Graphite Design Tour AD-FI Shaft Review: The Smooth Swinger's Dream

If you are a smooth-tempo golfer looking to maximize your driving performance, the new Graphite Design Tour AD FI (Flight Intelligence) wood shaft needs to be on your radar. Read on to see if this interesting new profile might suit your game.

How We Test Shafts

All of our shaft testing is conducted using the same TaylorMade Qi35 core head driver set to a precise 9 degrees (measured), with each shaft cut to an exact length of 45.5 inches, fitted with a Golf Pride Tour Velvet 60R grip. Furthermore, all testing shots are struck from a white castle tee to ensure consistent tee height during testing.

The data is collected and recorded using a Foresight Sports GC3 launch monitor and TaylorMade TP5x golf balls.

Controlling these potential variables allows me to draw accurate and direct comparisons and form a clear picture of each shaft's performance and feel characteristics.

Testing Results

Starting with the looks, and while the visual of a shaft could be deemed relatively unimportant, I absolutely love the colour choice here - the kind of mint green and black accent looks sensational and might be my favorite looker from Graphite Design since the Tour AD-UB profile.

When waggling the shaft, my first impression was a somewhat soft and friendly one.

It didn't feel in any way like hard work under the hands, and I could feel a comfortable amount of give further down. Graphite Design officially categorizes the bend profile as Firm+ in the butt and center sections with a Stiff tip, engineered to promote mid-launch angles with low to low-mid spin rates.

This dynamic performance is achieved by utilizing ultra-premium 50-ton aerospace-quality carbon fiber, alongside advanced Torayca M40X and T1100G pre-preg materials.

Additionally, the inclusion of their Material Stiffness Integration (MSI) and new Tornado Tip Tech with NANOALLOY technology delivers an incredibly refined feel while maximizing structural stability.

When I started hitting shots, however, it quickly became apparent that it was far from a good match for my mid/brisk tempo and the heavier load and leverage I apply in transition.

The butt section just didn't support my aggressive change of direction well enough, and I generally found I couldn't control the clubhead as well as I would have liked - but in truth, it simply wasn't designed for someone with my swing characteristics.

During testing, it was soon very clear why someone with Nelly Korda's famously smooth tempo and flowing transition from backswing to downswing would find success with this profile.

There is plenty of feel and play under the hands and into the mid-section, allowing a softer transition to feel a nice bit of loading, but with the tip stability to provide absolute security at strike.

This could be the exact shaft many smoother tempo players have been searching for.

Often, these player types are steered into "red" profiles in the Fujikura or Mitsubishi ranges, and a softer tip section is just accepted as a necessary compromise.

With the Tour AD FI, you can still get a nice tempo match for a fluid swing, but you finally have a great option for a stronger tip.