Why does it seem like every PGA player is using a fujikura ventus shafts?

[phizzy30]

12 hours ago, yobee54 said:

I went ADDI to ADIZ to Ventus Blue, all 6s and I have been very pleased with feel, performance and especially flight on the course.  My numbers were not as good inside with Ventus, but it out performs the others on the course, just a middle aged high single digit index.  Worth a try in my opinion and can easily be flipped on here if you hate it.

So then I'm not the only one.  I went from DI to Rogue Silver 125 msi to Speeder TR to Ventus Black.  DI was too wild off the tee, Rogue Silver was ok, Speeder TR was a bit too loose and spinny on me at times but the Ventus Black was the holy grail.  When it comes to driver shafts, I'm a club ho.  VB has been in my bag for a year now. 

[Valtiel]

I think the Ventus success is rooted in a couple factors:

1) More traditional bend profiles. All three shafts are pretty proven bend profiles, especially the Blue, and the Black seemed to be the right "strong" profile for the faster guys at the right time. 
2) They are using some construction techniques that clearly create a feel that lots of guys seem to like
3) A bit of a vacuum left by Mitsubishi. Without a solid and timely follow up to the Tensei line, I think the pros that went to check out the new stuff ended up looking more closely at the Ventus lineup. IMO Mitsubishi completely botched the premium side of the AV line and even though they are great shafts, the marketing and product story just sucked. This left the door open for Fuji to claw back market share. 
 

5 hours ago, Duffer222 said:

I think a LOT of guys would fit into the red profile, but seems the Red color has always been the “weak” shafts of manufacturers with HIGH spin and launch.  With the Ventus, it MAY be that way, but it works better than any other iteration of Black/Blue/Red I’ve ever used from other manufacturers. ( Diamana /Matrix, etc)

3 hours ago, Duffer222 said:

Completely different shafts/profile from my understanding.  Maybe Fujikura will answer.

Agreed, although we are starting to see a shift away from that thankfully with shafts like Ventus Red, Diamana RF, and the Atmos Red. If a shaft manufacturer is going to commit to a 3/4 shaft lineup then I would definitely like to see the "Red" slot be something like these shafts as opposed to the softer, high launch option that seems to have fallen out of favor. 

And correct regarding the 2.0, this is part of why I think they were so successful per the above. 

[Qegurezi]

15 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

Interesting to hear you say that Mark.  I'm a late release guy and the Ventus Black is money for me.  Good numbers on trackman but what really sold me was that my dispersion pattern was tighter.  I'm not a big feel guy anyway.

The Black is a big hit on tour and they have anything but early releases. 

[CampagnoloBob]

I believe your Riptide shaft is manufactured by Project X (aka True Temper) and not Aldila. Aldila is owned by, and shares technology with Mitsubishi (MCA). Also note, the Riptide is a counterbalanced shaft so it will have a different feel, profile,  and impact on swing weight in comparison to a traditional shaft like the Ventus. 

[MakersMarsh3]

How counterbalanced are the 3 profiles???

[AtlantaGolf3]

27 minutes ago, MakersMarsh3 said:

How counterbalanced are the 3 profiles???

I want to say the only counterbalanced one is Blue. And it’s only slightly counterbalanced. 

[Tgstan]

Club fitting is so critical yet everyone on tour ended up in the same driver shaft!

 

😂😂😂

[Ruleschamp]

Never been a huge Fujikura fan.    Obviously high quality and high performing shafts, just never could find any I liked.    I'm an average swingspeed guy who is a reasonably solid ballstriker.  Decided to give the Blue hybrid a shot in a PXG Gen 2 head during a fitting session.   I feared I'd get nothing but low bullets at my swingspeed.    Swallowed my pride and listened to my fitter, who put me in a Blue Reg.   Wow, I was wrong.  I was thoroughly amazed at the tightness of dispersion it created on all of my hybrid shots and there was no issue with elevation.    Basically compared to the AD DI shaft I replaced,  my elevation was roughly the same but the shot cone pattern literally almost cut in half.   Got it on the course -- same result.   

