J13's WITB: Update- FUJIKURA AXIOM

[J13]

2 hours ago, Tyler K said:

Between the 1K and the VB, which is more amenable to an 80-90% swing as opposed to going all out all the time? 

 

1K for sure.  I LOVE the Ventus and still have it in my 3wood and hybrid but the 1K has a more active feel to it and seems to have some pop down at impact.  You can actually feel it kick which is unusual for a shaft with that profile.

[Tyler K]

54 minutes ago, J13 said:

 

1K for sure.  I LOVE the Ventus and still have it in my 3wood and hybrid but the 1K has a more active feel to it and seems to have some pop down at impact.  You can actually feel it kick which is unusual for a shaft with that profile.

Sweet, I ordered the 1K, no tipping. I can’t imagine a 1/2” makes much difference. Going to try going back to 45” from 44.5”.

[J13]

2 minutes ago, Tyler K said:

Sweet, I ordered the 1K, no tipping. I can’t imagine a 1/2” makes much difference. Going to try going back to 45” from 44.5”.

 

 

Cool. Interested to hear how it goes for you.  I know they aren't cheap but IMO well worth it similar to the Ventus.

Edited May 19, 2021 by J13

[J13]

3 hours ago, Obsessed said:

J13 - What's your swing speed?

 

Around 115ish give or take a few mph depending on the day and how my body cooperates.  Right now i'm probably a little slower as I've been cutting down / losing weight so on a calorie restricted diet which leaves me with not much fuel in the tank.  

[Deuce78]

How is the balance point on the 1k?  VB is actually somewhat tip light....

[bjno1300]

J13 not sure if I missed it but did you give the regular max ls a try? Seems like nice fade bias with tons of speed and some forgiveness from videos I’ve watched 

[beluga99]

Great pics and reviews.  A very informative thread.  Always made better with high quality photos.

[J13]

On 5/19/2021 at 5:43 PM, Deuce78 said:

How is the balance point on the 1k?  VB is actually somewhat tip light....

 

1K is a little heavier in that regard but not by much.  I'd measure but my buddy has my Ventus.

 

On 5/19/2021 at 5:45 PM, bjno1300 said:

J13 not sure if I missed it but did you give the regular max ls a try? Seems like nice fade bias with tons of speed and some forgiveness from videos I’ve watched 

 

My answer will be in the following post 😉

 

 

15 hours ago, beluga99 said:

Great pics and reviews.  A very informative thread.  Always made better with high quality photos.

 

 

Thank you

[J13]

The search is over.  My goal was to find a driver that offered forgiveness with lowish spin but also still gave me the ability to work the ball.  It's a tall order but I've found something that checks all the boxes.

 

Callaway Epic Max LS 9* w/ Mitsubishi Tensei 1K 60TX

 

Why it won over Titleist Tsi3 and Callaway Epic Speed Triple diamond - 

 

Triple Diamond - Loved the shape and sound but the internal fade bias was causing me problems.  My miss is a push and the Triple turned that into a block.  Without the rear track I couldn't do much to correct it so off it went.  Bottom line : I can't afford worse misses

 

Titleist Tsi3 - Loved this head for the same reasons as the Triple.  In fact, between the two I like the Tsi3 more as it gave me options to adjust ball flight with the rear weight.  If the Epic Max LS didn't exist I would have kept the Tsi3 in the bag.  Great head from Titleist.  Bottom line : Tsi3 was like a less forgiving Max LS.

 

 

The Callaway EM LS won because it gives me low 2000s spin and is super forgiving around the face.  It doesn't seem to matter where you make contact because ballspeed doesn't change.  It's pretty amazing to be honest.  Also the rear weight track gives me the ability to control the face separate from adjusting loft.  Right now my setting is N & -2 (so 7* of loft) with the rear weight a few ticks towards the heel.  Anyway here's the big stick for 2021 (I hope 🤣 )

 

BTW the 1K is nasty - Smooth, active, with serious pop at impact.  Shout out to @MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL

 

 

 

 

[bjno1300]

@J13 👏👏🍿🍿🍻 exactly what I needed to hear! Now only debate is 10.5 lofted down or a 9. Great feedback 

[J13]

37 minutes ago, bjno1300 said:

@J13 👏👏🍿🍿🍻 exactly what I needed to hear! Now only debate is 10.5 lofted down or a 9. Great feedback 

 

haha I knew you would like that.  

[reamr87]

Did you find the Max LS to be exceedingly forgiving over the triple diamond? I know you mentioned the limited adjustability of the triple diamond as a factor for favoring the Max LS.. Thanks!

[J13]

2 hours ago, reamr87 said:

Did you find the Max LS to be exceedingly forgiving over the triple diamond? I know you mentioned the limited adjustability of the triple diamond as a factor for favoring the Max LS.. Thanks!

