Fujikura Ventus Shafts - 2024 Forum Review

[skraeling]

Well the mind was clear this time but the 4hours of building my wall really took a toll on my fine motor control and flexibility.  Even for me this is bad.

 

I just did not have the flexibility or fine motor control to hit driver consistently this day.

 

Still an overall ok round.  Putter and wedge/irons were doing the heavy lifting.

[Syks7]

Had a great practice round this afternoon at twilight.  Just me, a cart, and a golf course with enough open space that I just jetted around between open holes for 3 hours.  Played from different tees and hit a lot of driver off the tee.  Swinging as hard as possible, softer for accuracy, and generally trying to see what I could get out of the Velo+ Blue.  Here's what I saw today.

• I feel like I'm officially used to/dialed with it and I've really begun to trust the stiffer tip section. The added stability is game changing on off center strikes.  The best way I can describe it is to reference a part of the TXG review of the Red+ & Black+.  There's a part in the video where Ian feels like he lost one of the shots with the Red -- thought it was going to hook.  It turned over more than he was expecting but it wasn't catastrophic.   That happens to me at least once a round with the Velo +Blue.  I'm pretty used to what the ball does when I hit certain parts of the face of the driver and generally speaking that has not varied much between different heads and shafts E.G.  On a toe strike its going to turn over and hook hard, on a low heel strike it will start way left and spin hard back to the center with very low total distance.  That does not seem to be the case with the Velo+ Blue.  It just doesn't seem to impart the hard spin on the ball from those strikes.  Don't get me wrong a toe strike is still going left, but it doesn't seem to have that extra spin that takes it into bad places.  It just kind of operates like a pull.   The low heel strike keeps a left to right fade path, but is more driven and has a lot more rollout.  
• Combined with the PXG head I can't seem to hit it much further left than a pull 15-20 yards and there's pretty much zero chance that I'm hitting a draw.  It's giving me a very nice dispersion cone to aim with allowing me to aim mostly straight down the left side of the fairway to leave myself room to hit the fairway on the right.  
• Solid distance upside when you find the center of the face.  I hit multiples off every tee today and a couple times I'd be looking for the last ball in line with the others and I'd find it quite a bit further forward.  Including a poke on that cut the corner on a 380 yard dog leg, nearly totaling out to 300 (297), reducing the hole by 40 yards and leaving me with a 43 yard chip into the green, that I then converted into a birdie with the resulting 7 foot putt.  

 

• It's stable.  I hit 9 tee shots on #2 from the yellow tees (trying very hard to hit the green 285 into the wind) swinging for accuracy with some and for the fences with the rest.  I did not hit the green, but dispersion was still surprisingly good even with some very, very aggressive transitions.  Its very clear that my distance is better with the the slightly slower but more accurate swing than the faster more flailing aggressive swing.    All 9 ended up within 40 yards of the green in a dispersion pattern about 45 yards wide x 20 yards deep with a long of 267 and a short of 247.  (all into the wind)  If I'm being honest, I'd consider trading a kidney for the ability to generate that dispersion pattern every time I play.  

 Forgot the tripod or I'd have some video from today.  Instead, here's one from the weekend.  Altitude and downhill assisted 276 yard carry to 12 yards short of the green behind the trees.

     

[skraeling]

Sigh... This week it was 3" of rain keeping me off the course and next week ugh, its not looking much better. This time in he other direction.

Looking like 106+ after heat indices are figured in.  So hoping league actually happens and it doesn't get cancelled again.

If that happens ill take the opportunity to book a sim session and get some dry A/B data.

[Preeway]

Todays update is from a couple of rounds played at the end of June before the family went to the Lake of The Ozarks over the 4th of July. Both rounds were played at the same course on back to back days. Day 1 was played with the OG Ventus and Day 2 was played with the Ventus+.

Both days I played 8 tee shots with a driver and both rounds I used driver on the same holes. This course has several shorter par 4s with pronounced doglegs that put a premium on hitting a specific area of the fairway or risk running too long and getting into trouble. Those holes I hit either 4w or 3i off the tee.

On day 1 with the OG Ventus I managed to 5/8 of the fairways with an average drive length of 270 yards. one of the 3 misses was close enough for my liking but going to count it as a miss for this comparison. It was a decent lie in the rough but the lie did cost me a GIR. The wind was very mild, at times almost non-existent. This led to a muggy day for golf but very little impact on ball flight.

