Fujikura Ventus Experience! We will be there Monday through Wednesday! Follow Along!

[cvhookem63]

Part 4:

 

Next was lunch at Grand Del Mar in sunny San Diego. We had food and drinks and then worked out way to the range and tee boxes to start our round. We were in three groups of four, and it was a mixture of Fuji guys and WRXers. Group 1 was Marshall, Johnny, Cody, and Scott. Group 2 was Chad, Eric, Jake, and me. Group 3 was Brian, Austin, Sam, and John Hovis (Fujikura Tour Manager). In our group Chad and I cartnered up and took on Eric and Jake in a match. The round of golf was a blast. I hit some driver shots that stayed right on me, but the ball was flying absolutely straight. Jake was absolutely mashing the ball. Our match ended on 17 where Eric and Jake closed us out. The views were great as was the company. Eric and Chad were a blast for Jake and I to play with. The banter back and forth between all parties was great. We finished up the round, watched the last group play in, and headed out to dinner at the Brigantine. A few other Fujikura guys met us for dinner (Dave Schnider – President of Fujikura, Alex Dee – VP, and Jeremy Butler – Director of Sales). These guys were just as awesome as the rest of the Fujikura group. Dave told us an unbelievable story about his son hitting a hole in one on his first swing of the day on Masters Sunday! Dinner was delicious – nobody left hungry or thirsty. By the time we left dinner, we were all worn out. It had been a very long day. We squeezed a ton of stuff into one day, and we loved every minute of it. I can’t speak for the rest of the guys, but as soon as I got cleaned up, I did not have any trouble going straight to sleep.

 

The next morning, we packed up all our stuff and met downstairs in the lobby again. We packed up the minivan and headed to Fuji HQ again one more time. We had some more discussion time with the Fuji guys, and then we headed out to see the Prototyping Facility. Alex walked us through all of the steps involved in creating a golf shaft. We got to see the mandrels used to build the shape of the shaft and the materials used to wrap around the mandrel. Alex explained how intricate the weaving of the fibers is and the different types of weaves and how they can affect the design of a shaft. We were able to watch a shaft being wrapped one layer at a time, tape wrapping them to squeeze out any air from the wraps, heat sealed, un-wrapped, sanded, painted, etched – the whole nine. It was an incredible demonstration. The amount of detail that goes into creating each shaft is just mind-blowing. And that was only the assembly, finishing of the shaft. There is all kinds of testing done to the shaft (durability, torque, CPM, flex in different areas of the shaft, etc. It was nice to be able to see first hand where all of those measurements on the shaft spec sheet come from. Alex did a great job of explaining all of this to us. It helps when your audience is a group of golf nuts just trying to soak every bit of information in that they can.

 

From there, we moved over to the Enso system. If you don’t know, the Enso system is system of super high speed cameras that capture every single piece of swing data that you could possibly want (shaft deflection and twist during your swing, loft that your swing is adding at impact, hand/clubhead speed during the swing and at impact, and MUCH MUCH MORE). This is achieved by the super high-speed cameras paired with sensors placed on the shaft and the clubhead itself. The mapping that the software does is truly a sight to see. We were all able to take a swing on Enso and take a look at our numbers. Some of the numbers that I thought were interesting from my swing:

Club Head path: 0.1 degree inside/out, Difference Between Club Head Speed at Max Handle Speed and Impact is 40 mph (the max handle speed is where your back elbow comes your side in your downswing. So I generate 40 mph of speed from that position to impact. Alex mentioned that JB Holmes generates 60 mph of extra speed during that time frame.) My back swing is slow/short, so I believe the hip rotation is where that speed comes from. This was very interesting to me. I am a Business Analyst in the real world, so I do a lot of data analysis, and I can really see how this information being gathered could help design/fit a player for the perfect shaft for them. The visualization of our swings on the Enso system was one of the highlights of the trip (and there were many). After we finished this demo, it was time to head to the airport. We said our goodbyes to all of the guys at Fujikura and hopped in the car.

[cvhookem63]

Part 5:

 

My travel ended up being a mess because of the weather in Dallas where I was flying into. First flight cancelled, booked a flight with another airline leaving at the same time, we took off but couldn’t beat the big storm to Dallas, held for a while, landed in Lubbock, spent 2 hours in an abandoned airport, re-boarded, landed in Dallas around 3am. Drove home and got in bed around 5:30-6. It was a mess, but I would do it all over again for the opportunity to go on a trip like this.

