Fujikura Speeder Evolution Tour SpecDriver Shaft

Russ Ryden, Golf Digest America’s 100 Best Clubfitter
Fit2Score, Dallas Fort Worth, Texas

Fujikura offers a Tour Spec version of most model. The Speeder Evolution Tour Spec model is different enough from the Speeder 757 that it deserved a separate review. This shaft is one of the standard option in the 2015 TaylorMade R15 driver. It is manufactured by Sino in China unlike the Speeder which is made in Japan.

The radial consistency averaged 98.5% with a 1.4% standard deviation. No issue with rotating hosels and no benefit from alignment with these shafts. The Evolution Tour Spec is slightly stiffer in the tip and softer in the butt than the same flex Speeder Evolution. This creates a propensity to launch and spin lower that the Evolution designs.

Lets explore this. The tables on this site show tip to butt ratios. That is the stiffness of the tip of the shaft divided by the stiffness of the butt. This ratio is used by many club makers and some shaft companies to forecast launch of a shaft. It is one of many indicators we can use to forecast launch propensity. The stiffer the tip in relation to the butt, the maximum bend point of the shaft is higher on the shaft. Hence, the lower the propensity of that shaft to loft and spin the ball.

Three point EI measurements of successive zones of the shaft make it possible to virtually bend the shaft mathematically. This illustration demonstrates this for the Speeder Evolution Tour Spec shafts. In this illustration the EI profiles are used to bend the shafts with both loading at the tip and loading at the butt. You can see how EI profiles translate into the bending of a loaded shaft. The intersection of the tip loaded and butt loaded profiles are another classical indication of launch propensity. The closer that intersection is to the tip, the higher launch and spin propensity of the shaft.

However it is not that easy to forecast how a shaft will launch in your hands. In this illustration the softest of the Speeder Evolution Tour Spec, the 661S to the 757X are subjected to progressively heavier loads. You can see how much more the 661S bends than the 757X. And, how the intersection of the two curves moves under load. The launch of a shaft is a function of how you load it.

The objective of the professional fitter is to find that combination of shaft profile, weight and stiffness that creates the tightest impact pattern, centered on the club face. Then to the degree possible, fine tune your launch with close variations of profile, weight and flex. Doing so is enhanced by how much your fitter understands the golf shafts he is using.