20% lower torque that steel, 10% lighter, 2X straighter. Cool (as always) Aldila graphics. Should be available this fall. Watch this space for pricing and ship date.

Aldila has their new 2013 Shaft Catalog Magazine at their home page at http://aldila.com , it's a great online format to see all the great new shafts from "The Number One Graphite Shaft in Play On Tour". Send me a note for pricing on any of the Aldila shafts.

The new Aldila Trinity is shipping. It's an interesting new shaft. It combines the technology that they've developed over the past few years with the RIP, S-Core (Voodoo), and microlamination (NV) into a single shaft design that offers maximum control through the use of RIP technology, stability through S-core technology, and the "perfect" feel provided by Micro Laminate technology.

There's a discussion started at my facebook pages here along with a picture of the shaft.

Aldila has been putting out some of the most creative shafts designs over the past few years and this is no exception. The price on the Aldila Trinity is $199 with free shipping to lower 48. Follow the link below for specs and more information.

I've added the new Aldila Shaft Launch and Spin Chart here. It's a great chart with launch/spin characteristics of the entire Aldila line.

I read about a new Aldila shaft line called Tour Blue and Tour Green. It's being tested on Tour and has an impressive list of names using the prototype. The Tour Green is supposed to be low launch/spin and based on the NV, the Tour Blue is based on the VS Proto but with new materials and less resin for more stability and distance.

The graphics are sharp (bright blue to grey fade and bright green to grey fade). Should be out this summer, I'll let you know when they're ready to go!

The new shaft has added to Aldila's already impressive Tour "Shaft Tracker" lead with 99 in play (vs. 82 for 2nd place competitor).

I think it's the nicest looking component head on the market, the picture above is ok, it's really sharp in person. The matt black finish is very classy and the sole has a black mirror finish with a little gold for the name and loft.

It's four piece forged, 460cc, 1 deg closed. It's high MOI design is deep from face to back of the head and it's very forgiving. It will be a bit higher launch vs. the popular 2 piece cast LG350 model and a bit easier to hit.

The price on the JP360 clubhead is $130. It's a great combination with the Wave shaft I've been writing about, too.

I added a few pictures at my Clubmaker Facebook page, follow the link below.

I plan on featuring premium shaft upgrades to hot rod your adjustable driver. Most of the sleeves are $35 with install/labor. Add $35 to the shaft price for the shaft sleeve/install labor to get the final price.

This week's featured shaft is the 45 gram Hiskei AT50. I've been selling it for some time now and my customers love it.

I had the shaft profiled back in the fall and the guy that did the testing was surprised to find that it had the same profile as a $350 + major Japanese shaft model. Premium Toray Japan materials, 3.7 torque, 45-50g (from L flex to X) and the shaft price is $90.

The AT50 is great for lady and senior golfers or those with a slower swing tempo looking to increase swingspeed and distance.

It's available in two color choices (black with gold graphics or gold to grey fade).

Use my basic special orderform to order, send me a note for instructions or help choosing a flex for your adjustable driver.

I ordered a few dozen shafts so I have a decent stock of the new color.

I've got a decent picture of the new color and graphics at my facebook page here. Please check it out and share/link and let me know what you think.

Most of the feedback I've received has been from mid to high handicappers looking for (and getting) more distance with the Wave.

I had some nice feedback from a low handicap teaching pro at a club in Iowa. Here's her note: Hi John, I ordered the following from you a couple of weeks ago. I love the shaft and believe I gained about 10-15 yds with it. Unfortunately, the shaft was broken the other day when the trunk was closed on it. Can I order the same shaft again? I will try not to break it this time.

I was getting ready to send the newsletter and received a nice call from Al L, a customer that bought a Hiskei LG350 with the Hiskei AT50 45 gram shaft. He's been super patient and I really appreciate it. First I ran out of heads. Then I built the driver and shipped it and USPS smashed the box and the shaft broke.

He was a little nervous about the setup I had for him because it was an L flex shaft...needed because the clubhead was lightweight and it needs to be more flexible to make up for the lighter head (you need more flexible in a lightweight head to load the shaft).

