Welcome to I Tried It, a GOLF.com series about golf items — apparel, gear, accessories, etc. — that we’ve recently taken out for a spin. We’re here to give our honest, no-frills takes on the latest and greatest golf or golf-adjacent items. So, scroll down to read about what we love about golf’s newest (or new to us) products.
Most golfers are aware that investing in a full, professional club-fitting can make a massive difference in their game, but shafts — and the idea of switching them in or out at will, with the same clubhead — seem to be on their own intimidating level. In my mind, it’s only the most die-hard gear-heads who are willing to endeavor to make a shaft switch on their own.
Needless to say, shaft tinkering isn’t something I’ve ever dabbled in for my own game. I consider myself a loyalist when it comes to my equipment. I kept the same Ping putter in my bag for two decades. After a fitting — and I’ve only had a few — I order my prescribed gear and don’t really think about the components of my clubs. To me, shafts are a package deal with the clubheads, and not something to consider as an individual product.
But last year, I started hearing chatter about Newton shafts. The name is a nod to Sir Isaac Newton, and the company’s commitment to utilizing the power of physics to revolutionize golf equipment design. Newton founder and chief technology officer Aki Yorihiro first entered the golf market with premium putters and shafts in 2018. In 2022, Newton opened a dedicated shaft manufacturing facility in St. Joseph, Missouri. When Newton’s shafts launched in November of 2023, they were an immediate hit, especially on the PGA Tour Champions, where more than two dozen players currently use them.
I was intrigued to try one, but I didn’t trust my game enough to do a proper comparison. So I called upon my husband, Paul, a club pro and plus-handicap, to try the shaft and report back.
How do you know which flex is right for you? Newton makes it easy to decide by using a dot system, which is based on swing speed. You can also take a quick online survey to help determine the right dot level for you. There are two shafts to choose from: Motion and Fast Motion. Fast Motion shafts are 10 grams lighter than the Motion shafts. Each shaft comes with an adapter for your driver so you can install it yourself. You can choose your adapter from eight major club manufacturers.
Paul ended up going with the 4-Dot Fast Motion driver shaft with a Callaway adapter. One of his assistant pros also had a 5-Dot, so he had a chance to compare both flexes. Surprisingly, the 5-Dot ended up being a better fit for him.
“My spin rate was too high with the 4-Dot,” Paul said. “The 5-Dot made a big difference and brought my spin rate back down to where it should be, and getting the proper distance and dispersion I needed, whereas the 4-Dot dot was spinning too much, so I’d lose distance.”
Paul also said the shaft had a different feel than anything he’d used before.
“In general, for everyone that’s used it, the shaft has a more penetrating ball flight,” he said. “Swing speed and ball speed is up because it’s a lighter shaft. But it’s still very stable, so for most people, they hit the ball longer and straighter because, with the more penetrating ball flight and less spin, it also means less left and right spin, so dispersion is tighter.”
That’s exactly what founder Aki Yorihiro was aiming to do.
“Very simply put, you can hit it straighter, longer, with less effort,” Yorihiro said of Newton’s mass appeal. “If you don’t gain performance then we have failed you.”
If, like Paul, you find that a different flex might work better for you, Newton also has an easy exchange process.
“We want you to be really happy, because happiness is contagious,” Yorihiro said. “And other people will look at them and they say, ‘Oh, maybe I should try a new shaft.’ If you need to go stiffer or softer, you can do it.”
To see if a Fast Motion driver shaft can benefit your game, order yours now via the link below.
