Who is TPT Golf?
TPT’s parent company, NTPT, is more than just a golf company. The Swiss-based company was not initially associated with the golfing world. With a background in making fine watches as well as marine, aerospace, motorsports and aeronautical parts, they transferred that knowledge and experience to the golfing world.
TPT (Thin Ply Technology) has a fully integrated process for making their golf shafts, starting with their resin formulation and extending to the end result of shaft manufacturing. By maintaining control throughout the entire process and using automated processes, TPT shafts offer “no fiber off-axing, no parasitic bending during swings, and tight dispersion” by using continuous winding with “one start, one stop.”
TPT recently partnered with L.A.B. Golf to make specialized putter shafts, resulting in two wins on the PGA Tour and one on the Korn Ferry Tour.
We selected four testers to be fitted for, test and review the TPT Power and Nitro Series shafts which include driver, fairways and hybrids. TPT’s slogan for this line is “three shafts, one feel,” claiming that each shaft will deliver a consistent feel and allow the user to swing each shaft the same way. Would the science behind these shafts hold up to the claims made?
Tester Plans and Expectations
Our selected testers were excited and eager to get things underway in testing the Power Series shafts. Plans and expectations varied slightly between them.
Tester William P: “I am eager to see if the TPT shafts live up to the claims of improved dispersion along with the potential for added distance. Additionally, the promise of “3 shafts-1 feel” intrigues me as feel is so individual and subjective in nature.”
Hoyomac: “I believe that the TPT Golf process to make golf shafts is a disruptive technology in the arena of golf shaft manufacturing. As a golfer looking to gain distance and reduce my down range dispersion this makes me eager to see for myself how these shafts will benefit me too.”
RoverRick on his testing methodology: “I set up a different club in my GolfShot App and will have approximately 8 rounds with these head and shaft combinations before my fitting. Once I have the TPT Shafts, I’ll compare the stats. I will also pay for some time on the launch monitor because “on-course” data can be deceiving.”
Tester ZackS: “For these to stay in my bag the primary thing would be dispersion as that has always been the weakest part of my game. But of course some added distance along with that will be welcome.”
The Fitting Experience
Testers had the incredible opportunity to be fitted in person with Jon Sinclair, TPT master fitter, at Sinclair’s Golf Training Center in Euless, Texas. TPT offers an online fitting tool but nothing beats getting equipment in hand.
ZackS: “The fitting was thorough, hitting some shafts multiple times to confirm results. Even got into gapping which had us increase both 4 hybrid and 5 wood carry distances. Final fitted shafts, Driver = Nitro 15Hi, 5 wood = Power 15Lo, 4 hybrid = Power 15Lo.”
Hoyomac: “Jon was very good at setting expectations at the beginning of the fitting. He was very clear that he was not going to talk much at all about what he was handing you to try…as the fitting goes along and he sees how you are reacting to things he adapts and comes up with new solutions.”
William P: “Jon took the time to explain all the data parameters he was monitoring and what results he was looking for. There came a point after the 3rd or 4th shaft that I was in a state of information overload for which there was no recovery… Just trusted in the fact that Jon knew what he was doing and looking for.”
First Impressions/Unboxing
After completing their fittings, our testers were anxious (and rightfully so) to get the new shafts in hand to begin testing.
William P: “I cruised over to Jon Sinclair’s facility to pick up my shafts last Friday with a great deal of anticipation. I was not disappointed. Jon assembled the shafts to our various club specifications and provided precise club head weight requirements to attain the desired swing weight.”
Hoyomac: “When I unboxed them I was really impressed with how good they looked. These shafts are eye-catching with the bright yellow design and the matte black visible carbon.”
ZackS: “Overall my initial impressions are very high. I love the looks, I am a sucker for good matte finish, which these have. Just a few layers of clear coat so you can see the graphite which has a unique look. I am assuming it due to their patented manufacturing process.”
The Numbers
The devil is in the details and there may be no more important numbers when it comes to a golf shaft than distance and dispersion. Would the TPT shafts show positive impacts on our testers in these categories?
ZackS: “Where the TPT shafts did stand out was dispersion. In every session whether swinging good or bad, dispersion was better with the TPT shafts. Also the consistency numbers, especially in spin, were better in almost all cases.”
William P: “As advertised, I experienced a tighter dispersion with the NITRO shaft, however, I would not consider it significantly better than my gamer as shown in data above. Where TPT really shined for me was in the on-course accuracy and consistency.”
Hoyomac: “The TPT Golf Power Range 17 HI shaft in my fairway wood was the standout. It made my favorite club even better, increasing distance by 7% and dispersion got very tight.”
On Course Testing
Performance on the Trackman is great to see but where it really counts is on the course. Our testers found success with improving distance and dispersion but would it translate to actual play?
RoverRick: “While it has required significantly more work than just changing the shafts, I also had to improve the swing also, my long game consistently is way up.”
William P: “I was pleased to find the performance experienced during initial range sessions, not simulators, transferred to the course immediately. My distance and FIR numbers improved dramatically.”
Do TPT Shafts Fit the Bill?
To this point, TPT’s Power and Nitro shafts had performed admirably for our testers. But inquiring minds want to know: Will they remain in the bag?
ZackS: “This one is pretty easy for me as despite not seeing a big jump in distance I have seen a difference in consistency and dispersion, which is the main thing I needed. So from what I saw during this testing there is absolutely no reason I see to take these shafts out of the bag.”
RoverRick: “Play it. No question about it.”
William P: “Each shaft showed an area of slight improvement during sim sessions. These differences, however slight, manifested in significant on course gains making the decision to keep the shafts in the bag a no brainer for this tester.”
Closing Thoughts
TPT set out to create the same feel throughout the entire upper end of a player’s bag with the Power and Nitro Series shafts, allowing them to take the same swing with each club and expect the same result.
Our testers found great success with these shafts and the ratings reflected that, receiving scores of 94, 90, 100 and 90 out of 100.
If you’re in the market for a shaft upgrade, make sure you add TPT to your list of options to try! Want to check out our testers’ full in-depth reviews? Head to the Forum and give them a read HERE!
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