Fujikura Ventus Blue VeloCore vs Graphite Design Tour AD TP

[hypergolf]

I am in the market for a new driver shaft and would like to get your input regarding these two shafts.

 

Which would you choose and why?

 

NOTE: Please don't talk about go get fitted blah blah blah and how shaft is different for everybody blah blah blah. Interested to hear YOUR experience and opinion if you have tried both. Thanks.

[hypergolf]

No one? Thinking of pulling the trigger tomorrow so any input will be appreciated...

[Red4282]

Two different profiles. Blue will have a softer handle, and its profile is similar to the “white” profile of MCA. AD TP is more like a “blue” profile, but a little tighter feeling than most blue profiles. I prefer the feel of the AD TP, but mainly because thats the profiles that I generally like. 

Edited January 1, 2021 by Red4282

[Flopper]

I’d go Ventus blue. Feels much smoother than the TP shaft. 

[bward]

I have both and like the AD TP more. I seem to feel the shaft more. Also, non surprising as the rest of my woods have AD shafts in them. I’m not a brand loyalist to Graphite Design by any means, I just seem to prefer their profiles.

[jvincent]

10 hours ago, hypergolf said:

Interested to hear YOUR experience and opinion if you have tried both. Thanks.

 

I played the TP7 until about Sept of last season when I picked up a Ventus Blue 6S to see what all the hype was about. Ventus will be in the bag to start the season.

 

I can feel the load in the Ventus a little bit better than the TP. Hard to know if that is due to weight or profile. I do know that even in the softer, cooler conditions late in the season I was hitting the Ventus past where I was hitting the TP. It was also super consistent for finding fairways. 

[aswile]

Ventus Blue 7x vs. GD TP 6x (weight may play a part) left me with the feeling that Ventus was just not for me. I thought it felt very one piece and a little stiff/boardy compared to the TP. I much preferred the AD DI 7x over the Ventus also. I didn't notice any difference between either GD shafts and the Ventus as far as distance or dispersion (the TP was in a G410 and the others in a Mavrik SZ) even though they were in different heads. I usually like very tip-stiff shafts, but the Ventus just didn't feel as good to me as the either GD shaft. I could easily play it, I just preferred the "loading" feeling I get from GD rather than the "one piece" feeling from the Ventus. I also typically like the OG Diamana White 83x for a similar stable loading feeling.

[hypergolf]

Just purchased Graphite Design Tour AD TP-6x for a great price. Thanks all for your feedbacks.

[03trdblack]

9 hours ago, Red4282 said:

Two different profiles. Blue will have a softer handle, and its profile is similar to the “white” profile of MCA. AD TP is more like a “blue” profile, but a little tighter feeling than most blue profiles. I prefer the feel of the AD TP, but mainly because thats the profiles that I generally like. 

 

The profiles are actually quite similar overall with the TP having just a slightly firmer mid section than the Ventus.  They are both much more "Blue" profile and don't share really any characteristics with the "White" type profile.  Maybe you're referring to the Ventus Black by mistake when you described the Blue?

 

[Red4282]

4 hours ago, 03trdblack said:

 

The profiles are actually quite similar overall with the TP having just a slightly firmer mid section than the Ventus.  They are both much more "Blue" profile and don't share really any characteristics with the "White" type profile.  Maybe you're referring to the Ventus Black by mistake when you described the Blue?

 

Mca white profiles always have a soft butt and a gradual stiffening to the tip. Their blue profiles have stiff butts softer mids and stiffen up at the tip.

 

ventus:

 

if anything the ventus RED plays more like the mca blue profile, especially when tipped.

Edited January 2, 2021 by Red4282

[storm319]

22 hours ago, Red4282 said:

Mca white profiles always have a soft butt and a gradual stiffening to the tip. Their blue profiles have stiff butts softer mids and stiffen up at the tip.

 

ventus:

 

if anything the ventus RED plays more like the mca blue profile, especially when tipped.

Qualitative descriptors like this are useless without an objective point of reference. Additionally, there are no industry standards when it comes to stiffness so cross company comparisons are useless unless a 3rd party profiles all OEMs using a consistent method (like Wishon or Cool Clubs).

[Red4282]

7 hours ago, storm319 said:

Qualitative descriptors like this are useless without an objective point of reference. Additionally, there are no industry standards when it comes to stiffness so cross company comparisons are useless unless a 3rd party profiles all OEMs using a consistent method (like Wishon or Cool Clubs).

Yes i know this, but in this case we arent talking about actual “stiffness” (comparing brand “A”s xstiff to brand “B”s xstiff), but rather the stiffness along the shaft within that profile build. So yes that can be a useful tool, especially if we know how others brands profiles generally follow.

 

I have hit both shafts and it was indicative of this. I never got along with but soft shafts, and the ventus blue is pretty soft in the butt. Nothing even close to the familiar blueboard profile, but did remind me of the whiteboard profile. Im not alone on this, TXG says as much, as well as many on here. Like i said the Ventus RED follows the blueboard profile alot more closely, and TXG has been doing some videos with it talking about that. I have not hit the RED so i cannot say for sure.

 

I gamed the AD TP for several months, its a little more linear in its bend and feel, more like a tighter stiffer blueboard profile. I think the better comparison would be the ventus black to be honest. 

[storm319]

On 1/3/2021 at 5:54 AM, Red4282 said:

Yes i know this, but in this case we arent talking about actual “stiffness” (comparing brand “A”s xstiff to brand “B”s xstiff), but rather the stiffness along the shaft within that profile build. So yes that can be a useful tool, especially if we know how others brands profiles generally follow.