 

Decided to try a Ventus in a Callaway Epic Flash driver.    Fitter this time was spot on and fitted me into a Red stiff.   My swing creates plenty of spin for my swingspeed.    Every other "red" version of shafts (including the Atmos) that I had tried over the years resulted in way too much spin.    I was fearful at first, but then the fitter showed me that the Ventus Red driver shaft was not like the other "red" versions of most shaft companies.   It was actually closer to most companies "blue" versions.     Anyway, the Red driver shaft did the same amazing results to my driver as the Blue hybrid shaft did for that club.   I guess that's why he's the fitter and I'm not.

 

I don't believe they are magic elixir for anything, but after watching a couple of mini-tour guys get fit for Black Ventus shafts the day I was at the fitters, I was amazed out how consistent those shafts seems to be in a lot of people's hands.   And all of us, including pros, tending to see something working for our buddies and that leads us to try.   So, I can understand why so many on the tour have them.

Edited May 31, 2021 by Ruleschamp

[stingerfade]

I’m a shaft ho and I recently hit a friends maverik driver and was sold immediately. Bought a subzero on Callaway preowned with a rogue white 130. I currently have a sim with ventus black 6x and love it but the maverik feel off the face and sound was great so whatever. I used to have the rogue 125 in the sim before the ventus so thought no big deal. Got the driver went to the simulator super excited and flat HATED it. Was so mad I bought it, sounded like crap felt worse and was upset. My friend said before you resell it try it with that ventus you like. Nect day switched tips went to range and literally after 2 balls it was straight in the bag. I was amazed at the difference that the ventus made the worst driver I ever hit to now my favorite one. 

Edited May 30, 2021 by stingerfade

[tomuch23]

2 hours ago, Ruleschamp said:

Never been a huge Fujikura fan.    Obviously high quality and high performing shafts, just never could find any I liked.    I'm an average swingspeed guy who is a reasonably solid ballstriker.  Decided to give the Blue hybrid a shot in a PXG Gen 2 head during a fitting session.   I feared I'd get nothing but low bullets at my swingspeed.    Swallowed my pride and listened to my fitter, who put me in a Blue Reg.   Wow, I was wrong.  I was thoroughly amazed at the tightness of dispersion it created on all of my hybrid shots and there was no issue with elevation.    Basically compared to the AD DI shaft I replaced,  my elevation was roughly the same but the shot cone pattern literally almost cut in half.   Got it on the course -- same result.   

 

Decided to try a Ventus in a Ping Epic Flash driver.    Fitter this time was spot on and fitted me into a Red stiff.   My swing creates plenty of spin for my swingspeed.    Every other "red" version of shafts (including the Atmos) that I had tried over the years resulted in way too much spin.    I was fearful at first, but then the fitter showed me that the Ventus Red driver shaft was not like the other "red" versions of most shaft companies.   It was actually closer to most companies "blue" versions.     Anyway, the Red driver shaft did the same amazing results to my driver as the Blue hybrid shaft did for that club.   I guess that's why he's the fitter and I'm not.

 

I don't believe they are magic elixir for anything, but after watching a couple of mini-tour guys get fit for Black Ventus shafts the day I was at the fitters, I was amazed out how consistent those shafts seems to be in a lot of people's hands.   And all of us, including pros, tending to see something working for our buddies and that leads us to try.   So, I can understand why so many on the tour have them.

I've been playing the red for a year now with really good results. It's definitely not a high launch, high spin shaft most seem to think it is. Probably would fit the majority of players out of the 3 profiles the ventus line offers. 

[Righty to Lefty]

On 5/28/2021 at 8:01 PM, Duffer222 said:

I think this is way off the mark.  First of all, pro’s don’t change anything unless they find something different that they feel will give them a better chance to win, and they don’t make the change without fully testing it.

club hos on the other hand but the hype yearly in pursuit of 5yards or more, better flight, many things.  This shaft properly fit is IMO, well worth the coin.