 

I know I said thank you earlier, but I want to say it again. Thank you to GolfWRX (Brian, Johnny, everybody that makes this forum so great. Thank you to Fujikura. I’ll be honest, when I think of a golf company that has had as much success in the industry as Fujikura it is hard to know what to expect from the management/employees there. These guys showed their true colors within minutes of meeting them, and they showed us how much they enjoy what they do, the passion that they have for the game of golf (they are golf nuts just like us!), and that it is possible to have a ton of fun in the process. Every single person that we met while we were there was extremely open to answering any questions we had, and they were as nice as they could possibly be. We learned a lot on this trip, got to experience a lot of really cool things, got fitted and got to take home a new driver shaft – but the biggest takeaway I have from the whole trip is just how good of a group of guys the Fujikura team is. I was already a big fan of Fujikura and the shafts that they produce, but now I am even more of a fan after getting to know these guys in the short time that we were there with them. The Ventus shafts were great, the TR shafts were great, and the people were even better.

 

-Caleb

 

 

[mizuno player]

CV. That was one heck of a wrote up. Details on everyone.

[Jagpilotohio]

Good grief Caleb. Nice write up but you didn’t really leave anything for me to add.

I’m in the middle of something outside now trying to beat sundown. I’ll see if I can contribute something more a little later or tomorrow but I think you pretty much covered it all. Nice job.

[QuigleyDU]

Jeez Louise, I am exhausted from reading all that, much less writing it. Cvhookem63 is straight up country boy bailing hay strong. I don’t know how he swings the telephone pole drivers that he does but he moves the shaft and hits the ball hard. I think i displaced some spinal discs and need to see a chiropractor just watching him. I also tried a few other of the fuji shafts and I much prefer a shaft that I can feel load and then hand on to it and that was the ventus. Great feel, you can load it and not lose control due to the super stiff tip section. If it get to boardy I start jumping all over the place to try and get the shaft to load.

 

That was one great thing about this. Sure we all went to try the ventus, but they fit us for the shaft that worked best. I think for the group that worked out to three ventus shaft, and the piece of train track that Caleb swings, and I can’t remember what jagpilotohio ended up with. He took something other than a ventus to the course. I think he is still mad science’ing his driver to find a combo.

 

Needless to say, Fuji will have a shaft that will absolutely work for you in their line up somewhere. The ventus is a great place to start.

[mBiden2]

Great write up cv! All the detail was great and made me feel like I was right there with y’all!

 

My jaw dropped when Knudson posted the picture of the 857 TR. Man I’d love that shaft for my 3w!

 

Thanks again for all the write ups from everyone who went!

[bjmdo]

What an awesome experience for you guys! Thanks for the write-ups and videos. So jealous!

[endy]

Man that was some write up Caleb. WELL DONE!!

[Jagpilotohio]

Looks like DJ still has the Ventus Prototype in play this week.

I know our friends at Fujikura are quite happy to see it working for him after so many years with the Evo 2.

[mBiden2]

> @Jagpilotohio said:

> Looks like DJ still has the Ventus Prototype in play this week.

> I know our friends at Fujikura are quite happy to see it working for him after so many years with the Evo 2.

 

Yup he does. Now how long before they release it. Seems like it will be a perfect combo to go along with the current ventus

[4rheel]

Dang it Caleb, glad I got mine in before you> @mBiden2 said:

> > @Jagpilotohio said:

> > Looks like DJ still has the Ventus Prototype in play this week.

> > I know our friends at Fujikura are quite happy to see it working for him after so many years with the Evo 2.

>

> Yup he does. Now how long before they release it. Seems like it will be a perfect combo to go along with the current ventus

 

What shaft you speaking of? :# Lol

[mBiden2]

> @4rheel said:

> Dang it Caleb, glad I got mine in before you> @mBiden2 said:

> > > @Jagpilotohio said:

> > > Looks like DJ still has the Ventus Prototype in play this week.

> > > I know our friends at Fujikura are quite happy to see it working for him after so many years with the Evo 2.

> >

> > Yup he does. Now how long before they release it. Seems like it will be a perfect combo to go along with the current ventus

>

> What shaft you speaking of? :# Lol

 

You know exactly what I’m taking about haha. Y’all just can’t talk about it ?

[drbonesvt]

> @knudson81 said:

> > @drbonesvt said:

> > Any discussion on the jewel collection?

>

> I talked to Alex Dee a little about the materials, graphics, and process on that line. They put a TON of time and money into that line!

 

Thanks for the insight , I have 6x , I tend to fav 70/80g range but love this 6x , possibly the low torque . For 6x stable as anything

 

[mjbaker80]

People shouldn't be worried.....we will see the black Ventus here soon from what I'm hearing!

