£750 AUTO FLEX golf shaft! | swing EASIER for LONGER drives? 

Thanks for watching, if you enjoy leave a comment and a like! Also check out this video where you can WIN a brand new driver of your choice - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9TPTdCykZ4M.html

“I’ve got a shaft today that has really got me excited.” Rick Shiels - 2020

"I've never seen a lighter, more flexible shaft go longer or straighter" - Rick Shiels 2020

“Soft pink shaft” that happens when you get to a certain age Rick 😂

Ive seen hundreds of gimmicks come and go. I still get beat by an old guy with 20 year old pings.

Literally wasn't thinking of any 'pink shaft' jokes until you made a comment about it Rick🤣🤣🤣

“It’s not long and it’s not straight.” Rick Shiels 2020

i love how honest your videos are. All these salesmen and companies act like you just need to buy the new product and you’ll automatically shave 10 strokes of your score.

Definitely would love see Rick doing a fit with TXG down the road. Be a great collaboration video for the Agnostic golfers. Thanks for the video Rick!

Informative and entertaining video. However, at 70 years of age and one who plays soft balls I'm afraid that a shaft that stiffens as I swing harder might be a little dangerous in my hands. On the other hand, shaft envy is still a thing in my age group.

I really like how you test all your equipment out on the course. So many reps will have customers just hit on launch monitors and it never seems to carry over to the course. Keep up the great work! Love your stuff!

Thank you for mentioning the boys at TXG. They do amazing work!

“A hot pink shaft” Bubba Watson has entered the chat

Love watching your videos man keep it up and my son has started watching you as well and he has got back into golf now and it’s brought us back together once again!! Thanks!

A friend bought this shaft and so I got to test it out. It was the SF505. My SS is around 100. Wow, I was very impressed. I dont know about the distance difference or SS difference, as I wasnt on any monitor, so it was hard for me to judge. Distance looked maybe comparable to my current driver, but the difference was the dispersion was noticeably tighter than my current shaft. It indeed was strange being so whippy, but it was so smooth as it kicks through impact. Being so whippy, I thought it would be more wild, but the dispersion was tighter for me. Sure has me thinking to buy one.

I would maybe try another flex and play with it multiple times. My results got better and better with more use.

I think Ricky needs to go see Ian & get properly fitted for “the pink shaft”.

Rick thank you for all your videos over the years I really enjoyed it.

Valuable test, thanks a lot! I am not surprised about the results you have achieved. A very costly shaft will not make one a Ben Hogan, but I still am convinved that there are shafts better suited to ‘your’ swing than others. I was re-fitted from regular grafite shafts to stiff steel shafts a few years ago on my irons and I have benefitted from that a lot. I suppose that there are no ‘super-shafts’, just much better shafts suited to one’s individual game.

I really like videos such as this one. There are SO many choices when it comes to picking out the right clubs. Expensive doesn’t always equal better.

Keep these coming Rick, I want the most forgiving golf clubs in the world at one point 😂

Rick knows his audience so well. Just starts out the video telling us to "grow up" haha!

750 pounds and he picks it up with two fingers!! Ricks a beast!

Thank you for at least being honest, you have gone right up in my expectations.

Rick: Dont make fun of me. Also Rick: Senior shaft. It stiffens.

“I think we have proven that you can’t just put the Autoflex in your current head and expect it to work out of the box” Ian Fraser. Nice to see you work with those guys and see if they can help you get something more. Maybe not but I have a pound that says that they will.

I had just watched a video by a professional club maker before watching this, Rick. He came to the same conclusion that you did. He said that a person can go down in flex and weight and get the same effect as a shaft costing $800. Great review, Rick

Great vid Rick very informative.....I agree having a flexible pink shaft that firms up at impact really helps, especially with a large head on it! Thanks for another GREAT YEAR! Cheers mate, all the best to you and yours in the New Year!

XD XD XD, Rick knows his audience so well. "Grow up, I'm going to be saying pink shaft a lot in this video." Kudos Rick.

9:55 in the TXG video they said they tried a G410 head with the shaft and it didn't perform. Manufacturer said "aim for swing weight D1 or D0". Maybe Rick's cobra head was the same.

