The lineup spans drivers, fairway woods, irons and wedges. Through the GEARS Tour Testing Program, golfers can test two recommended driver shafts against their gamer on their own course for up to 14 days.
AMERICAN FORK, Utah – For more than a decade, Tour players, instructors, and equipment manufacturers have used GEARS to see what ball flight alone can’t explain. GEARS measures the golfer and the club throughout the swing to within 0.2 millimeters, showing how golfers move their body, how the shaft bends and twists, and where exactly the ball strikes the clubface.
Those measurements showed how strongly shaft torque influences the way the club is delivered and where a shot ultimately finishes. GEARS used that research to develop a full lineup of shafts.
Shaft Fitting Is Backward On Torque
GEARS’ motion capture research found that lower-torque shafts produced more draw bias and higher-torque shafts produced more fade bias. That’s the opposite of what much of the golf industry has long believed and taught.
“When I was coming up in the PGA, I was taught that lower-torque shafts help you fade it and higher-torque shafts help you draw it,” says GEARS Founder Michael Neff. “We started looking at our own research-grade data, and I thought, wait a second. The shafts were doing the opposite. That’s when the wheels started turning on making our own shafts.”
GEARS research found that torque accounts for roughly half of shaft performance. That made torque the starting point for every shaft design. GEARS validated the shafts through robot and player testing, including competitive play on every major professional tour with multiple wood and iron shaft models.
All GEARS shafts are created with filament winding, an automated manufacturing process that produces an inherently seamless construction. The consistency of the process is what allows any two GEARS shafts of the same model to feel and perform the same. GEARS also uses filament winding to create its GEARS x L.A.B. Golf putter shaft, an upgrade shaft option available exclusively through L.A.B. Golf.
Test Shafts Like a Tour Player
Alongside the launch of GEARS Shafts, the company has also launched a Tour Testing Program that allows golfers in the United States to test GEARS driver shafts on their home turf for up to 14 days.
Golfers answer five questions on gearsgolf.com and receive two shaft recommendations. Those two shafts arrive gripped and tipped for their driver so golfers can simply screw them in and start testing. This allows golfers to test GEARS shafts at home against their current driver shaft with their actual driver head and preferred golf ball. A golfer’s results also inform GEARS fitting recommendations for the rest of their full-swing clubs.
“We brought our research on torque into our fitting tool, and it allows us to narrow the field to two driver shafts,” Neff says. “We send you those two shafts tipped and gripped so you can immediately see which one makes your usual miss more manageable.”
Golfers pay nothing to start the Tour Testing Program. After testing, golfers pay $29 total for round-trip shipping, plus $325 for each shaft they keep. A prepaid return label is included. If golfers return both shafts, only round-trip shipping is charged.
Torque Fitting Arrives for Irons
Alongside the wood shaft lineup, GEARS has also launched five filament-wound iron shaft models that help golfers manage their usual miss.
GEARS names its wood shafts by torque and weight. For example, a 3155 has 3.1 degrees of torque and weighs 55 grams. Its iron shafts are named only by weight – 75, 90, 110, 125, and 130 – because the parallel-tip design allows club builders to adjust torque through tipping and trimming.
The 75- and 130-gram models are lower-torque designs for golfers seeking to minimize a right miss, whereas the 90- and 125-gram models are higher-torque designs for golfers seeking to minimize a left miss. The 110 is designed to preserve a golfer’s natural shot shape.
Availability
GEARS Shafts are available through gearsgolf.com and a worldwide network of club fitters. Fitters interested in offering GEARS shafts to their customers can contact Matt Siegel at matt@gearssports.com.
About GEARS
Founded in 2012, GEARS develops 3D motion capture technology that measures the golfer and club together throughout the swing. Tour players, instructors, researchers and equipment manufacturers use GEARS to study how movement and equipment affect performance. GEARS Shafts applies that research to shaft design and fitting.
Media Contact:
Zak Kozuchowski
Rooted Solutions, for GEARS Shafts
(804) 424-0316
zak@rootedsolutions.com