We agreed to tell his buddies that the L on the shaft stood for "Long". We made it an inch or so longer than he was used to and he struggled a bit with it but I asked him to stick with it and call back. He called to tell me he cut the shaft down about 1" and is hitting the driver longer than any driver he's ever owned. He's happy and has decided to do the matching hybrid LG350 hybrids and the fairway wood fairway woods.

I really appreciate the feedback you all send along, it helps me fit future customers. Especially like good news like Al's!

Benefits of the Wave: The Hiskei Wave shaft has multiple kick points about 10" from the tip of the shaft. Below the wave section, towards the tip, the Wave design offers a more stable tip for control and stability. The tip flexes less than tradition shafts. Above the tip section, the Wave design minimizes vibration so shock is relieved. You get a smooth feel/feedback, great for golfers suffering from arthritis. At the Wave section (about 7") the shaft flexes more and the shaft accelerates for increased distance. Improved Control. Smooth Feel. Increased Distance. Catch the power of the Wave.

Phil Mickelson plays the Mitsubishi Kai'li in his driver and Fubuki K in his fairway woods. Tiger recently switched back to the original Mitsubishi Whiteboard in his driver. The blueboard and whiteboard are just classic, great designs. I get more daily hits to the Mitsubishi page featuring these shafts than any page on my site.

I've been a Mitsubishi distributor from the beginning and can get about any of their shafts for you. They're great in the new adjustable drivers, send me a note for pricing.

Kenny Perry finished with a thrilling final round of 63 for back to back Champions Tour victories. The picture I saw of him had him playing a UST VTS shaft, available here.

New Fujikura MCI iron shafts marry metal and graphite...the lighter models have copper and brass in the tip, the heavier models a stainless steel rod for stability and control.

Aldila's Tour only (available this fall for the rest of us) Tour Blue and Tour Green shafts helped them crush the competition in shaft count again at the John Deere (99 for Aldila vs. 82 for 2nd place).

Hiskei sent me a sample putter to try and I putted really well with it. Of course I drained the first two putts with it so I was ready to quit my day job. Total club weight is quite heavy at 576 grams and that helped me out a lot. The gold plated shaft/matt gold clubhead was sharp and it featured an oversized putter grip in brown. Sharp brown/gold headcover finishes it off and gives the putter a classy look.

They also sent me a anser style putter with a matt black finish, haven't tried that one yet but will report back next week when I do.

Send me a note for pricing, I'm trying to find out if I can get the head as a component. I'd like to offer putter head components for Clubmaker Report readers so you can build your own flatstick. .

Download the Hiskei and GV Tour (the assembled division) 2013 catalog. Component pdf here and assembled here and send me a note for pricing. They have some interesting training aids, too.

Before your round, fill the container with ice water (with the towel in the container) and when you're ready to use the towel, wring it out and the towel is about 20 degrees colder than the outside air temp. It doesn't drip, and you can wrap it around your neck to help stay cool in the heat of battle on the course.

I ordered the black towels so they look good with any color golf bag. They're 13"X33" and are priced at $14.95 plus $8 shipping to lower 48.

Here's the info from the company: Cool 'N Dry is used wet. Simply wet with water, ring out, and the capillary action of the micropores allows the towel to become about 20 degrees cooler than the existing air temperature. Although the product is used wet, it doesn't drip and feels cool to the touch. If the product starts to dry out after the 7th or 8th hole of golf, re-wet with water from its unique container. Wring out, and it's ready for another round. The Cool 'N Dry is your "personal air conditioner."

The Cool 'N Dry comes in its own unique "cup" container that fits a golf cart or stadium cup holder. Fill it with ice water to further enhance the cooling effect of your Cool 'N Dry. Each container has its own unique cap: golf, tennis, soccer, football, basketball, baseball, multi-sport, race tire, or marine helm. It is machine washable and lasts for years.

Use my basic secure orderform at the link below to order and I'll get it out right away.

