Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow Shaft
The Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow is designed to be a low launch, low spin shaft with counterbalance weighting. In theory, this counterbalanced design is better suited for the heavier heads of modern woods today. Without this counterbalance, the whole feel could be thrown off and possibly result in diminished performance. Let’s see how the Smoke Yellow performs…
The Looks
While I’m a big fan of the original HandCrafted HZRDUS which was all yellow, Project X went with a dark grey base and yellow familiar HZRDUS wording and “hazardous” specs graphic. Call me basic, but I also like the holographic “Small Batch” logo which I think is a fun touch. I don’t know how small these small batches are but I dig it either way! Overall, the Smoke Yellow is a fairly simple shaft that’s both unassuming and tastefully sleek. It means business without drawing too much attention.
How Does it Feel?
Project X utilized a tapered grip section and a firmer mid section than the original HZRDUS Yellow. The whole point was to give the HZRDUS Smoke Yellow more stability so it holds up for “today’s more aggressive swingers.” Credit to Project X because I think this a pretty accurate claim. I found the original HZRDUS Yellow to feel a bit spongy in the mid section and somewhat hard to snap, however, I find the Smoke Yellow to have a solid kick at release but still plenty stable. I felt the Smoke Yellow allowed me to swing away whereas the OG left me worrying too much about control. Think of it this way – the HZRDUS Smoke Yellow is more refined with a more responsive feel and more stability without feeling boardy.
In regards to the counterbalance, it’s one of those things you’ll notice more with a heavier head and hitting it side by side with a shaft that isn’t counterbalanced. In a perfect world, you don’t even really notice much because the club is just perfectly balanced with the heavier head. Think of it like having a smooth swinging hammer (counterbalanced shaft with a heavy head) as opposed to a sledge hammer head at the end of a drumstick (standard-weighted shaft with a heavy head) and trying to pound a nail through a 2×4. That’s the benefit the counterbalanced weighting gives you.
On-Course Performance
| Club Speed | Ball Speed | Launch Angle | Spin | Carry (Yds) | Total (Yds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 115.2 | 172.8 | 12.9º | 2702 | 284.2 | 304.7 |
While the Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow is designed to be a low launch and spin shaft, it played more in a lowish/mid range for me. My data above doesn’t exactly scream low, but my launch is in the lower end of a mid launch for me. I would, however, comfortably consider that to be a mid-range spin with how I’m hitting the ball lately. The bigger takeaway here is that this data was very consistent for me. You aren’t looking at an average of data from hitting a handful lower and a handful higher shots that cancels out into this medium range. Pretty much all of my “countable” shots fell near the range above. I could swing hard, get lots of speed, and the launch and spin worked out pretty well with extreme consistency.
Note: when I find bad shots to be a factor in a review, I will include them and mention my struggles with consistency. In the case of the HZRDUS Smoke Yellow, however, consistency and control were the standard. That reliability in the shaft also made it easy to adjust and manipulate ball flight as necessary. The end result is a dependable shaft that you can call on to find fairways and maybe carry a hazard or two.
Final Thoughts – Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow
I looked back at my review of the HZRDUS Smoke Black to compare it to the Yellow’s performance and found similarities in data. Aside from swinging the Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow faster, the data was incredibly comparable. This brings two major points to mind. First, this is exactly why you should get fit when considering a new shaft. The two shafts performed similar, but I was more consistent with the Smoke Yellow and my data showed I had a higher performance ceiling. This brings me two my second point. The counterbalance of the Smoke Yellow felt great in my hands and made me more confident to just swing away. That’s not to say the Black didn’t feel fine, but the Smoke Yellow felt more balanced and controllable.
Overall, I think the HZRDUS Smoke Yellow is a strong shaft that’s a solid evolution from its predecessor. The key is to make sure you get properly fit to really optimize your performance and find the shot you’re looking for.
I’m looking at buying a new m3 driver. I currently have a Titleist d 15 3. The shaft that I have in my D3 is a Rogue 95 MSI Aldiila 70-3.3- stiff. What shaft would I need to get to match this shaft the closest? I didn’t see it offered and I was fitted for this shaft . Titlest is showing project x smoke in black and yellow 70 gram.. would either one of these shafts be close?
I haven’t hit the Rogue, at least remotely recently, so I can’t really weigh in. If you’re going to blindly purchase, I’d look up their profiles and compare. The biggest difference between Smoke Black and Yellow is that the Yellow is counterbalanced.
I have an M6 Driver with an Atmos Fujikura Blue Tour 6-X shaft but for some reason am losing a bit of distance although it’s easier to control. I’m looking to switch to this shaft- 60g. What are your thoughts on the differences/similarities? It would be $160 for the upgrade, is that worth it? Not many fitting centers have these shafts so I’m kinda going off word of mouth. Also, I have and M6 3 and 5 wood with the Project X HZRDUS Black Smoke shafts in both so I at least want to match the same brand.
First off, throw that same brand thinking out the window for shafts. Just because they work for you in fairway woods, doesn’t mean they’ll work for you in a driver. Additionally, same brand or not, the HZRDUS Black and Yellow Smokes are two different shafts, so why does it matter that they’re the same brand?
As far as your question, I can’t give you a great answer as I don’t have much experience with an Atmos Tour Spec Blue, and I don’t think you’re necessarily comparing apples to apples. My only thought is that the Project X HZRDUS Yellow Smoke is designed to be low launching, the Fujikura is designed to be mid launching. What will the difference be for you specifically? I couldn’t tell you. I don’t know if you’re losing distance because you can’t keep the ball in the air, or you’re hitting it too high with too much spin. That said, you never know how the shaft will respond for your specific swing until you actually use it.
Think you’ll likely have very different feels as well.
Just purchased after fitting for a new Titleist TS3, 100% agree with your assessment. Both were good, but totally felt I could let the HZRDUS Yellow Smoke fly with ease. For me it was a consistent mid flight with reduced spin after a couple of tweaks to the head. Added 17 yards with a 1000 less spin than my present driver, really had no choice but to buy it. Hit it twice on Trackman outside a month apart.
Hey Bill, what are your thoughts for the smoke yellow vs the yellow? I noticed the torque numbers are higher on the smoke. I currently game the yellow and love it however i do get the ball turning over a bit much sometimes. I heard the smoke is mmore stable. Thoughts?
I can’t particularly remember in great nuance the difference between these two as it’s been awhile, but the big difference I noticed with the original HZRDUS line and the first generation of Smoke was the feel was much better and there was better feedback in the hands. Outside of feeling the shaft better so I had more control, I don’t remember a significant difference in the ball turning over because of stability. If that makes sense?
Am interested in the smoke yellow being offered in the tour edge exs 220 driver. R or S?
68 years old, smooth swing, carry spot on 235 and sometimes more. Tempo I’m told is how do you hit that far when it looks like you’re hardly swinging? Carry in my forties was respectable. 255+. Advice please if you can. Thanks
Think of a metronome for tempo. Do you have a nice and easy swing? Think easy take back, smooth transition at the top, and smooth follow through? Or is it quick back, quick transition into down swing, quick through? That’s how I think of tempo.
After that, let’s go with the next set of questions. What’s your miss? Do you have a natural shot shape? Do you have any idea what your current swing speed is with a driver? What is your current setup?
Let me know and we’ll go from there!