Umm...most pros change most all of the clubs every year because they are paid to do just that.  They are pursuing that extra 5 yards way harder than any club ho could ever dream of because they have access to literally every thing golf.  Any shaft properly fit is well worth the coin....especially when you don't have to pay anything for it....why not try out new gear on the regular because you just might stumble upon something better. 

 

There are only so many bend profiles that can be created yet we act like Autoflex, Ventus, Tensei are reinventing the wheel every single year.  I love gear just like the next person but lets be real golf clubs are not advancing that fast.  They change clubs every year or some of them every week (Tiger in regards to wedges) because why not...it is free and it is almost certain that they can be fit into something at least as good as what they already had. If their previous club was already fit to the max how much extra performance are they actually gaining from year to year?  Not very much.  Sure if they have changed physically and are creating more or less speed they may require a refit but they are just like us in that they believe that they can gain and advantage through their equipment the OEM's need them to think that same thing because they can't have players that are not willing to play the newest gear cause that is bad for business. 

[95124hacker]

Ventus Blue outperformed AD XC & Tensei Pro White in my EFSZ.

[stingerfade]

6 hours ago, Righty to Lefty said:

Umm...most pros change most all of the clubs every year because they are paid to do just that.  They are pursuing that extra 5 yards way harder than any club ho could ever dream of because they have access to literally every thing golf.  Any shaft properly fit is well worth the coin....especially when you don't have to pay anything for it....why not try out new gear on the regular because you just might stumble upon something better. 

 

There are only so many bend profiles that can be created yet we act like Autoflex, Ventus, Tensei are reinventing the wheel every single year.  I love gear just like the next person but lets be real golf clubs are not advancing that fast.  They change clubs every year or some of them every week (Tiger in regards to wedges) because why not...it is free and it is almost certain that they can be fit into something at least as good as what they already had. If their previous club was already fit to the max how much extra performance are they actually gaining from year to year?  Not very much.  Sure if they have changed physically and are creating more or less speed they may require a refit but they are just like us in that they believe that they can gain and advantage through their equipment the OEM's need them to think that same thing because they can't have players that are not willing to play the newest gear cause that is bad for business. 

Ummm....to say shaft technology isn’t advancing is pretty inaccurate. Drivers have been maxed out for years 

[btyh]

15 hours ago, Tgstan said:

Club fitting is so critical yet everyone on tour ended up in the same driver shaft!

 

😂😂😂

Tour players aren't far off from eachother. Now the avg weekend warriors, now that's a different story 

[Mario Good Times]

My only gripe with the ventus black is 6x is 65g and the 7x is 78g that’s so huge of a gap.  I love the VB but my 6x feels to light once I get my driver swing weight to D4 and the 7x feels to heavy also at D4 we need a low 70’s gram VB 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Mario Good Times

[Righty to Lefty]

15 hours ago, stingerfade said:

Ummm....to say shaft technology isn’t advancing is pretty inaccurate. Drivers have been maxed out for years 

I never said that it isn't advancing...I said that it isn't advancing so fast that a golfer should be refit every year.  Pros are getting it for free so why not but let's be real club tech advancements simply aren't moving that fast. If Autoflex was doing exactly what it claims across the board everyone would play it.  When Pro V first came out it was far and away the best ball and was longer for everyone so you were losing out if you didn't play it early on...but now things are different and their are plenty of balls that perform the same as a Pro V because the tech is very close to maxed out and other manufacturers caught up.  Next year there will be another shaft that all of them will play and the masses will then flock to that shaft.  It is what it is.  

[stingerfade]

6 hours ago, Righty to Lefty said:

I never said that it isn't advancing...I said that it isn't advancing so fast that a golfer should be refit every year.  Pros are getting it for free so why not but let's be real club tech advancements simply aren't moving that fast. If Autoflex was doing exactly what it claims across the board everyone would play it.  When Pro V first came out it was far and away the best ball and was longer for everyone so you were losing out if you didn't play it early on...but now things are different and their are plenty of balls that perform the same as a Pro V because the tech is very close to maxed out and other manufacturers caught up.  Next year there will be another shaft that all of them will play and the masses will then flock to that shaft.  It is what it is.  

