Equipment
Spotted: Prototype OLYSS RSC, TPOC ZW shafts (updated with info from LA Golf Shafts)
Update: 2/26: 7:28 p.m.
LA Golf Shafts’ Chief Product Officer, John Oldenburg, told us this
“Unfortunately, counter to your speculation, neither the OLYSS RSC Prototype nor the TPOC ZW are based off of old Matrix shaft platforms. These shafts are brand new designs (new tooling, processes, and materials) from a brand new company.”
“…The new prototypes are both brand new shafts based on flex profile platforms I developed years ago that have proven over many years to be extremely successful with tour caliber players. We have improved and modified these historic platforms based on the needs of today’s stronger, more athletic, faster swinging players, and the performance and mass characteristics of the latest driver heads.”
“The two prototypes are very different in construction, but do share one common characteristic. The modern trend for today’s professional player is higher and higher club head velocity at impact with a resulting increase in ball speed. To maintain stability and control for the modern high ball speed player, tour shaft overall stiffnesses have increased significantly over the past 5 to 10 years. This increase in stiffness certainly helps to provide the needed additional stability but also tends to impart an undesirable harsh feel to the shaft at impact. To counteract this effect, these LA Golf Shaft prototypes, incorporate a unique, high-tech, composite material in the grip end of the shaft, under the players hands.”
“This new, never before used material, is an ultra-lightweight, thin ply composite weave combining high modulus graphite with a unique PBO based fiber. The combination of the stiff, high strength, carbon fibers with an ultra-lightweight, ultra-strong and stiff PBO material that has outstanding vibration damping characteristics provides these shafts with significantly increased stability in the players hands, while maintaining outstanding feel at impact. Additionally, the rearward placement of the new material also aids to counterbalance the shafts, making them perfect for today’s heavier driver heads. Let’s say they are classic designs modernized for today’s player through advancement in design, construction, and materials.”
OLYSS RSC Prototypes (no relationship what-so-ever to Black Tie)
“We currently have a 75 gram and 65 gram OLYSS RSC out on tour for evaluation and validation. OLYSS uses a constant taper physical profile to give it the feel of a smooth, controlled load and release. Low torque (2.8 degrees) and a mid-stiff tip section, allow the OLYSS prototype to provide a low-mid to mid ball flight with low spin for elite golfers with moderate to high ball speeds. LA Golf Shafts new OLYSS RSC 75-TX prototype gives the modern bomber the stiffness and stability they need with tremendous feel, a smooth load and release, and an optimized low-mid/mid launch, low spin launch profile.”
TPOC ZW Prototype (no relationship what-so-ever to TP)
“The Tour Prototype TPOC ZW 75-TX is designed incorporating a long and slightly oversized parallel butt profile. Golf shafts with larger, long, nearly constant diameter physical profiles at the butt end provide the player with a crisper, firmer feel in the hands at impact. This solid feel is preferred by some players over the smoother, more subtle feel of a shaft having a slimmer more tapered profile under the grip. The slightly oversized butt dimension also provides a platform to create the larger grip sizes desired by many modern world class players without the need for the added weight of additional grip tape.
“The digitally optimized bending profile was created using five different types of carbon fiber, along with exotic PBO fibers, blended perfectly to provide low torque (2.5 degrees) and a stiff tip section that will yield a low-mid ball flight with low spin for elite golfers with moderate to high ball speeds. The TPOC ZW 75-TX prototype gives the modern player the stiffness and stability they need with a physical construction engineered to provide a solid, firm, but not harsh feel. The computer optimized bending profile allows the modern player to achieve a much desired low to mid launch angle with low to moderate spin characteristics.”
End update.
The “Florida Swing” is now upon us and we are only weeks away from The Masters — I hope you get used to hear that narrative until April — and we have again spotted some cool new product direct from the range this week at The Honda Classic.
LA Golf Shafts has a couple of new prototypes out for testings, one being a 65g model and the other being a 75g.
We’re not sure if these are related but based on the prototype coding on them it would be a good guess that these are different profiles and not just shafts from the same series.
With a bit of detective work based on the fact that LA has adopted a lot of the previous Matrix naming and color coding philosophies including the TPHDE, Red Tie, etc, the Black paint could be an indication that these prototypes are a line extension of the Black Tie series, which direct from LA Shafts is, “The lowest launch and spin profile in the OFS trio. A low torque tip stiff shaft with exceptional feel.”
Another theory would be the because the second of the two Prototypes has coding that starts with “TPO” it could be either an upgrade to the TPHDE line or an additional profile that maybe aded to the line in the near future. Since this is the first time we have spotted them, I’m sure there will be some more testing and pictures to come in the near future.
Join the discussion here in our forum and see what other GolfWRX members are saying about these new prototypes.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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LoPro
Feb 28, 2019 at 3:08 am
YUP BLAHHHHHHH
stage1350
Feb 26, 2019 at 1:47 pm
“We’re not sure…”
“Another theory would be…”
So as usual, you don’t know d**k. Grand reporting!
Bobby
Feb 26, 2019 at 12:30 pm
Ooooh how exciting, another shaft from Bangladesh marked “prototype tour only!”
Gebhardt
Feb 26, 2019 at 12:22 pm
As confusing as possible
Tom
Feb 26, 2019 at 12:15 pm
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!