I was just fitted for a Driver. I ends up with the Autoflex shaft and a Stealth Head. Im 22 yards longer on average than my previous driver. I’m now hitting the ball 272 yards on average. The shaft absolutely works for me. My fitter (top 50 fitters golf digest) mentioned that these shafts aren’t for everyone. It definitely works for me. Nest shaft I’ve ever had.

Definitely liked that you gave it more time instead of instantly discarding it. One thing we see in lacrosse a lot is that you can indeed generate more power with more flex, but have to completely change up your mechanics in order to tap into that speed, which can be more difficult for more experienced players who are used to a certain mechanic. I'd be super curious to see if you could spend a day at the range and try to get funky to see if there's any extra juice in there!

Maybe you should have had a club fitter set one of these up for you. In some of the reviews I have seen the testers claim to be able to use an autoflex shaft longer than their usual shaft without sacrificing accuracy.

I don't even play golf. Why am I addicted to these videos? I dig this dude. Nicely produced videos. Very entertaining.

When you dropped it. I LOST IT! So good. Thanks for keeping that and keeping it real. I do love watching your content. Praise to you Rick. :)

Glad to get an honest opinion on everything you evaluate. I believe you have saved your viewers like me a lot of money and frustration.

I think, based on TXG test, this shaft need a proper fitting with totally different head driver, does a matter the swing speed, but i think the correct head is crucial.

Me watching fully knowing I will not even consider buying it: 😯

Love your non bias reviews, stay true to yourself rick and youll always have viewer's like me.

What an endorsement for the HZRDUS Smoke Yellow!! I just put one in my driver, 2 weeks ago, and I love the feel. I hit it straighter and longer than any driver I had before.

As someone that owns one of these. It took some adjustment and changing of tee height/position and loft, but on average I picked up 20-25 yards in total switching. Most notable thing from all the monitor testing was ball speed was way up over my red tie. Swing speed was higher as well.

TXG's review of this shaft was in 46" length, and that seemed to make a difference in swing speed and ball velocity. But, they too found it's efficiency was way down compared to their spec shaft.

I thought the same about the Vizard x stiff on Honma TW 747 driver. The shaft is super whippy and still manages to keep up with the swing and you don't lose it right. Also had 30 yard roll which was a huge struggle for me.

Love this guys honesty. It just goes to show money doesn't buy talent or skill. My clubs are made up of 20 year old Ben sayers irons 4-sw. A Ben sayers 7 ,3wood. I only updated my putter ,driver and a hybrid to cover the fact I don't use 4,5,6 irons really. My club pro recommended a upgrade for my driver due to the head size of my old one. And yes there was a difference there. But between my XR and a Sim I can't tell the difference in performance. During my 1st year at my club I went from 36 to 17 with this set. And also qualified for England golf medal final. I think unless your a low single figure handicap or a pro none of this equipment will ever help your game. Get the basics right 1st. Then sort out your equipment. Great video Rick. Really proves a point. 👍

Rick! I’ve got this shaft. I’ve had it tested with my pga tour coach friend. We all see a 5mph increase and tighter spray. However we did have to tweak the swing. Forward in the stance, little higher and swing for the fences. I love it and went from 112-117mph. Swing weight needs to be D1-D1.5

If I have learnt anything from watching TXG and from my personal driver fit recently. At 9° aoa and 17° launch with your ball speed are you not losing potential distance? Watching Matt swing and launching it at 12-14° with a flatter ball flight, I would expect to see you hit it further with a lower aoa and launch angle? But obviously that is a delivery factor rather than shaft. Also, obviously I am not judging your swing as I can safely say that it is at least 1000x better than mine 😂 But just wondering if there is a reason you like those numbers? ✌️

You do have a pretty quick takeaway and transition. High swing speed overall. I’d be curious to see how it does for slower swing speeds or slower tempo swings. Don’t think it would make much difference but would be interesting to see.