Day 2 was a little more windy, 5-15mph, and it did make more of an impact on a couple of holes when you compared them side by side. The average drive length with the Ventus+ was 267 yards but I hit 7/8 fairways with the driver. Ironically, my worst tee shots on day 2 came with the 3i and 4w which is opposite of my norm. 

I am a big proponent of distance off the tee. You just can't argue against the massive amounts of data showing the advantage gained from being as close to the hole as possible. But when looking at the data off the tee for these two rounds, I will gladly exchange 3 yards off the tee for more opportunities hitting approach shots in the short grass. And my strokes gained data will agree.

Day 1 shows better SG off the tee but those also include other tee shots with my 3i and 4w. I was stellar off the tee on day 1 but couldn't hit the greens for some reason. Made up for bad iron play with good putting. Day 2 was better with the driver but missed a lot with 3i and 4w. But I was hitting greens better due to more chances from the fairway.

So far I have really like the Ventus+ and going forward I am going to play it alone just to collect as much information as I can. It definitely has a different feel than the OG but it isn't a huge difference it only took a round or two to get used to it and be comfortable. For now, the jury is still out. I'm not totally convinced it's a better shaft, or even better for me, but I do like where it's trending.

 

Edited July 14 by Preeway

[skraeling]

well.... after two weeks worth of weather delays where no one was playing anywhere.  Either had massive amounts of rain (in the several inches per hour range), or excruciating heat (in the 106+* range).

Finally got to play friday and frankly my driving is a right bag of mixed nuts.

This is a me issue not a shaft issue.  I just cannot open or keep the club face open now.  I started doing something odd mechanically.

Utterly perplexing miss like the contact isnt even good. 

I held it together for 7 holes then just couldnt hit the ball off the tee to save my life.

Intend to go get a healthy driving range session in after work today.

[skraeling]

Ok some range time was productive.  I don’t do it often only when somethings off.  Like with driver.  Hard to fix stuff on course one swing at a time.

How I started setting up.  Front foot… what you doin there!?!?!

 

Post correction.  Much better

 

Edited July 22 by skraeling

[skraeling]

So I always tend to swing a tad tentative on my home league course as its pretty narrow and kind a short in spots even from a box back.  Threw in some swing changes this round that seem to be doing the trick.  My god does it take me a couple holes to actually warm up though.

Started bringing my miss more back into line of sanity.

Driver didnt punish me this round, and helped in some cases.  Much better than last round where I was just... so so so off.

 

Ill add the speed back in once I get more comfortable with the setup (plus I actually be smart and loosen up before the round).

[Preeway]

Doing a recap of my last several rounds:

June 16 at Arbor Links- Very demanding course off the tee that will punish you with mistakes. 6/11 in the fairway yielding 2 birdies and a bogey. 2 left yielding a birdie and bogey and 3 right yielding a bogey. Overall, it was a good day driving. 3/5 stars

June 17 at Indian Creek- Course played a little shorter than usual from the tips which allowed for agressive, but accurate, tee shots to be rewarded. 6/12 in the fairway with 2 birdies and a bogey. 3 right with two bogeys and 3 left with a double bogey. I considered this a fair day with the driver but not as good as I was the day prior at Arbor. 2.5/5 stars

June 19 at Bayside Golf Club- Linksish style golf course in Western Nebraska. Fairways are firm so off line shots will quickly find trouble. Only hit 5 tee shots with driver as we played the up tees. 2/5 in the fairway yielding a bogey. Two left yielding 2 bogeys and one right yielding a bogey. Hard to get too critical of the Ventus here as my swing was performing poorly with my whole bag. 2/5 stars

June 20 at Awarii Dunes- Driver was working MUCH better today hit a couple of drives with a Ping 425 LST that had a Newton 6 dot shaft and was blown away at the feel. Can't yet say I like the Newton better but suffice to say I like it well enough to buy it from @Erin B. 12/13 fairways hit with only 1 bogey. One fairway missed right resulting in a par. 4.5/5 stars

June 21 at Wild Horse Golf Club- Driver was again working well, just not quite as well as the day prior. Wider fairways helped quite a bit. 6/11 fairways hit with a couple that were only a yard or two off the fairway. 4/5 misses were less than 5 yards off the fairway and in relatively good lies. Still, my 5 misses resulted in being +4 on those holes. But that was due more to putter performance than it was the ball position not being in the fairway.

