A while back I wrote an article about the length of drivers and other important points and issues that are relevant concerning the big stick in our bags. In the comment section there was a question about spinning a shaft. There was another about the newest technology called 'PURE-ing' a shaft. I promised I would look into the PURE Shaft Principle when I got out on Tour and could get an interview with techs in the PureTech Van. Here is what I found out.
The company is called Strategic Shaft Technologies. It holds all the patents and rights to the process. I spoke with Tour reps, Bob Montgomery of True Temper Shafts and Arnie Cunningham ,who reps Harrison Graphite Shafts in the PURE Van. They gave me a concise and simple explanation of the concept.
For starters, they said, 'Every shaft is not perfect. It has hard spots, soft spots and voids.' All of these make the shaft less stable. The concept is to find the most stable position of the shaft to 'align the shaft in the best possible playing position, called the PLANE OF THE SHAFT.' Arnie demonstrated this by taking a 48 inch aluminum ruler and holding it like a golf club, with the face of the ruler perpendicular to the ground. He then waggled it, and the ruler just bowed and wobbled in a wave pattern (oscillate is the term they used) that had no stability and control. He then turned the ruler parallel to the ground where the numbers were pointing up, and waggled it back and forth. There was no wobble or wave. The ruler was firm and stable. This, he said, was the change that happens when a shaft is 'PUREd,' identifying the most stable point in the shaft and is properly placed in the clubhead.
Once the 'PURE Plane' is established by the patented machine, the technician places a piece of tape on the shaft, and places a line mark at 12:00 o'clock. The line on the tape is for the club fitter as it IDs the exact way the shaft must be put into the head, with the line at 12:00 o'clock. This means the 'PURE Point' on the shaft is actually to the left at 9:00 o'clock for a righty golfer and at 3:00 o'clock for a lefty. The strong point of the shaft is pointing at the target so the shaft is more stable, reducing oscillation droop at impact. 'PURE-ing' the shaft takes building a set of golf clubs to the highest degree of accuracy possible in today's world of club assembly.
With every shaft 'PUREd' and placed in the clubhead the same way, the result is that every shaft feels and responds as consistently close as is scientifically and possible. The ultimate benefit, beyond the feel of more consistency of the load in the backswing and the shaft kicking or releasing into impact. is that 'PUREd' shafts tightens and reduces the shot pattern and dispersion rate for every club, and increases hitting the center or sweet spot. This means shots fly a lot straighter and maintain the correct distance.
You can have a set 'PUREd' in an already built set of clubs. This is time consuming as every club has to be disassembled to 'PURE' each shaft, then re-assembled. This adds to the already fairly high cost of 'PURE-ing.' Another point is that any shaft, from steel to graphite, can be 'PUREd.' The final obstacle is finding a certified PURE shaft club fitter and builder. You can find one by going to Strategic Shafts web site at www.sstpure.com
DJ had Titleist build him another set of ZM irons at the Heritage with 'PUREd' shafts and is putting them in play this week at The Quail Hollow Championship. He still needs to get his woods 'PUREd' and I am sure that will be done soon. Bob and Arnie did me a favor and 'PUREd' a set of iron and wood shafts for me. I will have my club fitter re-shaft my set next week and give them a go. This inspired me to come up with my new 'Surgism' for playing better golf with better shafts: Better PURE'¦To Be Sure!
The Surge!
P.S. To be sure about your golf swing, check out our PPGS offer!