In recent years I have become a bit enamored with what Kinetixx is doing. It isn’t so much that they have found some secret formula to take a performance leap, they have always been a performance driven brand that lets their product do the talking. Rather, my attention has been around the evolution we are seeing in terms of Kinetixx streamlining their brand and messaging culminating in stepping up and out to tell the world about the new HYPERSONIC and MACH shaft designs.
Both shafts are attempting to break the mold even further as to what lightweight can be, for all golfers of any speed and strength. Of the two new shafts though, it is the MACH which looks poised to take on the most popular design(s) on the market, and Kinetixx believes they will win.
Ready to find out more? I thought you might.
Quick Take
The MACH brings stability and speed to lightweight in a manner that doesn’t sacrifice for comfort or consistency as we have seen from other entrants to this realm in the past. The idea that a driver shaft in the 54-65 gram (uncut) realm can bring such a piercing flight and overall repeatability is something I’m not sure I thought possible, but here we are. This is the shaft with which Kinetixx cannot just provide performance for average golfers, but Tour swings as well. The MACH is eye opening.
Kinetixx MACH
If you are familiar with other Kinetixx offerings like the Ballistic, then the MACH will look similar in that this utilizes the companies Kevlar Yarn material alongside their 3K Carbon Fiber. However, do not make the mistake of assuming that a similar look means a similar profile and purpose. You see, MACH is the only geometrically spineless lightweight shaft on the market.
What is the significance of that you may be asking? In simple terms it means that by using an all new mandrel architecture, and the mandrel is the steel rod which the different composites within a shaft design are layered/placed upon to determine the inner diameter. But the fact that they have created a geometrically spineless design means more balance and harmony in terms of trajectory, power, and stability.
That unique Kevlar weave look on the MACH is now within Kinetixx new streamlined color/scheme branding which showcases a silver and red text on the black, or deep red should you so choose, fiber makeup visually. Not only does this material show off Kinetixx continuous fiber filament winding, but it also uses their vacuum curing process to make a shaft that is five times stronger than steel but with twenty times the elastic strength. More than that, according to the company, the MACH has the highest fiber area weight and lowest overall resin ratio on the market. How much less resin? Up to 32% depending on the competitor.
Yes, that is a lot of technical verbiage to say that the MACH is designed to showcase and unlock one of the smoothest EI profile transitions of any shaft out there from tip to handle (Firm, Medium+, Firm) as well as massive tensile strength to weight ratios. The MACH that I received for testing is the D40 flex (essentially their X) but the shaft is also available in D10, D20, and D30 and it was plugged into a Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond 9.0 set at standard for this review.
Kinetixx describes the MACH as a low spin and low-to-mid launching shaft, and boy is it ever. Testing on the Foresight launch monitor which you can see in the article showed not only a flatter overall flight and lower spin than Kinetixx other new shaft which we are reviewing, the HYPERSONIC, but it has one of the most piercing flights of any shaft I have hit possibly ever. Clearly if you look at the data for what it is, you see that from a fitting perspective my rusty-spring golf swing was leaving some things on the table that could be addressed with some tuning of the head, but I wanted to see the MACH for what it was in an unaltered and base state.
What exactly is it? A potential monster in the right hands. The reason I say that is while the flight characteristics did carry over for me on the course as well, it is what I cannot show you in data that was most eye opening. The MACH has an incredible stability to it through transition and impact, in fact, I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve never had the level of connectedness as this in a driver shaft of this weight class. Historically, I would have had to go into the mid-to-high 70g range for that.
For those who are using a certain shaft for its stability (in particular through the tip section), the MACH should be on your list to try as soon as you can. The biggest reason I say that is though it is stable, the MACH is also efficient in its energy creation and transfer. There is much power potential here, and with a point and shoot potential on a level I haven’t previously seen from Kinetixx.
The Details
I know that Kinetixx is pushing that the MACH and HYPERSONIC shafts round out their fitting matrix, but if I am being honest when these two are combined with the Velocity, the potential fitting breadth of just these three shafts in their lineup is staggering. After putting both of the new shafts through their paces, I now seen entirely why Kinetixx looks poised to continue to walk the walk as they always have, but this time to not shy away from talking the talk to put golfers, and the industry, on full notice.
The MACH is currently available through authorized Kinetixx dealers and fitting center worldwide as well as straight from Kinetixx. Pricing is $329.99 and the MACH will be available in four flexes (D10, D20, D30, D40) as well as two color options (black or red Kevlar). Don’t hesitate to jump all the way into the conversation on the THP Community or in the comments below and stay tuned for more to come!
For more information on this or any other Kinetixx product, check out their website at www.kinetixxgolf.com.