 

The Epic Speed triple is MUCH more forgiving than the Epic Flash Triple was.  With that said the Max LS was noticeably more forgiving than the Epic Speed Triple to me.  It's a slightly larger head which helps in MOI but what I really like about it is the consistent ball speeds and spin on off center strikes.  Only downside is the Max LS is a bit tingy in sound whereas the Triple is perfectly muted. 

 

I'm still toying around with the setup and shafts (more on that to come 😉) so no hotmelt YET. I'm fortunate to have my own shop with a tour van hotmelt setup so i'm in no rush.  Besides I my clubs are always last to get worked on anyway because my priority is to get my WRX brothers heads done first and back to them.  WRX guys even get priority over local customers haha.😜

[endy]

On 5/19/2021 at 3:08 PM, J13 said:

 

1K for sure.  I LOVE the Ventus and still have it in my 3wood and hybrid but the 1K has a more active feel to it and seems to have some pop down at impact.  You can actually feel it kick which is unusual for a shaft with that profile.

Sticking with the 1K over Ventus Black ? 

[J13]

22 hours ago, endy said:

Sticking with the 1K over Ventus Black ? 

 

1K is working well but I'm having some of the same dispersion issues as the black 6X.  I put my Xphlexxx Agera in the Max LS the other day which is a mid 70g shaft and things immediately improved and to be honest it beat the Mitsu 1K.  I didn't notice any distance difference only in dispersion.  With that said I am most likely moving back to the 70g range and have a Ventus Blue 7X coming to try to recreate the feel of the 1K but the dispersion of the Agera.  

[oldhamer25]

J had some similar issues.  Got a Ventus black 6x and just couldn't be consistent with it.  Put my agera proto ric shaft in my tsi3 and everything got better.  Been swinging a 70s gram shaft for so long, that I couldn't get comfortable with the lighter shaft.

[freeze16172002]

On 5/19/2021 at 5:09 PM, J13 said:

 

Around 115ish give or take a few mph depending on the day and how my body cooperates.  Right now i'm probably a little slower as I've been cutting down / losing weight so on a calorie restricted diet which leaves me with not much fuel in the tank.  

try intermittent fasting only eat bet certain hours of the day and fast the rest. I ate and still do bet 11am and 7pm, went from 242 to 192 in 4 months. blood pressure and cholesterol went into the healthy range, i wasnt that high  but better inside the range then out. still have to eat healthy but atleast you could eat during a round

Edited May 28, 2021 by freeze16172002

[J13]

14 hours ago, oldhamer25 said:

J had some similar issues.  Got a Ventus black 6x and just couldn't be consistent with it.  Put my agera proto ric shaft in my tsi3 and everything got better.  Been swinging a 70s gram shaft for so long, that I couldn't get comfortable with the lighter shaft.

 

Yeah i'm with ya.  I try every year with a lighter setup and every year I go back to 70g stuff.  I just like the feel and weight of it.  

 

43 minutes ago, freeze16172002 said:

try intermittent fasting only eat bet certain hours of the day and fast the rest. I ate and still do bet 11am and 7pm, went from 242 to 192 in 4 months. blood pressure and cholesterol went into the healthy range, i wasnt that high  but better inside the range then out. still have to eat healthy but atleast you could eat during a round

 

Exactly what i do, love it.  I've been doing 18-20hr fasts 3 days a week (these get me tired) and the other 4 days I do around 16hrs.  Works incredibly well and my body feels much much better.  I'm down 35lbs in 3 months but lost some muscle in the process which I was planning for.  I'm about 1-2" away from my target waist size then I'm going to switch gears and put back on about 10lbs of lean muscle while still doing IMF.  In the end I want to settle right around 210lbs with 10%bf (i'm 6'2 for reference)

Edited May 28, 2021 by J13

[Deuce78]

I agree I feel like typically 60g shafts dont work well.  Best shafts I have gamed have all been 72g-85g.  In fact the last driver fitting I did, the fitter actually said, "you should never play anything lighter than 70g in your driver.  And add 10g as you go up in your bag..." I am sure they work great for others, even pros, but me no bueno....

[J13]

1 hour ago, Deuce78 said:

I agree I feel like typically 60g shafts dont work well.  Best shafts I have gamed have all been 72g-85g.  In fact the last driver fitting I did, the fitter actually said, "you should never play anything lighter than 70g in your driver.  And add 10g as you go up in your bag..." I am sure they work great for others, even pros, but me no bueno....

 

 

That sounds like me for sure.  It all comes down to what you like to feel and your timing.  If you've been playing for years and years with a certain weight it's hard to change, especially for amateurs who play maybe once a week.  

[DNice26]

Any updates?  Always enjoy checking in here.

[J13]

1 hour ago, DNice26 said:

Any updates?  Always enjoy checking in here.

