KBS Tour 105 Shaft
Not all golf swings are created equal. That’s a fancy way of saying, “we all swing the club differently.” As such, a golf shaft will often feel and perform totally different between two different people. Take, for instance, the KBS Tour iron shaft. It’s one of the most popular aftermarket steel shafts in the game largely due to its feel. The thing is, some players want that feel, but need a little less weight with more launch and spin. KBS created a slightly lighter-weight version of the Tour shaft to promote a higher ball flight and higher spin rates. That shaft is the KBS Tour 105.
How Does it Feel?
This statement is going to be pretty profound, but it’s totally true. The KBS Tour 105 feels very similar to the standard Tour, but lighter. There’s a great smooth feel like you’d expect from KBS with a gradual flex profile. The profile is still somewhat firm with a stiffer tip section to maintain the Tour feel reputation. It could just be my hands, but the 105 also felt a little more crisp to me as a result of the lighter weight. The lighter weight also makes the shot feedback a little sharper. There’s more response from the shaft to your hands, but little impact to the sting factor so your hands are nice and safe.
On-Course Performance
In terms of shot shaping and general control, the KBS Tour 105 performed very similar to the Tour. I had a similar “built-in” draw and was able to manipulate my shot as necessary. However, I had a very different launch and spin experience. A good shot would leave the club face with a nice rising flight to a higher peak. My launch angles were higher, but they weren’t over the top. Rather than hitting balloons, the Tour 105 allowed me to play a strong flight but with a good rise and a soft landing. Need to hood one and drive it low? The Tour 105 will do it if you know how to hit that shot.
One thing I would feel remiss if I were to not mention it is tempo. There are definite performance benefits to be had with a lighter weight shaft. You can pick up swing speed, higher ball flights, maybe a more precise response, etc. BUT, I generally find a lighter shaft is more dependent on just the right tempo. With the Tour 105, every single bad shot could be traced to bad tempo in my swing. Typically too aggressive. As long as I had a nice smooth and easy tempo, I hit an excellent shot. My point is you need to be aware of your tempo with these lighter shafts. I believe a smoother tempo is the optimal player for this shaft.
Final Thoughts
The KBS Tour 105 really delivers exactly as advertised. If I made a smooth-tempo swing, I had a strong rising ball flight with enough extra spin to keep the ball in the air and give me a soft landing at my target. While this performance was quite a bit different for me than the KBS Tour, the Tour 105 is clearly closely related to the original Tour shaft. In my opinion, the KBS Tour 105 is great for the player that likes the feel of the Tour but wants a little more carry and a higher ball flight.
Would you consider this a high spinning shaft or a mud spinning? Thanks
100% depends on the player’s swing. If you’re a steep swinger with a lot of speed, it will absolutely spin a lot. If you are shallow with a positive angle of attack and lower speeds, you won’t see an over abundance of speed.
I use these shafts (reg) in my irons and I love them – wondering what kind of driver shaft set up I should use to get best match ? Cheers
That’s a tough one. The reality is that fitting your driver shaft to an iron comparison isn’t going to translate all that well so you really do need to test that independently. At least that’s my thought on it.
Hello and thanks for your article Bill
I went after years in kbs 120 flt Stiff for 105 Tour lite S, that is a game changer, so easy to play, my GIR et my score became crazy, i have to share this to shaft’s seekers and… i have a question!
The fact this shaft is so good for me can give a tendance in what kind of Drivers shaft can suit me? Is theire any logic to apply?
Thanks a lot for your advice if you have time
I’m pretty of the mindset that it’s tough to say “if I hit X in my irons, then Y shaft would be good for my driver”. Chances are you move the clubs a good bit different and really should get fit just the same.