June 23 at Benson Park- Would consider this a decent driving day as I was able to leave myself in good position even when I missed the fairway. 5/11 fairways hit yielded 1 birdie and 2 bogeys. The six misses were equally split left and right and yielded one bogey. Was neither please nor disappointed in the driver performance. Was more vanilla, if that makes sense. 3/5 stars

As I begin to wind down my testing and begin working on my final review, I find myself still uncertain if the Velocore+ is "better" than the OG. I still have a few rounds left to play and and some more data to acquire before having to make a final call but as it stands today, I'm not happier with the new more than the old. Plan to get one more session in a sim before this all wraps up.

If anyone is looking for anything specific when comparing the OG with the Velocore+, please let me know.

[skraeling]

I think next round for league I should put my gamer shaft back in to see what’s what.  Played with the ventus for a few weeks at this point so should be a good refresher on what the old one can do.

Ventus still holds for me 2-3 of my longest drives ever though… which is tempting to keep.  I know the misses arnt its fault as clearly I can hit it well.

hmmmmm wonder if I can convince my neighbor to give it a wing during play.

Edited July 24 by skraeling

[poprocksncoke]

Got my Ventus Red Velocore+ waiting for me when I returned from vacation.  I didn't see any of the testers testing the red only the blue.

Hit a few shots into the net last night when the power went out.  Looking forward to getting this out on the course and see what it can do.

[Preeway]

27 minutes ago, poprocksncoke said:

Got my Ventus Red Velocore+ waiting for me when I returned from vacation.  I didn't see any of the testers testing the red only the blue.

Hit a few shots into the net last night when the power went out.  Looking forward to getting this out on the course and see what it can do.

Blue was the only option for this test. Not sure I would have chosen a different color if I had the option though. Looking forward to hearing what you think of the Red. 

[poprocksncoke]

6 minutes ago, Preeway said:

Blue was the only option for this test. Not sure I would have chosen a different color if I had the option though. Looking forward to hearing what you think of the Red. 

Ah, I should have remembered that   I picked the red for a higher launch, we'll see if I made the right decision 

[bens197]

1 hour ago, Preeway said:

As I begin to wind down my testing and begin working on my final review, I find myself still uncertain if the Velocore+ is "better" than the OG. I still have a few rounds left to play and and some more data to acquire before having to make a final call but as it stands today, I'm not happier with the new more than the old. Plan to get one more session in a sim before this all wraps up.

If anyone is looking for anything specific when comparing the OG with the Velocore+, please let me know.

This is really the biggest question I had for the group.  I play the Blue 7-X in my 3 wood and I love its stability and flight.  Let’s be honest…it’s difficult to improve on something that is already so great.

I do believe if it were exponentially better it would be obvious.

So if you had to identify one singular difference with a wow factor between the two what would you say?  Dispersion, Distance, Feel, Flight, Something else?

[Preeway]

5 hours ago, bens197 said:

This is really the biggest question I had for the group.  I play the Blue 7-X in my 3 wood and I love its stability and flight.  Let’s be honest…it’s difficult to improve on something that is already so great.

I do believe if it were exponentially better it would be obvious.

So if you had to identify one singular difference with a wow factor between the two what would you say?  Dispersion, Distance, Feel, Flight, Something else?

This is a really good question and I don't have an answer yet. But I will respond to this in the next couple of weeks. I too am looking at getting Ventus shafts for my fairway woods and hybrid.

[skraeling]

yeah ill have to correlate some round data to compare the two.

Im such an average golfer though week to week, its pretty much a crap shoot what ill be swinging like.

14 hours ago, bens197 said:

This is really the biggest question I had for the group.  I play the Blue 7-X in my 3 wood and I love its stability and flight.  Let’s be honest…it’s difficult to improve on something that is already so great.

I do believe if it were exponentially better it would be obvious.

So if you had to identify one singular difference with a wow factor between the two what would you say?  Dispersion, Distance, Feel, Flight, Something else?

8 hours ago, Preeway said:

This is a really good question and I don't have an answer yet. But I will respond to this in the next couple of weeks. I too am looking at getting Ventus shafts for my fairway woods and hybrid.

 

Edited July 25 by skraeling

[KC Golf]

Really intently looking at the Blue in S flex for a 5 or 7 FW. So will be interesting to hear how these shafts work for the Testers generally. . 

[bens197]

15 hours ago, Preeway said:

This is a really good question and I don't have an answer yet. But I will respond to this in the next couple of weeks. I too am looking at getting Ventus shafts for my fairway woods and hybrid.

@skraeling & @Preeway thanks fellas.  Looking forward to it!