They have 4 different style iron models and they're all forgiving cavity back designs. I've hit all of them and they've got that sweet, soft feel of a premium forged iron.

The other high end iron companies like Miura charge $1,500-$1,800 a set. You can make a comparable set of your own forged irons for about one half of that (depending on the shaft you use). The information on the Hiskei A-Series iron heads is below, follow the link at the bottom of the story for pictures of the A-series irons.

1020 steel is used for A-series iron head and it is stamped more than 4-5 times. 1. First, I am writing the forged iron on . Cheaper priced forged heads that are made from 8620 steel are typically cast or "form forged". Some companies are marked on iron head as "forged" by pressing after casting. So, I think many of the low priced "forged" iron on is not real forged.

2. The advantage of 1020 carbon steel and forged 1020 steel is a true carbon steel and used in forged (cannot be used in casting head). And also, 1020 carbon steel is softer than other carbon steel like 1025 or 1030, etc due to it contains little carbon. The more carbon, the harder the steel. Forging process produces greater consistency and quality in the metal. Casting is more economical, but when the metal is poured into the mould, it traps tiny bubbles inside the metal structure. These bubbles which were produced in the casting process make the face inconsistent as well as affect sound vibration. 1020 forged A-series iron heads with no bubbles produce a longer sound duration.

3. Forging Process Belows are simplified forging process of A-series irons. 1. The 1020 carbon steel stick is heated to make it more pliable. 2. The stick is bent prior to insertion into the forging mould so that it better conforms to mould. 3. 1st Forging: The 1020 steel stick is formed into general shape of iron head. This operation creates initial rough shape of iron head. 4. 2nd Forging: The rough iron head is pound again into second forging mould after the edges are trimmed. 5. 3rd Forging: Iron head is pressed again by more exquisite mould. This operation provides more defined shaping to the iron head. 6. Get rid of remained metal pieces from iron head.

7. 4th Forging: Stamp the iron head finally. After this process, the head is defined and in a smooth and unblemished state. Also, the error range of loft and lie is reduced.

The iron head is stamped more than 4 times through forging process. After above process, iron head is CNC milled (CNC milling is a good compliment to forging) and plated.

I just noticed that my web site shows both the wedges and irons are made from 8620 steel in error. The forged wedges are 8620, the forged irons are softer 1020 steel.

The new conforming VGrooves are shipping now.

The best walk in sports is when you hear your name "the winner of the long drive hole is"...the world slows down as you accept the congratulations from jealous golf buddies.

First, the shaft has to be long. So long that it sticks out of your bag and rubs the top of the cart.

The shaft for my Scramble driver will be the 47" Graman G60. It's mid 59 g (at 47") low torque at 3.3, and kicks like a mule in A, R, or S flex (X, XX heavy hitters will need a different shaft, let's talk). We can make it REMax Longdrive max. length of 48" (measured using their guidelines, not USGA). Graman shafts are guaranteed to within 1 cpm and are excellent shafts.

You need a lightweight and super hot driver head. The longest driver I've got is the Hiskei LG350. It's a cast head for maximum distance. A bit lighter (195g) so it will feel nice and balanced at 48" REMax length. I'll top it off with a lightweight Tacki-Mac grip.

Price for the LG350 and Graman G60 will be $299.

Scramble driver #2 will have the same Graman shaft with a Hiskei JP360 head. Matt black and 460 cc of four piece forged badness. $275 for this one.

Send me a note and we'll figure out loft, flex, and length.

Their hot Tour AD Di 60/70/80 series shafts have a new black color (was orange with white tiger stripes) and are shipping in a few weeks. Price is $380 for the TourAd Di Series and specs are here.

They also have a new superlight shaft called the TourAD SL II. Available in 40 and 50 gram models in a variety of easy to hit flexes.

They also are selling nifty alignment sticks in the jazzy blue Tour AD BB shaft colors. Send me a note for pricing.

I like their $99.95 G-Series shafts. Great specs, super smooth Graphite Design kick and feel.... something for about any golfer from superlight 40 series on up to G90 series (by weight).