By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Images Courtesy of Breakthrough Golf

RICHARDSON, TX -- Let’s face it, when it comes to many of golf’s manufacturers, honesty is in short supply.

It’s not that any of them are lying, and I can truthfully say in nearly twenty years of covering golf that all of them make great golf equipment and steadfastly stand by their products. But let’s also be realistic -- these companies need to sell stuff to make a living every year and much of it depends on convincing the golf consumer that this season’s drivers, irons, wedges and putters are that much better than last year’s.

Or at least that there’s a big enough improvement to justify shelling out hundreds of dollars for slightly more distance, accuracy and for lack of a better way to put it, additional holed putts. If not, why go for the newest iteration when the previous one’s still got plenty of life -- and use -- left in it?

Barney Adams has been in the business a long time, so he should know the marketing drill. Perhaps because he’s now in his eighties, Adams isn’t shy about promoting his latest venture, the Stability shaft from Breakthrough Golf Technology, a new company with lots of experience in the industry (over a hundred years’ worth). Adams’ claim to fame was starting Adams Golf in 1988, which grew like tall grass on a Texas prairie after the Tight Lies fairway woods were introduced. It was a time when golf clubs were evolving rapidly -- and the Tight Lies led the way by helping average players and pros alike hit it longer, higher and straighter, a true evolution in the game.

The company’s success lasted for well over twenty years. TaylorMade purchased Adams Golf in 2012, but the enterprise’s namesake didn’t feel it was a signal to retire to the greener pastures of the local golf club.

Blair Philip

Now Adams is doing with putter shafts what he did in the 80’s with fairway metals. After seeing no significant innovation in putter shafts, the avid golfer and fisherman decided to try his hand at introducing yet another innovative new product into the golf marketplace. Adams said, “For 50 years the steel putter shaft has not changed...they were simply taken for granted and for whatever reason were overlooked by the industry.

“I was fortunate enough to have met Blair Philip (Vice President of R & D for Breakthrough Golf) and after years of testing and R&D development, the Stability shaft was launched.”

It’s true. Look through your garage or storeroom full of old putters and you’ll notice they all have one thing in common -- the boring, anonymous steel shaft. It’s just something no golfer gives much thought to. While we’ll all spend hours -- and big money -- being fitted for the proper driver, fairway wood and irons shafts, everyone just assumes putters are standard in that category.

Wrong. Adams explained the difference. “Steel putter shafts stress during the motion of the stroke. This in turn, results in the putter face not returning square to the target line. A square putter face at impact is the holy grail of the smooth, pendulum style stroke and steel shafts combined with today’s heavier putters are in direct conflict of achieving this.

“Stability is completely stable and it’s the same weight and balance as steel so there is no player adjustment,” Adams added.

I personally prefer a putter with a little weight in the head (or at least it feels that way) to better assess distance on putts. Adams is right, the Stability shaft certainly feels the same as other putters. It looks nothing like other steel shafts which could be construed as distracting -- but when you’re putting, you’re not looking at the shaft, are you?

Adams says because his putter shaft is so unique that other manufacturers haven’t caught on yet -- but nothing comes close to the performance of his product. According to Barney, “Stability is currently offered in many of the high-performance putter brands, however there is a major cost difference to what your typical steel putter shaft costs (around $2-3) vs Stability. This probably doesn't make it very feasible for the larger equipment companies that are driven by the bottom line.”

Ah, the bottom line. The big manufacturers depend on volume sales, so it’s not feasible to dive right in with a product like the Stability shaft. Adams says for him it’s a matter of preference in terms of what he’s looking to do these days. “I’m only interested in real technology; golf is a marketing business; are this year’s drivers really that much better than last year or the year before?”

That’s the question all of us must answer. Judging by the fresh marketing campaigns premiering every year you’d almost think last season’s products should be discarded in the trash can as obsolete after hitting them a few times. But Adams insists the Stability shaft is better -- and distinct.

He explained, “The differences are dramatic. There are four parts of the Stability shaft that work together to significantly improve putting performance. We call this Advanced Materials Integration. Breakthrough Golf uses a scientifically advanced multi-material design with new geometries never used in putter shaft design before. A shaft that has the same look, solid feel and weight as traditional steel putter shafts.”

We’ll take him at his word on that one. Apparently, there are lots of pros using the shaft (and the company’s had two wins) -- and it’s the fastest growing putter shaft on tour. But golf pros also demand big money to endorse products, a game Breakthrough Golf chooses not to engage in. “Currently BGT doesn't pay to play, so many don't realize how successful it's been on tour!”

Good judgment says it’ll take time for something as new and different as the Stability shaft to catch on with the elites. We were admittedly a little wary ourselves, probably because it doesn’t make sense to the uneducated mind that a putter shaft isn’t just a putter shaft. But then again, before the onset of graphite woods shafts, everyone thought they were all the same too.

Put it this way, we’re a long way from the days of old hickory shafts. Give Adams and Breakthrough Golf’s putter shaft a try and you’ll likely notice a difference.

The company’s website describes it well. “Tens of millions of dollars are spent annually on golf R&D. They are all chasing the same elusive thing- true technological breakthroughs. Many products don’t deliver but some do produce true results. We think the Stability shaft will be one of those iconic winners. In fact, we believe that no shaft company on the planet delivers innovation in golf like Breakthrough Golf Technology.”

We enjoyed trying the Stability shaft and had some success with it, particularly in assessing the speed of putts. We would need a longer test to truly notice a remarkable difference, but there’s promise there to see something really special in a product that we hadn’t thought about in a long time. Perhaps best of all, it’s gotten us excited about trying something new and atypical rather than merely assessing whether our shots go a couple yards farther like the annual golf ads insist they will.

What more can you ask for?

As with all the products we feature, we recommend you try the Stability shaft and look further into Barney Adams’ latest venture. Chances are you won’t be disappointed.

When we asked Adams if there was anything else of note concerning his new company, he replied, “Yeah, I’m 80 years old and the golf gods are sandbagging my distance, it needs full attention.”

Well at least he’ll be making more putts. Take that, Father Time.