To put it modestly, Graphite Design, maker of high-end aftermarket shafts, had a really good year.

The company famous for manufacturing the Tour AD-DI line of shafts retained its strong presence on the major professional tours during a company restructuring period that the media (including GolfWRX) openly criticized.

In November of 2012, Graphite Design consolidated its business operations in the U.S., granting exclusive distributorship rights to Pro’s Choice Golf Shafts headed up by Wayne Ageno, who at the time was the chief financial officer and a long time employee of Graphite Design. However, sources speaking on the condition of anonymity told GolfWRX that the company was removing its shaft representatives from the PGA Tour in 2013 and ending its current contracts in North America.

A little over a year later, it still isn’t clear if Graphite Design had a change of heart about what amounted to a thinly-veiled exit plan or if consolidation was the strategy all along. What we do know is that Graphite Design International, with headquarters in San Diego, was forced to close its doors, and some jobs were eliminated in the process. Pro’s Choice, comprised of only four employees at that time, began taking product orders out of San Diego almost immediately after.

“It wasn’t by any means a ‘vacate of North America’,” says Bill McPherson, vice president of sales at Pro’s Choice. “[Graphite Design] decided that reducing their footprint in the U.S., if you will, was a better idea than continuing on with Graphite Design International.”

Ageno said that the company didn’t lost “any real presence” or players on tour in 2013, either.

“We’ve been able to keep all the relationships with OEMs and aftermarket accounts,” he said.

Graphite Design shafts factored into 14 wins on the PGA Tour in 2013, with nine of these wins based on players gaming a Graphite Design shaft in their driver. Some of the most notable wins came in majors. Adam Scott took down Angel Cabrera in a playoff to win at The Masters using a Titlelist 913D3 driver (9.5 degrees) fitted with a Graphite Design Tour AD DI-8 shaft.

In May, Stacy Lewis made a notable change swapping out her Mizuno JPX-800 driver in favor of a TaylorMade R1 with a Tour AD shaft. It was a disappointing year by her standards, but she did win the Ricoh Women’s British Open, a pretty good consolation prize.

Graphite Design’s most impressive victory, however, occurred off the course, specifically via the financial markets. Over the past year, the Japanese shaft maker has been the darling of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

At the time the company announced it’s intention to close Graphite Design International, the average shareholder price was 300 Yen. Since then the stock has risen dramatically, reaching a 52-week high of 900 Yen.

The company’s financial health correlates directly to their operating efficiency. Graphite Design’s Total Revenue and Gross Profit took substantial hits compared to the previous 12-month of period in 2012. But these losses were more than offset by a reduction in total operating expense (2,659.7 million Yen in 2013 down from 3,243.0) and an increase in net income (up 58.9 percent over 2012).

Similarly, the company’s debts and liabilities fell sharply in 2013, while total equity grew in equal measure. Given that the company tightened their belt and lowered their financial risk, it isn’t surprising that a consensus recommendation in a Reuters financial report urges investors to buy shares and expects the stock will outperform analyst predictions.

Although Pro’s Choice wouldn’t reveal specific details, they indicated that their sales numbers were inline with forecasts.

“We exceeded all of our expectations,” Ageno said. “I think Graphite Design Japan would tend to agree that Pro’s Choice is doing very well after the negative press came out.”

With the annual PGA Merchandise Show returning to Orlando in January, Pro’s Choice is once again focused on promoting their new product offerings.

The aforementioned Tour AD brand of shafts is being further expanded with the inclusion of the MT line. The new shafts will be available in 50, 60, 70 and 80-gram options. These shafts feature a stiffer mid section and slightly softer tip for mid-launch conditions with low to mid ball spin.

“The MT (Maximum Energy Transfer) is our flagship shaft for 2014,” says McPherson. “There’s similar technology in the MT to the DI, but it’s going to produce a little bit of a different ball flight. As far as what would compel someone to play it … it’s just a matter of what that player is looking for. If they’re making a head change and they want a shaft that brings a little bit more spin into the ball flight, the MT could be a shaft to consider.”

Graphite Design is also expanding their mid-price-point product, the G-Series line. The new G-Silver, designed for lower handicap players looking for a more penetrating ball flight, will be available in 60- and 70-gram models. Graphite Design is also introducing a 75-gram G-Hybrid model as well as three new models (73, 83, 93 grams) to their iron lineup.

With new products and operational stability in place in the U.S., Pro’s Choice has every reason to believe they’ll build on their success from last year.

“At their peak, there were about 300 employees at Graphite Design International,” says Ageno. “Pro’s Choice is doing mostly the same things but with a lot fewer employees.”

Translation – it’s business as usual for Pro’s Choice and Graphite Design.