[4rheel]

Happy Easter all! Took the Ventus out again and had a great driving round. Nothing wrong with the high launch I was getting but just not used to seeing it. Wondering now if this so called “Black” profile some of you guys are talking about might be a better fit;) Gotta love WRX.

[QuigleyDU]

I played Saturday and I am still very happy with this shaft/head combo. I feel like I can really attack the course and take strong lines and not worry about losing the ball. Very point and shoot.

[Krt22]

> @QuigleyDU said:

> I played Saturday and I am still very happy with this shaft/head combo. I feel like I can really attack the course and take strong lines and not worry about losing the ball. Very point and shoot.

 

Did you go 6x or 7x?

[QuigleyDU]

> @Krt22 said:

> > @QuigleyDU said:

> > I played Saturday and I am still very happy with this shaft/head combo. I feel like I can really attack the course and take strong lines and not worry about losing the ball. Very point and shoot.

>

> Did you go 6x or 7x?

 

7x at 45.25 playing length. It is a little shorter than what I was playing before, but I didn't lose any ball speed, increased launch, and spin stayed in the 1900-2100 spin range.

[cvhookem63]

I was supposed to play in a tournament this weekend, but the course was too wet to play. I spent some time on the range with the new shaft, and I am really starting to get comfortable with it. I can really go after this without losing anything left. I'll be putting in some more range time this week and then hopefully getting a round or two in this weekend.

 


 

[Krt22]

That is a big boy shaft!

[jokerusn]

Had a round with my Ventus and it's firmly in the bag. So stable and long, even at shorter length than the previous shaft. Only bad swings went the wrong way on me.

[gioguy21]

> @jokerusn said:

> Had a round with my Ventus and it's firmly in the bag. So stable and long, even at shorter length than the previous shaft. Only bad swings went the wrong way on me.

 

what weight/flex setup did you go with???

[jokerusn]

> @gioguy21 said:

> > @jokerusn said:

> > Had a round with my Ventus and it's firmly in the bag. So stable and long, even at shorter length than the previous shaft. Only bad swings went the wrong way on me.

>

> what weight/flex setup did you go with???

 

6-X, untipped, 44.75" in my M3 460

[mBiden2]

Anyone try the 7X in a 3w?

[Stephen1125]

> @mBiden2 said:

> Anyone try the 7X in a 3w?

 

I have the 7x that I'm currently testing in my driver. It's a phenomenal shaft but right now my whiteboard is beating it. If that continues I'm going to cut it down and try it in my 3 wood. I'm also interested if anyone else has tried. If not I'll update in a few weeks when I finish driver testing.

[gioguy21]

> @Stephen1125 said:

> > @mBiden2 said:

> > Anyone try the 7X in a 3w?

>

> I have the 7x that I'm currently testing in my driver. It's a phenomenal shaft but right now my whiteboard is beating it. If that continues I'm going to cut it down and try it in my 3 wood. I'm also interested if anyone else has tried. If not I'll update in a few weeks when I finish driver testing.

 

in what ways are they different ?? i'm on the fence of getting one and i'm torn.

[Jagpilotohio]

Ok. I guess it’s officially not a secret anymore.

If anyone wants a stiffer butt section and lower launch the “LT” or low trajectory, that DJ is testing is almost surely coming to market later this summer. The blue is not a terribly high trajectory or spin, but I know a lot of the guys on this forum are obsessed with low-low shafts. Here’s a link:

https://www.golf.com/gear/2019/04/22/wall-to-wall-rbc-heritage-dustin-johnson-tommy-fleetwood/

 

When we were at the factory and I saw what they looked like after sanding I suggested a matte black “raw” looking version for all the WRX gearhead types. I’ll be first in line.

[gioguy21]

> @Jagpilotohio said:

> Ok. I guess it’s officially not a secret anymore.

> If anyone wants a stiffer butt section and lower launch the “LT” or low trajectory, that DJ is testing is almost surely coming to market later this summer. The blue is not a terribly high trajectory or spin, but I know a lot of the guys on this forum are obsessed with low-low shafts. Here’s a link:

> https://www.golf.com/gear/2019/04/22/wall-to-wall-rbc-heritage-dustin-johnson-tommy-fleetwood/

>

> When we were at the factory and I saw what they looked like after sanding I suggested a matte black “raw” looking version for all all the WRX gearhead types. I’ll be first in line.

 

can i be second in line?

[QuigleyDU]

i said the same thing. Make a shaft and just clear coat it. It would be awesome to be able to see the carbon fiber weaves.

[Jagpilotohio]

In the article McCoy suggests it might be a flat black.

 

Maybe a gloss for the standard offering and a “limited edition” matte black run. They usually do a green masters version of the Atmos.