 

Yeah i've been slacking.  Been doing a ton of club work and hotmelt for guys and just finished coaching my sons baseball team for the season so that ate up most of my free time.  Played in a few tourneys but didn't do much damage considering the limited playing time. Also a playing buddy of mine just played in the US Senior Open so super proud of him even though he didn't make the cut.  What a great experience.

 

As for the bag: I ended up testing Ventus Blue 6X, 7X, Ventus Black 6X, 7X, and Tensei 1K 60TX and Diamana TB 60TX.  I learned that a shaft in the 70g range is what feels and works the best.  For whatever reason I just hit them more consistently even though I might be giving up 1-2mph in speed.  

 

Quick rundown:

 

Tensei 1K 60TX  -  Great feeling shaft and produced some big ball speeds but it had left in it.  I'd like to try a 70TX at some point but for now the 60TX wasn't getting it done.  

 

Diamana TB - Even smoother than the 1K and produced the highest ball speeds out of any shaft I've tested.  WIth that said it had more left in it than the 1K so it's just not the profile for me.  I felt too much kick and even with a 70TX I know I end up trying to "time" these types of shafts.

 

Ventus Blue 6X and 7X - With the proper tipping it's a beast.  The 6X was out pretty quickly but the 7X hung in there and if not for the Black being so good it might have been the stick.  Had a little left but nothing unplayable.  

 

Ventus Black 6X and 7X - Did not like the 6X at all, felt very boardy to me even though I wanted this to work out.  The 7X is just perfect for me.  I like the extra weight and it feels better to me than the 6X. Not sure if that's by design or what but the 7X has some life in it whereas the 6X didn't.  The 7X is also the most anti left out of the bunch.

 

 

Winner - Ventus Black 7X   

 

-It has the most anti left design and the feel is exactly what Im looking for in a shaft.  Has some heft to it (which i like) and I can go hard without worrying about a snap hook if I overcook one.  I feel like I know where the head is during the swing and if I do hit a bad one I know why it happened.  Nothing drives me more crazy than putting what feels like a good swing on the ball only to look up and see the flight not matching the feel.  

Edited July 10, 2021 by J13

[djhgolf]

4 hours ago, J13 said:

 

Yeah i've been slacking.  Been doing a ton of club work and hotmelt for guys and just finished coaching my sons baseball team for the season so that ate up most of my free time.  Played in a few tourneys but didn't do much damage considering the limited playing time. Also a playing buddy of mine just played in the US Senior Open so super proud of him even though he didn't make the cut.  What a great experience.

 

As for the bag: I ended up testing Ventus Blue 6X, 7X, Ventus Black 6X, 7X, and Tensei 1K 60TX and Diamana TB 60TX.  I learned that a shaft in the 70g range is what feels and works the best.  For whatever reason I just hit them more consistently even though I might be giving up 1-2mph in speed.  

 

Quick rundown:

 

Tensei 1K 60TX  -  Great feeling shaft and produced some big ball speeds but it had left in it.  I'd like to try a 70TX at some point but for now the 60TX wasn't getting it done.  

 

Diamana TB - Even smoother than the 1K and produced the highest ball speeds out of any shaft I've tested.  WIth that said it had more left in it than the 1K so it's just not the profile for me.  I felt too much kick and even with a 70TX I know I end up trying to "time" these types of shafts.

 

Ventus Blue 6X and 7X - With the proper tipping it's a beast.  The 6X was out pretty quickly but the 7X hung in there and if not for the Black being so good it might have been the stick.  Had a little left but nothing unplayable.  

 

Ventus Black 6X and 7X - Did not like the 6X at all, felt very boardy to me even though I wanted this to work out.  The 7X is just perfect for me.  I like the extra weight and it feels better to me than the 6X. Not sure if that's by design or what but the 7X has some life in it whereas the 6X didn't.  The 7X is also the most anti left out of the bunch.

 

 

Winner - Ventus Black 7X   

 

-It has the most anti left design and the feel is exactly what Im looking for in a shaft.  Has some heft to it (which i like) and I can go hard without worrying about a snap hook if I overcook one.  I feel like I know where the head is during the swing and if I do hit a bad one I know why it happened.  Nothing drives me more crazy than putting what feels like a good swing on the ball only to look up and see the flight not matching the feel.  

Great review of the top shafts around atm.

curious that the TB had such big ball speeds.. what was the launch/spin  like vs 1K?

[J13]

4 hours ago, djhgolf said:

Great review of the top shafts around atm.

curious that the TB had such big ball speeds.. what was the launch/spin  like vs 1K?

 

 

The profile of the TB has a big kick to it so my guess is when i timed it right the shaft just exploded through impact.  You can feel it fire through the ball.  Launch was the highest out of the group but so was spin.  I could see it being a good fairway wood shaft for me but the Ventus Blue 8X is killer so no desire to change.  Also the look of the shaft is killer, Mitsubishi always crushes it in the paint and graphics.

