AutoFlex driver shaft

Equipment
#1

So I did something a little crazy and bought an AutoFlex 505x shaft for my driver. I didn’t pay full price, but still pretty ridiculously expensive. I haven’t really spent any money on clubs this year though, so I went for it. If you haven’t heard about AutoFlex, TXG has the best videos on them:

It came yesterday, so I went out and played with it today. Didn’t see the ball on my first hit, but it wound up being one of my best drives in recent memory on that hole, so it was a high bar to start. Not every drive wound up like that, but I felt enough to know that there really is something to this shaft. It’s staying in the bag and I’ll tweak things to try to dial it in. I installed in at its full length, so the driver playing length is all the way up to 47.5”. I’ll trim it if I have to, but honestly I don’t think the strike pattern wound up all that different. Additionally, I know the swing weight is probably higher than ideal, so I have some lighter weights coming that I can change out in the head.

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#2

Keep us updated! I hated the feel personally but know some people love the shaft results.

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#3

Snuck in another 9 holes yesterday evening and then played my 18 holes this morning, so that’s 2.5 rounds over the past two days with the shaft. Could still all go to hell, but at this point I think I’m in love.
My driver is the PXG 0211 that I reviewed on the main site. I was fit into a really nice premium shaft for it as well (Tensei Pro CK White). It’s not that the AutoFlex is instantly giving me 20 extra yards or anything, but in my rounds this weekend I’ve hit it as far as I ever have with the old setup. I’d also say I’m doing it more consistently (in less than ideal weather) and it’s just so easy to do.
Could it all just be the extra 1.75” of length and swinging freely because I feel confident? Perhaps, but I don’t think so. The feel of the AutoFlex just works for me. I love swinging my Gold Flex training aid and that’s the most comparable thing I can think of for the feel of swinging the driver with this shaft.
I also don’t think it’s just a whippy shaft either. If I swung a long senior flex shaft I might get the same feel, but I doubt I could consistently find the center of the face and produce a functional ball flight doing so.
Definitely wouldn’t be for everybody (not just for the price, but also just the feeling of it), but it is something to try for those so inclined.

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#4

Please keep us updated. I have been eyeballing this shaft since January, but can’t get myself to pull the trigger. I wish I could find a place to demo one, but the only place I know of is in Pittsburgh.

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#5

I wonder if there’s somewhere to try this shaft? Ponying up $775 for something that might not work seems crazy.

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#6

I agree with you there. I paid a bit less than full price and was confident I could get most of it back reselling if it didn’t work out.

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#7

Coincidentally, TXG brought the AutoFlex back out today while they reviewed another super-premium Korean produced shaft. Instant 3-4mph of increased ball speed for Matt.


What really caught my attention though, was an off-the-cuff comment from Matt about why he doesn’t have the AutoFlex in his bag - “if you don’t mind losing the feel for the rest of the clubs in your bag”
It’s definitely true that AutoFlex feels different than anything else I’m swinging, but I don’t really see the impact for me, especially since the driver swing is significantly different than any other club swing already. Maybe it’s because I don’t swing anywhere close to the way Matt does, but I don’t think this will be an issue.
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#8

Discovered something interesting today. While it’s easy to generate speed with the shaft, I think there might be a “minimum speed” that you have to swing for the shaft to react like it should. I tried to hit a few “bunt” drivers this morning, basically half swings that I try to keep low and run out. Instead of whipping through impact like I feel on normal driver swings, on these I felt a ton of torque and defection right at impact and I couldn’t control it at all.
Not a big deal as I never need to hit a bunt driver, but I do think it shows that even though the AutoFlex doesn’t have traditional flexes, you have to make sure you get the right one. If someone with a sub-95mph swing speed tries mine, they probably won’t get good results. Likely the same if I tried the 505xx.

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#9

That’s another reason I would like to try before I buy. My swing speed is 95mph which puts me in the high end of the 405 or the low end of the 505.

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#10

Got weights for my PXG 0211 driver head (it has a 10g weight stock, so I got a 5 and a 2.5). I put in the 2.5 gram weight and it’s kinda crazy how much just 7.5 grams can change the feel. The swing weight was definitely lighter, but it seemed like I couldn’t “feel” the head anymore and I didn’t like that. I also lost some distance on good strikes, probably just less efficiency with a lighter head.
I went back to the 10g weight and it just seems to be better for me. The 0211 isn’t a heavy driver to begin with (206g total) so the tweaking likely isn’t necessary.
I still really like the shaft and it’s staying in (also not going to cut it down). No lost accuracy and noticeably longer on good strikes (likely 10+ yards carry). If there is a negative it is that I hit the ball high naturally and with the AutoFlex I hit it REALLY high. As long as I keep the spin down that’s fine, but if I do spin one up, it balloons and I lose that distance bonus.

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#11

The extra height is another reason I am interested in the Autoflex, I am a low ball hitter.

#12

After watching these two videos…

and

I threw the Riptide CB 40 5.0 A flex because I have that skew in my fitting setup and for 3 rounds have been blown away. I swing it 105-108 right now and pretty much always sit in a traditional “stiff”.

From looking at other profiles another less expensive option if you can find one is the Bassara GG 53 S flex.

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