Equipment
Matrix simplifies its 2013 shaft lineup
For a shaft company, having a lot of models for golfers to choose from is a great thing. But what shaft companies don’t want to happen, especially with Tour players, is for golfers to become so confused by all the different models that they decide to play another company’s shaft..
“Every year, tour players have to memorize the shaft offerings from 1o different shaft companies,” said Chris Nolan, executive vice president of global operations for Matrix Shafts. “We got to the point where we had some many different iterations of different shafts that people in our building were getting confused.”
That’s why Matrix has simplified its shaft offering for 2013 with three shafts that fit into three distinct categories.
New for this year are Matrix’s X3 “White Tie” shaft, which replaces the company’s popular XCON shafts, and the company’s Q3 “Red Tie” shaft, which replaces the HD Series shafts.
Last year, Matrix released its M3 “Black Tie” shaft, which replaced the company’s M2 series. It’s the lowest-launching, lowest-spinning shaft in the Matrix Flight System — the company’s portfolio of shaft characteristics.
The White Tie is on the opposite end of the spectrum from the Black Tie, offering golfers a high-launch with mid-to-high spin. Splitting the difference is the company’s Red Tie shaft, which offers a mid launch and mid spin.
All three shafts carry an MSRP of $375. Check out the video and additional specs below:
[youtube id=”p2qNy_UznWg” width=”620″ height=”360″]
Note: For the shafts below, the leading number denotes the weight range, i.e., 6 means the shaft is in the 60-grams range. The following two letters and numbers, i.e. M3, denote the shaft model. For hybrid shafts, the letter h will lead and the weight range will follow the model number, i.e., hM3 105.
Black Tie Specs
- Models: 5M3, 6M3, 7M3, 8M3, hM3 85, hM3 95, hM3 105
- Flexes: Available in regular, firm, stiff, strong, x-stiff and xx-stiff flexes in most models
Red Tie Specs:
- Models: 4Q3, 5Q3, 6Q3, 7Q3, 8Q3 (no hybrid models)
- Flexes: Lady through XX-Stiff in most models
White Tie Specs:
- Models: 4X3, 5X3, 6X3, 7X3, 8X3, hX3 (80 to 85 grams depending on flex)
- Flexes: Lady through XX-Stiff in most models
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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Stephen
Jun 18, 2013 at 10:31 pm
I believe your info is inaccurate. It is my understanding that the white tie is a higher launching low spin shaft, and the red is mid spin, mid launch.
Can you help verify this?
Thanks
Jakub Mikulik
Jan 30, 2013 at 3:41 pm
Hi Zak,
first of all great work with everything! I am a huge fan of GolfWRX from Czech republic. I really appreciate all the articles, photos and videos you post. I am just curious about something little off topic. By looking at your name it seems like you might have some Polish/Slovak/Czech ancestors. I was just wondering.. Is you dad or grandpa czech like myself?
Jakub.