I wish these videos were longer to watch as I absolutely love watching this kind of content but as long as Rick is still uploading I’ll be happy

Rick, you should plug TXG more. Their channel is awesome for the serious golfer and they cover the things you don’t

Asking RU-vid commenters not to make pink shaft jokes is like asking Tiger not to club twirl, like asking Bryson not to hit it so far or even asking Sergio to stop throwing stuff about.....ain't gonna happen.

I actually have one in both my driver and my fairway. I took it with me to the fitting and actually fitted the head to the shaft. I do have it now with a G430 max and it produces between 2500 and 2700 rpm which I think is quite good. The real magic about this shaft though is, that it seems to tighten up the dispersion. The first round I ever played with the pink stick I hit all (as in all) fairways. No joke. It forces me to swing more rythmical and load it properly (that is why I got it for the fairway-wood as well, because it feels completely different to any other shaft). I do see some distance gains, nothing crazy, but something like 5 or maybe ten yards in a good hit. I was never a short hitter, but this certainly turns eyes on me, when I hit it well. I do now have a better reputation off the tee :) The price depends on if it matters to you. Golf is my only vice and I do not have to save every penny, so it was alright. After all: this is a shaft you keep even, if you change head.

Great honest review Rick. Glad you tried dropping the loft as that was one my initial thoughts to decrease spin and increase distance - but no avail !! Very interesting - can you get your money back under trade descriptions?? 😄👍

Love the video Rick. I think the real-world testing you did with the AutoFlex shaft is pretty much exactly what the average golfer would experience. I've played for 30 years, and have never been higher than a single-digit handicap for at least 20 years. It seems like every time I try the latest golf tech I usually love it. It's new, it feels different, and it keeps golf exciting. However, the ONLY thing that improves my scores is 5-10 hours of range time every single week. Never once have I lowered scores by throwing money at gear. That $1,000 spent on a shaft will be FAR BETTER spent on lessons with a pro. No comparison. Tech like this is fun and interesting, but if you think it will lower your scores you are sadly mistaken.

Dont the TXG guys pair this thing up with fairly low spinning heads to get matts monster drives? I would Imagine your speedzone extreme may be too spinny of a head to combine with the auto flex possibly?

Hiya Rick, absolutely love watching your videos but the this one was by far the funniest. ‘Putting your head on a pink shaft’ absolute classic 🤣. Keep the vids coming Rick, love watching them 👍🏻

My first driver when I got decent at golf was a TiBubble Burner with a M 70 flex which was super whippy. I drove the ball great with it. I learned to load the shaft at the top and swing easy. It was a revelation when I was 14 years old. Made me a better driver of the ball and that titanium face was hot compared to a steel off brand driver of the mid 90s. As my swing speed got faster I moved to a stiff shaft, but I still think there is a place for a whippy shaft if you can learn to load it at the top.

We need a Backwards Hat Rick channel that only posts reviews of gimmick clubs and bad swing drills 😂

It Would be cool to see you get a full fitting from the TXG boys one day!

as we guys know, a soft pink shaft hardly ever does his job well! but as always rick great video, my favourite golf channel!!! informative, awesome playing tips, always fun to watch!!! keep up the good work!👍

Thank you for the continued golf knowledge and temporary distraction from this terrible year!

My friend bought this shaft and yes it really does work my friend got an extra 40/50 yards it's a huge difference went from a 300 yard drive to 350 it's worth it if you play a lot of golf and how important it is to you and your game as usual Rick great review

As was stated previously, you would benefit from a TXG auto flex fitting session....

Great review, thanks. Might be more proof that getting fit is key, that shaft might do wonders for some and nothing for others. I do remember the TXG guys playing around with head weight and length. I'm still curious about the Autoflex but thanks to you Rick, maybe I'll try it at a fitter's shop and not spend the $. My Ventus blue is doing fine for now.