Have you tried the shaft?

[rkelso184]

Truth is they all saw me using a ventus blue fake TM shaft and hitting duck hooks and drop kicks off the tee at the driving range and wanted a piece of it! So now they all play it to be like me, 15hcp who thinks he hits 300m straight bombs but can’t even clear a 200m drain at the local par 5 and hits 3 out of 13 fairways.

[Whodamon1]

On 5/28/2021 at 1:12 PM, bladehunter said:

Totally agree.  The black and blue do not fit this late release guy.  The red however is the Goldilocks shaft.  
 

 

How are you liking that new Accra RPG?

[nitram]

On 5/28/2021 at 4:47 PM, cardoustie said:

they are exceptional ... but ...

 

Current flavor flav ... in the past

 

Grafalloy pro lite

ust pro force (Laker’s purple and yellow)

aldila NV green

speeder 757

diamana whiteboard 

 

 

All of these listed are HOF shafts and still relevant for most today. The Ventus will earn it's place with these (if it hasn't already) because it flat out works, and works very well. They aren't magic by any means as you have to have a decent swing but they are a shaft that can and will increase your consistency and IMHO that's the name of the game in golf. In my experience, the Ventus line is the best line of non-metal golf shafts I've swung in over 40 years of golf. And I can tell you from conversations I've had with Tour Pros  and champion amateurs over the years, most find something that works and sticks with it until they are forced for whatever reason find something better. Henrik Stenson and the Graffaloy Blue immediately comes to mind.

 

Now there are those who won't agree with this as they have tried one or hell, maybe all three, and it didn't work for them. You'll never know until you try it for yourself. Personally, I'm glad I have.

[bladehunter]

1 hour ago, Whodamon1 said:

How are you liking that new Accra RPG?

Well.  It’s a lot of shaft .  I had a less than 100 % day Saturday.  I scored well and  won the event.  But. I drove it like a clown.  ( not out of play. Just short and a two way miss ) And it was due to me feeling tight and feeling like I had to throw myself at it to load this shaft.  I didn’t feel that way the prior week. But.  I did note that it was quite a stout shaft.  It’s right there with a ventus black In my opinion.  You’ve got to stand on it to load it.  The rpg 472 m5 blue I had wasn’t quite this way.  And it was the heavier of the two.  
 

ao I don’t know if it will stay or not.  I don’t think a shaft that only fits on my best days is the one.  

Edited May 31, 2021 by bladehunter

[Carolina Golfer 2]

On 5/28/2021 at 9:20 AM, Duffer222 said:

I’m a senior and felt like I was losing all length on my driver.  I was a bit scared to go to the Ventus, thinking the profile would be too much for my swing.

I got a red in 6s and saw an instant increase in distance of 8-10 yards.  Now after 10 rounds with it, it just keeps getting better and I’m a happy, but still aging old guy!

Another 60+ here with a non WRX swing speed of mid 80's, but the Ventus Blue 6 works really well for me, I originally had it in my Pars and Stripes SZ Extreme, but having a RADSPEED XB now, I have moved it to that, and it is one of the more stable shafts I can recall playing in a while.   Nothing but good results with it.

[stingerfade]

4 hours ago, bladehunter said:

Well.  It’s a lot of shaft .  I had a less than 100 % day Saturday.  I scored well and  won the event.  But. I drove it like a clown.  ( not out of play. Just short and a two way miss ) And it was due to me feeling tight and feeling like I had to throw myself at it to load this shaft.  I didn’t feel that way the prior week. But.  I did note that it was quite a stout shaft.  It’s right there with a ventus black In my opinion.  You’ve got to stand on it to load it.  The rpg 472 m5 blue I had wasn’t quite this way.  And it was the heavier of the two.  
 

ao I don’t know if it will stay or not.  I don’t think a shaft that only fits on my best days is the one.  

