your swing speed and transition, you can get the desired results staying at your normal flex or going down a flex. I’m not sure whether it is being M.O.I Optimized or simply the design of the shaft, you can play Talamonti shafts outside of your typical flex and still get great results.
For more height and carry go softer, for tighter and more boring go up. It fits a wide variety of golfers and really works well.
2011 Update:
At the retail price, ($75) in my opinion this is one of the best shaft deals on the market.
Finding one, well that was another story. But now he has a website and is on both Twitter and Facebook. Check out the new site: www.talamontishafts.com
When someone asks about the shaft that you are using it is usually a good thing. Even after you tell them what you are using, if they still are scratching their head, then you have some explaining to do. After playing a number of rounds with my Talamonti PD-70 shafts, I have had to explain to people what the deal is with this shaft.
As well informed as many of our readers here are, my guess is that many of you are saying, “Talamonti, I’ve never heard of that one.” Well right now, that might be on purpose. Philip Talamonti the creator of this shaft, has gone with an anti-marketing campaign. He currently does not have a website and only sells his shaft out of four golf shops in the major metros in TX. So if you want to get your hands on one of these babies, you need to get in touch with him direct or live in TX. (See 2011 update below and how that has changed)
After getting in touch with Phil we decided to try both a regular flex and a stiff flex to see which would fit me best. Beyond flex, I had almost no information about how this shaft was supposed to perform. This is one shaft that I hit with no preconceived ideas of what it was going to do.
I installed both shafts according to instructions from Phil with an I-mix tip. I tipped the stiff .5” to account for the adaptor and tipped the regular 1” to get it closer to the necessary flex. A nice feature of all Talamonti shafts is that they come marked “M.O.I. Optimized”. From my understanding it is a similar process as SST Puring. Philip says that M.O.I Optimizing allows the shaft to have a little more torque, yet retaining predictable, stable results. It is very easy to line this shaft up for install, there is a little painted mark on the shaft along with a shaft band.
The very first time I pulled my driver out of the bag with this shaft in it, the guy I got paired with (who knew his equipment) asked what shaft it was. My guess is that the color caught his eye. It is medium red with a pinkish hue, setting it apart from other red shafts. The graphics are all business and very professional, with black letters outlined in yellow.
After I hit my first drive he was even more interested in this shaft. I proceeded to hit bombs with this thing all day long. Shot after shot dispersion was tight. I hit high baby fades hole after hole with the stiff flex. This shaft definitely did not want to go left for me. When I put the regular flex shaft in play, I still couldn’t find the left side, but got more distance and a higher trajectory. Dispersion was slightly affected by the lesser flex. I found both regular and stiff flex to be a relatively low spin shaft. For many the comparison to Diamanas might be easiest to understand; Redboard height, with sub-Blueboard spin. This shaft is comparable to the other well know high-end shafts. It is very smooth, extremely stable, and has a great feeling kick at impact. I found a very predictable flight pattern and feel.
I had a mental hurdle I had to get over with the regular flex. I did the waggle test when I first pulled it out of my bag, and it seemed very floppy. I then proceeded to cold-top my first drive. But after that I settled down and swung away. It was then I found the beauty of this shaft. The Talamonti PD-70 is stable and predictable, even in the softer flex. For all you manly men out there, you might want to swallow your pride and go down a half flex, I was glad I did. I even gained a couple yards.
Per flex they play about a ½ flex stiffer than normal and feel so stable, going down a flex is not a problem at all. At the same time, if you want to play your normal flex you will not be penalized for that choice. I don’t want to make it sound confusing, but I think that depending on your swing speed and transition, you can get the desired results staying at your normal flex or going down a flex. I’m not sure whether it is being M.O.I Optimized or simply the design of the shaft, you can play Talamonti shafts outside of your typical flex and still get great results.
For more height and carry go softer, for tighter and more boring go up. It fits a wide variety of golfers and really works well.
2011 Update:
At the retail price, ($75) in my opinion this is one of the best shaft deals on the market.
Finding one, well that was another story. But now he has a website and is on both Twitter and Facebook. Check out the new site: www.talamontishafts.com