Thanks for the review Rick! I own this shaft (SF505XX - same model Matty used at TXG), and would like to add my early/initial anecdotal thoughts if I may. I'll start with the bottom line first. Driver swingweight can make all the difference. Due to the unique properties of the shaft, the manufacturer recommends a swingweight of D1 - D1.5 for best results, so you may want to factor that in, if not already. I'm also testing different heads (Callaway B21 and Epic Flash Sub Zero at the moment). The shaft is virtually unbreakable, as I've posted swing speeds of 150 mph+, no issue, and the ball flight is as straight as any other shaft I've hit. The shaft also appears to keep spin low, no ballooning, lowers spin if anything. Due to weather, I've only been on the course with it 1 time, but without any practice with it, adjustments to swing tempo, or other adjustments, etc., I've seen about a 20-yard difference, even with mis-hits. I believe by marrying the correct head, loft and swingweight, the initial improvement I saw may be optimized further. The lofts I'm using are set at 8 degrees, but will be experimenting with 7 and 9 degrees as well, just to compare across the range. Swingweight is set at just over D1, currently. Thanks again, and if I have any breakthroughs or updates of interest, I'll share with you and the forum. Have a great New Year, and thanks for the amazing content!

TXG Golf tested the shaft some time ago already with impressive results...

The TXG guys have done some interesting tests with this shaft. Crazy results from them

Thanks for another great test. That’s what I need: tests. But there is a bit of room for improvement. If you test two clubs, hit with them alternately. That eliminates the influence of getting warmed up, getting tired, and changes in the weather. In this case, you would have needed two identical clubheads, but that would not have been a problem for you, would it?

I have just found this channel after searching videos for golfers with big pink shafts that excite.

Who wants to see Rick & Pete vs Ian & Matt? Autoflex vs cheaper shafts. Cmon Rick.. make it happen😁

Yep, just watch TXG’s ‘Return of the Autoflex’ clip...... says it all......

Thanks for the honest review - as always.

good to see an honest review of the product...

Meanwhile my entire set costs 750 pounds

Try the standard men's shaft. Maybe the Pro shaft was just too stiff for you Rick. 😂😂😂

Did you play it at 46inches and swing weight of D1-D2? AF shafts are designed to played that way. I actually bought one (blind). It took a few weeks to get used to the feel of the whippy shaft (I believe it is 210 cpm) - but I can say that I may have finally gotten over the hurdle - my last 3 rounds - I was averaging over 80% in FIR (my round yesterday was 13/14 fairways hit - and they were long - for me) - which isn't really that big a deal because my driver has always been a strength for me. But these were good indications: 1) My regular partner normally outdrives me by about 10-15y. With the AF, I now outdrive him by about 20y. 2) I know where I play my second shots in the courses that I play - with AF, I am about 30yards further from my normal second shot 'spot' 3) Trackman numbers: SS increased by 3mph. Total distance increased by 16.7 yards. These are average of 10 shots each with my old shaft and the AF shaft. I play off a 4.3 index with a SS of (now) 108.7mph. My carry is only around 260 with the AF - but this is because my AOA is near flat. I'm pretty sure a higher AOA will get me more carry. All in all, I don't regret purchasing the shaft - but I have to say, the longer drives didn't do anything much for my score - I've been shooting the same scores with my old driver distance (putting and short game is really where it's at). The shaft is not a cure-all for bad drivers. You still need to put a good swing into it for it to perform. So if you struggle with your driver - get the fundamentals right first before you consider buying the shaft.

Great review Rick... my local golf shop here in Hong Kong has sold over 130 of these shafts in recent weeks. Seems completely ridiculous to spend more than a top of the range fitted driver on just a shaft... They said... they have seen the biggest difference with people who have a swing speed under 100mph and in particular, those that historically slice the ball... would be good to see a test of it from someone random golfers to see if they see any difference (like you did when testing the blades a while back)

The guys waiting for 1st tee ‘Is he really changing shafts here’

Look up the testing TXG has on RU-vid. Matty hits it on a line and long every time.

Hey Rick! Could you make a video where you talk about how to practice if you cant get out to the course or range, and you don’t have a simulator? (Winter or rain) Thanks! I live in northern USA and I don’t know what I should do to practice!