That’s why I love the black tho is that it’s very low spin and stout but doesn’t feel like it. I don’t feel I have to swing hard to load it in the least where other “stout” shafts feel like rebar. It’s like an x stiff with a stiff feel. Not sure how they do it because it’s low torque as well and usually that takes feel away. Love this thing 

[Double Dodger]

15 hours ago, Righty to Lefty said:

I never said that it isn't advancing...I said that it isn't advancing so fast that a golfer should be refit every year.  Pros are getting it for free so why not but let's be real club tech advancements simply aren't moving that fast. If Autoflex was doing exactly what it claims across the board everyone would play it.  When Pro V first came out it was far and away the best ball and was longer for everyone so you were losing out if you didn't play it early on...but now things are different and their are plenty of balls that perform the same as a Pro V because the tech is very close to maxed out and other manufacturers caught up.  Next year there will be another shaft that all of them will play and the masses will then flock to that shaft.  It is what it is.  

And I’ll get one then cheap to try. 

[Whodamon1]

6 hours ago, bladehunter said:

Well.  It’s a lot of shaft .  I had a less than 100 % day Saturday.  I scored well and  won the event.  But. I drove it like a clown.  ( not out of play. Just short and a two way miss ) And it was due to me feeling tight and feeling like I had to throw myself at it to load this shaft.  I didn’t feel that way the prior week. But.  I did note that it was quite a stout shaft.  It’s right there with a ventus black In my opinion.  You’ve got to stand on it to load it.  The rpg 472 m5 blue I had wasn’t quite this way.  And it was the heavier of the two.  
 

ao I don’t know if it will stay or not.  I don’t think a shaft that only fits on my best days is the one.  

Interesting.  I played the RPG 362 m5 for a while but switched to the 462 m4+ after my 1st back surgery.  Love them both.  I'm very interested to try the new stuff when I am able to start swinging again.  

[Valtiel]

On 5/29/2021 at 11:06 AM, MakersMarsh3 said:

How counterbalanced are the 3 profiles???

 

On 5/29/2021 at 11:34 AM, AtlantaGolf3 said:

I want to say the only counterbalanced one is Blue. And it’s only slightly counterbalanced. 

It is a little more nuanced than that unfortunately. The Ventus Red has a pretty "standard" balance point in that it is an inch or so above neutral. Most shafts that are truly neutral (e.g. HZRDUS Black) are considered to be "low" balance point since most shafts are around that 1"-1.5" mark, largely IMO to help offset some of the longer stock driver lengths these days (every inch = approx 1 SW point). 

The Ventus Black and Blue however are around that "standard" balance point in the lower weight classes, but the heavier classes (70g+) ascend into counterbalanced territory, the same 2"-3" above neutral that advertised CB shafts like the Riptide CB, HZRDUS Yellow, Xtorsion Copperhead etc.

The only category "above" that would be other advertised CB shafts like the Tensei Pro Orange, VA Nemesys, and Mitsubishi Fubuki which use additional material in the handle of the shaft (Tungsten) to raise the balance point even further (3"-5"+).  
 

On 5/29/2021 at 6:19 PM, stingerfade said:

I’m a shaft ho and I recently hit a friends maverik driver and was sold immediately. Bought a subzero on Callaway preowned with a rogue white 130. I currently have a sim with ventus black 6x and love it but the maverik feel off the face and sound was great so whatever. I used to have the rogue 125 in the sim before the ventus so thought no big deal. Got the driver went to the simulator super excited and flat HATED it. Was so mad I bought it, sounded like crap felt worse and was upset. My friend said before you resell it try it with that ventus you like. Nect day switched tips went to range and literally after 2 balls it was straight in the bag. I was amazed at the difference that the ventus made the worst driver I ever hit to now my favorite one. 

Unless you had the Rogue White in the TX flex then your experience isn't surprising. The non-TX flex Rogue White 130 is a very different shaft from the TX flex version. The Rogue 125 you had before was their classic stouter Green/Silver profile whereas the Rogue White 130 in the non-TX flexes is the softer Blue/Black profile. The Rogue White 130 TX and the Rogue Silver 130 would have been the matches to the 125 you had before. 

