Martin Hopley
By

Doing a shaft review is always a difficult thing to do as shafts are like shoes. The same pair will fit everyone differently and it depends on how you walk and your foot moves as to whether they work for you.

When I decided to look at the Mitsubishi Rayon range of shafts I did so with my usual adjustable hosel driver and fairway head, so here is the talk as a take them for a walk.

Mitsubishi Shaft Review

You may associate the Mitsubishi name with cars or TVs more than golf shafts, but you will recognise some of their shaft names as they have been around for a while and are used by most of the major club manufacturers.

Aldila Rogue Silver Shaft Review

Of the range I tested this was the most consistent shaft, thanks to its lower torque, or amount of twisting through impact because the Silver version is designed with a stiffer tip section.There is a Black version too which has a softer tip for a slightly higher launch with more spin.

Aldila Rogue Shaft

The results on SkyTrak and anecdotally on the course for accuracy were very good, but it came at a price as this felt the heaviest of the four shafts to me.

As you swing the weight seemed to be in the middle of the club and the feel was maybe not as good for me as the others. I swing my driver around 100mph, so if you are around this level or higher then this is probably the shaft to go for in stiff as it will be low spin and low torque to reign in your power and point it in the right direction.

Mitsubishi Diamana S+PLUS Limited Edition Shaft Review

The Diamana Blue or Blue Board is one shaft you will probably recognise the most as it has been around for a while. It comes in three profiles, a low launch, low spin white board, a high launch, high spin red board that usually ends up in fairways and the 'Goldilocks' option of the middle of the round blue board to suit most players.

Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana S+PLUS Limited Edition Shaft

This is the colour coding that Mitsubishi use across most of their shaft products, but it is the blue board that you see most.

The S+PLUS Limited Edition is the latest edition and uses a Dialead Pitch Fiber in the butt section of the shaft to increase the stability over the previous blue board that should be familiar to most golfers.

The reason is that it is very easy to hit. It generates a little more spin than the Rogue, but it feels lighter so that I could feel where the head was a little more during the swing.

The stability is good with quite a firm feel and I have had this in a hybrid shaft too for a while and with the shorter length it makes it feel very accurate indeed.

Mitsubishi Tensei CK Series Shaft Review

This is the most recent of the four shafts and the name is Japanese for 'transformation', which is apt as it uses 11 different materials instead if the more usual 3 to 6.

Mitsubishi Rayon Tensei Shaft Review

What you notice in the pattern on the shaft is the Carbon Fiber/DuPont™ Kevlar® weave that makes up the shaft.

All this made the Tensei feel very stable throughout the swing with a slightly heavier feel than the Diamana. That could be due in part to the balance of the shaft, which to me seemed to be more towards the grip end of the club, ideal for those who prefer to feel the shaft rather than the head.

I did like it from a performance point of view, but feel-wise I preferred the Diamana and this goes to show how much of choosing the right shaft comes down to personal preference.

Mitsubishi Kuro Kage TiNi Shaft Review

I have to declare that I have a soft spot for Kuro Kage shafts as whenever I have tested a club with it in, it has gone like a rocket. The tip stiff design should make it slightly higher spinning than the Diamana and therefore launch it high, which makes you feel good.

Mitsubishi Rayon Kuro Kage Shaft

It uses Titanium Nickel (TiNi) wire in its construction that can stretch and snap back into shape very quickly and this is what makes it different.

The model tested was the CB Series Pro version with lower launch and spin than the standard Kuro Kage. This was probably my preferred option along with the Diamana. The feel seemed more evenly balanced between grip and head and was marginally heavier than the Diamana, which promoted a more solid feel.

Mitsubishi Rayon Shaft Review Summary

I have been in more club fittings than is good for me, but you really need to go through this process before you decide on any new club as the shaft and the head have to work together.

Sometimes a shaft can be high spinning because it is too flexible or because it is too stiff and not returning the shaft to square so it is arriving open and adds spin like a fade does. Either way it is not right so the aim is to work through the options for shaft and loft to find the optimum performance for you.

As you can see, a lot of it comes down to personal preference as to how the shaft feels once you have found a few that deliver the right level of performance. Sometimes it is not unknown for even tour players to ignore the best performing shaft in favour of a lesser one that the just prefer the feel of.

Mitsubishi Rayon Golf Shafts

For me it is between the Kuro Kage and the Diamana, although I do like the consistency of the Aldila Rogue too. My preference for the heads I use is probably for the Diamana because I like how it makes the club feel during the swing and it enables the woods to blend in with the shafts I have in my irons.

So that is for me, but your choice will be different and I hope my experience will enable you to evaluate different shafts more easily. Certainly within the Mitsubishi range there is a wide range of choice and four excellent shafts that should cover everything that most golfers will prefer.

For more background on graphite shafts, read our Mitsubishi Rayon interview.

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