Interesting video, I purchased the auto flex and initially was somewhat concerned at the performance. However after 6 months use I feel I have achieved an understanding of how to maximize performance from this shaft. I have a good understanding of swing mechanics and working with data, but more importantly have had to reevaluate a few things about my swing. I don’t have the game I once had and had become attuned to running my game to the ‘numbers’ ie dplane data. I hit my driver with a little cut and could control the ball quite nicely. As soon as I took the auto flex out on the course I hit a straight pull, nothing drastic but enough to concern me. So that was concern number 1 Concern number 2, I found it really difficult to work the ball, it just went straight, barring one exception which was giving it a bit more grunt and then I would get a high draw. Here’s what I did and this is based on comments made about my swing, over a long period of time is that it is very very smooth. Ala Ernie and Fred, I don’t feel it is but that’s the comments that come back to me, and when I’m going after the ball in my head people do often comment about how effortless it looks, but I’m trying to hammer it and certainly doesn’t feel smooth in my head. So firstly I gave up on trying to work the ball, I actually put my old driver in my bag for holes I felt I needed to work it a bit (and if I’m honest, acting as a security blanket if i couldn’t hit a fairway with the auto flex, which was happening a bit when I first put the auto flex in the bag) The 3 wood has a new job now ! Then I dropped down in my grip a bit, this really allowed me to hit those fairways better and get used to a dart like straight shot. This wasn’t an overnight thing, trust me there were other things I changed to understand how the shaft was performing but it’s much easier to skip the frustrating bits to keep this relatively simple without diving into the numbers. Then lastly I took a whole lot of speed off my swing. And here is what I got, miraculously I got at least another 20 metres, not yards, in distance I was in total control of my swing. I actually rediscovered my rhythm, I could literally feel it, probably best described as accelerating into the ball but knowing you have plenty left in the tank. I needed to make these changes to make the auto flex work and yes I still hit the odd bad shot that goes left by putting to much into it but I’m walking away from the course with a really cool sense of pride in my golf swing. It’s what brings us back.

You can always throw it like a javelin when you’re mad since it bends like one 😂

“The pink shaft stiffens as you hit it” Rick shiels 2020

Thanks for the honest review, I enjoy your work.

Thanks Rick for the video and the information. It is good to know that expensive is not always better.

I play with a Ping driver, usually round 215-220 yards, I went to the Ping drive centre in Gainsborough intending to buy the latest Ping 410 Driver, after an hour of trying my best drive was 5 yards longer, I decided to spend the money on lessons and keep the gear I have

Better to put that money towards lessons for me than into a shaft that I will still manage to slice with.

I really appreciate your honesty in all your reviews.

LOL! Before hitting the pink shaft! You teed that up for us ;)

Would be good to get Ian from @TXG on the podcast to try and understand why it's not working for you. Maybe you didn't charge it up properly 😜?

0:59 shit that's a heavy shaft, you must be a strong man to lift it.

Hi Rick.... It was nice to see you genuinely excited about the Auotflex Shaft..... I saw the TXG review and was curious to see how it perfomed in outside conditions..... Thanks for your efforts..... Matt had great results with it and your results were "Tepid" by comparisson? I am more curious if this isn"t better shaft for a guy like me with a 95 mph swing speed .. TXG did an in-depth review on this and I was genuinely impressed with the results, and there is nobody harder to impress than Ian at TXG.... so, I am just perplexed /confused right now ??????? and I think it's the same for you? Maybe take it indoors and see what numbers you get on the screeen? Cheers, Stuart

Thanks for your honest review, well done! You're our favourite!

To be fair, this is flagship technology, and with all flagship tech it only takes a few years for it to trickle to ordinary consumer level pricing

You have to slow your transition speed, and let the shaft load.

I only came here for the comp! 😂 but in all seriousness another fantastic video!

Rick, thanks again for the accurate feedback on this fancy pink shaft😊

Rick’s head speed made the hot pink shaft go hard

Holding back my immature sense of humor this video was nearly impossible.

You most likely won't read this, but I have tried a lot of different shafts, have found I play much better with an old school driver and steel shaft. Why would that be? Weight? I play around a 7 handicap, used to be a 2 a decade ago when I could get out more. Driver is the worst club in my bag, between my putter and 710mb's is where I score and recover from my inconsistent drives! Thanks Rick, always enjoy your vids and enthusiasm for golf!

Thanks for your videos, keep the good work up!