 

[stingerfade]

29 minutes ago, Valtiel said:

 

It is a little more nuanced than that unfortunately. The Ventus Red has a pretty "standard" balance point in that it is an inch or so above neutral. Most shafts that are truly neutral (e.g. HZRDUS Black) are considered to be "low" balance point since most shafts are around that 1"-1.5" mark, largely IMO to help offset some of the longer stock driver lengths these days (every inch = approx 1 SW point). 

The Ventus Black and Blue however are around that "standard" balance point in the lower weight classes, but the heavier classes (70g+) ascend into counterbalanced territory, the same 2"-3" above neutral that advertised CB shafts like the Riptide CB, HZRDUS Yellow, Xtorsion Copperhead etc.

The only category "above" that would be other advertised CB shafts like the Tensei Pro Orange, VA Nemesys, and Mitsubishi Fubuki which use additional material in the handle of the shaft (Tungsten) to raise the balance point even further (3"-5"+).  
 

Unless you had the Rogue White in the TX flex then your experience isn't surprising. The non-TX flex Rogue White 130 is a very different shaft from the TX flex version. The Rogue 125 you had before was their classic stouter Green/Silver profile whereas the Rogue White 130 in the non-TX flexes is the softer Blue/Black profile. The Rogue White 130 TX and the Rogue Silver 130 would have been the matches to the 125 you had before. 

 

It was the rogue white 130 x not tx. Was probably the worst feeling shaft I’ve ever had except the pro force v2 back in the day. Just feels like a 2x4 attached to a head no feel. The 125 felt smoother and was the Tx

Edited June 1, 2021 by stingerfade

[bladehunter]

1 hour ago, stingerfade said:

It was the rogue white 130 x not tx. Was probably the worst feeling shaft I’ve ever had except the pro force v2 back in the day. Just feels like a 2x4 attached to a head no feel. The 125 felt smoother and was the Tx

For what it’s worth.  I agree. I love the 125msi 70 tx.  Hated the 130 .  No feel whatsoever 

[kiddzizzle]

On 5/30/2021 at 2:35 AM, Righty to Lefty said:

Umm...most pros change most all of the clubs every year because they are paid to do just that.  They are pursuing that extra 5 yards way harder than any club ho could ever dream of because they have access to literally every thing golf.  Any shaft properly fit is well worth the coin....especially when you don't have to pay anything for it....why not try out new gear on the regular because you just might stumble upon something better. 

 

There are only so many bend profiles that can be created yet we act like Autoflex, Ventus, Tensei are reinventing the wheel every single year.  I love gear just like the next person but lets be real golf clubs are not advancing that fast.  They change clubs every year or some of them every week (Tiger in regards to wedges) because why not...it is free and it is almost certain that they can be fit into something at least as good as what they already had. If their previous club was already fit to the max how much extra performance are they actually gaining from year to year?  Not very much.  Sure if they have changed physically and are creating more or less speed they may require a refit but they are just like us in that they believe that they can gain and advantage through their equipment the OEM's need them to think that same thing because they can't have players that are not willing to play the newest gear cause that is bad for business. 

I wasn't trying to argue whether or not pros are club hos but more so the volume of which I see these magical shafts being used. I mean everyone from Rory and DJ to the likes or Spieth, Ian Poulter, Matt Kuchar, etc.

 

Maybe this is recency bias but in years past I just don't remember everyone using the same wood shaft. It seems like in every tournament, no matter if they're long bombers or a short and straight hitters, someone will have a Ventus shaft in every group if not everyone in the group.

[cw1209]

On 5/30/2021 at 8:12 AM, Mario Good Times said:

My only gripe with the ventus black is 6x is 65g and the 7x is 78g that’s so huge of a gap.  I love the VB but my 6x feels to light once I get my driver swing weight to D4 and the 7x feels to heavy also at D4 we need a low 70’s gram VB 

 

I agree with this. Had the Ventus Black 7X in driver and while it's a good fit, it's a little too much weight for a driver shaft for me. Have since cut it down to give it a run in my 3 wood. At this point I still prefer GD Tour AD shafts over Ventus.