 

I have hit both shafts and it was indicative of this. I never got along with but soft shafts, and the ventus blue is pretty soft in the butt. Nothing even close to the familiar blueboard profile, but did remind me of the whiteboard profile. Im not alone on this, TXG says as much, as well as many on here. Like i said the Ventus RED follows the blueboard profile alot more closely, and TXG has been doing some videos with it talking about that. I have not hit the RED so i cannot say for sure.

 

I gamed the AD TP for several months, its a little more linear in its bend and feel, more like a tighter stiffer blueboard profile. I think the better comparison would be the ventus black to be honest. 

It doesn’t matter if you are talking about the designated flex or the relative stiffness of a particular zone, using qualitative descriptors from one OEM to compare to another OEM is not an apples to apples comparison (in this case, Fujikura’s definition of an “ultra-stiff” tip or “firm” butt may be very different from Graphite Design’s). 

[Red4282]

2 hours ago, storm319 said:

It doesn’t matter if you are talking about the designated flex or the relative stiffness of a particular zone, using qualitative descriptors from one OEM to compare to another OEM is not an apples to apples comparison (in this case, Fujikura’s definition of an “ultra-stiff” tip or “firm” butt may be very different from Graphite Design’s). 

Im in agreement 100% but this isnt what im talking about. If fujikura says its shaft starts softer at the butt and ends up stiffer in the tip, then it fits in a profile. Wether or not that butt or tip as as stiff as another brands tip or butt doesnt matter, we are simply talking stiffness in relation to other parts of the shaft, therefore putting it in a “profile”. You can talk about all the variations of stiffness within the profiles, but generally there are 3. One that feels soft in the hands (soft butt), one that is soft and the middle and feels like it has a hingy kick to it, and one that is very tip soft. You could add a fourth profile as one thats linear or boardy feeling. 

[BubbaBallesteros]

On 1/2/2021 at 2:28 AM, Red4282 said:

Mca white profiles always have a soft butt and a gradual stiffening to the tip. Their blue profiles have stiff butts softer mids and stiffen up at the tip.

 

ventus:

 

if anything the ventus RED plays more like the mca blue profile, especially when tipped.

I know I am a bit late to this discussion but I just stumbled across this thread.

 

Just look at the EI Profile comparison between the Ventus Blue (dark blue), Diamana BF (Blue) and AD DI (orange).

Here is another EI Profile comparison of the Ventus Blue vs. two Kuro Kage XT and Tensei CK Pro White. 

These clearly show that the Ventus Blue is not a "white" profile.

[Red4282]

4 hours ago, BubbaBallesteros said:

I know I am a bit late to this discussion but I just stumbled across this thread.

 

Just look at the EI Profile comparison between the Ventus Blue (dark blue), Diamana BF (Blue) and AD DI (orange).

Here is another EI Profile comparison of the Ventus Blue vs. two Kuro Kage XT and Tensei CK Pro White. 

These clearly show that the Ventus Blue is not a "white" profile.

I dont think its a “white” profile, but I have played all these shafts and dont know what else to tell you other than what i feel is more in line with the fuji chart. The blue by far has the softest handle of the three (vs red and black)

Edited November 6, 2022 by Red4282

[BubbaBallesteros]

1 minute ago, Red4282 said:

I dont think its a “white” profile, but I have played all these shafts and dont know what else to tell you other than what i feel is more in line with the fuji chart. The blue by far has the softest handle of the three (vs red and black)

Didn't you mention above that you think the Ventus Blue is similar to the Mitsubishi White profile?

 

Yeah the Blue, between handle and mid, definitely drops off more in bending stiffness than the Black and Red. Here is an EI Profile comparison of all 3 Ventus profiles. I find the the Fuji chart doesn't really tell the whole story for these profiles as this graph shows.

[Red4282]

1 hour ago, BubbaBallesteros said:

Didn't you mention above that you think the Ventus Blue is similar to the Mitsubishi White profile?

 

Yeah the Blue, between handle and mid, definitely drops off more in bending stiffness than the Black and Red. Here is an EI Profile comparison of all 3 Ventus profiles. I find the the Fuji chart doesn't really tell the whole story for these profiles as this graph shows.

I get there is a place for a good ei chart, but  my comments stem more from how it feels and how it plays. 

[Red4282]

Also those charts leave a bit of detail out, in we dont know the values of the y axis. Visually the ventus red and ck pro white look identical… 

[BubbaBallesteros]

2 hours ago, Red4282 said:

Also those charts leave a bit of detail out, in we dont know the values of the y axis. Visually the ventus red and ck pro white look identical… 

If you are comparing shafts on different graphs you would need to see the scaling of the y axis stiffness values but I'm just comparing shafts on each individual graph so it doesn't matter if I can see the actual values.

 

It's funny you mention the Ventus Red looks like a "white" profile because here it is compared to the Kuro Kage XT. 

 

 

I would suggest reading this post from @Valtiel. Really good insight on why there is so much confusion regarding these Fujikura profile charts.

 

 

[Red4282]

21 minutes ago, BubbaBallesteros said:

If you are comparing shafts on different graphs you would need to see the scaling of the y axis stiffness values but I'm just comparing shafts on each individual graph so it doesn't matter if I can see the actual values.

 

It's funny you mention the Ventus Red looks like a "white" profile because here it is compared to the Kuro Kage XT. 

 

 

I would suggest reading this post from @Valtiel. Really good insight on why there is so much confusion regarding these Fujikura profile charts.

 

 

Perhaps that is the one, the kk xt, they weren't labeled so i wasn't sure. Ive read that thread before and well aware.