[DNice26]

12 hours ago, J13 said:

 

Yeah i've been slacking.  Been doing a ton of club work and hotmelt for guys and just finished coaching my sons baseball team for the season so that ate up most of my free time.  Played in a few tourneys but didn't do much damage considering the limited playing time. Also a playing buddy of mine just played in the US Senior Open so super proud of him even though he didn't make the cut.  What a great experience.

 

As for the bag: I ended up testing Ventus Blue 6X, 7X, Ventus Black 6X, 7X, and Tensei 1K 60TX and Diamana TB 60TX.  I learned that a shaft in the 70g range is what feels and works the best.  For whatever reason I just hit them more consistently even though I might be giving up 1-2mph in speed.  

 

Quick rundown:

 

Tensei 1K 60TX  -  Great feeling shaft and produced some big ball speeds but it had left in it.  I'd like to try a 70TX at some point but for now the 60TX wasn't getting it done.  

 

Diamana TB - Even smoother than the 1K and produced the highest ball speeds out of any shaft I've tested.  WIth that said it had more left in it than the 1K so it's just not the profile for me.  I felt too much kick and even with a 70TX I know I end up trying to "time" these types of shafts.

 

Ventus Blue 6X and 7X - With the proper tipping it's a beast.  The 6X was out pretty quickly but the 7X hung in there and if not for the Black being so good it might have been the stick.  Had a little left but nothing unplayable.  

 

Ventus Black 6X and 7X - Did not like the 6X at all, felt very boardy to me even though I wanted this to work out.  The 7X is just perfect for me.  I like the extra weight and it feels better to me than the 6X. Not sure if that's by design or what but the 7X has some life in it whereas the 6X didn't.  The 7X is also the most anti left out of the bunch.

 

 

Winner - Ventus Black 7X   

 

-It has the most anti left design and the feel is exactly what Im looking for in a shaft.  Has some heft to it (which i like) and I can go hard without worrying about a snap hook if I overcook one.  I feel like I know where the head is during the swing and if I do hit a bad one I know why it happened.  Nothing drives me more crazy than putting what feels like a good swing on the ball only to look up and see the flight not matching the feel.  

Great update!

 

Funny, my local head pro also played in the US Sr Open and also missed the cut.  

[J13]

11 hours ago, DNice26 said:

Great update!

 

Funny, my local head pro also played in the US Sr Open and also missed the cut.  

 

That's awesome.  Another local guy who's a friend of a friend made it as well and actually made the cut.  What a great experience and I know they both loaded up on goodies from the tour trucks

[bjno1300]

How’s it going with driver? I held the max ls for first time other day and I do like the shape. Looks very forgiving to be low spin. Haven’t pulled trigger yet just because looking down at the tsi3 I think it looks perfect. The sim2 3 wood continues to impress me though. It’s a rocket. Since going to a cut I’m impressed with the different spin how strong the flights are. Cheers 

[Wardonation]

So went back to the Ventus Blue 6X tipped .5". I tried to get along with the TB 65TX and the RDX Blue 6.5, but they just felt "loose" to me. The TB felt like a "linear load" starting from under the handle. I had to really "time it" to make it work. I would also get the "Balloon" ball every once in awhile as well? The RDX felt "SUPER LOOSE" to me... The shaft felt like it folded to 90 degrees on the downswing if that makes sense? I really lost the feel of the head. It did however have the highest BS when i luckily timed it. I have been playing the VBlue since it came out. To me it has the "feel" of the blue profile mixed with a touch of the "black" profile. I am a "hard loader" and it just keeps up with me without getting "loose". I have had a hard time turning over drivers since the G400 max release, so I have it paird with Cobra XD set at -1.5. It is the best combo I have ever had and my first Cobra driver...

[J_Tizzle]

4 hours ago, Wardonation said:

So went back to the Ventus Blue 6X tipped .5". I tried to get along with the TB 65TX and the RDX Blue 6.5, but they just felt "loose" to me. The TB felt like a "linear load" starting from under the handle. I had to really "time it" to make it work. I would also get the "Balloon" ball every once in awhile as well? The RDX felt "SUPER LOOSE" to me... The shaft felt like it folded to 90 degrees on the downswing if that makes sense? I really lost the feel of the head. It did however have the highest BS when i luckily timed it. I have been playing the VBlue since it came out. To me it has the "feel" of the blue profile mixed with a touch of the "black" profile. I am a "hard loader" and it just keeps up with me without getting "loose". I have had a hard time turning over drivers since the G400 max release, so I have it paird with Cobra XD set at -1.5. It is the best combo I have ever had and my first Cobra driver...

 

So driver doesn't suck?

[nitram]

21 hours ago, J_Tizzle said:

 

So driver doesn't suck?

It does to someone allegedly "in the know".