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Jon Rahm’s victory at LIV Chicago confirmed one thing we’ve recognized for a while: the Spaniard is ridiculously good at his craft. Much more so when he’s wholesome. After coping with a foot an infection that compelled him to skip the U.S. Open, Rahm received two of the final three LIV occasions — with a runner-up displaying sandwiched in between — to assert the person title and a tidy $22 million.
Following the win on Sunday, Rahm was requested to pinpoint what modified following his withdrawal from the U.S. Open. The foot damage would’ve been the plain alternative, however the 29-year-old took issues in a special route.
“[T]right here was a earlier than and after between Singapore and Houston once I modified that driver shaft to one thing that labored a little bit bit higher with my present swing pace and made me not compensate as a lot,” Rahm stated. “Type of felt higher, a extra pure swing, simpler for myself to hit the fade, and that’s once I noticed the large distinction.
“From Nashville on, my stage of golf was a little bit bit larger, extra comfy, the place I didn’t really feel like I needed to strive a lot. At that time, it’s once I felt the win was virtually at that time only a matter of time and getting it achieved at [LIV United Kingdom] was unbelievable.”
Shaft manufacturers hardly ever get the respect they deserve as a result of it’s usually thought of a secondary part of the general construct. The top tends to obtain many of the plaudits for the expertise packed inside. Nevertheless, when you return and take a look at Rahm’s historical past with the motive force, you’ll discover the shaft by no means modified earlier than this yr.
Throughout his time at school at Arizona State, Rahm relied solely on Aldila’s Tour Inexperienced 75TX driver shaft. Even when he switched groups from TaylorMade to Callaway, in 2021, Tour Inexperienced remained the one part fixed. Rahm didn’t even ponder making a shaft change till earlier this yr when he performed driver testing with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft that confirmed it was a greater choice for his Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond head.
“For a very long time, Jon’s Aldila Tour Inexperienced labored properly for his timing and swing tempo, however as he’s gotten stronger and sooner he was discovering it tougher to time up his supply into the ball and discover his feels,” stated Johnny Wunder, Callaway’s Tour content material supervisor. “This led to a much bigger dispersion sample and a reoccurring left miss, and that’s when he knew it was time for a change. He just lately spent a while in Carlsbad to check a number of shafts, together with prototype choices, to seek out one which labored higher together with his swing and helped to remove a left miss.
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“The Ventus Black profile helped Jon really feel the clubhead higher and allowed him to swing together with his pure tempo with out manipulation. This has led to a a lot better dispersion off the tee and helped to remove the left miss. It was by no means about elevating Jon’s ceiling or including distance since he’s already such a superb driver of the ball, however as a substitute, lifting his flooring.”
Some of the standard shaft profiles on Tour, Ventus Black is geared for larger swing speeds with a noticeably decrease launch and spin charge that’s made attainable by way of a strengthened butt and tip part. Reinforcing the tip helps stabilize the shaft at affect, notably on pictures that catch the heel and toe. And once you’re swinging at Rahm-esque speeds, lowering torque generally is a huge profit for golfers on the upper finish of the pace spectrum who require a steady profile to attenuate mishits.
The top stays the important thing part when constructing a brand new driver, but when something may be gleaned from Rahm’s profitable shaft change this season, you need to all the time be open and prepared to check different choices within the market, particularly when one thing feels amiss. It labored from Rahm and might do the identical to your sport.
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