[skraeling]

So I went back to my regular gamer shaft last night.  The distance wasnt there, but it was a mostly consistent performer.  The air was thick to say the least windy and rainy so that may have affected my yardage some.   A little game of whack ****, zap.  Bit of lightning in the area but it was moving off (for the most part).

Not the craziest distance, but given conditions (and my lack of talent), lll take it.

I still cant really hit straight at all.  Also these stats arnt 100% accurate.  I did push two balls right OB (first tee shot great way to start), and the last tee shot of all things.  The course is really really narrow in spots (in a neighborhood afterall), so it is one that prefers accuracy over power.  Great if you can do both, but a 200+ poke out there will setup a decent shot even on the par 5s.

So I dunno, back to being as perplexed as ever with this shaft.

Edited July 31 by skraeling

[poprocksncoke]

Well, I got my Ventus Velocore+ red and played with it this weekend.  So far can say I am super happy with it.  Will wait till I play with it for a while and maybe do a non official review of it.  

[skraeling]

So I have league today and I was kind of going back and forth for which shaft to put into play.  I went back to my gamer one again.

Ive lost confidence in my driver atm so trying anything to keep it relevant.  Its not a reflection on the shaft I just dont think im good enough right now to take advantage of it every time.

Will I keep putting it into play off and on the rest of this year, absolutely.

[skraeling]

Added my final review and thoughts on this absolutely wild test.

 

Whats with MGS tests and me breaking personal goals with them?

The sugar ball test I broke 90 for the first time with one, and the Ventus my first (and almost second in the same game) 300yd drive.

[Preeway]

Final review is up and would love to answer questions or provide additional thoughts if there are still unanswered questions out there. My only teaser is this…I did like the shaft. How much did I like it? Go read my final review and find out

[Erin B]

@Preeway I enjoyed your review! Great job!

[skraeling]

2 hours ago, Erin B said:

@Preeway I enjoyed your review! Great job!

I regret not getting into the sim during this.  I WILL be hitting one for sure, it just wont be sadly during the active test. I will also update this thread with results. My driver game is... admittedly sometimes my best and worst aspect.  Just so much that can go wrong when trying to send a ball that far.

[musicalmedicine]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to let you know that I've finished my final review of the Ventus Blue Velocore+. It can be found here or at the top of this page. Feel free to tag me in a comment or DM if you have any questions about my experience during this test.

[Preeway]

On 7/24/2024 at 4:05 PM, bens197 said:

So if you had to identify one singular difference with a wow factor between the two what would you say?  Dispersion, Distance, Feel, Flight, Something else?

My answer is the dispersion is better but it isn’t wow-factor better, if that makes sense. The feel of the Velocore+ is not much different than the non-Velocore. It is different to be sure but I can’t say it feels better. 

[bens197]

3 hours ago, Preeway said:

My answer is the dispersion is better but it isn’t wow-factor better, if that makes sense. The feel of the Velocore+ is not much different than the non-Velocore. It is different to be sure but I can’t say it feels better. 

Chris, I thought your review was super fair and objective.  Start to finish you kept it real and it was super beneficial that you had a good benchmark for comparison.

On another note, it’s good read for those who recently eluded to testing as a conveyer belt of positive affirmation.  Something as spectacular as a Velocore Ventus scoring 75/100 tells me you were fair and objective.  

Good work on your entire test

 

[Preeway]

2 hours ago, bens197 said:

Chris, I thought your review was super fair and objective.  Start to finish you kept it real and it was super beneficial that you had a good benchmark for comparison.

On another note, it’s good read for those who recently eluded to testing as a conveyer belt of positive affirmation.  Something as spectacular as a Velocore Ventus scoring 75/100 tells me you were fair and objective.  

Good work on your entire test

 

If I was comparing the Velocore+ to the stock Kai’Li White shaft that it came with I would have scored it much higher. Probably in the 90s for sure. So for those reading my final review and score, keep it all in the context of comparing the Velocore+ to OG Ventus. 

[bens197]

1 hour ago, Preeway said:

If I was comparing the Velocore+ to the stock Kai’Li White shaft that it came with I would have scored it much higher. Probably in the 90s for sure. So for those reading my final review and score, keep it all in the context of comparing the Velocore+ to OG Ventus. 

It was fair. And that’s really what it’s supposed to be. 
 

Again, great job. 

[skraeling]

15 minutes ago, bens197 said:

It was fair. And that’s really what it’s supposed to be. 
 

Again, great job. 

i graded it marginally better.